FLU Book Review Author Wayne Simmons

With winter fast approaching and all the runny noses that the season brings The Grumbling Gargoyle gives us her thoughts this week on Wayne Simmons FLU!!

Synopsis

A deadly flu virus has spread its contagion throughout Ireland before swiftly moving forward to continue upon its lethal course. Millions are infected by this mutated strain from which the only release is death itself...or at least it would be...if the dead would stay dead!
Desperate to contain the outbreak the Government resorts to drastic methods in the form of Quarantine Restrictions whereby infected families are sealed within their homes. Riotous panic soon overtakes reason as civilisation starts to fall apart. Splintered groups of survivors seek to find shelter and sustenance amidst the increasingly fetid landscape of the flesh foraging dead. However,  the virus is airborne........will they too succumb to this merciless plague and themselves become new recruits in this cadaverous army of the damned?


Review
Now then before we begin I would like you to imagine what it would feel like to be smacked in the face with the telephone directory. Not that pathetic little ‘leaflet’ we get these days but the good old fashioned directory as torn in half by wimpish wannabe strongmen back in the day when people used to telephone each other and have a c-o-n-v-e-r-s-a-t-i-o-n. Crazy times eh? Go on then...think about it! Right, now you’re probably wondering why I’m asking you to do this...and NO!..it’s nothing to do with hormones! I am asking you to do this because this is the best way I can describe the full impact of reading this short book by Wayne Simmons. It’s only, approximately, 262 pages long but it’s content is so packed with action and the storyline is so fulfilling that it feels like a much sturdier read leaving you quite breathless by the end of it. Just as you would be had you been assaulted by the aforementioned telephone directory!

I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that Simmons version of the Zombie is a particularly new take on the gruesome groaners, in many ways it isn’t but what it is is a damn good quality read! There’s a something happening continuously, plenty of surprises and the varied characters are not only a diverse group of rejects and misfits but they are a believable diverse group of rejects and misfits because they are....just like us! ( well, just like you really ...I happen to be lucky enough to be perfect...coff ).

Simmons mastery with the pen launches the reader from one mad situation to another as people and personalities clash exacerbating the already cataclysmic situation. A bit like here when the January Sales are on....but not as feral! These pages are the holding pen for characters such as Lark the tattooed drug addict, Pat a former IRA gunrunner, McFall a balaclava wearing taxi driver and churchgoer Karen hopped up on religion...what a spectacular mix!

Another worthy accolade regarding this book is that it’s an easy read. Hold on! Don’t jump to the conclusion that this reduces it’s depth...far from it!...it enhances the reading experience because the reader isn’t burdened by overly self indulgent verbal gymnastics as inflicted upon us by some authors. This is straight to the point dialogue that pulls no punches as it assaults the senses with its convincing realism. I enjoyed this book so much that when my dog sneezed I half thought of bricking it up in its kennel...( ok...I wouldn’t have actually done that...perhaps ).

I’m not going to go on any further because I despise reviews where the reader is exposed to the story as rewritten by the reviewer! Just go out...buy the book...and come to your own conclusion...Oh and maybe get a flu jab too....if it isn’t too late!


Rating 5 out of 5
By The Grumbling Gargoyle