Tag Archives: L.T. Ryan

E-Book, Review, Zombies

Affliction Z: Patient Zero

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Affliction Z: Patient Zero by L.T. Ryan
Book 1

I received a promotional e-copy of Affliction Z: Patient Zero (Post Apocalyptic Thriller) by L.T. Ryan shortly after it was released.  Frankly, it has taken a while for me to get un-busy to where I could dive in and read it.  Tonight I will be starting the last chapter and I have to say — I have been ENJOYING it!

The book begins dark, mysterious, and energetic.  About a dozen Navy SEALs parachute into Nigeria to rescue a team of Army Rangers who preceded them.  While they have their mission details, what they don’t have is intel on what exactly they’re getting into.  Shortly after they arrive they find out they’re in the middle of a zombie outbreak!

Beyond that, I will not give spoilers.

Here’s the great thing I found about L.T. Ryan’s writing…
Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope by L.T. Ryan
Book 2

Affliction Z: Patient Zero felt like reconnecting with a old friend — familiar and yet exciting discoveries from the unfamiliar interim.  I would like to say that I couldn’t put this book down, but that isn’t the case.  It has nothing to do with Ryan’s writing, it’s just that I’m a busy guy and binge-reading simply is not an option.  To me there were attributes I found similar to The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.  Chiefly, its pace presses forward and that resonates well with me — every time I picked up my e-reader this Affliction Z book would take off again!

Affliction Z: Descended In Blood by L.T. Ryan
Book 3

Elements I Particularly Enjoyed

  • The military references and other particular details seem spot on.  While reading I wondered if Ryan researched these or interviewed experts to get these right.
  • The chapters are easily read in chunks — this is good for a person who loves to read yet doesn’t have much time.
  • The situation the military guys are in is palpable!  For me it pops off the e-page.  I feel that I’m there with them in an unclear and unpredictable situation.
  • I’m always looking for something new when it comes to zombies.  Ryan presents possibilities I had never imagined for the character of the zombies — not just what their capabilities are and how the outbreak has occurred but also why.
Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope by L.T. Ryan
The color of her eyes are … uhm …. uh… green.

L.T. Ryan has quite a few books and series of books to his credit — and after the first book out of his Affliction Z series, I want more!  There are two other Affliction Z books and Ryan just released book four — titled “The Sickness of Ron Winters“.  I’d like to get my hands on Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope (2013) and Affliction Z: Descended in Blood (2014) first.

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Movie, Review, Zombies

Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies (2015)

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Navy Seals vs. Zombies, Navy Seals vs. Zombies
AKA Navy Seals vs. Zombies

After a deadly zombie outbreak in Louisiana, a team of highly skilled U.S. Navy SEALs are sent into  Baton Rouge to rescue the Vice President.  Embarking on the battle of their lives, they must fight for the city and their survival against an army of the undead.

That sounds pretty good right?  For zombie films it sounds par for course — and let’s face it, Z-film par has a history of being schlocky.  While I have seen worse (not to mention better, Much BETTER), this seems to be a throw-back to 1970s and 1980s schlock.

B-film SEALs
The guys — ready to go fishing!

Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies came up when I searched my local library system’s website for all-things ‘zombie’.  Surprisingly, enough other people where interested it took weeks to become first in the cue.  Watching this, I give it a Yellow Puss rating.  Don’t break your neck to see this film — if you are a zombie fan with a couple of hours to kill on the weekend and need to recharge your batteries, crash your couch and check it out.

I'd date her
Who needs a good script when there’s at least one pretty girl in the film

This is a film with C-string actors and a B-string script working in an industry that is well known for being tough with rare breaks.  It seems that this is such a B-film that they couldn’t cast an actor as the president — he had to be the vice president.  Frequently the dialogue lags, but then if the timing was better then this wouldn’t be a 97 minute film.  Between the costumes, props, and language the main characters give just enough of the right vibe to feel like Navy SEALs.  They even have operator beards, however I have never heard of an operator pony tail.  As for the zombies, they move fast, their makeup is pretty rabid, and when they attack they have their moments of intensity.

On a personal note…
Affliction Z - Patient Zero by L.T. Ryan
I loved to pick this up, I hated when I needed to put it down … but I fella has to sleep sometime.

Around the time of viewing Navy SEALs Vs. Zombies I was finishing reading “Affliction Z: Patient Zero” by L.T. Ryan.  In his book a team of SEALs are dropped into Nigeria to rescue a group of U.S. Army Rangers who went in earlier — and like the SEALs in this film, they get surprised by zombie afflicted people.  While this film is so-so, it gave a visual representation of similar fiction (just that I’ve enjoyed L.T. Ryan’s book much more)

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