Zombies and superheroes...yes please!

First off I love zombie books and movies, second to that I love superheroes as well..put the two together and you have a winning combination in my book. That's what this book has, great narration as well and a really cool story involving among other things a government coverup about the outbreak, however the source is very different from the usual tale. I won't spoil that one here you will have to listen for it yourself.

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Superhero horror?

Two things I must admit starting out: I love superheroes, and I (mostly) hate horror flicks. Well, not all horror flicks, but I don't care for most things zombie. Still, the "superheroes for adults" moniker in the synopsis it looked like this might be a little different from the run-of-the-mill superhero book. Most of those that aren't from the major comic lines tend to be all about being a villain, so a book about the heroes would be a nice change of pace.

I have to say that while it doesn't quite live up to the "for adults" part of the description, this book was well worth my time. I say it is not quite "for adults" because Spitball (our main character) is VERY immature, and that was on purpose. You needed someone with fresh eyes to tell this story (no, it's not first person, but it is definitely first and foremost about him) so the newbie (and wannabe) superhero who needs lots of things explained to him makes a good central character. By immature, I mean he's a horn-dog who is a stereotypical Millennial (or at least what pop culture would tell us is the stereotype) who is all about image and social media followers.

Normally I'm not into the zombie story because it is less a sci-fi story and more a disaster survival story. Even other comic book zombie stories (like Marvel Zombies, which had like a dozen volumes) never thrilled me. This time around, though, the focus stays more towards the sci-fi realm. There's plenty of comic book tropes thrown in for good measure, but the way they are used kept me focused on the heroes and not on the possible apocalypse survival angle.

I loved Todd Menesses' narration for the story. While it wasn't groundbreaking, his style felt a lot like a narrator to a comic book cartoon or a voice-over guy in a movie trailer. It tended to keep the action moving and the tension levels high, and that really fit the story. His style might not have been as effective if the story was a long one with lots of fast and slow movements, but for a story of this length and almost constant intensity it really worked.

I noticed that this book is labeled as Book 1 of a series, even though to date no more have been released. My comment to that: please don't stop here. I'd love to see where this goes.

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1 person found this helpful

probably a good early teen book.

a little thin in the depth of the story for the adult reader, even for this genera.

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Could have been better but the narration.......

I can't believe the narrator talked like that for the whole story! I think the story would have been world's better and more interesting if the narration would have been different. seriously....Does this guy do movie trailers for a living? There were some pauses when there didn't need be, inflection in wrong parts of sentences, and the same pattern of talking for the whole story while narrating. I think the guy was trying to be intense the whole time maybe....? I think the narrator also missed the mark for spit ball but only by a little. The story was interesting enough for me to finish but I'm not sure if I will get the sequel if this same guy narrates it.

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Youth super heros wannabe gets his groove.

this was a fun little story of a wannabe superhero getting to hang with the big boys. Fun but. not special.

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A newbie superhero bites off more than he can chew

Hungry Gods is a great series starter. It centers on a kid named Luke, who just happens to have the power of Super Speed. Anyone who knows me will tell you that my favorite superhero is the Flash, and in many ways, Luke reminds me of a young Wally West, not the one from the TV show, the original who was cocky and headsure, never doubting himself, and always certain that he could win against whatever stood against him. His costumed identity is that of Spitball (because Marvel own the name Speedball, and I doubt that Brink wanted to associate his character with cocaine). Anyway, Spitball manages to pull off a big win, and gets the attention of the military, who bring him in to help them out. He soon learns that he isn't all that (or does he?) and that he is certainly in need of some serious helping hands.

This book has the feel of Marvel Zombies, a great set of mini-series that came out at the start of the century. That's because it has zombies, and you just can't go wrong with zombies. One thing I really liked was that Spitball started out a noob, and pretty much acted like it, even at the end being overly sure of himself and his abilities. He may have learned how to turn on his headgear lights, but he hasn't learned that he really isn't the hero he believes himself to be.

Brink knows how to pen superhero action, and his battle details are fantastic. You feel like you are right in the middle of the action, and his characters (I love Gargoyle) really resonate as real people and not costumes. The pacing is intense and plays out like a comic, each panel progressing the story. I enjoyed this book a lot.

Menesses narrate this like it is HIS superpower. He really brings everything to life in vivid detail, even the zombies! He plays each character, and his voices are great. I enjoyed listening as he certainly infused the book with emotion and action, and his pace varied by what was going on in the story.

I have to wonder why you are still reading this review, and not the book itself. Trust me, this is a great start for what looks to be an amazing series, and I cannot wait for book two to appear. Can someone give a copy to Spitball? He's faster than Fed Ex and the USPS! Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.


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4 people found this helpful

Not a bad story.

Narrator did a really fine job. The snarky superhero archetype that seems all the rage in novelized comicbooks is becoming a bit annoying, but overall this was a pretty entertaining listen.

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The premise was actually pretty interesting

Hungry Gods by J.D. Brink is the first in a series called Identity Crisis. The story follows the antics of a teenaged super hero who just wants to make it big. In a world of caped and masked superheroes who are called by the government to solve problems created by real life monsters and villain, Spitball is a low level superhero. All he dreams about is using his super-speed powers to launch him into a life of fame and to secure his spot in the Phenomenal Five, the most famous team of superheroes. After fighting off a monster that was terrorizing his town, this little bit of fame leads to a military official to request his services. Little did Spitball know, he was entering a fight that might be too big for his skills. As the story unravels, Spitball is faced with a series of terrors, intrigue, and conflicts between his expectations and realities about what being a superhero is.

This novel improved for me after I accepted the costumed superheroes functioning as a part of the real life plotline. It was bewildering and frustrating in the beginning, but once accepted the plot developed nicely. The premise for the story where a naïve fame-hungry young superhero enters a fight too big for him was actually pretty interesting. It created room for Spitball to learn about the reality of being a superhero and learn from it. Unfortunately, I really felt like he hadn’t learned anything from the experience and was still like an overzealous puppy at the end. I found this extremely disappointing because Spitball’s naiveté was difficult to hear. I did however, like phenomenal five characters that Spitball is able to meet and the background on the relationship between those characters. The superheroes vs. zombies-like premise in itself was unique. This is mostly an action filled story about superheroes fighting off an unknown threat to the public. Ultimately, while I didn’t like Spitball’s character, there was a lot of plot development, action, and a hint of what’s to come in the future novels.

The narration by Todd Menesses was well done. He captured the voices of the different characters really well. He was able to capture the feelings and the situation that the characters were throughout the novel. He also hit Spitball’s voice straight on. It was great. The production quality was good. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes superhero, action stories.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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11 people found this helpful

Superheros… Zombies… What?

3.5 out of 5 stars

Hungry God is a book about Superheroes… and Zombies. There are other themes at play here, but it is really a story about those two things. The problem is the world’s best superheroes are missing and someone has to save the day!

Todd Menesses does a great job narrating this. He has one of those really good narration voices that makes for a great storytelling experience. Todd pays close attention to detail and that makes any story come alive.

The overall “theme” of the book was that of a superhero. While Marvel movies are winning over audiences worldwide, I still am a bit of a skeptic. That being said, once you allow yourself to get into the world that J.D. Brink has written for you — the story is much easier to read and enjoy. Pushing my superhero bias aside, Hungry Gods had a nice plot and a fun and easy to follow the story.

Overall, anyone who likes or loves superheroes will definitely love this book. If you have a hard time imagining people running around in spandex suits and the likes — then maybe skip it. Though I enjoyed it just because of Menesses narration. The addition of zombies helped a good amount too, but that can also be seen as cliche since zombies are everywhere right now (not literally, thank god).

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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absolutely love it.

narrator was a bit weird I'll admit. it was okay when he played spitball but when it came to the others it was a bit weird.

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