- Ex-Heroes: A Novel by Peter Clines
- Ex-Patriots: A Novel by Peter Clines
- Ex-Communication: A Novel by Peter Clines
- Ex-Purgatory: A Novel by Peter Clines
- Ex-Isle: A Novel by Peter Clines
I had previously read a couple of Peter Clines novels (“14” and “The Fold”) and really enjoyed them. They had a slightly steampunk feel to them and were clever and creepy at the same time. When I found out he had written a series of novels that were a mashup of DC and Marvel-style super-heroes with the zombie-apocalypse, I was intrigued. Overall the series was great fun to read - not high art, but well-written. The scenario presented was, I thought, well thought-through so that you didn’t spend all your time picking holes in the story. The writing has surprising (for a super-hero/zombie novel) depth at times - for example this exchange from “Ex-Isle”:
I stood straight and turned to him. “Twenty-two days ago, on the roof of Hollywood and Highland, you told me you wished to be a symbol of hope. This is the challenge of hope versus fear, George. Fear is a simple, base emotion felt by every mammal, one that requires no rational thought, no logic. It is an easy thing to rule by fear.”
He looked up. “I don’t want us to be ruling by–”
“It is also”, I continued, “an easy thing to be ruled by it. Making decisions based on fear requires no effort. In challenging times, many people prefer such a path. It is easier to be scared of a situation than to make the effort to understand it. Fear provides an excuse to avoid responsibility. Even before the ex-virus, there were many people throughout history who took advantage of this tendency.”