Review: Cruise of the Undead

Title - Cruise of the Undead
Author - Laura A. Hansen
Series or Standalone - Zombies in Paradise #1
Genre - Young Adult Horror Zombies
Publication July 2012
(Goodreads) & (Amazon)
Rating 5 out of 5

Synopsis 

Zombies on a cruise ship. What would you do? 
Fifteen-year-old Charlie is P.O.'ed that his parents have wasted a perfectly good Christmas break by forcing him on a cruise with a bunch of oldies. But the old people are a piece of cake compared to the dead people. Some late night sneaking around by Charlie and his brother Jack convince them that the unimaginable is really happening: the recently dead are walking the ship. After a gruesome attack at the Death by Chocolate Buffet, a seriously scary comedy of clashing personalities occurs when intense Charlie and his hip hop, extroverted younger brother Jack forge an alliance to defeat the zombie menace. The boys and their friends take on the zombie crew in a gripping struggle to save themselves, their families and the other passengers from an ugly undeath. 

With horror, humor, and a dash of romance, this fast-paced adventure races through the zombie-infested South Pacific.

Review

I received Cruise of the Undead from the author Laura A. Hansen in return for a honest review. Charlie with his little brother Jack are spending their Christmas break on a cruise ship with their parents. Charlie isn't thrilled with the idea, and when his little brother befriends some younger boys he's even less thrilled but there is one bright light Savannah the older sister to one of the boys. Charlie heads down below looking for a dark place to hid and listen to music on his Iphone. He ducks into the theater to catch a magic act from Harry; however the act is giant disaster when Harry is attacked by the rat he pulls out of the hat.

Charlie decides to check what happened to Harry when he hears about him dying from the rat attack but then finds the shambling shell of Harry. Charlie and Jack attend a tea on this ship with his mother while stuffing themselves with deserts when suddenly Harry shows up and begins to attack the guest. The tea is a panic as everyone flees to their rooms. It's when they get to their rooms that Charlie decides he needs to find out what's really going on. Charlie and Jack began to prepare for what they both know is coming a zombie Apocalypse aboard the ship they decide the best choice is to get off while they still can.

The pair team up with Savannah Nolan and Truman loading their rooms with weapons, food and supplies they will need while they attempt to rid the ship of the zombies. Charlie’s parents don't believe him they think he's gone off the crazy end ranting about zombies so he does what everyone else in his position does he locks them up safe and sets out to save the crew. They ship stops next to their next port but no boats are lowered and the group decides to go ashore on their own to call for help but there freedom from the zombies is short lived when they find them coming from the boat after them. They do however get a call out but none of them are sure if help will come in time and they set off for the ship to save rest of the boat, plus their chances are better and too many zombies on the island.

I love a good zombie story and Cruise of the Undead delivers just that. It's a fast paced adventure story that you can easily get lost in till you reach the end. I've always had a fear of zombies especially with the news lately but I can't seem to get enough of them. I jumped at the chance to read a story about zombies on a cruise ship however my hubby may not be thrilled I'm not dying to take a cruise anymore. I love the characters Charlie is a great character add in his brother Jacks sense of humor and you have a great mix to keep the story flowing. The story is written with enough comic to it that you can't help laughing thought the story it’s a great mix of horror and humor making for an entertaining read. I just really loved the story the author takes the zombie concept and puts her own unique twist on the story creating a book I had a hard time putting down. I can't wait to get my hands on the next on in the series, I'm curious to see where our next adventure will be.