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REVIEW: Z.E.R.O: Zombie Elimination and Rescue Operatives (The Z.E.R.O. Saga #1) by Jessica Ungeheuer

November 5, 2024 by Seanchalant Leave a Comment

Rating: 8/10

SYNOPSIS

Jeffrey Knight is a down on his luck self proclaimed loser. He can’t keep a job, forced into hours of work in the hell that is retail. His only stable thing in his life was his relationship with his longtime girlfriend…that is until he catches her cheating on him. Now with nothing left, he begrudgingly agrees to join his best friend on a night of fake zombie hunting paintball. The only solace he has in his pitiful life. That is, until he learns zombies are real…

Jennifer Mayer has spent her whole life hunting monsters. Working tirelessly for a secret organization of mercenaries to protect normal citizens from learning the truth. However, there are a growing number of undead, and her organization leaders refuse to believe her that something catastrophic is coming. She is in need of new recruits to prevent a coming “Day of the Dead” event.

After saving Jeff from near death Jennifer takes him on as a pupil. Jennifer must train Jeff in everything she knows while avoiding the growing feelings and memories he reignites in her — feelings she thought she buried long ago.

Jeff has never finished anything in his life, allowing his fears to stop him. If he chokes up now, there might not be a normal world to go back to.

REVIEW

When a game of Zombie Paintball becomes frighteningly real, Jeff is brought into a secret group of operatives who protect the world from what’s hiding in the shadows. A spark of romance ignites up between him and Jennifer, his recruiter and trainer. Chaos ensues.

Fast-paced, action packed, and full of great characters, Z.E.R.O. was a real treat. I went in mostly blind with only the cover, a brief synopsis, and a glowing recommendation from Ed Crocker, editor of this novel and friend/co-conspirator here at FanFiAddict/FearForAll. I was NOT disappointed.

The character work in this novel is top-notch. We’re introduced to quite a few characters once Jeff is brought into the Z.E.R.O. organization, but it never felt overwhelming. We meet people who at first seem like typical caricatures, the tough boss, the mysterious one, etc. but as we get to know them, they become fully realized characters that go far beyond what was on the surface. Everyone has a very unique voice, and every action they take makes sense based on what we know of them.

There is a fair amount of romance, which I’m not usually the biggest fan of, but I thought it was handled quite well. It felt a bit like a great sitcom romance, and by that I mean it isn’t the focus of the novel, but there just enough that I was invested and found myself rooting for them to work out.

What really stood out for me though, is the world-building. There’s hints at a lot more going on than we see, and what we do see is fascinating. Vampire clans, zombies, werewolves (not in this novel but mentioned), and more fun surprises make for a very unique take on the supernatural. The big bad was especially interesting and original, but I won’t elaborate on them to avoid spoilers.

Z.E.R.O. is an excellent book one to what will surely be a very fun series. Funny, scary, bloody and with just enough romance, this book has a little something for everyone. I had a blast reading this one and I can’t wait to see what Jessica Ungeheuer has in store for us next.

Filed Under: Creature Feature, Fear For All, Meta horror, Monsters, Paranormal, Supernatural, Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies Tagged With: Book Review, Fear for all, Horror, Jessica Ungeheuer, Romance, Self Published, Vampires, Werewolves, Z.E.R.O., Z.E.R.O. Saga, Zombie Elimination and Rescue Operatives, Zombies

About Seanchalant

Sean Conley (not Connery) aka Seanchalant is an proud father of three little nerds, AnaMaurin Victoria, Landyn Lawrence, and Raylan Aviendha Mae. He is a stay at home dad while his hardworking and wonderful fiancée,
Gabriella Oropeza brings home the 🥓 and he always has a book on his person. On the autism spectrum, he has a tendency to become an encyclopedia on things he enjoys. Raised on horror films (The Evil Dead series is #1) and Stephen King, his love of fantasy was born from Army of Darkness and Tad Williams; cultivated by John Gwynne and Mark Lawrence. He enjoys everything from epic fantasy to urban fantasy, grimdark to high fantasy. His favorite bands are blink-182, The Beatles, and Wu-Tang Clan.

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