Review:The Chronicles of Orlando: The Zombie Story & Dead Relatives by MM Shelley

banner created by Snowdrop Dreams of Books

The Zombie Story (Published May 10, 2011)

Unfolding on the streets of Los Angeles is a new breed of monster...
Orlando, fresh from the mid west, arrives at his new high school on his Harley Davidson. All he wants is to make it through the day, and begin his training as a Zombie Hunter.But someone has different plans for him.
The Zombie Story is the first novella in a young adult series.

Dead Relatives (Published December 28, 2011)

After discovering what was hidden in Mexico and having to sneak back across the border Orlando returns to Los Angeles, but is unable to return to his home.
Instead of hunting Zombies he is now hunted.
Betrayed by those he thought he could trust, Orlando must keep the truth of what he knows to himself.
That is until dead relatives return with dire warnings. 

I'm reviewing these two books together as they are novellas that are part of a series.

I jumped at the chance to read this series of novellas, because I am beginning to be a big zombie lover. I like the idea of this series, in that it revolves around magick, zombies and a lot of unknowns.

Orlando seems like a good kid and he even tries to do the responsible thing in each situation. Ruben is the least predictable of the group and also the most uncompromising – he is very stubborn. Elodie is magick personified in the first book and I kind of like that she could possibly be a love interest for Orlando. And the one character that I am actually really wanting to learn more about the mysterious Cora from Dead Relatives.

I do like that this zombie story is not set in a dystopian society or post-apocalyptic world, but an everyday life, where most people do not even know that zombies exist yet. Oh and I guess the bit about magick kinda of adds some interest – everyone is born with magick (Novices, Mercurials and Wizards), some stronger than others.

It's a great adventure tale, but for some reason I was having a hard time enjoying parts of the story. I am thinking that perhaps this might have been best if it were written as one longer novel instead of a few novellas. Since I already had the second installment for the series, it wasn't as distracting for me, because I was able to continue the story right away. Though, that being said, I felt the way that first novella ended and novella started, they could have been a lot more fluid. It felt kind of abrupt to me.

Overall an interesting take on zombies and the people trying to survive the infection/attack. 

You can buy copies of The Zombie Story and Dead Relatives via Amazon here and here.  

Come back tomorrow for a guest post with the author and a fun surprise!