We see the demise of another major character in this episode of The Walking Dead called Better Angels. I have to admit I was a bit surprised at how this one turns out. They are about to wind up the season and it looks like some major trouble is on the way. Post-Apocalyptic TV doesn’t get any better than this! Watch it through the link below.
Wishing for the good old days turns deadly for one of the main characters in this episode. Some people are unable to accept the new reality of the zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, when life and death decisions need to be made on a daily basis, there is little time for deliberation. As the title of this episode implies, in the absence of a justice system, people are forced to act quickly, often without the opportunity to share their decisions with others. How do you do suggest that we deal with those that are deemed dangerous criminals that pose a threat to your family in the post-apocalyptic world? Keeping them as prisoners really isn’t a very good option when food supplies and resources are limited. It certainly is food for thought…if you have any ideas please post a comment. Watch the episode through the link below:
Who knew that an EMP wiping out the electric grid could be so much fun! Ron Foster creates a truly unique world that is down right hilarious at times. In this post-apocalyptic journey, an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that is caused by a solar flare has destroyed the modern world as we know it, disabling almost everything with electronic components.
The protagonist, David, provides the very unique and often humorous perspective that makes this post-apocalyptic world so much fun. David doesn’t take himself too seriously and likes to have a good time. He’s no fool though. In fact, he’s a military veteran with a keen sense for survival.
Along with frequent laugh out loud moments, The Prepper Trilogy has a lot of great ideas and practical prepping tips. For me, the laid back, conversational style of the story makes it easy, fun reading. These are very entertaining books. If you can appreciate some “down home”, southern survival fun with a ton of laughs and practical knowledge, the Prepper Trilogy is for you. Ron Foster reminds us that a good sense of humor is an excellent asset in any crisis situation.
It is refreshing to see some fun and humor in the post-apocalyptic landscape. Let’s not take ourselves too seriously. After all, isn’t laughter part of what makes survival worthwhile in the first place?
Their fight to the death is interrupted when Rick and Shane unwittingly unleash a horde of starving zombies. Episode 10: 18 Miles Out has plenty of zombie fighting action and gives us a few hints about the nature of the infection. If you missed this week’s episode of The Walking Dead, you can watch it on Amazon through the link below!
The post-apocalyptic mayhem continues in AMC’s second season of The Walking Dead with Episode 9, Triggerfinger. An encounter at the “town tavern” with another group of survivors turns ugly and Rick finds that he has another war on his hands, as if a world full of flesh eating zombies and dealing with Shane’s obsession with his pregnant wife weren’t enough trouble. While it’s difficult to side with Shane due to his morally questionable actions, his keen sense for reality can’t be denied. As is often the case in post-apocalyptic scenarios, ethical matters that were once black and white often take on a certain shade of grey, especially when it comes to protecting those that you love. Great episode! Watch it through the link below:
The best show on TV is back and you can watch it for free through the AMC website until February 28th! The walkers are out of the barn and the raw, violent, post-apocalyptic fury returns to The Walking Dead! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I won’t spoil it for you, watch it through the link below:
The Walking Dead Season 2, Midseason Premiere: Nebraska. ***no longer available for free through AMC.
update 3/7/12 This episode is no longer available for free but you can get it through Amazon at the link below. Also, for those of you wondering what the song is at the end of this episode it is The Regulator by Clutch. Rock on!
Survivors is a post-apocalyptic BBC television series spanning two seasons from 2008-2010 that follows a group of people struggling to stay alive after a pandemic kills 99% of the human population. I was able to watch the entire series for free when I signed up for a one month trial membership on Amazon Prime. The virus has spared a select few, with little regard to the moral standing of its victims. The main characters, brought together by chance, have diverse backgrounds, ranging from an escaped prisoner to a previously care free heir to a Kuwaiti oil fortune. This small group of survivors struggles to define their moral boundaries in their quest to stay alive. The necessity of violence is constantly in question. Most of the characters are willing to accept that sometimes violence is necessary, at least in the defense of the innocent. On some level, as humans, aren’t we all complicit to the unspeakable acts that have occurred in the defense of the lives of our ancestors? In Survivors, violence is not a forgone conclusion though, as is often the case. Through their hostile encounters with others, it becomes clear that they will need to fight to survive. Survivors is gentler in a number of ways compared to some of the other apocalyptic fiction that I have reviewed. It is “civil” in many aspects. For instance, there are minimal displays of violence. While danger is always present, violence is used sparingly and not gratuitously. The formation of relationships between the characters remains the focus throughout the development of Survivors. I would recommend the Survivors series. While it is not without its flaws, especially in terms of its realism, I found the characters and their relationships to be interesting and story to be very entertaining.
Hunter After the Fall, by John Phillip Backus, is a captivating post-apocalyptic adventure that takes place 15 years after an all out worldwide nuclear war has devastated the planet and killed the majority of its human inhabitants. After surviving the war and subsequent nuclear winter, Hunter, a former special forces operative, has made a home for himself in a long abandoned gold mine nestled into the side of a mountain. The rich detail in which Backus describes Hunter’s rocky mountain home creates the sense that Hunter is truly returning to being one with nature. Hunter’s lifestyle is similar to those that lived throughout North America for thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers. Much like the wolves and bears that roam the area, Hunter is deeply connected to the mountain wilderness. He is able to sustain himself from the abundant resources that the rocky mountain ecosystem provides. Hunter is content with his life until the arrival of Elise, who is the daughter of Hunter’s former commanding officer. Elise is sent by her father to find Hunter and to seek his help in the defence of their community of New Eden, which is in danger of being overtaken by an army of bloodthirsty invaders. In an effort to repay his former commanding officer for saving his life in action, before the nuclear war , Hunter is quick to offer his assistance. The story follows the many adventures of Hunter and his counterpart, the strong and beautiful Elise, as they fight to save New Eden. In Hunter, the first book in his After the Fall series, Backus combines a unique blend of Native American shamanism and post-apocalyptic action that makes for a very thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining story.
The Undisputed King of Nothing is a fascinating new post-apocalyptic comic series by Paul Stapleton. The comic follows a man as he grapples with being the last known survivor of a pandemic that wipes out the world’s human population. Due to his unique immunity to the virus, the protagonist becomes “The Undisputed King of Nothing”. Being the King of Nothing is not easy. The struggle to survive on a practical level is hard work. The loneliness is almost unbearable. Left alone with his endless thoughts, he struggles with his sanity. The Undisputed King of Nothing is survival from a British perspective. You could almost hear Pink Floyd playing in the background, “Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way”. The dire nature of the situation is tempered with a dry, witty humor that is quite enjoyable. The Undisputed King of Nothing is a thinking man’s apocalypse. In terms of enemies, zombies and violent raiders pale in comparison to a ruminating mind left alone in an empty world.
The Old Man and the Wasteland, written by Nick Cole, follows a man as he searches the wreckage of the post apocalyptic world for “salvage”.
The story is set 40 years after a nuclear attack which has destroyed modern civilization. References to the attack indicate that it was carried out by terrorists and that most of the cities in the US have been destroyed. The characters have minimal information about what happened to the rest of the world, however, the lack of foreign intervention implies that the rest of the world has suffered a similar fate.
The story is told through the Old Man, whose most treasured possession is Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea which is frequently referenced throughout his inner dialogue. In a quest to restore his injured pride, The Old Man travels far outside of the known territory near his village and enters “The Wasteland”. While I can’t comment much on the references to Hemingway’s book, which I haven’t read, The Old Man and the Wasteland is an interesting story with a number of original, or at least renewed ideas. For example, the Old Man stumbles upon messages or hieroglyphs, that survivors have welded into underground steel culverts, as a guide for future civilizations. My favorite part of the story involves a modern tank versus a “Horde” of primitive, bloodthirsty cannibals which, in itself, makes this book is well worth reading.
Apocalypse Law by John Grit is a very entertaining story about a man and his son struggling to survive on a small farm after an influenza strain kills a large part of the human population. After the last few books that I have read, it was truly fun that the main character in Apocalypse Law, Nate, is a retired Army Ranger that can kick some major ass! (what can I say, sometimes I get tired of the bad guys running the show!:) Naturally, some unsavory types make their way past the farm in the period following the outbreak and Nate is willing and able to defend himself and his son. Apocalypse Law reads more like an action movie. It is fast paced and full of suspense. This is a good book to read after you finish The Road by Cormac McCarthy. You could argue that The Road may be more realistic but Apocalypse Law sure is a lot more fun!
Swan Song by Robert McCammon is a chilling story that takes place following an all out nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union (The book was released in the late 1980’s, near the end of the Cold War). The earth is plunged into a nuclear winter and is a complete wasteland, devoid of plant life. The story is told through a number of unique characters ranging from a New York City “bag lady” to a pro wrestler and changes perspectives frequently as they struggle to survive. Good verses evil is a strong element throughout and the evil is certainly abundant. The bad people in this book are really bad…like Stephen King bad…in fact, one of the characters is the devil himself. Swan Song delves a little more into “supernatural” territory than I like and it is also a little on the long side but it is definitely exciting. While Swan Song wouldn’t be at the top of my list of good apocalyptic fiction, it is certainly worth reading and will provide hours of entertainment.
The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 7, Pretty Much Dead Already. “The Barn is full of walkers”. Now that everyone knows that the barn is full of walkers, a choice must be made: Do the survivors live in denial and pretend that they are safe within the confines of the farm and ignore the fact that there is a barn full of bloodthirsty zombies living in their midst? Or do they blow open the barn doors and accept the ugly reality of their situation? An interesting choice, perhaps reminiscent of the choice we all are facing with the world as it is today. By the end of this episode, the choice is clear, although it is far from a unanimous decision.
The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 6, Secrets explores the dynamics between a number of characters in this group of survivors in the post-apocalyptic, zombie infested world. Human relationships sure do get complicated, especially when secrets are kept and this show holds nothing back. Shane sets the tone for this show when he reminds Dale that the world is no longer a place to make casual threats when he says “…if I would shoot my best friend, imagine what I would do to someone that I don’t even like…” Tailgaters beware: if civilization ever deteriorates to this point, we all better be careful with our words and actions.
Season Two of The Walking Dead forges ahead with the post-apocalyptic tale of survivors in a zombie infested world in the fifth episode, Chupacabra. This episode starts out in a flashback where they show a few of the main characters looking over the Atlanta skyline as bombs explode and gunfire is everywhere. It is clear at this point that the world has drastically changed forever. If you missed this episode follow the link below to watch it now.