Shaykitteh's World of Books

And the world ends on April Fools' Day...

I recently read LUKAN a couple of weeks ago (the review can be found HERE) and the short story "prequel" was interesting enough that I started the first book in the series.

Voyage of the Dead - Book One The Sovereign Spirit Saga by David P. Forsyth is a unique take on the zombie apocalypse. Scott Allen, a millionaire who just happened to win the lotto and refit a cruise ship, happens to be sailing the world with his closest friends and family and is heading back home after a year long cruise. Luckily, he and the passengers are not infected with the zombie plague as they haven't been near anyone since the infection & incubation period first started. You learn a lot about the disease from the CDC and Scott Allen as his ship becomes an important part of rescuing uninfected civilians, using all of the shiny toys he has attached, such as an amphibious tour bus and a helicopter.

Voyage of the Dead starts immediately with action (starting off almost exactly when LUKAN ends) as you meet not only Scott Allen, but also another survivor named Carl. The book switches between the two of them as you watch one try to rescue and protect people from the sea with all of the equipment and weaponry a millionaire would already have, and one in the trenches just trying to survive with the other people he has found with only the materials and weapons they can scavenge.

While you don't have to read LUKAN to enjoy this novel, I do recommend it as it helped explain how the infection was spread originally, and fills in the cracks of what the CDC is able to find in their own investigations. I also look forward to reading the other books in the "Sovereign Spirit Saga". I'm really excited for this series because it is a fun fantasy in one way (If I was stuck in a zombie apocalypse, I would want to be on a cruise ship/military vessel!) and realistic in the way that it portrays the outlook that in an event like this most people would look out for themselves, but that there will always be those few who go out of their way to help. Voyage of the Dead does a great job of showing us both sides of everything, through the minds of two different men and the people who they interact with.

Currently, you can buy the books separately or in a set. I have included links below for LUKAN and Voyage of the Dead both, as well as the two compilations that they are part of:

LUKAN (the short story that begins it all): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F6XM23O/?tag=shasworofboo-20

Voyage of the Dead - Book One of the Sovereign Spirit Saga: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006Y3XF4A/?tag=shasworofboo-20

Sovereign Spirit Saga: Volume One (contains Books One - Three): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EMNJUD4/?tag=shasworofboo-20

Interludes in Hell (contains LUKAN and two other short stories): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FPNUI1I/?tag=shasworofboo-20

NOTE: If you enjoyed my review, I would appreciate if you could mark it as being helpful on Amazon as well, as this is useful to both the reviewer and the author. I have included the link to the Amazon review in the Source section at the bottom of this review.