J. L. Bourne, Day By Day Armageddon

Day By Day Armageddon was originally started as an online fiction journal. It is written in a diary form from the perspective of a lone survivor in a post-apocalyptic world that is overrun by the living dead. The author, John Bourne has been writing this ongoing zombie saga in between serving as a U.S. Naval officer. His knowledge of tactical survival and weaponry is reflected perfectly within the pages of the novel. Sometimes quite clumsily written, the book gives off a realistic viewpoint of this harrowing and desperate situation.

The tale starts out with the epidemic first impacting on the world, as humanity quickly begins to crumble around the writer. With massive similarities at the start, to that of the cult online diary 'Alpha_dog', we see the panic and uncertainty of the situation slowly taking over. From the start, the reader finds out that the diary is being written by a lone military man who falls upon his training and knowledge to ensure his own survival. Soon we meet a few other survivors, as the diary takes the reader on a desperate trip from one location to another.

The small band of survivors end up hiding away, only to find that they have to defend themselves against more than just the decaying hordes of the undead. Drawing heavily from the ideas from within George A. Romero's cult classic film 'Dawn Of The Dead', Bourne ends this first volume with a dramatic turn of events for the survivors. Unfortunately, the ending does seem to come about all too quickly, but this leaves open the start of the next instalment perfectly.

Bourne openly admits that he is no 'real' writer, but his obvious passion for the subject brings out a flare of energy that is often clouded in other similar work. The novel is no masterpiece, but one hell of an adventure into the dangerous and uncertain post-apocalyptic world of the undead.

Like in David Moody's fantastic 'Autumn' series, 'Day by Day Armageddon' turns more towards the harrowing mental stress of the survivors, rather than the simple blood and guts angle that could easily be followed with a zombie novel. The writing quickly submerges the reader into this sudden decaying world of our main survivor, allowing you to feel that you are also part of the events that take place within the unfolding tale.

This first volume ends with such a dramatic turn of events that you will be crying out for the release of the next volume. At the end of the book you are treated to a seven page preview of Bourne's next written project entitled "Dead Land", which looks to be written from a third person viewpoint.

The book runs for a total of 258 pages (including the "Dead Land" preview), and it was published off the authors own back.