Ex-Communication

Ex-Communication marks the third entry in the Ex-Heroes series written by the creative madman that is Peter Clines; a man who continues to astound me with every new release. The guy is absolutely insane yet so deviously brilliant at the same time. He's the only author who perfectly captures the essence of the zombie apocalypse, while combining it with a heaping of superhero fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, and a slew of clever pop-culture references into one finally honed package that pays homage to them all. It's insane, over-the-top, and absolutely ludicrous in every possible manner, yet I wouldn't have it any other way. This latest novel from my favorite mad scientist takes everything that worked from the first two iterations while trimming away the issues that hindered their greatness. In other words: Ex-Heroes just got even more awesome.I'm at a bit of a disadvantage unfortunately because I can't explain why the plot works without spoiling it, which is something I refuse to do. However, I will say that it avoids the usual by-the-books zombie survival tale that we've all heard a thousand times over, which was an issue the first book suffered from. Ex-Communication on the other hand features an excellently paced story that quickly diverges into a path people probably won't be expecting. The overall book benefits substantially since it isn't entirely relying on the awesome factor of superheroes fighting zombies, but is rather benefited from it. Ex-Communication also manages to avoid the serious pitfall of the second book by trimming out many of the superfluous characters that dragged the story to a crawl: the Project Krypton Super Soldiers. Though Captain Freedom is a solid addition to the Ex-Heroes roster, his comrades were bland, generic, and completely forgettable. Even worse, they detracted from the original cast of characters, which every fan, myself included, fell in love with the first time around. Ex-Communication in comparison is tightly focused on what matters the most in the series: the superheroes, who they are as people, and the immense responsibility and burden they face in ensuring the survival of Los Angeles's last bastion of humanity against an overwhelming onslaught of the dead. It's great stuff all around.If there's one thing the explosive opening chapter makes blatantly apparent, it's that the stakes have risen substantially from the previous books. The exes are no longer mindless husks; they've become the puppets of a greater foe, a turn-of-events that has made the exes unpredictable and ever-changing to the heroes' tried and tested methods of the past. The villain, Legion, adds a great deal of anxiety and danger to the narrative due to his ability to control the seemingly endless hordes of exes. The heroes are no longer dealing with the simple-minded undead, but rather a psychopath who wants nothing more them to watch them die. Yet where there is despair, there is also hope. Humanity has expanded beyond the Mount's walls and has begun rebuilding their previous lives. It gives the notion that life may one day return to normal without the constant fear of the roaming dead hounding them at every turn. The reader is constantly reminded that while humanity has grown stronger and expanded, so has their enemy.Peter Clines is not just the most bizarre author I've ever had the pleasure of discovering, but also one of the funniest. He succeeds in instilling a great deal of black humor into his series due to several clever pop-culture reference regarding movies, comics, and celebrities, while combining them with Cline's signature sardonic wit. The man is simply twisted in all the right ways, though I imagine some people will get his jokes more than others. What's most impressive about his humor is how it never detracts from the book's urgency. Clines's knows how to illustrate a story with high-stakes while presenting a great deal of laughter and fun into the mix. It's a difficult balancing act that very few authors can accomplish, yet Clines nails it with flying colors.Of course most fans of the previous two books can agree that the greatest aspect of the series comes in the form of its various superheroes and their unique personas. St. George, Stealth, Zzzap, Cerberus, they've become some of my favorite characters in literature, which is why it's fortunate that Clines focused the narrative around them rather than a large cast of newcomers. This again, was the aforementioned issue with Ex-Patriots. Minor characters have also been a recurring issue with the series due to their minimal characterization and lackluster presence within the story. I won't claim that Clines nails it here, but the issue is significantly mitigated this time around. The series benefits this time around from a welcome new addition in the form of Madelyn, a character that is easily the most emotionally engaging out of the entire cast. As was the case with the plot, I'm at a disadvantage. I can't explain why this character is such a welcome addition without spoiling who she is and why the reader will care. Yet she's a welcome addition to the series and I look forward to seeing her again.And of course we come to the real meat of the series; the reason why readers were galvanized by the superb first novel and continue to read Clines's work to this day. This of course is the mind-blowing extravaganzas of awesomeness that are Peter Clines's action scenes. He simply knows how to take two of the most popular genres in pop-culture and mash together in a way that leaves everyone in awe. The fight scenes are some of the most intense, visceral, and astonishingly detailed ones you'll ever find in any genre of literature. The amount of detail Clines places on the effect the heroes have on the environment truly sells you on their plausibility, making superheroes and superpowers actually seem like a possible scenario. And of course, Clines always ends his books with an epic finale that showcases the heroes working together to combat a seemingly overwhelming force. It's the kind of situation you'd expect to see from a summer action flick, with every hero given individual attention to show off their unique powers and abilities as one cohesive unit. It's akin to the Justice League or Avengers movies and comics. Needless to say you'll be glued to the pages during the epic showdown at the book's climax.What else can I say except: read this book and support this brilliant man, you will not regret it. Nearly every issue from the previous books is addressed in this sequel while honing on what the series does best. The focus is on the heroes, the plot is deeper than a typical survival tale while still incorporating key aspects of the genre, and the action and characters are some of the most memorable you will ever read about. Now please hurry and write book four Mr. Clines.

You might think that Superheroes vs. Zombies would get old. Not if Peter Clines is doing the writing. Instead he just starts to pile on other things to combat with. In Ex-heroes it was the rival gang, in Ex-Patriots it was the military, in Ex-communication it is the supernatural and our Heroes might be over their heads.St. George threw himself at it. He thought of every Conan and Beastmaster movie he’d watched as a teenager and brought the sword down with a roar.My favorite chapter in Ex-Heroes was from the POV of Max a.k.a. Cairax Murrain, and he has found a way to come back into the story. I love this guy as a character because you are never quite sure which team he is playing for. He is sorta like Ben was for me on LOST (I know another reference to LOST but Mr. Clines just puts me in that place in my head where anything can happen) you’re not quite sure what to think of him and he always seems to know more than he is letting on. Plus he gets to have a few really great lines.“Isn’t there some kind of locater spell you can cast or something?”“Yeah,” said Max, “but gosh-darn-it I missed that day at Hogwarts.”Besides the addition of Max and the problems that he brings with him the Heroes are still dealing with Legion and he seems to be finding new ways to antagonize the people of the mount. On top of that there is a new religious cult of sorts inside the Mount who think the Zombie apocalypse is the beginning of the end of days. There are plenty of obstacles for sure including a prisoner kept in a secret room.Freedom and the other military that found a home at the Mount are settling in but even that seems to have some growing pains as not everyone is acting like a cohesive unit yet. We also get the addition of Corpse Girl. I love this new addition, she is something completely different from all the other heroes at the mount. She brings a fresh fun younger additude to the cast and I really enjoyed her POVs past and present. While I was sure who she was right from the beginning I liked the explanation of her condition (super science geek alert) with the nano technology.Again there is a lot of action throughout and the final showdown reminded me of a scene from either the Matrix or World War Z with all of the zombie bodies in the mix. But if you can keep it clear in your head it it is an epic battle. There is a lot going on and I did have to read through a section more than once to keep it all straight but I get confused when there are that many people in a fight. Fight scenes and sex scenes with more than three people can confuse me. Too many arms and legs to keep track of everything.Other things of note: We get to see Stealth out of costume, I will just say I was surprised, she wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Not in a good or bad way, just different than what I had pictured in my head. Way to go Peter Clines for breaking stereotypes. Barry always gets the best comedy lines, although Corpse Girl might give him a run for the money in the future. I hope, I hope, I hope that Barry finally gets the girl or at least a date and that there is something between Freedom and Corpse Girl because that could be epic.I loved the supernatural twist to this one and so far it was my favorite of the series.

The Zombie apocalypse has happened, and the survivors in LA are protected by a few superheroes... the adventure continues!(Suggest new readers read Ex-Heroes and Ex-Patriots first)There's quite a bit less focus on some characters (the Driver, Cerberus, off the top of my head) but otherwise the usual gang (Mighty Dragon, Stealth, Zzzzap!, Captain Freedom) get plenty of page time. I'd like to see them venture beyond the mount to see who's left out there in the world. I think a couple more books and there'd be enough for a TV series (I wish!) as Zombie stuff is still popular (Walking Dead, World War Z etc).Rattled it off in a day, biggest downside for me is the wait for more :(It's an easy read, entertaining, with likeable characters and plenty of potential (rest of the world to explore!) to expand the series. For anyone wondering whether to jump in on the Ex-Heroes, start with book 1 and 2 before getting this, just so you know who the characters are.

Bringing the initial arc of the superhero and zombie series to a conclusion.Once more an amazingly well written story bringing many of the threads from the earlier books to a conclusion.Brilliantly brings the zombie and superhero genres together in a natural believable and consistent fashion.Would recommend to any zombie or superhero fan.

As with so many series the following books seems to go down hill, but since the first book of the Ex series was so frigging high there's a long way to go down before his book could ever get dull. Highly recommended for zombie fans who want something slightly different. Never thought it would work with super heroes... but it definitely does.

Again, this book is as good as the first two. New horrors are introduced and with them come new crises.If you enjoyed he first two books you will definitely love this one too.There are yet more twists and turns, further development of characters (Stealth is slowly becoming less robotic)and there is an utterly gripping battle.A great read.

Great book kept me gripped from first page till last, will be reading the whole series great story and characters