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Public Enemy Zero
The world is out to kill Mitchell Roberts. A strange virus is on the loose sending everyone he comes in contact with into a homicidal rage. From narrowly avoiding getting murdered at his ex-girlfriend's front door, to a crowded shopping mall turned one-man zombie apocalypse, he's got to stay a step ahead of everyone around him if he doesn't want to get ripped apart alive.He'll need to use every resource he has, from the advice of a paranoid late night radio host, to his Twitter account and find out why he's become Public Enemy Zero.A full-length 90,000 word novel.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 145 reviews
July 17, 2020
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum
Imagine this: You wake up one day to the whole world suddenly wanting to kill you. Just the mere sight of you makes people fly into a uncontrollable frothing rage, coming at you with gnashing teeth and clawing hands ready to tear you limb from limb. This is what happens to Mitchell “Mad Mitch� Roberts, protagonist of Public Enemy Zero by Andrew Mayne. One evening, he was simply on his way to the radio station where he works as the late night show host, when he notices a young woman struggling with a flat tire on the side of the road. Nice guy that he is, Mitchell stops to offer help. Everything seems normal until he gets the woman’s attention, and she takes one look at him before launching into a snarling attack with murder in her eyes.
Terrified, Mitchell takes off, not knowing what he did to set the woman off, but chalks it up to just a random occurrence. But then it happens again. And again. At his ex-girlfriend’s house, where he barely gets a chance to say hello before being chased down the street by her and her new boyfriend. Then there was the traffic cop, who practically shreds herself to pieces in her mindless rage to get at Mitchell through the shards of his broken car window. Or at the mall, where he foolishly thought he would get reprieve with lots of people out and about. The ugly results of what happens next makes headline news, but even after studying the security footage for hours, cops are unable to explain how one man could have caused a mob to go after him like that with such mindless ferocity. Babies still strapped in their strollers were abandoned. Purses and wallets left behind. Injuries caused to themselves and others ignored by the horde as people fell and were trampled to death in their determination to get at Mitchell and rip him apart.
Meanwhile, our protagonist who barely managed to escape has gone into hiding. He knows something is seriously wrong with him, but he doesn’t have a clue what. He also can’t turn himself into the police or ask for help, not trusting the authorities not to have a similar violent reaction as everyone else the moment they get close to him. Besides, who will believe him?
Like many of Mayne’s other lead characters, Mitchell is a clever and resourceful guy who next proceeds to try and Macgyver himself out of this sticky situation (sometimes, he even feels a little too smart for a supposedly everyday Joe Schmo). And like many of the author’s books, this one was an action-packed, humorous, and over-the-top read. However, keep in mind that it’s one of his earlier works, and admittedly, that fact is pretty evident in the writing which feels more forced and awkward than his more recent stuff like The Naturalist series. I’ve become a huge fan in recent years though, and so when I found out an audiobook version of Public Enemy Zero was getting a new release, I decided to take this opportunity to explore his backlist, even knowing that it could get a little rough.
In the end, I’m glad I did, especially since the audio format worked well in this case, as Kevin T. Collins� natural, easy narration was able to smooth out a lot of the writing’s rough edges. The book was also easier to enjoy, knowing you aren’t supposed to take it too seriously. The premise, as you can probably tell, has the feel of a fun “what-if scenario� experiment, no doubt inspired a little by zombie movies and conspiracy thrillers. From the story’s tone, I think Mayne had quite a blast writing it too, exercising his imagination and trying out some new ideas. The result is a wildly entertaining romp, as long as you don’t mind not getting much realism or answers. In fact, the one attempt at explanation using a side plot involving an Earth spirit and her fanatical follower ultimately fell flat, and honestly, the story would been better off without it at all.
So, would I recommend this book? That depends. For readers curious about checking out Andrew Mayne, I would definitely point to The Naturalist series or his new book The Girl Beneath the Sea to read first. For existing fans wondering if it’s worth picking up his earlier work though, Public Enemy Zero might be something you want to look at, keeping in mind the prose is a bit raw, with some hiccups like too much telling and not showing, clunky phrasing, clumsy transitions, awkward internal monologuing, etc. Mayne’s newer stuff doesn’t really have these problems because his writing has clearly improved and he’s found his rhythm and style, but for me it’s always fun to visit a favorite author’s older work—something I’m aware I don’t do enough. I still enjoyed this, and will likely continue to revisit Mayne’s early stories whenever I get a chance.
Imagine this: You wake up one day to the whole world suddenly wanting to kill you. Just the mere sight of you makes people fly into a uncontrollable frothing rage, coming at you with gnashing teeth and clawing hands ready to tear you limb from limb. This is what happens to Mitchell “Mad Mitch� Roberts, protagonist of Public Enemy Zero by Andrew Mayne. One evening, he was simply on his way to the radio station where he works as the late night show host, when he notices a young woman struggling with a flat tire on the side of the road. Nice guy that he is, Mitchell stops to offer help. Everything seems normal until he gets the woman’s attention, and she takes one look at him before launching into a snarling attack with murder in her eyes.
Terrified, Mitchell takes off, not knowing what he did to set the woman off, but chalks it up to just a random occurrence. But then it happens again. And again. At his ex-girlfriend’s house, where he barely gets a chance to say hello before being chased down the street by her and her new boyfriend. Then there was the traffic cop, who practically shreds herself to pieces in her mindless rage to get at Mitchell through the shards of his broken car window. Or at the mall, where he foolishly thought he would get reprieve with lots of people out and about. The ugly results of what happens next makes headline news, but even after studying the security footage for hours, cops are unable to explain how one man could have caused a mob to go after him like that with such mindless ferocity. Babies still strapped in their strollers were abandoned. Purses and wallets left behind. Injuries caused to themselves and others ignored by the horde as people fell and were trampled to death in their determination to get at Mitchell and rip him apart.
Meanwhile, our protagonist who barely managed to escape has gone into hiding. He knows something is seriously wrong with him, but he doesn’t have a clue what. He also can’t turn himself into the police or ask for help, not trusting the authorities not to have a similar violent reaction as everyone else the moment they get close to him. Besides, who will believe him?
Like many of Mayne’s other lead characters, Mitchell is a clever and resourceful guy who next proceeds to try and Macgyver himself out of this sticky situation (sometimes, he even feels a little too smart for a supposedly everyday Joe Schmo). And like many of the author’s books, this one was an action-packed, humorous, and over-the-top read. However, keep in mind that it’s one of his earlier works, and admittedly, that fact is pretty evident in the writing which feels more forced and awkward than his more recent stuff like The Naturalist series. I’ve become a huge fan in recent years though, and so when I found out an audiobook version of Public Enemy Zero was getting a new release, I decided to take this opportunity to explore his backlist, even knowing that it could get a little rough.
In the end, I’m glad I did, especially since the audio format worked well in this case, as Kevin T. Collins� natural, easy narration was able to smooth out a lot of the writing’s rough edges. The book was also easier to enjoy, knowing you aren’t supposed to take it too seriously. The premise, as you can probably tell, has the feel of a fun “what-if scenario� experiment, no doubt inspired a little by zombie movies and conspiracy thrillers. From the story’s tone, I think Mayne had quite a blast writing it too, exercising his imagination and trying out some new ideas. The result is a wildly entertaining romp, as long as you don’t mind not getting much realism or answers. In fact, the one attempt at explanation using a side plot involving an Earth spirit and her fanatical follower ultimately fell flat, and honestly, the story would been better off without it at all.
So, would I recommend this book? That depends. For readers curious about checking out Andrew Mayne, I would definitely point to The Naturalist series or his new book The Girl Beneath the Sea to read first. For existing fans wondering if it’s worth picking up his earlier work though, Public Enemy Zero might be something you want to look at, keeping in mind the prose is a bit raw, with some hiccups like too much telling and not showing, clunky phrasing, clumsy transitions, awkward internal monologuing, etc. Mayne’s newer stuff doesn’t really have these problems because his writing has clearly improved and he’s found his rhythm and style, but for me it’s always fun to visit a favorite author’s older work—something I’m aware I don’t do enough. I still enjoyed this, and will likely continue to revisit Mayne’s early stories whenever I get a chance.
May 3, 2012
I really don't understand the negative reviews for this book. It's not classic literature and as such shouldn't be compared to it, it's a raucous adventure novel. It held my attention much like an episode of 24. For what I paid for this book I was very happy with the editing, the writing and the story line. I have seen and enjoyed far worse.
September 13, 2011
(I've got a too long, didn't read at the bottom in case the review length is a bit, y'know too long).
Public Enemy Zero is one of those works which more or less defines the notion of pretty good. It's miles from perfect, better than adequate, but just a hair under what I'd call pretty damn good. Andrew Mayne has crafted an entertaining, fast-paced thriller which mashes together and adds a bit of flavor to the oft-used "outbreak" and "zombies" scenarios.
The story follows one Mitchell Roberts, a self-described nice-guy loser with few friends and fewer prospects. One night, as he travels to his unimportant job as a third rate radio host at a second rate station, he comes across a woman with a flat tire. Being the simple, nice guy that dominates this type of protagonist role, he stops to help.
She proceeds to try and tear him apart, zombie style, and thus begins a long journey of running and hiding for poor Mitchell. No matter where he goes, people attack him, and due to considerable damage to personal property and numerous individuals, he becomes the subject of a state-wide manhunt. Not something anyone would want if the police or SWAT reaction moves from capture to evisceration in the span of a heartbeat. Not quite to the zombie apocalypse scenario, people recover after he's gone, and it becomes more of the outbreak mystery.
The plot makes sense and is entertaining for the most part, as long as too much thought is not expended upon certain aspects. There are clear periods of intensity and rest, so it definitely doesn't wear out the reader with a constant, breakneck pace. The general story and goals are the usual for the everyman thrust into peril: stay alive, find out why, stop the problem.
The pseudoscience of the why things are happening is decent enough to avoid drawing attention, which is precisely what the author wants in this situation. The characters are decently formed, but a few lose their place somewhere along the way; established individuals serve as cameras (to the reader) in the brutal aftermath of certain events but never interact with the main character and disappear about halfway through. Their presence seemed to hint at the whole, "Law enforcement individual on the innocent suspect's side," but they never contribute to really anything of the story beside spectating.
There's also a sort of mysterious facet to the story regarding a crazy person/nature worshiper and his hallucination/experience with the spirit of the Earth and some kind of sinister plot. It "resolves" itself in an open-ended fashion, and it's perfectly fine, but feels very much apart from the entire main story. I'm guessing Mayne has a tie-in with other works or maybe even a sequel of some kind, but, if not, these sections unfortunately don't add anything to the story except perhaps the possibility of a predictable twist which still doesn't effect the main plot.
The writing is competent but serves as the weakest portion of Mayne's story. The action is mostly smooth, but a few paragraphs fell into a more procedural style, as in: He ran over there. He picked up the thing. He ran to the next there. He barricaded the door. I only noted it a few times, but a little syntax variety wouldn't hurt.
Editing wise, there were a few general typos throughout, but as an author without an editorial budget, I understand some will slip through. Conversely, there were a number of what I'd describe as intentional grammatical errors, or simply things done incorrectly that the author wasn't aware of, like sentence fragments, comma usage, and so on. Nothing too jarring, but I'd suggest the author brush up on a few standards to make the writing a little more smooth. In addition, the "thought bubbles" for characters had no particular consistency. The usual standards for such are no quotations and thoughts in italics, but a few break that mold. Any particular method is just fine, but it needs to be clear and consistent. Mayne's style was fairly clear, but inconsistent.
Another issue is head-hopping, where the thought and focus shifts within scenes to different individuals. This is one of those big stylistic no-nos because it can be quite confusing to try and determine if the beefy SWAT guy is thinking/talking or if it's the protagonist. Unless the story is written from 3rd person omniscient, where the narrator and thus reader always has full awareness of what all characters are thinking, this is one of those things which should never be done. One scene, one perspective in a 3rd person, individual-focused style is standard for a reason, and an author should always want to eliminate immersion-killing confusion, especially when it only relates to a very fixable writing mechanic.
A few of the metaphors and descriptions are a bit weak, but nothing too serious. The whole work kind of feels like a "first album" sort of thing where Mayne might be ironing out style and tripping into small pitfalls. I'm sure as time goes on, he'll develop his craft and these issues won't be as common.
My biggest criticism comes in the competency of the main character, because he has Corran Horn (Star Wars) and Raul Endymion (Dan Simmons' Hyperion/Endymion series) syndrome. The author spends a considerable amount of time describing the main character as someone not competent, not useful, not confident, and a large number of other 'nots.' Yet, somehow the general knowledge of how one could evade a police manhunt and not get killed seventeen ways to Sunday seems to crop up at very convenient moments.
This is the portion which stretches disbelief the most, and I admit it may more of a personal thing because I feel like I see it fairly often. The logic and how Mitchell continues to escape remains fairly sound, but it just gets a bit stretched towards the end. There's even a hint of a sort of "secondary" personality based upon his radio persona, which could explain why he gets bursts of confidence and ideas, but this is not well-established in concept, and its distinction (the author switching to "Mad Mitch" as the proper noun) is clear but unnecessary as there doesn't seem to be a huge Tyler Durden difference there. Not that there needs to be, keep in mind, but the radio personality taking over when shit hits the fan doesn't quite get there.
Overall, the concept is interesting, the execution of the concept is entertaining, and the writing is solid enough to ferry the reader swiftly through the whole thing. A few hiccups here and there don't detract from what is, simply, a pretty good read.
Overall Score: 3/5
Too long! Didn't Read!
Value for Price: Good
At $0.99 the reader gets solid entertainment. Nitpicking aside, the book was quite enjoyable.
Public Enemy Zero is one of those works which more or less defines the notion of pretty good. It's miles from perfect, better than adequate, but just a hair under what I'd call pretty damn good. Andrew Mayne has crafted an entertaining, fast-paced thriller which mashes together and adds a bit of flavor to the oft-used "outbreak" and "zombies" scenarios.
The story follows one Mitchell Roberts, a self-described nice-guy loser with few friends and fewer prospects. One night, as he travels to his unimportant job as a third rate radio host at a second rate station, he comes across a woman with a flat tire. Being the simple, nice guy that dominates this type of protagonist role, he stops to help.
She proceeds to try and tear him apart, zombie style, and thus begins a long journey of running and hiding for poor Mitchell. No matter where he goes, people attack him, and due to considerable damage to personal property and numerous individuals, he becomes the subject of a state-wide manhunt. Not something anyone would want if the police or SWAT reaction moves from capture to evisceration in the span of a heartbeat. Not quite to the zombie apocalypse scenario, people recover after he's gone, and it becomes more of the outbreak mystery.
The plot makes sense and is entertaining for the most part, as long as too much thought is not expended upon certain aspects. There are clear periods of intensity and rest, so it definitely doesn't wear out the reader with a constant, breakneck pace. The general story and goals are the usual for the everyman thrust into peril: stay alive, find out why, stop the problem.
The pseudoscience of the why things are happening is decent enough to avoid drawing attention, which is precisely what the author wants in this situation. The characters are decently formed, but a few lose their place somewhere along the way; established individuals serve as cameras (to the reader) in the brutal aftermath of certain events but never interact with the main character and disappear about halfway through. Their presence seemed to hint at the whole, "Law enforcement individual on the innocent suspect's side," but they never contribute to really anything of the story beside spectating.
There's also a sort of mysterious facet to the story regarding a crazy person/nature worshiper and his hallucination/experience with the spirit of the Earth and some kind of sinister plot. It "resolves" itself in an open-ended fashion, and it's perfectly fine, but feels very much apart from the entire main story. I'm guessing Mayne has a tie-in with other works or maybe even a sequel of some kind, but, if not, these sections unfortunately don't add anything to the story except perhaps the possibility of a predictable twist which still doesn't effect the main plot.
The writing is competent but serves as the weakest portion of Mayne's story. The action is mostly smooth, but a few paragraphs fell into a more procedural style, as in: He ran over there. He picked up the thing. He ran to the next there. He barricaded the door. I only noted it a few times, but a little syntax variety wouldn't hurt.
Editing wise, there were a few general typos throughout, but as an author without an editorial budget, I understand some will slip through. Conversely, there were a number of what I'd describe as intentional grammatical errors, or simply things done incorrectly that the author wasn't aware of, like sentence fragments, comma usage, and so on. Nothing too jarring, but I'd suggest the author brush up on a few standards to make the writing a little more smooth. In addition, the "thought bubbles" for characters had no particular consistency. The usual standards for such are no quotations and thoughts in italics, but a few break that mold. Any particular method is just fine, but it needs to be clear and consistent. Mayne's style was fairly clear, but inconsistent.
Another issue is head-hopping, where the thought and focus shifts within scenes to different individuals. This is one of those big stylistic no-nos because it can be quite confusing to try and determine if the beefy SWAT guy is thinking/talking or if it's the protagonist. Unless the story is written from 3rd person omniscient, where the narrator and thus reader always has full awareness of what all characters are thinking, this is one of those things which should never be done. One scene, one perspective in a 3rd person, individual-focused style is standard for a reason, and an author should always want to eliminate immersion-killing confusion, especially when it only relates to a very fixable writing mechanic.
A few of the metaphors and descriptions are a bit weak, but nothing too serious. The whole work kind of feels like a "first album" sort of thing where Mayne might be ironing out style and tripping into small pitfalls. I'm sure as time goes on, he'll develop his craft and these issues won't be as common.
My biggest criticism comes in the competency of the main character, because he has Corran Horn (Star Wars) and Raul Endymion (Dan Simmons' Hyperion/Endymion series) syndrome. The author spends a considerable amount of time describing the main character as someone not competent, not useful, not confident, and a large number of other 'nots.' Yet, somehow the general knowledge of how one could evade a police manhunt and not get killed seventeen ways to Sunday seems to crop up at very convenient moments.
This is the portion which stretches disbelief the most, and I admit it may more of a personal thing because I feel like I see it fairly often. The logic and how Mitchell continues to escape remains fairly sound, but it just gets a bit stretched towards the end. There's even a hint of a sort of "secondary" personality based upon his radio persona, which could explain why he gets bursts of confidence and ideas, but this is not well-established in concept, and its distinction (the author switching to "Mad Mitch" as the proper noun) is clear but unnecessary as there doesn't seem to be a huge Tyler Durden difference there. Not that there needs to be, keep in mind, but the radio personality taking over when shit hits the fan doesn't quite get there.
Overall, the concept is interesting, the execution of the concept is entertaining, and the writing is solid enough to ferry the reader swiftly through the whole thing. A few hiccups here and there don't detract from what is, simply, a pretty good read.
Overall Score: 3/5
Too long! Didn't Read!
Value for Price: Good
At $0.99 the reader gets solid entertainment. Nitpicking aside, the book was quite enjoyable.
December 19, 2011
Public Enemy Zero is a bit of a paradox for me. I didn't care for the book a great deal, but the author was skilled enough to keep me involved for the entirety of the book. The protagonist, Mitch, I have learned (since I finished and thought about the book for a day) is the reason I was able to stay involved. He is a well-thought-out protagonist with a lot at stake (including his life, or freedom).
My main gripes with the book are that it was very, very repetitive. I thought the story lagged in the middle in a serious way and that the author was reaching for action pieces, but the action pieces were not very original and became boring and predictable.
However, despite the middle of the book being slow, and the middle of the book lagging (I think some serious editing and omitting could have been done in the middle), I give Public Enemy Zero a marginal recommendation, and a slightly higher recommendation for fans of the 28 Days and Weeks Later films. I think they would enjoy this book more than I did. I will definitely check out another Andrew Mayne story in the future.
My main gripes with the book are that it was very, very repetitive. I thought the story lagged in the middle in a serious way and that the author was reaching for action pieces, but the action pieces were not very original and became boring and predictable.
However, despite the middle of the book being slow, and the middle of the book lagging (I think some serious editing and omitting could have been done in the middle), I give Public Enemy Zero a marginal recommendation, and a slightly higher recommendation for fans of the 28 Days and Weeks Later films. I think they would enjoy this book more than I did. I will definitely check out another Andrew Mayne story in the future.
September 25, 2012
Holy crap! Sorry, but this book is FUCKING amazing. Normally I don't read a book from start to finish in 2 sittings, but this book had me gripped from Chapter 2 onwards. The entire storyline is just plain gripping, and thankfully not only does it not fall apart in the end, but it manages to feel like a satisfying pay-off.
In the form of Mitch Roberts we have a character anyone can relate to - even if it is just convenient that the guy has been pretty useable skills such as scuba diving and is quite athetlic. But that aside, he's a well-crafted character that is likeable enough to ensure you genuinely want him to win at the end.
I seriously cannot recommend this book enough - just buy it, and read it over a weekend. You will not be disappointed.
In the form of Mitch Roberts we have a character anyone can relate to - even if it is just convenient that the guy has been pretty useable skills such as scuba diving and is quite athetlic. But that aside, he's a well-crafted character that is likeable enough to ensure you genuinely want him to win at the end.
I seriously cannot recommend this book enough - just buy it, and read it over a weekend. You will not be disappointed.
October 18, 2011
Wow, what a story. Intriguing and a little confusing in the beginning and partially throughout . But other than that, the story was excellent. A great read for a fan of a good thriller and an especially good read for someone who likes biological agent, bio-terrorism type books. This is definitely right up your alley.
Also, great use of "new media" within the book (use of youtube and twitter), and you could tell that this was finished rather recently because it contained pertinent news information that was pretty recent.
I blew threw this in a long layover in Miami airport coming home from our honeymoon, and I was in no way dissappointed.
Also, great use of "new media" within the book (use of youtube and twitter), and you could tell that this was finished rather recently because it contained pertinent news information that was pretty recent.
I blew threw this in a long layover in Miami airport coming home from our honeymoon, and I was in no way dissappointed.
July 6, 2011
Horse is not Hoarse. This error occurred early in the book and had me a little distracted until Mitch started moving about. Then I really got into the story and I was running alongside him, cheering for him to get away. The story was creative exciting and suspenseful. I had a hard time putting it down. There were several misspellings and grammatical errors that brought the suspense to a halt as I tried to figure out what the author was going for, such as no versus know. The errors were disappointing. The story was great edge of your seat suspense with interesting twists that kept me turning the pages faster and faster. Fun read.
January 30, 2018
Starkly original sci fi thriller about a young, late night DJ in south Florida who suddenly becomes viciously attacked by - EVERYONE HE MEETS! To survive, he's is forced on the run but not before getting cornered in the food court of a busy mall. How he survives a homicidal mob, the police and the Feds in a major manhunt is what makes this runaway train of a novel so entertaining and thought provoking. It reminded me of another great survival story I read years ago that I still remember; "Vertical Run" by Joseph R. Garber. Both outstanding thrillers have the same furious energy driving the narrative.
May 3, 2021
Bonkers chase-y thriller with a ScoobieDoo-esque evil scientist bad guy. (Aside: So very tired of the evil scientist trope, especially in this age of anti-vax misinformation spreading at the speed of the internet and being adopted as an entire personality. Sigh. That is a much bigger societal problem and not this book’s fault, but it does lend itself to eye rolls along the same vibes.) It’s a fun romp as long as you accept the bad guy is a bit goofy, and don’t think about the science too hard. 🤷🏻♀�
August 8, 2011
If you have a persecution complex, this book is for you!
I liked the pace and the settings and I pretty much liked the main character. There was something that kept me turning pages and I did want to come back to Mitch/Mitchell/Mad Mitch.
On the down side, I don't think the book really explored anything deeper than the situations that Mitch moved through. Progbably that's fine if you're looking for a light, fun, thriller. Ultimately it left me feeling a little unsatisfied though.
I liked the pace and the settings and I pretty much liked the main character. There was something that kept me turning pages and I did want to come back to Mitch/Mitchell/Mad Mitch.
On the down side, I don't think the book really explored anything deeper than the situations that Mitch moved through. Progbably that's fine if you're looking for a light, fun, thriller. Ultimately it left me feeling a little unsatisfied though.
May 13, 2020
Good story...awful editor
There were good possibilities but there were SO many grammatical errors I was stunned. How can a book make it to the Amazon kindle library containing so many errors? I started highlighting them and posting to ŷ. Just awful. Maybe I downloaded some weird draft.
There were good possibilities but there were SO many grammatical errors I was stunned. How can a book make it to the Amazon kindle library containing so many errors? I started highlighting them and posting to ŷ. Just awful. Maybe I downloaded some weird draft.
November 30, 2019
Basically read this in one long night. Not much sleep, and even fewer regrets
September 26, 2011
Ever have one of those days where it feels like every one's out to get you? You get called in on your day off, get a ticket on the way to work, and every customer is trying to kill you with their bare hands?
Oh, wait. That last part isn't your day. That's Mitchell Roberts' day.
Andrew Mayne gives us a whole new incarnation of the zombie story with his book Public Enemy Zero.
It's so nice to talk about a zombie story that isn't post apocalyptic! With a likable main character! Where the characters actually care that they're killing people who can't help themselves. The action in this book is great, the story is fast paced and the punches keep coming. Mitchell is an easy protagonist to like and the villains are believable, but not complex, so they're easy to hate.
There's a couple problems though. In a lot of spots the writing seems.. off. The perspective shifts oddly sometimes, so you're not sure who's viewpoint you're standing in at that moment. There's a few tiny spelling checks, easily ignored.
It's not as easy to ignore the tree hugger in the room. There's a subplot, or maybe a macro-plot that has to do with a tree and some dude tripping on what must be some awesome shrooms. I'm still not sure what he was doing, I'm only a little sure of who he was, and I know that his subplot added nothing to the plot. Whoever he is, he would have been more entertaining, and made more sense to the story, if he was just another government shill.
All in all, ignoring the weird subplot, it was a great book. At 0.99$ it's more than worth your time.
Check out my other reviews at
Oh, wait. That last part isn't your day. That's Mitchell Roberts' day.
Andrew Mayne gives us a whole new incarnation of the zombie story with his book Public Enemy Zero.
It's so nice to talk about a zombie story that isn't post apocalyptic! With a likable main character! Where the characters actually care that they're killing people who can't help themselves. The action in this book is great, the story is fast paced and the punches keep coming. Mitchell is an easy protagonist to like and the villains are believable, but not complex, so they're easy to hate.
There's a couple problems though. In a lot of spots the writing seems.. off. The perspective shifts oddly sometimes, so you're not sure who's viewpoint you're standing in at that moment. There's a few tiny spelling checks, easily ignored.
It's not as easy to ignore the tree hugger in the room. There's a subplot, or maybe a macro-plot that has to do with a tree and some dude tripping on what must be some awesome shrooms. I'm still not sure what he was doing, I'm only a little sure of who he was, and I know that his subplot added nothing to the plot. Whoever he is, he would have been more entertaining, and made more sense to the story, if he was just another government shill.
All in all, ignoring the weird subplot, it was a great book. At 0.99$ it's more than worth your time.
Check out my other reviews at
March 31, 2014
I like this different play on a zombie book. It kept me reading and guessing. As always, there are a few problems but nothing that gets in the way of the story. Primary problems are that the main character is supposed to be no-body, with no real skills (ex-girlfriend names him 'D***head" but with no real explanation of what happened). However, he is able to skillfully hi-jack a couple of boats, use and underwater propulsion device, and evade a multi-agency ground/water/air manhunt for several days. There are a few characters that are thrown in for no apparent reason except to give the reader insight into the law enforcement side of the manhunt...then they just disappear. Finally, and this is the part that bothers me, is the Earth Mother scene. It was an irritating side chat every few chapters. Frankly, i didn't even care about the "big reveal"...I just wanted to stop hearing about it. Unless the author is setting us up for a future sequel (and we still didn't need that storyline), there was no reason for it. The motive behind the whole issue CAN just be government corruption...we don't need a crazy person to enjoy the story.
Overall a great story. I really did like the main character and even a lot of the side characters. The story keeps going and even his actions are mostly believable. He doesn't do anything superman like. I just would have liked him to be described as a more capable person rather than a loser who doesn't know anything about anything.
Overall a great story. I really did like the main character and even a lot of the side characters. The story keeps going and even his actions are mostly believable. He doesn't do anything superman like. I just would have liked him to be described as a more capable person rather than a loser who doesn't know anything about anything.
May 11, 2012
a very engrossing quick read which reminded me of steven king. the plot may have a few holes in it but i thought it the explanations were pretty clever even if they were kinda thin. like others have said you can skip the whole earth mother parts. a good editor should have talked him out of that (even if he was setting something up for another book) it was mind groaningly bad and after reading a few reviews about how i could skip it i did.
October 10, 2017
I really loved his book The Naturalist and was looking for a book just as good. This novel really left me wanting.
It’s not edited well. There’s lots of typos and sometimes the wrong character name is used. The story is promising, but I found the poor writing style and editing distracting.
This novel was written a few years before The Naturalist. My thought is that the author was still learning how to write well. It was amazing to me that they were written by the same person.
It’s not edited well. There’s lots of typos and sometimes the wrong character name is used. The story is promising, but I found the poor writing style and editing distracting.
This novel was written a few years before The Naturalist. My thought is that the author was still learning how to write well. It was amazing to me that they were written by the same person.
April 13, 2018
Interesting story,bad writing
Really good plot but full of typos, grammatical errors, and elided words. Also ending rushed, too many story threads left untied. Forest Man sub plot intriguing but not well connected to main plot. So, could have been much better with literate beta readers and careful editing.
Really good plot but full of typos, grammatical errors, and elided words. Also ending rushed, too many story threads left untied. Forest Man sub plot intriguing but not well connected to main plot. So, could have been much better with literate beta readers and careful editing.
February 14, 2018
I'm usually generous in my ratings, not everyone is Baldacci, Grisham or Harlan Coben. I love imagination, plot twists and interesting characters. Probably what most readers like. I was so very tempted to give this EBook a 3 star because of the horrible and hideous editing. Maybe if I didn't have to stumble and reread a sentence (and I'm a fast reader, like a book a day and I'm disabled) I might have given it 5 stars. After highlighting and reporting about ten errors I gave up reporting them to whoever receives such things. I mean extra words in a sentence as though someone had edited then 'left' extraneous words 'left' behind. That last sentence is an intentional example. Kind of an eye stopper while flowing along the words.
February 8, 2021
I put this in the category of generic television, simple entertainment. Out with that the bad first: for a tech-fi novel it’s shockingly full of all sorts of inaccuracies about equipment and procedurals etc. So if that sort of thing bugs you I would avoid this. On to the the good: this is fast paced book candy that keeps you flipping pages despite the flaws. I don’t know if I can put my finger on why or how but Mayne just writes in a way that’s fun. I should give this 3 stars but that je me sais quoi is awarding another star. If you didn’t read everyone else’s summary: protagonist slacker DJ finds himself at the center of a pseudo zombie pandemic in which people turn suddenly violent toward him when they get close. There follows usual troops of government conspiracies and rogue assassins
April 11, 2018
Four Stars for Effort and Good Entertainment
As Andrew Mayne noted in the Introduction, this was his first book and was poorly edited, but it was written with passion. I very much enjoyed the story, it was like watching an action thriller. The protagonist Mitchell Roberts was outstanding and vivid. His thoughts and antics were entertaining and sometimes laugh out loud funny. I'm not going to criticize the editing or "the writing polish" of this debut novel. It was simply a fun, well-paced story with lots of excitement. I am a fan of Andrew Mayne's other books. Kudos to this author!
As Andrew Mayne noted in the Introduction, this was his first book and was poorly edited, but it was written with passion. I very much enjoyed the story, it was like watching an action thriller. The protagonist Mitchell Roberts was outstanding and vivid. His thoughts and antics were entertaining and sometimes laugh out loud funny. I'm not going to criticize the editing or "the writing polish" of this debut novel. It was simply a fun, well-paced story with lots of excitement. I am a fan of Andrew Mayne's other books. Kudos to this author!
May 23, 2018
This was quite the ride, there's a few parts in the book dealing with an earth mother figure which didn't quite gel with me however the rest of it was fantastic - a man on the run after a strange illness results in everyone who comes in contact with him trying to attack and kill him.
I gather the earth mother part is setting something up for a later novel, however as it stands it was a somewhat jarring viewpoint compared to the 'actual' story - Mitch Roberts on the run.
A good page turner as you are draw into the story and wondering what on earth is going on with poor Mitch, quite a unique presentation and plot, really enjoyed it. Hope the story continues with a sequel.
I gather the earth mother part is setting something up for a later novel, however as it stands it was a somewhat jarring viewpoint compared to the 'actual' story - Mitch Roberts on the run.
A good page turner as you are draw into the story and wondering what on earth is going on with poor Mitch, quite a unique presentation and plot, really enjoyed it. Hope the story continues with a sequel.
September 18, 2017
The author does a great job of hooking you into the main character, as well as the dialogue between the characters, and hooking you into the story. I found it ironic in those times where certain scenes in the story have an added "oomph" or stressful situation for the main character, I found that I was getting a little excited, my heartbeat was going a little faster, and I couldn't seem to read it fast enough to click the next page button on my Kindle. I don't know if there is one, but it would be interesting to see if there is a sequel.
January 28, 2020
The best!
Andrew Mayne is in my top 5 best authors ever. He would be the star writer for Omni magazine if it was still around. I only wish he would write one book a month so I wouldn’t have to try different authors comparable to Mr Mayne. His plots will have you wanting to skip ahead to discover the next twist but of course you don’t want to chance missing something. If you want to read “can’t put down� books, give this one a try and I guarantee you that you won’t be disappointed.
Andrew Mayne is in my top 5 best authors ever. He would be the star writer for Omni magazine if it was still around. I only wish he would write one book a month so I wouldn’t have to try different authors comparable to Mr Mayne. His plots will have you wanting to skip ahead to discover the next twist but of course you don’t want to chance missing something. If you want to read “can’t put down� books, give this one a try and I guarantee you that you won’t be disappointed.
April 8, 2019
A real page Turner.
4 Stars instead of 5. Would have been 5. Why was the Naked Man In The Woods in this book??? If it was meant to intice the reader to look for the next book, it was pitifully done. Minus that unnecessary character the story really rolled along. It was written in a " believeable" tone. Considering the out there concept I'd say that's remarkable. All in all an excellent book!
4 Stars instead of 5. Would have been 5. Why was the Naked Man In The Woods in this book??? If it was meant to intice the reader to look for the next book, it was pitifully done. Minus that unnecessary character the story really rolled along. It was written in a " believeable" tone. Considering the out there concept I'd say that's remarkable. All in all an excellent book!
October 22, 2018
Public Enemy Zero a one of a kinder!
While this may have been the first novel that Andrew Mayne wrote, I found it very very intriguing and by the end I had no problem seeing the type of work that also produced Naturalist. I just need to read everything in between. Don't worry I'll get to it and keep u in the loop!
While this may have been the first novel that Andrew Mayne wrote, I found it very very intriguing and by the end I had no problem seeing the type of work that also produced Naturalist. I just need to read everything in between. Don't worry I'll get to it and keep u in the loop!
November 6, 2018
I read the book and thought: What an interesting idea! Then I took some time to reflect on it and decided it was a brilliant idea and a very interesting read. If you are looking for something very different from the mainstream, this will serve that purpose. His other stuff is very interesting as well.
October 21, 2019
Not as good as his Naturalist series, or the Chronological Man series, but still a fun and fast-paced read. Unlike the two series I mentioned, this book focuses on events, so there is little character development. This is fine for this type of book which is supposed to be a fast-paced thriller and (I believe) not part of a series. No need to slow the story down by adding unnecessary details.
November 5, 2019
Entertaining story
Interesting concept and resolution. Mr. Anybody suddenly thrust into political intrigue and becomes the most wanted person with out any obvious way out. Yes, it needed one more edit for typos and word usage, but that won't pull you out of the story for long. You have to see what happens.
Interesting concept and resolution. Mr. Anybody suddenly thrust into political intrigue and becomes the most wanted person with out any obvious way out. Yes, it needed one more edit for typos and word usage, but that won't pull you out of the story for long. You have to see what happens.
December 20, 2019
This book was exciting and fast paced... a good palate cleanser between more complicated and emotional stories. There is kind of a pointless story line about a naked man that does acid in the forest but, fortunately, it doesn't take up a lot of the narrative. The Kindle version was riddled with small typos and editing mistakes which were a little distracting. Nevertheless, it was a fun escapist adventure with a unique point of view.
June 14, 2020
Public Enemy Zero is a perfect example of how the local police, government, and CDC try to handle situations without taking the public people into consideration. It goes on to explain how we are used as lab rats without even knowing. This is something that in my opinion is true in today's society. A conspiracy theorist or not this is worth a read!
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