Ex-Patriots: A Novel (Ex-Heroes)

Ex-Patriots is a hard book to fully review without giving away the plot as what makes the book so good is the myriad of plot elements that the author teases and then skillfully brings together in the second half of the book. I'll steer clear of anything that might give any of that away. Basic summary (spoiler free) The Mount is recovering from the Siege and the populace is learning to live again. Resources are becoming scarce and the Mount must organize expeditions to increasingly remote areas for supplies. During one such expedition contact is made with elements of the U.S military. The Heroes are cautiously optimistic that this is the development they've been hoping for and their long isolation may be finally at an end. Of course, not everything is as it seems and it falls once again to the Mount's Heroes, Zapp, Cerberus, St. George, and Stealth to separate friend from foe and save not just themselves, but their new allies as well. The dialog between the Heroes is relaxed, natural, and what you'd expect of people who have become close friends and allies. Sufficient page time is given in just the right amounts and at the right times to flesh out the new Heroes and Villains. But Clines doesn't neglect to also develop the returning Heroes from the first book. Barry, aka Zappp, is hysterically funny and irreverent ("Do you want me to blast him?") and gets the 'screen time' he missed in the first book. Stealth, whose martial and mental prowess is only hinted at in Ex-Humans, is given many opportunities to show that not only does she miss absolutely nothing, she is a force to be reckoned with not just by humans but by meta-humans as well. Danielle Morris, aka Cerberus, shows more of her flawed human side but becomes more than just The Woman in the Suit. Along the way, she discovers that the woman makes the clothes (or armored exoskeleton, as the case may be.) Finally, St. George has matured as well, both psychologically and physically. He is a man of conviction and principles and puts deeds to words - as much as that puts a monumental crimp in his love life. I have to give props to Peter Clines for the manner in which he presented the plot twists in the novel. By my score, there were two major and two minor-to-medium plot twists by the end of the novel and I only correctly identified one of them before it happened. That's despite the author very carefully doling out the clues that, in hindsight, should have been blindingly obvious but were sufficiently subtle that they seemed organic to the story and not simply flashing neon plot signs. There is also what I think is a very specific teaser for book three, Ex-Communication, in this book. The author alludes to it at least twice but is very careful to dance around it and not give the game away too soon. Peter Clines has a history in Hollywood and he has obviously learned the first rule of show business: "Always leave them wanting more." I can't wait for Ex-Communication and the opportunity to rejoin our Heroes of the Mount and find out where he's going to go with this.

This book does the series justice. Its a big slow for the first half. But thats how this author works. All these books will be slow to start, while hes setting up all these different plot loops and trying to make the antagonist actually feel like they have existed in this world a while (rather than my petpeeve of just randomly popping up with a bad guy like its a crappy TV-Drama instead of a book.) The characters are developed. You will know whos important in the story and who is not. The only suggestion to the author would be to not focus so much time on the "THEN" chapters. Its great to know what happened. but sometimes these are placed randomly in the book with no relevance for another 2 chapters after. Also that these "THEN" chapters can drag on for a while. I want to know the past. I dont need a history lesson on why there are super soldiers. I get the concept.

Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines is book two in the Ex-Heroes series, and continues the series on the excellent note which it began. If anything, it is better than the first book, because the characters gain more depth and thus become more sympathetic and human (the heroes were, after all, human to begin with). If you are not familiar with the Ex-Heroes series, it is a surprisingly good post-apocalyptic series. Surprising, because the plot in essence is superheroes v. zombies, which quite honestly sounds too comic-booky to be a good story. However, the author does a beautiful job of making the story & characters plausible. The superheroes are all normal people who have changed genetically in some way, but they retain their essential humanness; certainly, they have human failings, desires, convictions, and emotions. The bulk of them have dedicated their lives to helping out normal humans, and when a plague causes things to go horribly wrong, the superheroes lay their lives on the line to protect what's left of the human race. Ex-Patriots continues a bit after Ex-Heroes concluded. The inhabitants of the Mount set of fireworks to celebrate their increasing safety & stability, despite the hordes of zombies which surround them. The fireworks draw the attention of another group of survivors....and our heroes need to work out whether this is a good or bad thing. As with Ex-Heroes, the bulk of the story occurs in the present, with the back story occurring in the form of "then" chapters interspersed within the "now" chapters. All in all, a very good, entertaining read.

One of the reviews on the back of the first book, Ex-Heroes, says it is Avengers meets the Walking Dead and they are not wrong. This is a rare example of a sequel that is just as good as the first book. You learn more about the back stories of the old characters and the same amount of detail is given to the new characters. This book has many twists and turns that you cannot possibly predict which keeps you hooked until the end. Even if you are not a fan of Zombie stuff (I most definitely am not, even Shaun of the Dead terrified me!) this is a good book, their referring to the dead as 'Exes' helps remove you and the inclusion of Heroes also makes the possibility of a Zombie apocalypse seem more unlikely and therefore less scary.

Excellent book, I read the first one and really enjoyed it and this book is longer and a great return to Peters post apocalyptic world. Two big thumbs up, I really hope he writes another one. They introduced some new and immediately enjoyable characters with the Driver and Captain Freedom.

Having read the first book in this series Ex-Heroes , I was hoping for more of the same in the second book in the trilogy. And it delivered. Briefly, the series takes place in the near future in a world populated by (slow) zombies as well as a few super-heroes amongst the human survivors. In the second book we get to see most of the same heroes in action along with a few new heroes and villains. As the group is contacted by a military outpost, you know things aren't going to go quite as smoothly as they might hope. That's the clumsiest part of this novel, as the reader can pretty much guess from the start that something is wrong with the military (the book's description of a dark secret on the base doesn't help). Too bad as it diminishes the suspense in some ways, but fortunately Clive is able to keep the darkness and the villains relatively surprising. I half-guessed two of the dark secrets but was completely surprised by some of the others. My only other complaint was that while the first book examined what it meant to be a hero, the second book focuses more on what it means to be a patriot or soldier. Which isn't quite as interesting to me, although it might appeal more to others. Still, it's not too heavy-handed in its moralization which keeps it enjoyable. At 400 pages, it's longer than the first novel, so you do get a chance to have a deeper look at the characters. There is a stronger focus on the heroes as opposed to the community members simply because much of the action takes place at the military base (that has a few "super" soldiers of its own). As before the book's chapters are divided between "now" and "then" moments, the latter being used to illuminate the origins of new super heroes (or villains). The writing is still crisp and engaging, the action is still fast, and the book still meets the criteria of being a very fun read. If zombies and super heroes are your thing, this is a five star book. I just couldn't quite take it seriously enough to give it five stars myself, but I wouldn't have a problem if someone else did (I'd probably go 4.5 stars myself). Overall then, I strongly recommend this as a light but very fun way to pass the time if zombies, super heroes, and the apocalypse sound interesting to you.

More of the same following on from Ex Heroes; loses it's way slightly in the second quarter but regains momentum in the last. If you enjoyed the first book then this is a worthy sequel. I'm off to read the third in the series :)

Superheroes vs zombies plus super soldiers. Great action, cool concept and almost makes you wish for the zombie apocalypse! Highly recommended