Z Nation is a zombie TV show that aired for five seasons on Syfy which follows a group of survivors attempting to get the only known survivor of a zombie bite to a CDC lab in California.
The series starts out three years into the zombie apocalypse where most humans have been killed and groups of survivors have figured out how to live in this world. Just before the world fell apart prison inmate Alvin Murphy was injected with an experimental zombie vaccine after which he was bitten eight time and did not turn it is believed that his blood holds the cure and the last hope for humanity. The series as a hole revolves around Murphy’s travels and a group of survivors looking to get him to help save the world.
In season one we are introduced to the main group lead by Lt. Roberta Warren who’s main focus become getting Murphy to California and the CDC. Citizen Z a NSA agent stuck at the Northern Light post in the Arctic Circle who guides the group through their journey and tries to figure out why different people are after Murphy. “Doc” a counselor and recovering drug addict who is the groups medic even though he is not really a doctor. “10K” a young man who is an amazing sniper and has vowed to kill 10,000 zombies. Addy Carver a young woman with a talent with radio equipment and uses a customized metal bat known as the Z Whacker. The main group stays mostly the same thorough the entire series with a few new character being add and some lost in each season.
The series starts out very much like its supost to be a very fun campy take on zombies and ridding on the fame of the Walking Dead. Though the series is pretty reduclus in how far zombies are taken and some story elements it does deal with emotional and hard topics while also trying to be as entertaing as possible. I didn’t love every season or epsiode but overall its an enjoyable show. In the following paragraphs I will be giving a summary of each season which some spoliers will be included.
Season one is mostly just the group attempting to get Murphy to California and all the things and problems they encounter a long the way. Near the end of the season they met Dr. Kurian the creator of the zombie virus who wants to take Murphy with him and while Murphy escapes he triggers the launch of multiple nuclear weapons which turns this into a nuclear apocalypse not just a zombie one.
Season two starts with the group getting back together and attempting to find Murphy again. As the story progresses they run into a woman they had met before who is now pregnant with Murphy’s child. When the baby is born it becomes clear that because of the vaccine in Murphy’s blood and his mutation into a zombie/human hybrid that the baby is not fully human and Murphy finds a couple to leave the child, Lucy, with. At the end of the season they arrive in California and Murphy agrees to go to the CDC lab but not all is as it seems and Murphy has other plan for the future.
Season three is my least favorite of the entire series mostly because of 10K’s story line. This season starts with a two part movie episode introducing The Man, a villian, who will show up again and his connection to ZONA. However, the main story of season three is Murphy creating a cult of “blends” people who he has injected with his blood which he can then control, and Warren trying to figure out how they can stop Murphy and save humanity. Near the end they form a truce when they need to save Lucy from The Man and stop ZONA from getting her.
Season four starts two years after the end of season three where Warren was shot and infected by Murphy’s blood and they where both taken by ZONA. Warren and Murphy escape ZONA and meet back up with the rest of the group who are trying to get to Newmerica, a community that is trying to get the world back on track. However, Warren keeps having visions of the Black Rainbow and the destruction of the world so the group goes on a mission to stop it.
Season five is the last and at the moment final season of Z Nation. Following the ending of season four and the Black Rainbow, Doc, 10K, and Sarge, a newer member of the group, are leading other survivors to Newmerica while Murphy goes looking for Warren. The group meets up again after finding Newmerica and meeting George, an old friend of Warren’s. Because of the Black Rainbow the zombies don’t just walk some of them talk and understand what is going on. Which becomes the main conflict of the season what to do with the talkers and how will this change society going forward. The series ends with Murphy eating the brain of a scientist that figure out the cure and we are left to wonder what will happen next. There is enough loose ends for more season but Syfy did offically cancel the series and no one has pick it up.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition volume one by Hiromu Arakawa is the first volume of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series. This is a special hardcover edition that the publisher has started to release. The story follows brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric who are attempting to restore their bodies after trying to bring their mother back to life and failing. This series is a reread for me and I still love the story as much as the first time I read it. I’m reading each volume as I collect these editions.
Monstress volume four by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda is a fantasy graphic novel that continues the story of Miaka and how she is connected to the demon who lives inside her. This volume gives the reader more information on Miaka’s past and where the major conflict is heading. I can’t wait for the rest of the story.
The Deep by Alma Katsu is a historical fiction with supernatural elements focusing on the Sinking of the Titanic. The story follows maid Annie Hebbley who survived the sinking and is working as a nurse on Titanic’s sister ship Britannic during World War I and her connection to soldier Mark Fletcher. I loved the concept of the story but felt that it switched perspectives too often for me to connect to the characters. I received this book from the publisher by winning a Goodreads contest and there is a full review on this blog and Goodreads.
The Race to Save the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport in a historical nonfiction book about the different plan to possibly save the Romanov family and the ideas to get them out of Russia. While good I prefer historical books about the family directly than events that they didn’t have any control or input on so not my favorite book about the Romanovs. It would be a great resource for anyone studying this time period.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Fazbear Frights #1: Into the Pit by Scott Cawthon is the first in the series of Five Nights short story collections. All of the stories take place in the world of Five Nights at Freddy’s and show different elements to the previous books and game. All the stories are very creepy and good for teenagers. They remind me of R L Stine’s and Darren Shan’s series and books. As someone who is into the lore surrounding the games and story I do plan an reading the next books in the series.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff is the first book in an adult fantasy series following Mia Corvere to train to be an assassin and kill those who destroyed her family when she was a child. I loved this book even though it took me quite a while to finish. The first hundred pages before getting to the Red Church are slow but it pick ups from there. I love Mia and Tric’s relationship and its one of the strongest parts of the book. I also have a full review posted.
Doctor Who: I finished Doctor Who series twelve this month and I liked it much more than series eleven. At times it still didn’t feel like Doctor Who to me and I felt that there could have been more fun stories that didn’t need a message but I liked the dynamics between all the characters and the companions being fleshed out more. However, the Timeless Child story line was dumb and was not something that the series needed. The fact at the end of the series that it had no impact and nothing really changed meant that the writer had no reason to add it in. I do plan on watching the next series but I generally wait to binge watch it.
Kong: Skull Island: I watched Kong: Skull Island because I heard that I wasn’t bad and I want some mindless entertainment one night. Though the plot isn’t all that interesting the acting is good and the visual effects are great. The ending sets up the idea that Kong and the other monsters like Godzilla all exist in the same world and I’m interested in where movies that these ideas.
Bae Crate is a adult romance book box that includes at least one romance book with an author letter and signed book plate as well as four to six items that go with the monthly theme.
The books included where Wicked Bite and Shades of Wicked by Jeaniene Frost which are the first two books in the Night Rebel series. Since I love vampire paranormal romance books and this is a series that I have never heard about I look forward to reading them but I wish the box as a whole was much better.
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher is the third book in the Dresden Files series. The story once again as always follows Harry Dresden, a wizard living in Chicago who helps the police with supernatural crimes. This time ghosts are causing trouble all over Chicago and many people affect are somehow connected to Harry.
Full Moon by Jim Butcher is the second book in the Dresden Files series. The story once again follows Harry Dresden, wizard living in Chicago who helps the police with supernatural crimes. Dresden is down on his luck with no work when a mutilated corpse, strange paw prints combined with a full moon drag him into a murder investigation. Based on the title and summary this time Dresden is going up against werewolf’s but maybe not the ones we know from fiction.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff is an adult fantasy novel that follows Mia Corvere on her quest to train to be an assassin and kill the men who destroyed her family when she was a child. The world of Nevernight is one with three suns that almost never set and Mia has powers over shadows which will aid in her quest to kill those who harmed her and her family.
Owl Crate is a young adult book subscription box where every month you receive one new hardcover book and an assortment of bookish goodies connected to the monthly theme. Some of these items are very practical and some are better suited as decor or for a pin/builtin board. March’s theme is Music of the Night.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgerstern is a adult literary fiction and fantasy novel that follows two main protagonists, Ceila and Marco, who are competing against one another at a magical circus and try not to fall in love.
The first book I read was The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era by Gareth Russell. This book uses the lives and history of six first class passengers on Titanic to illustrate how society and the world worked in the era of Titanic and how the sinking is often seen as wake up call for the changes that are coming. Well researched and written but some parts were a little boring since I went into the book thinking it would be more about Titanic than the society that built her. However, still a good book and one I would recommend for those who have researched Titanic before.
The second book I read in February was the Sailor Moon manga Eternal Edition vol. 1. I have started to collect these editions of the series and I’m reading each volume as I get it. Sailor Moon is one of my favorite manga and anime series so I loved reading it again. My only criticism in this first volume is at time that story seem almost too fast paced. As a reader you don’t get a lot of time with each new character before another one is introduced but given where I know the series goes its not that big of an issue.
The last book I read was The Little Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. So I say I “read” this but really I watched a YouTube video where the story was read and the pictures where shone. I read it this way because the book is very hard to obtain copies of and I didn’t know I existed before. This is a little kids picture book that simplifies the story of Stormdancer the first book in the Lotus Wars series by Jay Kristoff. Its very cute and I would love to own a copy one day.
For different books FaeCrate do Hangover Recovery kits for the book hangover you will have after finishing the book. They never had a chance to do one for The Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Mass so in conjunction with the anniversary edition of the first book they did a mini recover kit call Thorns and All.
Night Owl Reviews 