Suckers

A Horror Novel

By: Z. Rider

Narrated by: Chris Vallancourt

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

When worn-out musician Dan Ferry decides to take a shortcut back to the band's hotel, he picks the wrong dark alley to go down. Within days of being attacked by a bat-like creature, he becomes consumed with the need to drink human blood. Terrified of what will happen if he doesn't get his fix - and terrified of what he'll do to get it - he turns to his best friend and bandmate, Ray Ford, for help. But what the two don't know as they try to keep Dan's situation quiet is that the parasite driving Dan's addiction has the potential to wipe out humankind.

©2014 Z. Rider (P)2015 Z. Rider

Very well done, good plot, great characters...

I love this book! While not as horrific as some horror books I have read (my bar is set quite high), this was still great. It had a psychological horror that rose as the anticipation built.

The beginning of the book is about a band and the members are on tour. After a great evening two of the members are walking to their hotel when one of them is attacked by a flying object. The suspected it was some kind of vampire bat and although freaked out didn't really think a whole lot about it. They did warn the other members to stay off of the streets and to get to the hotel as soon as possible, but that seemed to be the end of it.

For Dan, that was just the beginning. He starts hearing a buzzing noise, like a hive of bees were nesting in his head. The buzzing and headaches continued to get worse and he thought he was going crazy. Coming off of a tour would do that to a person!

The entire first portion of the book, a good 30% probably, is about the characters. Z. Rider really delves into how they treat each other, which is really important for later in the story. The plot would not make any sense if the reader did not understand that these guys treat each other like brothers. And that HAS to be known for what comes later. These guys will give their lives for each other! Maybe not quite literally, but nearly.

The narration was so good! Chris Vallancourt was able to create a main character who sounded on top of the world at the beginning of the story. When he starts to get really sick he sounds bedraggled at best! The emphasis on the "cold" was fantastic and very well done. I never guessed who was talking even though there are two main guys in this. And there are more guys as the story progresses. The audio was just as good and was very easy to understand. I think this would be one that would have done well with a full cast though. I would have loved hearing all of the voices and noises with this plot!

If you enjoy vampire stories, this is like Guillermo Del Toro's The Strain. Very well done, good plot, great characters, and some gore but not too much.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Creepy and wonderful

I really enjoyed this book. Had some very scary moments. Character development was great and the narrator was able to give them all their own personality. I cannot wait to read more from this author. I received this book for free to give my honest review.

Suckers

Any additional comments?

This was an interesting story with monsters and the end of the world,I think.Two friends till the end band mates are the focus of our story.We follow hem thru illness and realization of what is really going on.Chris Vallancourt was a fine choice for the narration.His voices were spot on.
"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com."

Alien vampire parasites?

This book was like a breath of fresh air, it was a really nice change of pace from my usual zombie books. Z Rider creates a very interesting apocalypse that will leave you feeling the little scratchy feet of insects on the back of your neck as you listen to it.

Dan and Ray are walking to the hotel after their band finishes a show, when something swoops down in the night and latches itself on to the back of Dan's neck. He can later feel movement under his skin and the buzzing of the 'bees'. It gets much worse, and he and his best friend Ray figure out how to deal with it- and to control the 'changes' that Dan starts to go through.

The characters really make this book, and Rider fleshes them out wonderfully.

Chris Vallancourt was the perfect voice for this book and he did an amazing job. I had no problem knowing who was speaking, and he added a lot of emotion to the story. He also has a very nice reading voice.

Audiobook received for an honest review.

Friends till the end!

I really enjoyed the story and the storyline, development, details, characters, and everything about the story in general. The author Z. Rider did a fantastic job with bringing this story together. The story was different and that's a huge thing in my opinion. I won't go into details about this story but I will mention that Its extremely good. Although, I did enjoy the story immensely but the end of it was lacking. I don't like cliffhanger, especially when I believe it to be the only book that will be written, no saga or series. Even in the epilogue it didn't really explain the end of the story. I don't know if Ray ever survived but we know that Dan did, at least I think. Overall, I still give it 5 stars.

The narrator did a great job keeping me glued to the story. I will recommend that the narrator work on his female accents and distinguishing accents. I received this audio in exchange for an honest review.

A Different Apocalypse

Suckers is an extremely well written and fantastically narrated apocalyptic horror novel. I found the writing style breathed life and was so engaging, the book just zipped by. It was not a story I had to go and reread stuff as I missed things or got confused who or what was what. I found myself getting immersed in the tale immediately.

Chris Vallancourt did an incredible job narrating, and I'm surprised this seems to be a first performance. I hope more are available soon!

Although the writing was excellent, I really had a lot of trouble with the lead character, I found him just a selfish user of people, his friends, family, and people in general. And unfortunately there was no payback to him for all the ill he did through his selfishness. It was like an apocalypse where patient zero got sick, infected and killed the world, then he got better and lived happily ever after. I personally just have trouble relating to stories with a protagonist like that.

In all though, I feel this author has a lot of talent, and the narrator also, and I really look forward to more from both.

More of a bro-relationship set in a horror novel.

I'm not usually one for the horror genre, but I was intrigued by the book blurb. But as many reviewers have said, the blurb doesn't really encapsulate what the book is about. While I enjoyed the horror aspect, it was the relationship between Dan and Ray that really made the book. The writing was good, although slow at first.

Chris Vallancourt did okay. It was a bit monotone which made it difficult to stay focused on the story. But the pacing was good.

More of a bro-relationship set in a horror novel.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

A refreshingly unique vampire/alienesque story.

Any additional comments?

Well this was weird but wonderful! The synopsis was sufficiently teasing enough that I knew I had to try it at least, and I'm so glad I did. It was frightening but also heartening with the friendship bonds that are present.

After a gig, Dan and his friend walk home through an alley only for them to be attacked by these almost bat like creatures. Dan gets bitten on the neck and while nothing happens straight away, he finds himself with incredibly bad headaches, and worse, a thirst for blood. Just what is wrong and how will Dan handle it?

The plot was fast paced and well written. The idea of the Suckers was unique and very icky!! At first I thought vampires but it's not, it's much more than that. Its a refreshingly unique vampire/alienesque story and one I devoured. The story grabs you from the start and won't let go till after you finish. I found myself having to read to see what happens!

The characters are all well defined and developed. I actually loved them all. I have to say that the best thing for me in the book is the relationship between the band mates. When Dan gets bitten, he turns to Ray and he does everything in his power to help Dan. Their bond is unbreakable. It was so nice reading their story!!

In all this was a quick listen. I expected a typical vampire story but what I got was so much more. I couldn't take my earbuds out because I had to see what happened next and when the outbreak spread, my heart picked up. So why the 4 stars if I loved it!! I took off one star because we don't get a proper explanation as to where exactly the suckers came from. I wanted that explained a little more, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book!

Chris Vallancourt is a new to me narrator and while I liked his voice, I found that he never changed his tone much from character to character. I got confused sometimes. Other than that, he was great. He brought life to the story and got the atmosphere perfect.

*I received a copy of this, via Audio Jukebox, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Sex, blood & rock 'n roll.

Suckers was a twist on the zombie apocalypse scenario with people wanting to drink blood rather than eat brains. The focus of the story was more within a small group of people, the band members and their family, rather than the horror going on in the rest of the world. In particular, the mateship between Dan and Ray, who stuck together no matter what.

I listened to the audiobook editions, which I received free in exchange for an honest review. The narrator was fabulous, I felt he added to the story. He spoke at a good pace with plenty of expression.

Unique View of Friendship in an Apocalypse

Would you listen to Suckers again? Why?

I most certainly would, but I have a pretty significant backlog so it's not likely to happen. I would listen again because it's a unique and interesting view of a rather horrifying apocalypse and the way that it affects some of the strongest developed characters I've ever listened/read about. Then you add the great performance of the piece and there's not really any negatives to speak of.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Suckers?

One of the most memorable moments was when the sickness really starts to take hold of Dan and he goes through some dream-like scenes before ending up in the hospital with some rather heavy moments to be informed of by his friends.

What about Chris Vallancourt’s performance did you like?

Basically everything. He gave the characters their own voices and used his performance to build on the suspense and the drama that occurred.

If you could rename Suckers, what would you call it?

I wouldn't, when you really get down to it Suckers is a pretty good name for this book.

Any additional comments?

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, and it honestly blew me away. I loved how the author balanced the characters with scenes of horror and disgust and scenes of relative normalcy in the face of such events.