The End Games by Michael T. Martin Review

The End Games, by T. Michael Martin
Publication: May 7, 2013, by HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Zombies, Dystopian
Pages: 369
Format: Paperback
Source: Gifted
Rating: 

It happened on Halloween.
The world ended.
And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.
Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.
In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of “Bellows”—creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.
But The Game is changing.
The Bellows are evolving.
The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors—survivors who don’t play by the rules.
And the brothers will never be the same.
T. Michael Martin’s debut novel is a transcendent thriller filled with electrifying action, searing emotional insight, and unexpected romance.

DNF @ 150-200 pages

Horror movies stink, but horror-themed books rock. Of course, you can only actually say that when the concept and genre mixes in perfectly with the horror. Dystopia-horror? That's not for me, I tell you, and as a DNF, the zombie-apocalypse thing definitely didn't work out for me... as usual. *sighs* Martin has written a novel that will surely impress most readers who like a little twist in their average dystopian stories, though this one was slow and boring.

I've had my eye on this one for a real long time. Every time I passed it in the bookstore, I was second-guessing myself if I really needed the books I actually had in my hands, and rather get this one. Eventually, my Christmas presents contained many books, and this one was part of them, and I was so excited for it. I guess I was totally wrong, and I admit that I'm the black sheep of these ratings.

It's the "end of the world" and Michael and his five year old brother, Patrick are fighting for their lives... no for real. They're playing a Game, and have to listen to the Game Master and follow his rules, and kill Bellows at the same time. Bellows are actually zombies, and there's really no way for the boys to survive then to gain points and kill them all to reunite with their mother. But of course, forbidden and surprising events come along, and Michael is struck into a weird romance with someone who readers never have expected him to be with. Then, the Game Master's identity comes along into our minds, and the whole book's plot is turned inside and out, leaving us to wonder the ending... or not, like in my situation where I never saw what was coming because I was so disappointed by the middle of the book. 

When beginning, I had high expectations. I'm always in the mood for a new kind of dystopia science-fiction read, and since I haven't read one for a while, I felt that this would be perfect for me. For the fact that I often judge books by their covers, I was hopeful that this would be kick-ass and awesome since the cover certainly was. Looking back at the catastrophe that I had to deal with, this is a darker read for those who simply like dialogue. No reading between the lines or deep gory stuff, just boring talk about how they need to make a plan.

This book was like a person who doesn't keep their word or their promises. This all started off being like "The Walking Dead," which it kind of was like in a way. Though, here there was less drama and more clogging up-minds kind of language. Since I didn't like neither Michael or any of the other teenagers, this was like modern-day un-relatable stuff to the total maximum. I didn't feel anything coming from the characters or the author's writing, and no emotions were present throughout.

Why did I DNF this, after I had a streak going on for a while now where I literally have finished everything? Writing. Without good, hard-based writing, you can't even say that you had a proper book in front of you. There surely are people out there who will enjoy this book and Martin's future novels, but this simply isn't for me. I had no liking of the protagonist and the plot twists that Martin added to "fool us."

Honestly, I just need ice cream and breakup movies to end my disliking of the book. After that, I'll feel like everything has left and it's all mutual distance things left inside of me.

My only liking throughout? Little Patrick. Too bad he wasn't that main and that strong of a character to really keep me going through this book. Other than that, this was a novel that gave you... everything that you don't want. Sucky characters, a bad plot, good beginning-then bad throughout middle, and one little boy who really battled the zombies. *laughs* Take the chance, but let me tell you that 'The End Games' possibly won't lead you to the end of this book.