As some of you may know, the working title of my NON-ZOMBIE apocalypse novel, which includes only a very small amount of human flesh-eating, was ZOMBIE ZOO in reference to the greatest Tom Petty song never–to hit the charts. “Sometimes you’re so impulsive, you shaved all your hair, you look like Boris Karloff and you don’t even care.” That line captured Lizzie for me. So it makes sense that the next book in the series would be “Zombie Zoo Too” or “Two” perhaps. [Bonus points to GenXers who remember the silly TV show the New Zoo Review and its Ceti Eel Ear Larvae horror of a title song!]

All reviews are definitely not created equal. Here’s the worst Amazon review I’ve gotten: “3.0 out of 5 stars: not bad for grade school. I was searching adult depth books and this grase school thing came up.Big problem with the way Amazon rates thier stuff.Find it a lot” [Note: I did nothing to clean up his grase school grammar, and this came from a Verified Purchase! He didn’t notice it was Young Adult? And he still gave me 3 stars?!?]

But from time to time reviews come along that just blow me away. I’ve found two in the last three days, that are seriously kind as well as insightful on things that I could have done better or at least different. Here are excerpts from three of them and links to read them in their entirety. If you read the complete reviews BEWARE they ALL have SPOILERS! There’s a link at the bottom for those of you have read Book II – STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS and haven’t left a review. Please be honest. I’m not expecting them all to be this positive! [In fact I could really use an honest THREE STAR review for TOILS AND SNARES, but I suppose that’s more there than here.

ANALOG excerpt: Like All is Silence, this is one of those teen books that’s equally rewarding for adults. Lizzie’s new world is brutally well-imagined and well-presented; she and her friends are compelling, interesting characters that the reader cares about. Slater leaves readers wanting more. Fortunately, Crazy Lizzie’s adventures will continue into another volume. ~ Don Sakers. Read the full Review HERE. 

IMHOBellingham excerpt:  Plus ca change… STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS, is a worthy successor [to ALL IS SILENCE] began in Bellingham after a mysterious plague kills most of the world’s population. Our ADHD anti-heroine, Lizzie, has been running away all her life, to the point where that’s her normal reaction to any situation. One thing you can count on when Lizzie runs away: things will get worse. Post-apocalyptic Utah is no picnic in the park. The City of Provo is struggling to reclaim civilization and is clamping down on its citizenry, something guaranteed to trigger Lizzie’s flight-or-flight syndrome. The subtext running through both the books is the age-old dilemma of security versus freedom. Lizzie wants one, but not at the cost of the other.  Sounds kinda like certain pre-apocalyptic societies.

STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS is classified as a Young Adult novel. Don’t let that label fool you. Slater’s works may be about young adults, but they’re satisfying reads for all ages. It’s a page-turner and you might want to consider carefully before jumping into it at night.  ~ Christopher Key. Read the whole review HERE.

WRITER AND READER excerpt: In ALL IS SILENCE Lizzie was constantly on the move: Now Lizzie’s staying put and going stir crazy. Everyone has their own ideas about how the world should be run.  Let’s just say when things get tough, it’s scary what starts to seem necessary “for the good of humanity.”

The book really heats up. The end builds to a climax full of power plays and resource control.

Apocalypse books have been done to death. I really liked the ending of STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS. It’s that nice blend of set-up for intriguing conflict without an unsatisfying cliffhanger. In particular, I really liked the last line. Perfect tone for the book and the series overall. I can’t wait to read the next one. ~ Rachel Ann Hanley. Read the whole review HERE.

Post your own review, buy a copy, or read more reviews of STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS on Amazon and GoodReads.