Nerds That Geek Book Review: ‘Ex-Heroes’

Written by Scott Edwards 

Welcome to Los Angeles, the City of Angels, the land of movies, super stars, Superheroes and yes, Zombies. A band of superheroes have joined forces to secure the Paramount movie studio to provide safe haven for those in the city that have not been infected by the virus. The affectionately named ‘Mount’ has living and farming quarters to house a number of survivors left in the city, but there is not enough food or supplies on hand to sustain this way of life. Supply runs become vital to the community and with Heroes at their backs, the people feel secure in all of their ventures outside of the walls.

On the group’s latest supply run, they encounter something that they have never seen before, road blocks with cars piled six to eight high. Dismissing this as an act of desperation from the other non-dead group that inhabits Los Angeles, St. George, aka the Mighty Dragon tears the detour apart so the group can continue on their run without being attacked by the undead. The zombies are called Exes, from the last presidential address concerning the outbreak, and since they were referred to as Ex-Living or Ex-People, the term was adopted. Besides the unexpected road block, the supply run goes according to plan, until their return home.

The other undead group in L.A., the Seventeens hit the supply group by disabling their truck and using a signal jammer to cut off any communications back to the Mount to call for reinforcements. The group battles the Seventeens and the Exes and tries to survive until any type of help will arrive. St. George is impervious to gunfire and bites, and with his super strength, he leads the charge in protecting the group. Cerberus, a woman in a cybernetic suit takes up arms against the attackers as well utilizing her strength to battle off the Exes while her suit still contains a charge, or until help arrives.

When help finally arrives, the big guns are drawn out and the attacking Seventeens and Exes are mowed down in the streets. Upon the group’s retreat back to the Mount, they manage to obtain two survivors from the Seventeens to be held for questioning. The two are not very helpful in the long run, as they both commit suicide in their holding cells. When they reanimate however, they do not respond as normal Exes, instead of trying to bite and kill, they only want to relay a bone chilling message from their leader; a villain with super powers who is also a member of the undead.

Ex-Heroes will take you on a thrilling ride through post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, complete with two groups battling for survival, dominance and revenge.  Following the group from the Mount, you see the battle unwrap from the eyes of the superheroes that only want to protect the living. We meet the leader of the group, Stealth, a smart, attractive and athletic woman who is rarely wrong, and we spend time with St. George, who has the power of flight and super human strength, and there’s Zzzap, who can only be qualified as a very tiny G-Class star and Gorgon, who can drain the energy from his intended by making eye contact with them. Trying to survive the attacks from the undead and now the Seventeens, Gorgon has a price on his head from embarrassing the Seventeens’ leader before the world changed. There will not be peace between the two groups until this superhero is turned over to the group and their revenge has been served.

Superheroes versus Zombies, who could ask for anything better? This is just a fun read that takes you into battle with those you believe to be invulnerable and see how they handle the destruction and protection of a city. You also get battles with Super Villains, undead Super Villains that have embraced their change and fight for their type of justice. Comic book fans out there, it is not DC or Marvel, but you get some great young characters in this book and their battle with the undead is just a joy to read. Picking this book up will not disappoint but may leave you longing for the next one. Happy Reading.

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