Digital List Price:	$1.29
Kindle Price:	$0.00 Save $1.29 (100%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Promotions apply when you purchase

Add an

audiobook with Audible narration for $3.54

Audiobook Price: $6.08

Save: $2.54 (42%)

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Better Hero Army

+ Follow

More books from this author

Plagued: The Midamerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment (Plagued States of America Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Better Hero Army (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 1,097 ratings

Book 1 of 5: Plagued States of America

See all formats and editions

When Tom, the son of a powerful Senator, becomes stranded in the Plagued States while searching for his lost sister, his only hope of survival rests in the hands of a few grizzled veteran zombie hunters and a mysterious half-breed zombie woman he thinks may know where to find his sister...

In the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, humanity won by creating a moat surrounding the Plagued States of America. Now, zombies roam freely, and only the most fearless of hunters venture in, but they don’t hunt to kill. Zombie labor is too valuable a commodity. That’s why Tom has come to one of only three sanctioned outposts along the Moaning Coast, to check their sales records in the hopes of finding his lost sister. What he finds instead is a mysterious half-breed zombie woman who may know where she is. So when the township is overrun by zombies, Tom, the half-breed, and a group of grizzled zombie hunters must fend for themselves in order to survive not only the zombie horde, but the military gunships trying to wipe out the infection.

This debut book by Better Hero Army stands to become the start of one of the best new zombie series with its action-packed story, great characters, and twists that keep you on your toes and breathless to the very end.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DTCT26O
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Storyteller Press; 3rd edition (July 2, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 2, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1997 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #16,199 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #211 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #388 in Horror (Kindle Store)
- #508 in Action & Adventure Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 1,097 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Better Hero Army

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Better Hero Army is the (really cool) pen name of American author Evan Ramspott. Under the Better Hero Army name, Evan writes about zombies, gargoyles, fairies, aliens, and pretty much anything that doesn't belong in the mainstream (i.e., he writes about cool stuff). He has a really cool website at www.betterheroarmy.com, he sometimes posts on Twitter @BetterHeroArmy, and he tries to drop pictures of cool things that inspire him over on pinterest.

Evan's other (not so cool) works of fiction are mainstream stories about social inequities and hardships (and are real downers by comparison).

When Evan isn't being a (cool) writer, he has a family and a day job and enjoys all three equally. Oh, and he likes the beach because what's not to love about beaches?

These cool people like his books:

"A new form of undead" - Patrick S. Dorazio (Author of the Dark Trilogy)

"Wonderful, surprising story" - Desert Rose Reviews

"...absolutely nailed this new creative idea and plotline..." - Gadget Girl Reviews (UK)

"A unique take" - Tome Keeper (UK)

"Highly entertaining read..." - Utterly Undead

"I'm hooked!" - GoodReadsMadReads Reviews

"Non-stop adventure!" - Books 4 Tomorrow (South Africa)

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

1,097 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Haunted Reader

Compelling, Articulate, Imaginative, Quality

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2015

Verified Purchase

Review: PLAGUED: THE MIDAMERICA ZOMBIE HALF-BREED EXPERIMENT (PLAGUED STATES, 1) by Better Hero Army

A compelling and articulate zombie approach, one of two I've read this week which have encouraged me to rethink my avoidance of this sub-genre. This is the first installment in a trilogy, both quality writing and creatively imagined. A decade following the first of the zombie plague, America consists of a few walled "Districts" (compounds) for the wealthy, some agriculture and manufacturing, and a few enclaves where zombies are confined. The rest is barren--home to zombie populations. The confined are sold as slaves, for factories; not for field work, because they can't bear the light of day.

The author doesn't blanch at zombie and hunter violence, but unlike many other stories of this ilk, it's not blood-drenched. Gore is not the focus: character and the very imaginative setting and background are the focus.

Helpful

Jinxie G

Surprisingly Unique and Detailed

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2013

Verified Purchase

I was asked to review this book by the author for the Zombie Survival Crew website (zombiesurvivalcrew.com), and chose to purchase it myself rather than receive a review copy because I was impressed with the first few paragraphs.

One can't say this book by Better Hero Army lacks action. In fact, it's full of enough action and detail to really keep you reading. The first three chapters move quickly and are very well-written. Beginning with chapter four, however, the editing errors creep in and take over, though the action and detail never stop.

I was impressed with the detail throughout the novella. Better Hero Army does an excellent job in describing the people and surroundings, giving a good layout of the land, enough to give the reader a good visual. Logistically, I had a few issues, but other than that, it was well done.

Tom is the main character, of course, and I'd consider Penelope--the half-breed zombie--the other main character, as Tom grows quite attached to her and the story centers around the two of them. The only part that bothers me with Penelope is that "a certain thing I can't discuss here because it'll be a spoiler" doesn't get explained in the end. Cliffhangers are one thing; leaving the reader hanging without an explanation by the end of the book is another. The author does tie up a lot of the story. It was just that one thing that got me.

Tom is desperately trying to find his sister for penance, for the mistake of the scared twelve-year-old boy he was ten years earlier. There is a good plot to this story, background is well thought out, but it doesn't wrap up everything at the end. I know there will be other books to follow, so I'm hoping this isn't one of those 'let's split one book up into five' deals. As much as I enjoyed the story--though not totally enthusiastic about it--it drives me bonkers when an author splits a story like that. And I did enjoy the story. It's not a complete halt at the end and you do get some closure. Just know that this is part of a series before you dive in.

Plagued is in need of a good copy edit by an experienced editor. I'm rating the book 4 stars on here, though I rated it 3 stars on the ZSC site per my star rating system: 1=hated it, 2=disliked it, 3=liked it, 4=really liked it, and 5=loved it, because while I enjoyed the story overall, there were a lot of distractions with misspelled words, lack of punctuation, passive voice, and formatting, etc. I also thought the story was better than OK.

I wish Better Hero Army the best of luck with the series and future endeavors.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Larry Stouder-studenmund

Good ideas, okay writing

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

Not a knock on the writer, it’s a good effort, and god knows I’ve never tried to write a book. The book follows a reasonable, if not surprising, arc, and there’s effort made to build characters and develop them.

Overall, I have a preference that any love story take second place to the real plot, if the novels not a romance. This one has a pretty all encompassing one, one that sticks to the romance almost from the beginning, and never moves away from it.

I would have loved more characterization, and it’s a little awkward that all of the most notable characters in the book were men. Even the female co-star, if you can call Penelope that, is competent and useful right up until it’s time for her to be saved by a man that is laughably incompetent the rest of the novel in comparison. Additionally, the book most definitely does not pass the Bechdel test. One female character, only there to be forced to submit to the men.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Max S. Cañez

Damn good book!

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

I am a big fan of dystopian apocalypse literature. Plaguer was VERY entertaining and once I started reading could not put down until finished. This story is truly unique by introducing the half breed girl. I felt like I was the main character and was really invested in the story and his endeavors. This books starts out well after the pandemic has changed the world and all human life in general. You get bits and pieces of THAT story as you go along without wing the main subject - this is life after. Well written book, I will be buying the next book(s) in this series and am really glad there is more. No cliffhanger here but a definite thirst for more from this author. Am truly delighted that I have now found another author that I must follow. Read this book. You will not regret it.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Jennifer Reed

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on May 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

product as described

Kindle Customer Tricia

Very good

Reviewed in Australia on March 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed reading this book as it was different to some of the other zombie stories. I found putting the book down was impossible as I had to know what was happening to everyone

dark misty one

Pretty good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

I have to say that I'm about as zombied out as you can be on zombie books, but I have to say this one does stand out, good writing, good grammar and an excellent story plot, certainly unusual to have you rooting for a half breed whilst feeling sympathy for the zombie children, often wondered how the smallest and most defenceless would fare. Certainly looking forward to book two.

Natasha B

An interesting take on zombies, but i dont want ...

Reviewed in Canada on July 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

An interesting take on zombies, but i dont want to give anything away. It read really fast and the chapters were short, I would recomend this to young adults. Im very curious to read the other 2 books in the series.

Woodcutterfrog

An interesting non apocalyptic Zombie story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is the first book in the series and, although well written with good characters, is written as a scene setter rather than a story in its own right. I enjoyed the book as far as it goes but it needs the other books to expand and explain what is going on and where the story is leading the reader. An unusual approach for a Zombie novel, particularly a non apocalyptic one. Well worth reading, I am on to the second to see what happens next.