The End Games by T. Michael Martin

e-ARC, 301 pages
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Published by: HarperCollins
Standalone
Source: Edelweiss*
For fans of: The Walking Dead, Zombies, Post Apocalypse, Action, YA

It happened on Halloween.

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. (From Goodreads)


*MY THOUGHTS*
      I had so many thoughts on this book. It was so hard to come up with a review. I wanted so bad to love it, but I just didn’t fall for it right away. I had so many things I loved about it but at the same time, some of those things were what I disliked. 
     For instance, the writing style was a bit weird. I had to get used to it and I admit it took a little longer than I expected. He seemed to talk to his self and have flashbacks and I had to stay on top of it or else I would lose myself. But in another way, I loved his writing because of the imagery. I could clearly see everything in my head as I read. 
     As for the characters, I really did like them. Michael was there the entire time to take care of his brother. He was an amazing big brother and I loved him for that fact alone. I have a sister who is autistic and I could definitely relate to the relationship they had. 
     What I didn’t like about the book, was the villain and the “Bellows.” They weren’t “evil” enough. And towards the beginning the Bellows aren’t really there. It seems that they did a lot of running from them, but not very much fighting of them. For this book to be 300 something pages, I was looking for guns firing and zombie slaying all around. I can’t lie, I got a little bored after awhile. 
     The world building wasn’t all that great to me either. There were some things that I wish had just a little more detail to them and there wasn’t. I wanted to know about the setting as a whole, not just where they were at the time. 
     In short, this book sort of surprised me. I had super high hopes for it considering I don’t really just LOVE zombies, but it just fell short for me. Even still, I would recommend this to others who love zombies because they might enjoy this a little more than I did.