Jordan's Brains by J. Cornell Michel

Jordan's Brains: A Zombie Evolution
by J. Cornell Michel

Genre: Horror, Humor, Zombies

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the book.

Jordan is a normal, everyday girl with a big heart and the desire to help people whenever she sees an opportunity. The only problem...Jordan is BSC (Bat $hit Crazy) and resides in a Maryland psychiatric hospital. Jordan is voracious in her belief that zombies exist and a widespread outbreak is inevitable. She has spent years researching and planning, and even wrote a helpful guide to pass out to survivors of the outbreak when it happens.

To keep her skills sharp, Jordan performs intense drills to get her family to safety; mapping out and testing the best routes to get to her mother in Florida and being a good Samaritan along the way while peddling Jordan's Zombie Booklets.

Alas, poor Jordan is bitten, shattering her fantasy of saving the world. But she quickly realizes everything she thought she knew about the zombies was bunk, and her booklets rendered useless. Jordan's Brain gives readers a fresh take on the genre as Jordan tells her story from both the human and zombie perspective.

Jordan's character is skillfully crafted into one of the most rounded and intriguing personalities this reader has come across. She shows a childlike vulnerability that stems from shouldering the burden of self-blame over her father's death. Her quirky sense of humor shines through with what results in some seriously funny dialogue.
“Middle Child Syndrome,” I say with a straight face.
“Really? That’s odd. I didn’t know that was a real disorder.” This guy has no idea that I’m kidding. People assume that I don’t have a sense of humor just because I’m a little crazy.
“Oh, sure, Middle Child Syndrome is quite common,” I continue. “It’s a very serious problem, and it should be treated immediately when symptoms arise.”
“What are the symptoms?”
“Jealousy, rage, severe headaches, hysteria, seizures, and pink eye.”
The easy flow of the story was intensified by the first person narration. The author did an excellent job of keeping the story from becoming cliche, and instead used the main character's mental illness to write something original and unusual. Jordan's brain is anything but predictable. My only gripe is that while the main character is written so beautifully, the secondary characters are superficial and not very realistic. Take, for example, her brother Taylor. Taylor is a police officer and there was a missed opportunity to show the two of them fighting side by side to save those in danger. Instead, while Jordan plays hero he tucks tail and runs, giving no thought to the safety and well-being of those he was sworn to protect. I also think the cover doesn't give this book the justice it deserves. It could benefit from a makeover.

Jordan's Brain is a provocative work of fiction that kept this reader questioning every situation and whether it was reality or just another manifestation of her delusion. Do zombies really exist or is she just a gun toting loonie turned cannibal on a killing spree. This outside the box work of fiction has earned a place on this readers permanent bookshelf and won't soon be forgotten.

The Bookie Monster's Rating:

Jordan is a kindhearted zombie expert who voluntarily lives in a psychiatric hospital. Having prepared for the zombie apocalypse since childhood, Jordan is thrilled when hordes of the infected undead finally invade. With a bug-out bag and a confident grin, Jordan leaves the safety of the psychiatric hospital and wanders alone into zombie infested streets to rescue family and strangers alike. Everything seems perfect until Jordan's loved ones start dying, and Jordan has to face the harsh reality that the zombie apocalypse isn't going according to plan.

J. Cornell Michel wrote "Jordan's Brains: A Zombie Evolution" in order to face a childhood fear: corpses rising from the grave to hunt the living. Which is silly because zombies aren't real...yet.

Michel has turned into quite the horror fan, but is disheartened by the gender stereotypes portrayed in the horror genre. For this reason, Michel decided not to reveal the protagonist's gender in "Jordan's Brains."

J. Cornell Michel writes for Zombie Guide Magazine and recently finished writing a second zombie novel.

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/JordansBrains
Length: 264 Pages
Published by: Self-Published
Publication Date: May 21, 2013

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