Spores Paperback – July 13, 2013

I love Sc-Fi! I have been reading, of late, Christian Speculative Fiction or "horror". I am not a horror person, but yet not a whole lot scares me. I could have done with out some of the cuss words, but I also know they are probably more common in books that are just not the ones I normally read.This book was creative enough in the creatures and the infections. It was sad with who all was dying or changing that we were getting to know. However, you knew from the start that there wouldn't be many folks left standing. I appreciated the detail given to the creatures - lethal though they are. The origins of their species/makers and the mystery surrounding them was just getting really good when the end of the book suddenly occurred leaving many things very open ended.I checked twice to be sure my Kindle didn't skip something I missed. It hadn't so the rest of the book either isn't finished or isn't written. :( I wish I had known that before I read it because open ended books aggravate me if I can't read the rest of the story, and there is not a sequel at this time to finish answering the questions or solve the mysteries.

Book Info: Genre: Horror Reading Level: AdultDisclosure: I picked up a free copy for my Kindle from Amazon.com; since it is Ian Woodhead's birthday 4/19/12, I decided to have a little Ian Woodhead marathon this week in celebration. Happy Birthday, Ian!Spores Synopsis: Over the course of a couple of days, all the liquid is lost from the body, leaving in its wake a dried shell. Just a slight vibration is enough for the corpse to detonate, sending millions of dust spores into the air.Everyone over the age of 40 has been wiped out by an unidentified fungal plague. Only the young remain. The survivors leave their shelters and emerge into a world blanketed with clouds of drifting spores.They believe that the worst is over, now is the time to start re-building. They have yet to encounter the abominations, altered by the spores. They thought the plague was the end. The plague is just the beginning.My Thoughts: Wow, this is one high-octane thrill-ride of horror. There's no way to tell who to trust, who is telling the truth or who is lying. It isn't a very long book, and it is mostly action, but there is some character development. The book is left open for a sequel, too, which I'll be interested in seeing if it should come out. Recommended for fans of horror.

This was an end of days novella where the human race is subjected to The Wasting. Everyone over 40 'wastes' and turns into a cloud of spores. Such clouds sometimes block out the sun. The survivors are trying to get themselves organized while trying to avoid the leftover pets which have now turned into mutant-y monsters that roam the streets. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I did find it to be interesting. There were some parts of it that reminded me of the "Day of the Triffids" ,but some other parts were completely original and unique.Unfortunately there were a few weird word switch things happening-wonder and wander were confused and a few other words as well. All in all, I enjoyed this story and I will read more offerings from Mr. Woodhead.

This book's premise is very good. Maybe not earth shattering as far as plot ideas go but still a fun and solid idea. "Something" is coming and killing everyone over 40 by turning them into dried out husks which then explode and spread the spores to other people. Awesome. Even more awesome when the second wave mutation hits and now there are monsters. A nice refresher from the zombie apocalypse.Unfortunately, even though the prologue showed promise in characterization and story, that's where it ended. The book is a mess. Filled with typos and poor writing. The characters are under developed for the most part. The ones that do have some interesting set ups are only briefly touched on, pushed to the side for a more "interesting" story line involving the military and stealing women for some reason. Because everyone knows, when the apocalypse comes, the first thing to do is steal all the women.The ending just leaves you feeling as though you've wasted your time. Barely anything was explained and there were a ton of loose ends. One would assume this is so you'll be pulled into the next book. But honestly, I didn't care enough about anyone in the book to be bothered to look into the sequel.Bottom line, don't waste your money or your time.

Again, I state, I am a huge Ian Woodhead fan. This book is not typical Ian, but don't let that deter you. Ian is a phenomenal writer, who writes a great storyline, colourful characters, and plenty of gore with the ease of a seasoned pro. The book is more sci-fi than his others, about a fungus, or spores, that invade our population & decimates our over 40's. We're left with everyone under 40 fighting for survival. You kind of get an idea about how this may end, the odds being stacked against anyone making it out alive or unaltered. He left it wide open for a sequel, which I sincerely hope he will do. What you will notice, is that although the book does not follow Ian's norm as far as genre, you do realise that this book really IS done in true Ian style. I love using the term "English English", since we Americans truly understand what that entails. His use of language & extreme descriptiveness is part of what makes Ian Woodhead such a great writer, in this readers opinion.

Aside from a few minor problems that could be chalked up to the fact that the author is English and uses slang I'm not familiar with this turned out to be an entertaining read. I'm not a very big fan of the current glut of Zombie Apocalyptic fiction in general but Ian has added a twist that deserves a second look. He would have earned five stars except there there were a couple of places that could have used tightening up in my opinion. Otherwise it was an entertaining read and I look forward to ordering more work from this author.

Right from the start - you know this is going to be a story that ends with very few survivors. The under-40's are battling to stay alive as a host of mutated animal hybrids and altered humans threaten to wipe mankind from the earth.With a disparate group of characters; besieged by turns by the Military and their ulterior motives, not-quite lost loved ones and the implacable and relentless hunger of the plague-ridden - Ian creates a desperate thread of hope amongst the vile horror that pervades every section of the story. Pleasingly; most of the good guys will have what it takes to emerge alive at the end - but is there any hope of escape beyond the last page? It looks like a gut-wrenchingly certain abomination-filled finality for the last Humans.(Regarding reviews about typo's etc: an updated version appears to up now which answers a lot of these issues.)

I had high hopes for this book with horror being my favourite genre but sadly I found it quite disappointing.The plot itself was quite good but the characters were too shallow and the storyline a little too haphazard which is a shame.The dialogue wasn't bad but there are too many spelling errors and for me it spoilt the flow of the story.I do have a few more of Ian's books and I hope they are better than this, overall though this book wasn't bad so maybe I just had too high an expectation for it.

This was initially a good read though poorly written. The grammar was poor and I'm not sure it was proof read before being released, making for a sometime jarring read.The thing that lets it down the most is the 2D characters and the fact that none of the plot points are really explained or expanded on, leaving you confused and disappointed.Could of been great, the premise was there but the execution was poor

Took a bit for me to get into the book.a better book is the dark by giangergorioIt's a shame because I like ian,s books.cover looks good

I enjoy reading horror books and enjoyed this book very much recommend to friends and family wish I could write like this