Gil's All Fright Diner (Alex Awards (Awards)) (ISBN 0765314711)

You just can't beat zombie cows...:
I read this book because it sounded funny, and it was pretty funny. Anyone who likes corny zombie movies would like this book. Two unlikely characters serve as the heroes of this tale. Earl (as in earl of the Vampires) and Duke (as in Duke of the Werewolves) stumble across a diner with a zombie problem on a road trip they're taking. Loretta, the diner's owner, handles the zombies without batting an eye. Unfortunately soon things take a turn for the worse and even Loretta with her shot gun needs a couple of extra bodies to handle all of the trouble. This is not a beautifully written book, but then I wasn't expecting it to be. It is full of action, gritty, and witty. It was fast-paced, kept me interested, amused me, and (despite the fact that Earl and Duke aren't the most endearing characters I've ever read about) I really became quite fond of them by the end of the book. I knew this was going to be a good book when they got attacked by zombie cows; I mean how can you beat that. So if you're looking for a quick, fun, and darkly humorous read this is the book for you. I will definitely check out what other books this author has out. karissabooks.blogspot.com

What an awesome book!:
Wow! This was a fantastic book, which kind of surprised me due to the subject matter; I thought maybe I'd be in for something silly and nonsensical, but boy was I wrong. Never judge a book by its cover art! Super entertaining, and a very quick read. The characters were so well-developed and fleshed out that you felt like you had met each one in real life, and I love that the author even took care with the most minor characters. The story line was so fresh, funny without being silly, and suspenseful even after you already know what's coming. The in-depth descriptive writing style draws you in right away and does not let go until you finish a little breathlessly at the end! If you love Charlaine Harris, and especially if you love Christopher Moore, you will LOVE this book! I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next!

Two Ghouls Scrambled With a Side of Zombies:
This was howling good. Humor, horror and diner food all cooked together in a real page turner. Bigger than life characters (at least some were alive) battle for the world in small-town America. Martinez started with an interesting premise and fleshed it out for a satisfying conclusion. This quick read was great for a lazy day. Whatever Martinez writes, I'm going to want to read!

Loved it:
Funny, but it would have been nice to not see so many curse words in the book. You can be funny without using a plethora of bad language. Terry Pratchett does it all the time.

A great deal of fun:
This book was just so much fun to read. Great characters, wonderful good guys, horrid bad guys... scary cows...I can only hope that there will be further installments to the story of Earl and Duke! Now, because I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and am most definitely left wanting more, this book gets 5 stars. However, I actually still have to agree, to an extent, with the comments made by the people who left the 1 and 2 star reviews. The author rarely, if ever, mentions Loretta's character without also being sure to outline exactly how large she is. It's never as simple as, say, "Loretta walked away". It would have to be "Loretta heaved her large bulk around, and walked, jiggling, away". The joke on Loretta wears thin to the point of being embarrassing to the author's blatant prejudice. Or, at least, the author should be embarrassed. Also, yes, there were a few typos and grammatical errors. Where the heck are the editors on these things? pg 91 - "May I ask what your doing?". Really, that sort of mistake just ends up distracting the reader from the story. And I will agree that there is a similarity to Christopher Moore in tone, but I don't think the author is duplicating Moore's voice. In fact, I'd say that there is just enough compliment to Moore's books that fans of his works should be thrilled to find A. Lee Martinez. I would say the same in comparing Martinez to Joe Landsdale, too. In any case, this book was, over all, a blast to read. I will be picking up more of Martinez's books. Despite the drawbacks outlined above, I can do nothing but heartily recommend it.