Play Audiobook Sample
The Return Man Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(2.97) - 115 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
The outbreak tore the U.S. in two. The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness. They call it the Evacuated States. It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.
But in the wastelands of America, you never know who -- or what -- is watching you.
Download and start listening now!
"When I took this book out of the library, I didn't realize it was two screen plays, but I truly enjoyed reading it. I could hear Myrna Loy and William Powell speaking the lines, as I read. This book was a hoot to read...how fun it was! It was a nice break from more serious reading!"
— Diane (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Hands down one of the best zombie novels I’ve read in a long, long time. From first to last, The Return Man is an astonishing read. With characters you genuinely give a damn about and a story that’ll keep you turning page after page, this is an outstanding debut.”
— David Moody, author of Autumn and Hater -
“Zito expertly piles on thrills, cliffhangers, and numerous twists, investing, renewed life into the shambling, cliché-ridden corpse of the zombie subgenre.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Anyone familiar with The Walking Dead, Day of the Dead, or countless other zombie franchises will fell right at home under the undead covers of Zito’s debut novel. Zito puts a new twist on the zombie myths with his bounty hunter hero, who springs from the postapocalyptic roots of Matheson, Romero, and King.”
— RT Book Reviews (4 stars) -
“Thrilling, melancholy, and stomach-churningly gory…Zito amps up the action with a nightmarish showdown in the bowels of an abandoned prison…This is a sturdy and crowd-pleasing novel that squarely hits its target.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Zito’s debut is stunning, a harrowing, haunting, and beautifully written novel that belongs on the very top shelf of the zombie canon alongside Max Brooks’ World War Z, Mira Grant’s Feed series, and the groundbreaking Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”
— Library Journal -
'Hands down one of the best zombie novels I've read in a long, long time. From first page to last, THE RETURN MAN is an astonishing read. With characters you genuinely give a damn about and a story that'll keep you turning page after page, this is an outstanding debut.'—David Moody, author of Autumn
-
Thrilling, melancholy, and stomach-churningly gory... This is a sturdy and crowd-pleasing novel that squarely hits its target.
— Publishers Weekly -
A hair-raising quest ... Zito expertly piles on thrills, cliffhangers and numerous twists ...
— The Guardian (UK) -
An overload of thrills, spills and adventure.
— The Sun (UK) -
V.M. Zito manages to do away with many of the most common elements of the zombie novels...some books of this ilk lurch from scenario to scenario like levels in a videogame, but here it's all done smoothly...enjoyable.
— SFX -
Zombies, action, and overlapping schemes make this a sure winner.
-
Best Horror Novel of 2011—drying-ink.blogspot.com
-
Unputdownable ... A page-turning, action packed, well-crafted debut novel that will take your breath away. Highly recommended.
— The Founding Fields -
. . . a perfectly balanced layer cake of action and horror . . . This is a stunning debut and matches the feelings I had when I first read the likes of World War Z and Hater . . . you are unlikely to experience a better crafted and adrenalin fuelled thrill ride than V.M. Zito's novel The Return Man."—Liberation Frequency
The Return Man Listener Reviews
-
" Give me the original Thin Man! The audio was interesting because it provided extensive background about the series, the movies that is, and Hammett's reluctance to work on them after the first and all the problems. But that was almost more interesting than the story. The reading was set up like a radio play--and while that sometimes works, this didn't. I suppose since it was from a screenplay... An interesting experiment. Thin Man remains one of those book/movie combinations in which both are excellent. These are sequels that don't quite make it. "
— Joyce, 2/8/2014 -
" Less like a novel, more like scripts for the films. "
— Melissa, 1/26/2014 -
" Nice script but clearly made better by the acting of William Powell and Myrna Loy. "
— Doc, 1/17/2014 -
" this was different-like reading a screenplay. it was kindof fun to re-visit the vernacular of the day. But the plot was not fully fleshed... "
— Christa, 12/23/2013 -
" I agree with most reviewers - read the first story, forgo the rest. Then watch the first three movies and be done with the series. "
— Drew, 12/14/2013 -
" Slight but quite fun - taken from work Hammett did for movie sequels - some no more than outlines. "
— Nick, 11/10/2013 -
" I love this movie series, so it was kind of fun to go back and read the original novellas. Now I need to watch the movies again to see if I notice the differences between the author's orignal story and the script that was edited by two of MGM's writers. "
— Krista, 10/19/2013 -
" The novellas were clearly written in order to be turned into screenplays, and so lacked the polish and finesse of an actual Hammett novel, but it was still fun to see where the finished movies came from, what was kept in, what was changed, and what did and didn't translate. "
— Sarah, 10/9/2013 -
" I didn't realize that it was basically the poorly edited scripts for some of his movies. :( "
— Lauren, 9/10/2013 -
" Fun reminisce of the movies. Perhaps not so entertaining for someone who has not seen at least the first Thin Man movie. Clever writing by Hammett and interesting history of the movies, Hammett, Hollywood in the 1930s. "
— Rogue, 9/3/2013 -
" This isn't really novellas. It's screen stories. Which means that while the dialogue is there, the rest of the writing is purely utilitarian. It's virtue is in historical value. "
— Ashley, 7/10/2013
About V. M. Zito
V. M. Zito resides in Connecticut with his wife and daughter. When not working, he spends his weekdays as creative director at a New England ad agency and his weekends running on forested trails.