This is a must read for fans of TW Browns DEAD series.

So I pre-ordered this book, I like and respect TW Brown as an author so much. I'm pretty new to the genre, and in between I'm usually reading non-fiction books on development, financial policy, or history, often related to my job, but I would credit Max Brooks and TW Brown for getting me into the zombie genre as a guilty pleasure. Since then, I've read about 3-4 other authors who range from very good (Bobby Adair's Slow Burn Series) to how do people rate this stuff so highly ridiculous and boring (Mark Tufo). TW Brown is still my favorite. Max Brooks would probably win, based on the sheer mastery that is World War Z, except he hasn't written enough books. TW Brown is a much more prolific writer, and in my opinion this tips the scales. Plus, he delves way deeper into the zombie universe, and man, the things he comes up with are truly... original (read: at times pretty sick and shocking, but totally believable). His characters are well developed. Plus, he's not afraid to kill off main characters, or characters readers may be attached to, which makes his books way more suspenseful and unpredictable.

I enjoyed Snapshot: Portland because:

1. Classic TW Brown imagination, realism (obviously taking for granted the whole zombies exist part), and a strong variety of characters. This book sucks you in and doesn't let go. TW Brown = Antithesis of boring.
2. As a refreshing change, unlike most zombie books that seem to endlessly turn into series that sometimes seem more fixed on getting you to buy the next book than anything else, there is an ending, and not a cliffhanger one. Sure it seems a little pat, but you get closure. And you can start the book in the evening and still go to bed at a reasonable hour.
3. Having a significant other from the Pacific Northwest, and thus having visited a lot of the areas mentioned in Snapshot and his other books, makes things extra fun and seem extra realistic.
4. Nice tie-in to the rest of the Dead series.

The only detraction from this book I would say is the price compared to its length and how quick of a read it was (especially when you compare to other books in the DEAD series). Would have appreciated a bit more meat. But overall, I'd rather give my 5 bucks to a great author who will use the money to live to write, rather than most of what I spend it on in daily life (food from grocery store empires, cell phone bills... airline baggage fees). Think about it.