Truer words have never been spoken. To quote from my much beloved Supernatural:
Endings are hard. Any cha
"It's not how you start, but how you finish."
Truer words have never been spoken. To quote from my much beloved Supernatural:
Endings are hard. Any chapped-ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass.
Anyone who has ever fallen in love with characters enough to follow them through many pages and various books is familiar with that aching feel of needing to get to the end but never wanting it to be over. Closure to a series, that “final” book that has to come eventually gives rise to such a vast array of contradictory emotions – even when the ending delivers more than you could possibly have ever hoped for, but especially when it doesn’t. Oh the betrayal! Oh the crushing disappointment! See? It’s not how you start, but how you finish.
I began Y: The Last Man series back in April and I was a smitten kitten from the start. Oh yes, can you spell "shameless fangirl"? The premise is just simply fantastic and oh so deliciously tantalizing with possibilities. What would happen if one day without warning ALL the men on the planet just up and died, including any Y-chromosome carrying mammals … ALL that is except for the unassuming, underachieving twenty-something Yorick and his pet male Capuchin monkey Ampersand. Yes, starting this epic story would be easy ... finishing was gonna be a bitch.
Because I was able to absorb / inhale / ingest all sixty issues in a few short months I did not have to face the long, agonizing wait between issues, or the anxiety that the creator would die before finishing (a common nightmare I had about Stephen King before he finished The Dark Tower series and one that nearly came true when he was struck by a van and almost killed while out walking one day near his home in 1999).
I loved getting this story all in one rush – the momentum never slowed, I never had a chance to forget characters, or salient plot points. I was living and breathing the adventure and like any addict, I never wanted it to end. But all good things must, and this series is no exception. I feared the ending as much as I craved it. Disappointed I did not want to be ... I couldn’t face feeling robbed or cheated. After coming along for the ride this far, and thinking about little else in-between, I expected BIG. EPIC. EXTRAORDINARY. UNFORGETTABLE. Keep my expectations reasonable? Never!
I had nothing to fear I’m so drunk with happiness and relief to report. If you choose to start this series (and I HIGHLY recommend that you do), you will not be disappointed with how it finishes. Heart-pounding, heartbreaking, white-knuckling, shocking, and bruising – this is just some of what to expect.
(view spoiler)[ Agent 355’s death ranks as one of the most shocking moments in storytelling history for me; I DID NOT see that coming and was totally devastated, screaming “NOOOOOOO!” at the page. I also sobbed my eyes out when it came time to say good-bye to Ampersand. ::sniffle:: That feces throwing little fuck really grew on me. I love that we get a look into the future, to see how Dr. Mann’s work played out, what happens to Yorick’s clones, and of course, what happens to Yorick himself. His final escape and ambiguous end was much appreciated. Alas, poor Yorick!(hide spoiler)]
I’m not a graphic novel aficionado – in fact, I’m quite the newbie. I can say this series has taught me a lot about the magic and strength of the format, how it combines images and text together in a way that isn’t film or novels but some intoxicating lovechild of both. Before reading this series I assumed graphic novels by default would be heavy on action and seriously lacking in character development. Boy, is my face red. I can’t remember the last time I came to care about people (and monkey) the way I did here. I also became addicted to the snappy dialogue that's intelligent and filled with irony, humor and pop culture references. And that action? It’s there alright and just as addictive.
I will definitely re-read this series at a later date....more
I have been on a zombie reading frenzy lately – I see a zombie book and I must read it, I can’t help myself. And the books are coming fast and furiousI have been on a zombie reading frenzy lately – I see a zombie book and I must read it, I can’t help myself. And the books are coming fast and furious, especially in the YA area. Some are good, some are awful, and some are outstanding. Jonathan Maberry’s Rot and Ruin falls somewhere just shy of outstanding. It reeks of EPIC WIN.
So yeah, I love this book and before I go all fangirl over Tom Imura and squee my head off let me highlight why you should start this series:
1) It is very well-written -- that’s not always a given, even from talented authors -- see my review of David Moody’s Autumn: The City. Moody is the man, but even he can write a zombie novel that sucks. Maberry has already established his reputation in the horror genre (his Ghost Road Blues snagged him a Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel). This is his YA debut and I’m impressed to say the least.
2) It is a highly charged, emotional story where some heavy shit goes down and you really fucking care who it’s happening to. This comes back to the all-important character development. I don’t scare if I don’t care, and I cared plenty here (even about the zombies!!!) Through the eyes of 15 yr old Benny Imura, we come to understand that zombies are not just mindless monsters out to gouge and consume humans. We see the tragedy of what they’ve become. Benny’s older brother Tom forces him to confront who they used to be:
Look at that woman. She was, what? Eighteen years old when she died. Might have been pretty. Those rags she’s wearing might have been a waitress’s uniform once….She had people at home who loved her….People who worried when she was late getting home.
So the zombies are not just plot devices or mere window dressing here; they serve a real purpose and are an important part of the story.
3) It’s a fascinating examination of what fear does to people. Just imagine a world that survives an actual zombie apocalypse. As groups of survivors ban together in fenced enclaves to try and eke out a semi-normal existence, who will these people become? How will they interact with each other, with the world that’s left to them? I know it’s a personal bias of mine, but I figure a zombie novel hasn’t done its job if it doesn’t convincingly show that humans can be the real monsters. Maberry hits that out of the park and I want to smooch him for it.
They held each other and wept as the night closed its fist around their tiny shelter, and the world below them seethed with killers both living and dead.
4) Tom Imura – squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited over a character from a book and reading as much YA as I do, most male protagonists are still battling hormones and attitude. But not Tom. Tom is in his 30s. He is a survivor. He is a specialist. He has been forged in battle and now is as strong and unbending as his katana - (no, not that! ... the Japanese long sword he uses). In a world that's been plunged into Hell and lived to tell about it Tom has retained his humanity. He is deep and soulful and will kick your ass in 2 seconds flat. He’s a mix of Master Li Mu Bai from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Morpheus from The Matrix, and my beloved Dean Winchester from Supernatural. How could a girl NOT fall in love?
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I was going to put my sober, hyper-critical hat on and give this four stars, but piss on that. For all the reasons described above and more, I'm happy to give this book five, fat fearsome stars. ...more
I just want to get this out of the way from the beginning – Read. This. Book. The writing is so very good and for a plot that seems oh so familiar andI just want to get this out of the way from the beginning – Read. This. Book. The writing is so very good and for a plot that seems oh so familiar and tired there is newness here, a freshness that just sucks you in making you forget all the other times you read about the end-of-the-world and zombies. Bick has a lot of original ideas to add to that YA zombie canon growing seemingly out of control; zombies are hot right now, there’s no doubt about that. So how do you distinguish yourself from the pack?
Bick’s success starts with her characters and when that’s your foundation you’ve already won half the battle. Alex, Tom and Ellie all in short shrift and with seemingly little effort become characters I worried about. Their safety and well-being wrapped me in perpetual anxiety. When a book can make you care for characters so much that you’re just sick to your stomach to read ahead because you just know things are only going to get so much worse, that’s good writing.
Like any zombie fare worth talking about, Ashes shows us we have much more to fear from ourselves than from the flesh-eating creatures now walking the Earth. There are some nasty humans in this book and I’m confident we haven’t seen the worst of it yet. This book will also make you pull your hair out. You can’t guess where the story is going and you start to get the feeling pretty early on that no character is truly safe.
There are a lot of original details I could gush over right now – like the dogs, the nature of “the Change” itself and the impact it’s having on one particular enclave of survivors – but I won’t. These details are best left discovered as you read. Since this is Book 1 of a projected trilogy, you have to know that things are just getting started and I love that I’m DYING to get my hands on Book 2.
Mucho thanks again to my friend May who snagged an autographed ARC for me at ALA! The only downside is now I have that much longer to wait for the sequel ... D'oh! ...more
I adore Roland and everything Dark Tower and I’m not ashamed to say that I squeed with delight (in true fangirl fashion) when I heard that Marvel and I adore Roland and everything Dark Tower and I’m not ashamed to say that I squeed with delight (in true fangirl fashion) when I heard that Marvel and Robin Furth would be spearheading a graphic novel adaptation. Things started out well enough – I was so charmed by the first installment – The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born. Essentially a re-telling of Wizard and Glass (Book 4 of the series), the colors were magnificent, the dialect spot-on, and I got shivers just reading that awesome line one more time: the man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. By the second installment however – The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home – my enthusiasm had waned considerably. I still enjoyed the art, but there was something truly missing, which I tried to articulate here in my rambling but well-intentioned review.
Rather than read on in the series, I stopped while I was ahead. That Roland – while admittedly still the last gunslinger from Gilead – wasn’t my Roland. Then comes along this sixth installment in the next cycle of the series – The Gunslinger: The Journey Begins. It seemed like a good place to pick up the story again. Roland’s young battles are behind him, all has been lost, and he is now on the road to the Dark Tower as a solitary traveler, embittered, battle-weary, with no tears left to shed. This is worlds closer to my Roland and I was only too happy to walk beside him once again. As Robin Furth explains in the introduction: "I would have to show how a boy so completely devoted to his ka-tet could become the bitter, lonely, and dangerous drifter we meet in the first of the Dark Tower novels".
I love that idea, and I think this next cycle is going to be outstanding by comparison because of it. Roland has begun to manifest his "long, tall and ugly" grizzled forbearance. His ruthlessness is apparent, as is his integrity and courage. It goes without saying that the artwork is outstanding and it felt so good to be absorbed back into this time and place once again with a character I love above all others. Here’s to more long days and pleasant nights! ...more
This was a good book not a great book. It's a little more than predictable (again with the two love interests!!), a little less than mysterious, and oThis was a good book not a great book. It's a little more than predictable (again with the two love interests!!), a little less than mysterious, and overall, I've seen the themes and action done better elsewhere: namely The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner trilogy, Rot & Ruin, Ashes and Blood Red Road (my all-star team).
Having said that, if YA dystopia is your thing than this is a must-read. The underground scenes are creepy as are "the Freaks" who hunt the subway tunnels ready to rip and tear your flesh. This is believable world-building and Deuce and Fade shine as warrior heroes. The series definitely shows promise and I will be coming back for more.
I expect a lot from my zombie fiction – terror, suspense, action, snappy dialogue, characters I can care about – and if it’s a novel really firing on I expect a lot from my zombie fiction – terror, suspense, action, snappy dialogue, characters I can care about – and if it’s a novel really firing on all cylinders, originality. In other words, authors don’t get a free pass to slack off just because they’ve gone the zombie route. It’s true that part of the genre’s enduring appeal comes from its familiar tropes – I read the books (and watch the movies) because the stuff I’m pretty certain will happen is all good, reliable fun. So while the overall story always feels familiar, the devil is in the details. If an author / filmmaker can take what’s so awesome about the genre but add a twist or two that’s totally new and unexpected, well then, ladies and gentlemen, what you have is a champion.
David Moody has come dangerously close to outright failure on all these counts with this second installment of his Autumn series. Words cannot express how supremely disappointed I am in this book but I’m gonna try. First off, this is a “companion” book, not a sequel, because it really doesn’t move the story along at all, but rather re-tells the plot of Book 1, just from the perspective of a different group of survivors. Two characters from Book 1 show up again and briefly add to the action. A review here on Goodreads points out: “Had you not read the 1st book in the series you could still pick this one up and start without being lost.” Yeah you could, because it’s essentially the same goddamn book! The only thing that prevents it from being identical is that the story is moved a smidge forward in the last few pages to set up Book 3. What could have improved things tremendously is if the two books and 600 pages had been edited down to 350 pages and one book. So, strike one.
Strike two: this book is DULL. How the hell can a zombie apocalypse ever be dull? I didn’t think it was possible, but there’s just no fierce tension or heart-pounding action. There are some scenes running from zombies that should get the adrenaline going, but just fall flat. And for this I’m really pissed because I know Moody can write awesome action sequences like nobody’s business (check out Hater), and draw out the suspense until you scream Uncle. This effort just doesn’t cut it. No way no how. I love zombies, and I think Moody is pretty cool, but I refuse to let this one slide, regardless of the book blurbs waxing poetic on its awesomeness and even the gushing reviews here on Goodreads. What the hell people? Have your standards dropped so low, or is that all you expect from zombie fiction these days?
Strike three: I know I mentioned that “different” or original is good, but zombies that don’t bite (and continue to decay) kinda suck ass. The premise sort of intrigued me in Book 1. Moody almost had me convinced that zombies don’t have to rip you up to be frightening – get enough of them and you’re either smothered or crushed. But after reading another 320 pages of this kind of lurching zombie behavior, with no gore, no ripping, no biting, I’m suddenly not so enamored anymore.
So three strikes you’re out, right? ::sigh:: I am going to read on in this series though, because I have to believe it will get better. I’m also curious to see just how far Moody will take the story. So far, he’s only tackled the first weeks of the apocalypse. That’s the easy part to tell. The tough part is what happens next. Will he go there, and what will his post-apocalyptic world look like populated by desiccated reanimated corpses? ...more
If there is such a thing as “a nice little zombie story” then Moody’s Autumn is it. It sticks fairly close to Romero zombie canon right down to the suIf there is such a thing as “a nice little zombie story” then Moody’s Autumn is it. It sticks fairly close to Romero zombie canon right down to the survivors barricading themselves in a farmhouse. What I did enjoy tremendously was Moody’s slow build. Some have found it annoying and dull – I was actually grooving it. First everyone drops dead – shock, horror! Then a third of the corpses gets up and begins to walk again. WTF!!!??? Holy Moses on a crutch!
Then as if you aren’t PTSD’ing enough, the brainless, wandering, dumb-like-cattle corpses suddenly start to be attracted to noise, to light and finally to YOU. They’re slow, they’re stupid, but they’re determined and now seem to have a single-minded purpose. To grab at you. To pull at you. One of them coming at you is laughable. Twenty a bit upsetting. These zombies aren’t biting yet, gutting you and pulling out your insides, but a hundred can smother you. A thousand will crush you. Where do you go? How do you keep them away from you? And is such a world really worth fighting to survive?
The zombies are never called zombies of course. I’m hard-pressed to think of a zombie apocalypse in fiction where the creatures already existed in popular culture when the real thing comes along. The only example that comes to mind is the classic, not-to-be-missed horror/comedy Return of the Living Dead. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, what the hell are you waiting for??? An actual zombie apocalypse? In it, the dead come to life and start lurching around screaming for brains and correct me if I’m wrong zombie-lovers, but this may be the first time ever on film that we get the now famous imagery of zombies hungering for brains. I think the whole “brains and zombies” thing definitely started with this movie. What’s more, the characters first try to kill a zombie by putting a pick-axe through its skull and then when that doesn’t work, chopping its head, which still doesn’t work prompting the following memorable dialogue:
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Burt: I thought you said if we destroyed the brain, it'd die! Frank: It worked in the movie! Burt Wilson: Well, it ain't working now, Frank! Freddy: You mean the movie lied?
Yes! The movie lied. But I digress.
Overall, there’s nothing hugely original or compelling in Moody’s little zombie tale, but I still had a great time reading it. The prose is a little rough (and it could use some editing), but this gives the novel a pulpy feel that works so well for this genre. I will definitely be reading on in this series, suspecting the zombies are only going to get much worse (if they don’t rot away to skeletons first, because they do appear to be still decaying!). Recommended for zombie lovers and apocalypse addicts everywhere. ...more
I love this series!!! The dialogue is snappy, smart, and funny, the characters are multi-dimensional with their own distinct histories and motivationsI love this series!!! The dialogue is snappy, smart, and funny, the characters are multi-dimensional with their own distinct histories and motivations and the action is compelling and suspenseful. Not only is this an original idea, it is executed with real finesse and with a great sense of humor.
Yorick is the perfect not-hero. He's just your regular guy, young, impulsive, mouthy, a little stunned sometimes but basically in possession of real heart and good intentions. It's not easy being the last guy on Earth, especially when your two escorts across the country are a top-notch secret agent who is secretly in love with you, and a brilliant geneticist who is secretly in love with the secret agent. Talk about a triangle worthy of the Apocalypse!
As if that weren't drama enough there are umpteen special interest groups -- political, paramilitary, rogue, cult -- that want you dead or captured to suit their specific agendas. Including your very own sister!
What I love about the writing of this series is that it stays fresh and alive and the situations -- while dramatic -- don't seem contrived. The cast of characters that come and go out of the storyline are all richly drawn no matter how brief their contribution to the story. This time around I'm particularly partial to the lovely Natalya and her broken English in America to rescue a Russian Cosmonaut.
All I can say is I can't wait to see what happens next! ...more
If you like fast-paced, action-packed, gore-filled, apocalyptic zombie stories, then this is one you don’t want to miss. I had a helluva good time reaIf you like fast-paced, action-packed, gore-filled, apocalyptic zombie stories, then this is one you don’t want to miss. I had a helluva good time reading it even though at times a few of the characters (Jenni) and some of the dialogue seriously grated on my nerves.
In Book 1 of a trilogy, Frater offers up a textbook genre zombie story, borrowing a lot from Romero canon (who she gives ample homage to) and a little from Danny Boyle (damn those quick-moving zombies!!) So while there are really no surprises here, or anything “new”, The First Days still manages to be a quick, fun, ruthless portrait of well … the first days of a zombie apocalypse: the panic, confusion, shock, grief, terror and insanity.
At first I questioned the seething hatred experienced by some of the characters – why they should so immediately loath the zombies and lust to kill them. Something about that wasn’t ringing true to me. Killing anything is pretty traumatic and I felt it would take longer for survivors to become adept at it or need more time to fuel the flames of their hatred. But maybe when you lose everything in one vicious blow and you have these vile “things” in front of you that only want to tear you apart and eat you alive your priorities and your rationality change pretty quickly. I’m sure people’s minds would snap in most cases, and fear and rage are pretty interconnected emotions. While some of the overkill seemed out of place, at the same time Frater is probably completely spot-on in her observations of human behavior.
There is also a scene at the beginning of the book that makes this book worth picking up. (view spoiler)[I won’t ever forget those tiny little fingers reaching under the door – so ghoulish! Children are usually exempt from zombie stories, but Frater dares to go there and she does it very effectively. While I will probably forget most of this book, I will never forget that scene. (hide spoiler)]
The writing is rough in places, but it does get stronger as the novel goes on, and what Frater lacks in finesse, she more than makes up for in her ability to write incendiary action scenes.
For two-thirds of the novel I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters, but I was pleasantly surprised when by the end I was beginning to feel like I “knew” them, even though I still didn’t like them very much. I’m invested now though, and cannot wait to read on in the series. This is the utmost compliment to Frater – I do need to know what happens next and so will you I bet. ...more
Post-apocalyptic fiction is a siren song to me; I will crash upon its shores any day of the week (and twice on Sunday). I love it in all of its permut Post-apocalyptic fiction is a siren song to me; I will crash upon its shores any day of the week (and twice on Sunday). I love it in all of its permutations and manifestations. I tolerate the dreck, and heap praise on the epic. It’s an addiction I’ve made my peace with, and a pleasure that involves zero guilt. And here’s where I’m going to quote from a review posted by Goodreads member Ceridwan. In a few beautiful sentences she is able to capture some of what is so appealing about these stories:
Much of what I love about post-apocalit is the landscapes it writes into being, all this prosperity and functionality of our modern world run to dust and a lone chimney standing up out of the ruin of nature run its course. I don't even want to speculate on why I find this appealing, because there is something self-annihilating, society-annihilating in my affections. The patchwork houses, the patchwork clothes, an anecdote about a bit of an airplane used to patch the roof that flew away because it remembered its function
YA fiction of late has found the sweet spot when it comes to the “world in the shitter” scenario. Whether it involves dystopian themes (mild or otherwise), zombies, mysterious plagues, or natural disasters, YA fiction is where it’s at right now.
This book is researched and the disaster entertained scientifically possible (some would even argue probable). The details harnessed by the author to describe his destroyed society are excruciating in their gritty realism – and all of this without the aid of zombies or unknown plagues. Impressive. The perilous journey we take with young Alex as he ventures forth into the desolate, ashen landscape to find his family is emotional, complex, and unexpectedly gruesome. There is violence, but not of the gratuitous sort. Mullin doesn’t cheat, and I felt Alex earned every scar, both the physical and the psychological.
It’s been a while since I've read a story such as this so firmly grounded in reality. Perhaps of late I've become a little too eager to suspend my disbelief, and forgive vague world-building and even vaguer reasons behind any societal collapse (okay, I admit it, I'm an easy lay in this context). The charm (and ultimate effectiveness) of this novel is that it did not ask me to roll over and suspend my disbelief once. It is filled with such unadorned gravitas, that I was a little taken aback in the beginning.
This is such a tense story, filled with moments of dread, shock, and frustration. But it is also a story that contains hope, and examines the human will to survive, because that’s what we do, that’s who we are – survivors. Darla is the perfect embodiment of a survivor – though young and frightened and besieged with loss, she still finds a way to carry on, to fight, to live. Their story captivated me, as did the convincing details of Mullin's post-apocalyptic nightmare. I want more! And look forward very much to the sequel. ...more
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