I've been a lifelong fan of horror and the older I get, it seems to me the harder it's getting ***Now Available!***
Save your last breath to scream
I've been a lifelong fan of horror and the older I get, it seems to me the harder it's getting to scare me and to get my hands on the good stuff. One positive thing about this sad development is that it's forced me to venture out into other genres and try new things and find new loves. My first love however -- my one true love -- will always remain horror. It's in my DNA (literally probably because my parents were huge fans of things going bump in the night). I was weaned on the stuff, and on the stuff I shall die.
Why am I rambling thus? For a fan with such an unquenchable appetite for these matters, discovering newcomer Nick Cutter is the equivalent of venturing to the end of the rainbow and having a leprechaun hand you over his pot of gold. I'm so gobsmacked and excited by my good fortune (our good fortune) that I'm still in a bit of a dizzy fangirl spin. The only thing that could make this any better would be if this discovery heralded an ushering in of a whole new Golden Age for horror the likes of which not seen since the '80s. Yes? Please? C'mon now!
Well, whatever the case, Nick Cutter is doing his part penning two terrifying tales in two years, written to make grown women scream and grown men wet their pants. He's got the horror cred down; you don't have to read him too closely to see that he too was weaned on the stuff and inside his writer's heart beats the heart of a horror geek.
Reading The Deep I was put through quite the mental and emotional ringer. Between its covers some of my most vulnerable pulse points of fear were ruthlessly exploited. I was reminded of Sphere, The Thing, Event Horizon, and Alien. There's body horror that's going to remind you of early Cronenberg. And just when things start to feel familiar and you think you have a handle on it all, Cutter veers the story off into an angle of Weird that's psychologically trippy and very Lovecraftian in execution. And while this story is going to remind you of a lot of other things, it is still going to shock you and lay you down and have its way with you.
Nick Cutter is a pseudonym for a talented author who can write a mean literary novel and win prizes for them. But I'm selfish and insatiable. Now that he's ventured over to the dark side I want him to stay here and to play here forever, and ever and ever. Yeah, I'm a smitten kitten alright.
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A free copy was provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Check out my review of Nick Cutter's debut fright fest -- The Troop.
Sexual debut. Sometimes it seemed to Deenie that high school was like a long game of And Then There Were None. Every Monday, another girl's debut. --T
Sexual debut. Sometimes it seemed to Deenie that high school was like a long game of And Then There Were None. Every Monday, another girl's debut. --The Fever, Megan Abbott
Nobody (and I mean nobody) writes the dark and secretive interiors of a teenage girl's psyche better than Megan Abbott. But make no mistake: while she is writing about teenagers, she is not writing Young Adult. Her books are so far removed from YA Lit it's not only a different country, but another planet. So if you haven't had the shocking and titillating pleasure to read her yet and have Ms. Abbott shelved as Young Adult, get her off there post-haste please -- asap -- I mean immediately.
Seriously, do it.
Go on.
I'll wait for you.
One of the things I've come to love about Abbott the most is that even when I think I've figured out how the story is going to go, she always manages to surprise me. And she never cheats. Here, she not only surprised me, she creeped the hell out of me, something I wasn't expecting at all. The Fever isn't a horror story, but Jesus damn, there are aspects of the story that are extremely unsettling and creeeeepy. I was reading this into the wee hours of the morning last night, and got to this one part and the little hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention:
She started clearing her throat, and once she started it was like she couldn't stop. "But most of all it's here," she said, clawing at her neck. "It feels like there's something in my throat. And it's getting bigger."
::shiver::
I've been fangirling for Megan Abbott for awhile now, but with this she's made me her slave. And she's so pixie-cute petite you can fit her in your pocket. Looking at her mischievous, Mona Lisa smile you'd never expect her to so eloquently and ruthlessly explore the twisted, perilous, coming-of-age waters of teenage girls, waters that run black and deep. There are monsters that swim in that water, monsters that bite, scar and maim for life.
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Megan Abbott
My only sadness and regret is that I'm finished, and this book isn't even coming out until June, which means I've got a bit of a wait before I get my next Megan Abbott fix. I'm jonesing already. What can I say: she's made me her junkie bitch.
A free copy was provided by the publishers through Netgalley for an honest review.
First of all, when Stephen King goes out of his way to blurb a book, I pay attention. About The Troop he says:
"This is old-school horror at its best.
First of all, when Stephen King goes out of his way to blurb a book, I pay attention. About The Troop he says:
"This is old-school horror at its best. Not for the faint-hearted, but for the rest of us sick puppies, it's a perfect gift for a winter night."
I'm a sick puppy! Right away, I perk up like one of those Pointer dogs on the scent. Secondly, the book description refers to The Troop as Lord of the Flies meets The Ruins. Oh yeah! You just pressed two of my book buttons right there. I'm lighting up and going off all over the damn place.
So yeah, Stephen King is not lying or exaggerating. This book IS NOT for the faint-hearted. It's for the sick puppies -- it will make you squirm and gag and cringe and hold on for dear life. It will also creep you the fuck out and make your skin crawl off in self defense. Your skin may never speak to you again actually.
I usually run an image free zone in my reviews, but for this book, I'm hoping a picture speaks a thousand words.
Here are some of the faces this book made me make:
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Get the picture? I'm a horror veteran, and let me tell you, this book scarred me. There are scenes I will NEVER forget. If they invented brain bleach tomorrow, it still couldn't erase the shock and ewww and WTF? from my mind.
Five stars for totally creeping me out and giving me a raging case of heebie jeebies. I could not put this book down and I will be recommending it to other sick puppies. Plus, I actually CARED about the characters. Newt!!! And perhaps (view spoiler)[having one of the boys turn out to be a bonafide animal torturing sociopath is a bit of overkill, but so what? I admire the author's commitment to grab you by the throat, full-throttle storytelling. (hide spoiler)]
Nick Cutter is a great pseudonym for a horror writer. Let's hope we hear more from him in the future.
A free copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.
This is very good, just a smidge shy of four star good actually. It's been awhile since I've read such a convincing "monster" story as engrossing as t This is very good, just a smidge shy of four star good actually. It's been awhile since I've read such a convincing "monster" story as engrossing as this one. And it's squicky goodness too. I'm still scratching and feeling all paranoid. The hoarding details are tremendously well done, treated with real understanding and sensitivity yet not shying away from the more horrific and disgusting dimensions of the disorder.
I was a little disappointed with the soft, ambiguous ending, pretty much standard for this kind of "monster of the week" fare. It's not certain who survives in the end, and there's always that dangling promise that the threat will be back. Oh yes it will. ::Cue ominous music::
Another good thing about reading this book? It will make you want to clean for your life!!!!
***ARC received from Dark Fuse publishers through NetGalley...more
If you haven't read Rot & Ruin (the first of the Benny Imura books) I highly recommend that you do. This is shaping up to be a spectacular series with If you haven't read Rot & Ruin (the first of the Benny Imura books) I highly recommend that you do. This is shaping up to be a spectacular series with a lot of heart. Love the writing, love the world-building, love the characters -- especially Benny's older brother Tom (be still my heart). Book 3 Flesh & Bone is coming in September, and to my utmost, fangirl delight -- it's been confirmed that there will be a Book 4 next year, Fire & Ash. *happy dance* The series definitely has its fans, but I still don't think it's getting nearly the attention it deserves, and I really want to play my small part in changing that.
This short story is set between Books 1 and 2 and it has been such a delight to re-visit Benny's world (and Tom!!!!!!) In the Land of the Dead is a series of vignettes woven together describing various aspects of life inside the fences protected from the Rot and Ruin. Whatever you do, DON'T read this story first because it is majorly spoilery for Book 1. For fans of the series, it is a gracious treat easily savored.
Benny's hilarious exchange with best friend Lou Chong made me laugh as they both stress and fret over the troubled young women they each have feelings for. It is a tender moment of innocence and normalcy in a world that has become an abomination sparsely populated with traumatized survivors, choked with fear and grief.
Another scene which delighted me to my toes has Tom continuing his combat and self-defense training of Benny and his circle of friends. Here, Benny is mercilessly teased by everyone when he screams "like a ten year old girl". Benny claims it is his warrior's cry sure to intimidate his enemies.
“It wasn’t a scream,” insisted Benny. “It was a high-pitched yell.” “Uh huh,” said Chong. “A hunting call.” “Right,” said Nix. “Like eagles use.” “Sure,” said Tom. “It was a battle cry--.” “Dude,” said Morgie, who sat on the bench, his shaved head still bandaged. “You screamed like a little girl. I’m kind of embarrassed to know you.”
Ah Benny. Still so much to learn young grasshopper.
So what are you waiting for??? This series is all kinds of awesome. If you start now you'll be all ready for Book 3 come September. How much do I love? Let me count the ways....more
Yowza, wowzers, and woot! woot! This book -- a mad collaboration from four horror gods (small 'g') -- is this cat's meow (or as they say where I come Yowza, wowzers, and woot! woot! This book -- a mad collaboration from four horror gods (small 'g') -- is this cat's meow (or as they say where I come from -- it's all that and a bag of chips).
It was going to take a lot for this book to impress me for the simple reason that vampires of late have become...meh for me. As monsters meant to inspire horror they have been done to death it seems. Not to mention they have suffered an incredible disservice in recent years both on film and in print (yeah, I'm looking at you Ms. Meyer). There just hasn't been anything really new or fresh tried either. It's either you're sparkling and pouty and misunderstood, or it's waaay back to the Stoker tradition of a debonair, aristocratic abomination that abhors garlic and crucifixes.
Don't get me wrong: I haven't always felt this disillusioned. I love 'Salem's Lot and I am Legend. I went through a huge Lestat phase in my early 20s. The Lost Boys remains one of my favorite movies of all time, and I love Steve Niles' re-imagining of vampires in his graphic novel series 30 Days of Night (the movie is pretty kick-ass too).
Despite that, I've stopped 'looking for love' with vampires. Even del Toro's The Strain underwhelmed me. So I had doubts with this one, I really did, but thanks to two awesome reviews filled with squee here on goodreads by Stephen and Daniel, I decided to throw my doubts aside and dive in.
This is about the most self-indulgent fun I've had in bleems! Draculas hits just the right note of gorror-ific combined with pee your pants scary that's doused with a gallon of can't help but giggle here even though that's beyond messed up and so wrong (I can't tell you how many times I cringed and burst out laughing at the same time (view spoiler)[1. the balloon animals made out of intestines, 2. the baby eating its way out of mom's stomach, 3. all the scenes involving self-mutilation, cannibalism and auto-cannibalism. (hide spoiler)] Remember the first time you ever saw The Evil Dead? Oh yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about!
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So yeah, this book is tremendous fun, awesomely gory, written with a frantic energy that keeps the pages turning. Another thing worth praising is the way this novel is a completely mad mash-up of a whole bunch of horror elements; it's like the authors took vampire stories, along with zombies, werewolves and aliens, threw them into a blender and spit out this mish-mash of pure chaos and entertainment. I recognized about 100 shout-outs to other books and movies, but at the end of it all, this book stands as its own original. The authors tried things here I don't think I've seen tried anywhere else. The way the teeth are described though made me think of this from 1985's Fright Night: c'mon, gimme a kiss!
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The ensemble cast is fun too, and added a lot to the story's enjoyment. If it weren't for such a large cast and getting to know the group -- I loved that the narrative kept changing pov -- it just would have been a ho-hum affair about a bunch of lunatic infected running rabid through an enclosed space (which has been done a 1000 times). Not only do we get pov from the good guys, we get the story from the side of the infected too. I really appreciated that and the decision to do so added great entertainment value. Highly recommended!!!!!!
P.S. I paid three dollars for the eBook and there's really no way to express how much bang I got for my buck. The eBook also contains mega extras that make this title worth so much more. My thanks to Stephen and Daniel on this one. Ain't goodreads grand?
P.P.S. Stephen, I am a woman of my word. You have earned yourself a shelf, sir. :)
This book flirted with three stars a few times along the way. I found myself getting frustrated at certain points and harrumphing or sighing in exaspe This book flirted with three stars a few times along the way. I found myself getting frustrated at certain points and harrumphing or sighing in exasperation. (view spoiler)[I am still grieving for Tom and have not made up my mind if his death was the best choice for the series. I appreciate why Maberry did it, but I don't have to like it. Tom's presence made the first two books so rich and strong and dynamic. His chemistry with Benny -- the bond that they shared as brothers -- was special and defined the books for me, in the way that the Winchester brother bond defines Supernatural. I can't imagine Sam without Dean and I'm having a helluva time reading about Benny without Tom.
Maberry tries to alleviate some of this horrible vacuum by having Benny hear Tom's calm, wise voice in his head. But it's not the same and just rubbed salt in the wound, for me at least. I did tear up at Benny's dream (vision?) when he talks to Tom, asks if he can go with him, tells him he loves him and lets him go. That was nicely done, but doesn't let you off the hook Maberry. It doesn't make me feel any better about Tom's absence.
I also DID NOT APPRECIATE how Joe Ledger arrives into the story with Lilah mistaking him for Tom. There was a part of me that FELL FOR IT. I was ready to scream in sheer joy. Instead, I ended up wanting to throw the book across the room in crushing disappointment. I felt toyed with. Cruelly so. I wouldn't have cared how improbable or unrealistic Tom's reappearance would be. Do you hear me, Maberry? I wouldn't care one whit. In a land of reanimates, all bets are off, and if you really wanted to bring him back, you could. (hide spoiler)]
This is a book about grieving and loss. I get that. Benny's group have lost so much and experienced unspeakable tragedies. In a very real way, this is the story of them coming to terms with that loss, facing up to it, learning to let their loved ones go and make the conscious choice to move forward. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong all express their grief and the lingering effects of trauma in different ways, but Nix is perhaps having the hardest time finding herself again, or put another way, discovering who she has become. Benny must learn this along with her, and it is a painful and confusing lesson for them both.
There is a new threat introduced in the guise of a menacing cult known as 'reapers', founded and controlled by bona-fide psychopath Saint John of the Knife. John has a power-hungry and ruthless rival in Mother Rose. It took most of the book for me to warm up to the idea of this group and get on board with the threat they represent and where their ambitions are taking the story. For a good long while I resented their presence and how much time and dialogue Maberry gives them. I did arrive at begrudging acceptance by the end however, and their existence does add an interesting layer to life post-apocalypse.
I resisted warming up to the introduction of Joe Ledger as well. (view spoiler)[Right away, I couldn't help but think he was brought in to take Tom's place in the story as the older, experienced veteran, spouting advice and looking out for the kids. Fair or not, I resented him immediately simply for not being Tom. (hide spoiler)]. But by the end I had come to grudgingly like him and turned the last page hoping to see more of him in Book 4.
We learn much more about life in the Rot & Ruin in this installment and just how insulated Mountainside residents are from any knowledge, and as Tom suspected all along, how determined the townspeople are to hold on to their ignorance at any cost. So while this book flirted several times with three stars, I am giving it four because I love the characters Maberry has created and this series has really found its way into my heart. I'm also chomping at the bit to see where this story goes in Fire and Ash, always a good sign. Finally, Maberry dedicates this book to "librarians everywhere" which pleased me muchly. What can I say? Flattery will get you everywhere :)...more
MABERRY, YOU BASTARD!!! I knew you would do this to me!! ::sobbity sob::
Review to follow when anger and choking tears subside.
In the first book Rot & MABERRY, YOU BASTARD!!! I knew you would do this to me!! ::sobbity sob::
Review to follow when anger and choking tears subside.
In the first book Rot & Ruin, Maberry spends a lot of time putting us into the world as it exists almost 15 years after a zombie apocalypse. We need to know about how things are now, how people live and how they relate to one another. This is Benny's world. Maberry also spends a lot of time and care developing a cast of characters he wants us to fall in love with before he puts any of them in peril. In this he shows a keen talent for details. I know I fell in love almost immediately, and when peril does descend I was sick with anxiety for everyone's safety and survival.
Rot & Ruin has its moments of high octane action, but it is primarily an emotional story about two estranged brothers who must learn to bridge the gulf of misunderstanding that separates them. In a lot of ways it is a coming-of-age story focused on 15 year old Benny as he learns about the world around him and what it is that his brother does out there in the Rot and Ruin beyond the safety of the fences. Benny discovers nothing is what it seems – cowards become heroes and heroes reveal themselves as villains. And zombies aren’t nearly as monstrous as living men
Because Maberry did such a fantastic job in the first book creating a convincing world peopled with convincing characters, he is able to let loose and go full throttle with Dust & Decay, which is dizzying in its action sequences. It is a white-knuckle read through and through, peril at every corner, imminent death sitting on the shoulders of every character we’ve come to know and love. I was an absolute MESS reading this. I just knew something horrible would happen, I just didn’t know what and how bad it would be. The very few quiet or tender moments in this installment work because they are in such stark contrast to the otherwise absolute chaos.
Dust & Decay has a very Western feel; the lawless and perilous Rot and Ruin is very much reminiscent of the American Wild West where heroes are made and villains thrive. The vast, emptied landscape is the backdrop for a battle waged among the good, the bad and the ugly. It is nail-biting, nerve-wracking stuff -- dramatic, cinematic, and totally epic.
Maberry still has a lot of story left to tell, and I’m definitely looking forward to that, but I will never, EVER, be able to forgive him (view spoiler)[for killing my Tom – NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Why oh why? (hide spoiler)]
I liked this book a lot. There is a nice slow build while the tension and suspense are allowed to simmer and tightly coil, ready for the great “unspriI liked this book a lot. There is a nice slow build while the tension and suspense are allowed to simmer and tightly coil, ready for the great “unspringing” if you will. That nice slow build is balanced by some manic action sequences, which are in turn balanced by some beautifully rendered scenes of epic creep. (view spoiler)[When the youngest victim of Flight 753 returns home to her grieving father, bloodied, muddy, catatonic and hungry I got that nice cold, tickle happening on the back of my neck. (hide spoiler)]
I’m not a huge fan of vampire stories, but if I’m going to read them, the vampires better be nasty and ruthless, and these vampires more than satisfy that criteria. Despite the splendid presentation, I don’t think Del Toro or Hogan are creating anything new here, though perhaps that was never the point. If they just wanted to tell a scary story about scary vampires then they have succeeded quite well. But they have also borrowed heavily from many other sources that left the story feeling kind of familiar and overwrought in places. This is a plague story with CDC characters featuring prominently as heroes on the run. The disease vector just happens to be vampirism, but a lot of the genre tropes for “pandemic dramas” are present and accounted for (and with the title The Strain maybe that shouldn't come as a surprise).
Also, (view spoiler)[just in the way the newly turned vampires attacked en masse in bloody, lunging, uncoordinated groups, reminded me more of zombies than vampires. (hide spoiler)] There is an undeniable “apocalyptic zombie” feel on and off throughout the novel. I had to keep reminding myself that these are vampires not the other reanimates of horror.
The vampire's pathology is quite dramatic and vividly described here, and that part of the novel did feel fresh and new. I can’t make up my mind about their feeding apparatus though. (view spoiler)[At first it seemed creepy and gross. Then it seemed like a frog tongue. Then it reminded me of those “sticky hands” from the 80s. Should I laugh or scream? (hide spoiler)]
The Setrakian character has some great back story, but since he is essentially the vamp killer extraordinaire – Dr. Van Helsing in other words – I couldn’t NOT picture Anthony Hopkins (a la Bram Stoker’s Dracula), so that became a little distracting.
Overall though, this was a fun read for October and I will definitely read on in the series. (view spoiler)[I'm rooting for Gus, poor guy! (hide spoiler)]
I'm giving this three stars because overall, the stories are okay and several are completely forgettable. But I also encourage you to pick up this antI'm giving this three stars because overall, the stories are okay and several are completely forgettable. But I also encourage you to pick up this anthology because a few are outstanding and it would be a crying shame if you missed them.
Making it to Outstanding:
"What Maisie Knew" by David Liss: At turns creepy, sick and disturbing; absolute compelling reading. If this premise has come up before, it was new to me and I loved it. The zombies are not the monsters of this story. The squick factor is off the charts.
"Kids and Their Toys" by James A. Moore: Think The Body meets The Girl Next Door. There is a reason why children shouldn't play with dead things. I haven't been this creeped out since reading "Children of the Corn".
"Twittering from the Circus of the Dead" by Joe Hill: Mr. Hill hasn't totally blown me away with his novels, but his short stories are EPIC and this one is no exception. If only all Twitter feeds were this engrossing and suspenseful! What starts out as a young girl's whiny bitch-fest in installments of 140 characters or less, morphs into heart-stopping terror.
"Family Business" by Jonathan Maberry Easily my favorite of the bunch just because Maberry took what were the ingredients of a major story and turned it into a kick-ass novel called Rot & Ruin. Read the novel first though because the short story contains major spoilers.
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
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