Scan barcode
magikspells's review against another edition
4.0
You know, for someone like me that doesn't really care for zombie movies, it's weird that I gravitate toward and usually like zombie books. I don't know, there's just something about zombie books that are very essentially human. It's weird, but its what I've been thinking about the whole time while I listened to this book.
Rot and Ruin takes place in California 12 years (I think?) after the zombie outbreak occurs. There's never really a single point that it seems to stem from, but anyone that dies, whether bitten or not, will rise again. The story is about Benny who's a somewhat annoying 15 year old who is struggling to find himself. In the town he lives in, the people have attempted to reclaim some civilization after the zombies came. When you're 15, you have to find a job in the town or your food rations get cut. Ben is a little bit of a brat, particularly to his older brother Tom. But once he's out of options, he ends up apprenticing with his brother Tom in the trade of zombie hunting. Ben was reluctant because he's been harboring a hatred for his brother for abandoning their parents to the disease.
Tom is easily the heart of the book, he's strong, steady, and has endless patience with his ridiculous younger brother. And lets be honest, Tom is a badass. He's a tracker, swordsman, and pretty good with retorts when it comes to verbal sparring. For a zombie bounty hunter, he has a heart of gold. Well played Maberry, well played.
It's really difficult to give away any other characters or much of the setting without spoiling it. The plot runs along smoothly and takes turns that I wasn't expecting with a zombie story. There are zombie attacks, but essentially the story is about the human condition after the collapse of everything they held near and dear, essentially technology and social structure. Now that I think about it, I think that's why I gravitate toward zombie books. Because it isn't stories about zombies and monsters, it's stories about humans and how they deal with mortality. I would say that's one of the essential themes of this book.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. The book ended with enough closure for it to have been a stand alone but also enough intrigue for further volumes. Sometimes it's nice not being bashed over the head with a cliffhanger, to me that's a bit presumptuous for a first book in a series.
Rot and Ruin takes place in California 12 years (I think?) after the zombie outbreak occurs. There's never really a single point that it seems to stem from, but anyone that dies, whether bitten or not, will rise again. The story is about Benny who's a somewhat annoying 15 year old who is struggling to find himself. In the town he lives in, the people have attempted to reclaim some civilization after the zombies came. When you're 15, you have to find a job in the town or your food rations get cut. Ben is a little bit of a brat, particularly to his older brother Tom. But once he's out of options, he ends up apprenticing with his brother Tom in the trade of zombie hunting. Ben was reluctant because he's been harboring a hatred for his brother for abandoning their parents to the disease.
Tom is easily the heart of the book, he's strong, steady, and has endless patience with his ridiculous younger brother. And lets be honest, Tom is a badass. He's a tracker, swordsman, and pretty good with retorts when it comes to verbal sparring. For a zombie bounty hunter, he has a heart of gold. Well played Maberry, well played.
It's really difficult to give away any other characters or much of the setting without spoiling it. The plot runs along smoothly and takes turns that I wasn't expecting with a zombie story. There are zombie attacks, but essentially the story is about the human condition after the collapse of everything they held near and dear, essentially technology and social structure. Now that I think about it, I think that's why I gravitate toward zombie books. Because it isn't stories about zombies and monsters, it's stories about humans and how they deal with mortality. I would say that's one of the essential themes of this book.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. The book ended with enough closure for it to have been a stand alone but also enough intrigue for further volumes. Sometimes it's nice not being bashed over the head with a cliffhanger, to me that's a bit presumptuous for a first book in a series.
abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
excellent story! listened on playaway. glad to know there's more to come.
More...