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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
WHAT! No one told me what I was getting into when I started this book. I can't even remember what drove me to put this on my to-read list, all I know is that its been there for a while and I finally got my hands on a copy.
But lord almighty I wasn't prepared for this. This is certainly not the average zombie book. This straddles the line somewhere between Warm Bodies and Of Mice and Men. The whole while I read this, all I could imagine was that it reminded me of the classics that we read in high school. The setting, the characters, the metaphors are all that well written.
This book is about Temple, a 15 year old southern girl who has grown up in a time when zombies are a regular occurrence. She lives on her own. Temple travels around depending on the kindness of strangers where she can get it, but certainly not relying on it. She's fierce and no nonsense and can take care of herself.
This book is so well written and mind consuming that sometimes I felt like I could actually see the settings, feel what Temple was feeling. I very rarely can get sucked into the setting of a book like that, but its just that good. Bell doesn't try to paint a pretty picture of a world with zombies or the people that inhabit it. There are terrible things that happen, people die, people kill each other, and don't even get me started on the inbreeding mess. The characters are all terrible, flawed people, the world is a torrent of misery, but it's believable. And god damn it, I'm a sucker for a southern setting that isn't fake. As gross and as terrible as it is, it felt truthful. I applaud you Bell, but I will be hesitant to pick up the next volume. Honestly, I can't even imagine why this is a series, the first book closed so beautifully. I might just need a break from zombie books for a bit anyhow, they're pulling at all my feelings.
But lord almighty I wasn't prepared for this. This is certainly not the average zombie book. This straddles the line somewhere between Warm Bodies and Of Mice and Men. The whole while I read this, all I could imagine was that it reminded me of the classics that we read in high school. The setting, the characters, the metaphors are all that well written.
This book is about Temple, a 15 year old southern girl who has grown up in a time when zombies are a regular occurrence. She lives on her own. Temple travels around depending on the kindness of strangers where she can get it, but certainly not relying on it. She's fierce and no nonsense and can take care of herself.
This book is so well written and mind consuming that sometimes I felt like I could actually see the settings, feel what Temple was feeling. I very rarely can get sucked into the setting of a book like that, but its just that good. Bell doesn't try to paint a pretty picture of a world with zombies or the people that inhabit it. There are terrible things that happen, people die, people kill each other, and don't even get me started on the inbreeding mess. The characters are all terrible, flawed people, the world is a torrent of misery, but it's believable. And god damn it, I'm a sucker for a southern setting that isn't fake. As gross and as terrible as it is, it felt truthful. I applaud you Bell, but I will be hesitant to pick up the next volume. Honestly, I can't even imagine why this is a series, the first book closed so beautifully. I might just need a break from zombie books for a bit anyhow, they're pulling at all my feelings.
I loved every moment of this book about a lone southern girl surviving in a post-apocalyptic world. Rather than add my own commentary I will refer to this already perfect summary from amazon:
"The language is flawless. It is unobtrusive, but lush and almost lyrical. The pacing, too, flawless. Not a passage drags, nothing wasted. The characters are strong and believable; their motivations make sense; their voices are clear and distinct."
"The language is flawless. It is unobtrusive, but lush and almost lyrical. The pacing, too, flawless. Not a passage drags, nothing wasted. The characters are strong and believable; their motivations make sense; their voices are clear and distinct."
The Reapers are The Angels by Alden Bell is an excellent novel. This is an important statement because of the one word I did not say, and that word is “Zombie”. Because this is not just an excellent zombie novel, but just an excellent novel. Period. Alden Bell has combined the dark and disturbing genre of “Southern Gothic” with the, to be honest mediocre genre of “Zombie” fiction. What he has created is a character and a world that is both disturbing and comforting in its familiarity.
Temple is 15 years old and was born 10 years into the zombie uprising. She has never known a world without zombies. She was “raised” in an orphanage that was overrun by zombies while she was still a very young child. Because of this she has had to grow up on the road wandering the southern states. Uneducated in the traditional sense, Temple is unable to read or write, but is knowledgable in the skills necessary to survive in the zombie world.
The southern gothic aspects lend themselves in surprising ways to the novel. Temple is an odd mixture of ignorance and brilliance. Although uneducated, Temple is not ignorant. The novel is told mostly as an internal monologue, out of necessity, as she is alone, or with a mute, developmentally disabled, companion for most of the novel. Her thoughts are complex and much, much more mature than her 15 years. As she travels, Temple comes to a city that is trying to make a stand in a complex of high rises. While there she is attacked by a man and kills him in self-defense. Because of this, the man’s brother swears he is going to kill her, and the remainder of the novel is her attempts to evade this man named Moses Todd. They meet several times during the novel and it is obvious that they feel a connection to each other. Not in a sexual way, but as kindred spirits. At one point Temple and Moses are talking and Temple explains that she killed Moses’ brother because he attacked her and that he was not a good person. She does not tell him this in a begging way but just explains it. The funny thing is Moses admits that his brother was not a good person, but it does not really make a difference because family honor demands he avenge his brother’s death.
The relationship between Moses Todd and Temple is the driving force of this novel. The reader reads page after page of them meeting and sparing, and, at least in my case, hoping they will find a way to solve their differences without one having to kill the other. There are several times in the novel where Temple could have killed Moses Todd, but she chooses not to do it because he had not done anything to her yet, and she understands why he is seeking revenge. I get the impression that she approves and would do the same thing in his shoes. The southern gothic theme of duty and honor are the major theme of this novel.
This novel is beautifully written, and the reader will feel they are traveling with Temple. Her sense of overall contentment with this world that most would find unbearable is a wonder to behold. She sees the miracle of Gods work all around her. Her faith is unbreakable, and on the surface seems so simple, but is in fact so profound that it almost boggles the mind. She feels that God puts people where they are meant to be. In the very beginning of the novel, Temple is at a light house in Florida, and one night she sees a school of glow-in-the-dark fish. This is an example of Gods wonder. Everything that happened in her life led her to seeing these fish. Call it fate or God’s will, but Temple does not rail against her life or wish things were different. The ending is truly horrific, but left me with a sense of hope I had no right to feel.
This review has not done this book justice, just read the novel, you won’t be sorry.
5 of 5 stars
Temple is 15 years old and was born 10 years into the zombie uprising. She has never known a world without zombies. She was “raised” in an orphanage that was overrun by zombies while she was still a very young child. Because of this she has had to grow up on the road wandering the southern states. Uneducated in the traditional sense, Temple is unable to read or write, but is knowledgable in the skills necessary to survive in the zombie world.
The southern gothic aspects lend themselves in surprising ways to the novel. Temple is an odd mixture of ignorance and brilliance. Although uneducated, Temple is not ignorant. The novel is told mostly as an internal monologue, out of necessity, as she is alone, or with a mute, developmentally disabled, companion for most of the novel. Her thoughts are complex and much, much more mature than her 15 years. As she travels, Temple comes to a city that is trying to make a stand in a complex of high rises. While there she is attacked by a man and kills him in self-defense. Because of this, the man’s brother swears he is going to kill her, and the remainder of the novel is her attempts to evade this man named Moses Todd. They meet several times during the novel and it is obvious that they feel a connection to each other. Not in a sexual way, but as kindred spirits. At one point Temple and Moses are talking and Temple explains that she killed Moses’ brother because he attacked her and that he was not a good person. She does not tell him this in a begging way but just explains it. The funny thing is Moses admits that his brother was not a good person, but it does not really make a difference because family honor demands he avenge his brother’s death.
The relationship between Moses Todd and Temple is the driving force of this novel. The reader reads page after page of them meeting and sparing, and, at least in my case, hoping they will find a way to solve their differences without one having to kill the other. There are several times in the novel where Temple could have killed Moses Todd, but she chooses not to do it because he had not done anything to her yet, and she understands why he is seeking revenge. I get the impression that she approves and would do the same thing in his shoes. The southern gothic theme of duty and honor are the major theme of this novel.
This novel is beautifully written, and the reader will feel they are traveling with Temple. Her sense of overall contentment with this world that most would find unbearable is a wonder to behold. She sees the miracle of Gods work all around her. Her faith is unbreakable, and on the surface seems so simple, but is in fact so profound that it almost boggles the mind. She feels that God puts people where they are meant to be. In the very beginning of the novel, Temple is at a light house in Florida, and one night she sees a school of glow-in-the-dark fish. This is an example of Gods wonder. Everything that happened in her life led her to seeing these fish. Call it fate or God’s will, but Temple does not rail against her life or wish things were different. The ending is truly horrific, but left me with a sense of hope I had no right to feel.
This review has not done this book justice, just read the novel, you won’t be sorry.
5 of 5 stars
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This isn't your typical action-packed zombie novel. If anything, I'd say it isn't about zombies at all. They're just the landscape these people are walking through and they don't matter any more than a river or a ravine that needs to be dealt with.
It's philosophy without pretension, this book. It's about connections, duty, love, loneliness, beauty, despair, and all the things no one talks about.
It's philosophy without pretension, this book. It's about connections, duty, love, loneliness, beauty, despair, and all the things no one talks about.
Beautifully written. Good pairings: The Road; Winter's Bone; Salvage the Bones
What a huge waste of time! This book is not only lacking any kind of interesting content whatsoever, it's also full of religious crap. Altogether, I just kept wanting to throw it against the wall in frustration. I can't believe I'll have to spent two seminar sessions talking about this garbage.