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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Fast-paced and surprisingly heartfelt. Definitely one of the top zombie books I've ever read; even more impressive considering it's firmly YA and the protagonist is a stupid teenage boy (though he does grow as the story progresses). Looking forward to reading the rest (mostly because I love Tom).
I love it! I love every bits and pieces of it. This book has heart and soul in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. If you're a fan of zombie lore, read this now. Can't wait for the next books. :)
You know, I really love Zombie books. But you know what else? I really love alternative zombie books. Books where an old monster is tackled in a unique way. In [b:Warm Bodies|9475392|Warm Bodies|Isaac Marion|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301921271s/9475392.jpg|10090210] we got R, the zombie with a soul. (Don't ask. Just read it. Amazing book.) That had never been done before, at least that I'm aware of. Then I read [b:Feed|7094569|Feed|Mira Grant|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1335958027s/7094569.jpg|7351419] I got a book where zombies were secondary to the Government conspiracies. Also, GREAT!
Well, Rot & Ruin was a compassionate book about Zombies. This was a book where, in a sense, the zombies were the victims and Humans were the villains. This was a book where when a Zombie was 'quieted' I would cry. This book reminded you that inside every scary zombie there used to be a person. A mother, a sister, a friend...
In Rot & Ruin Tom and Benny Imura survived 'First Night', which is what they call the first night that dead humans woke up as flesh eating monsters, and found a haven in Mountainside where other survivors have found a way to sort of thrive. It is now 14 years later, a 15 year old Benny has to decide what job he wants in order to keep his full rations of food. Anyone without a job is dropped to half rations. After a series of flops he finally decides to become a Zombie Hunter with his older brother Tom, whom he has no respect for. From here chaos ensues. Benny's world is flipped upside down.
In the beginning of this book Benny was a real DICK. Honestly. I even wrote a little note in my book that said 'Benny is a DICK'. You can tell right away that Tom is strong and amazing, and though you don't know what it is, you anticipate that he did something completely admirable and brave. And Benny HATES him. Benny calls him a coward. So all you can think about is what an ungrateful little dick he is. Or at least that's all I could think about.
I figured that part of the story was that he would grow, and he would discover a lot of truths. I was right. He did. And by the end I cared about him, as much as I do Tom.
You like Zombies? You like books about family? You like books about always being merciful in the face of great fear and war? Guess what, Me too! Sounds like we've got a lot in common. If you think so, grab this book. :)
Well, Rot & Ruin was a compassionate book about Zombies. This was a book where, in a sense, the zombies were the victims and Humans were the villains. This was a book where when a Zombie was 'quieted' I would cry. This book reminded you that inside every scary zombie there used to be a person. A mother, a sister, a friend...
In Rot & Ruin Tom and Benny Imura survived 'First Night', which is what they call the first night that dead humans woke up as flesh eating monsters, and found a haven in Mountainside where other survivors have found a way to sort of thrive. It is now 14 years later, a 15 year old Benny has to decide what job he wants in order to keep his full rations of food. Anyone without a job is dropped to half rations. After a series of flops he finally decides to become a Zombie Hunter with his older brother Tom, whom he has no respect for. From here chaos ensues. Benny's world is flipped upside down.
In the beginning of this book Benny was a real DICK. Honestly. I even wrote a little note in my book that said 'Benny is a DICK'. You can tell right away that Tom is strong and amazing, and though you don't know what it is, you anticipate that he did something completely admirable and brave. And Benny HATES him. Benny calls him a coward. So all you can think about is what an ungrateful little dick he is. Or at least that's all I could think about.
I figured that part of the story was that he would grow, and he would discover a lot of truths. I was right. He did. And by the end I cared about him, as much as I do Tom.
You like Zombies? You like books about family? You like books about always being merciful in the face of great fear and war? Guess what, Me too! Sounds like we've got a lot in common. If you think so, grab this book. :)
Finally getting around to the review.
So this was reasonably fun. I don't expect a lot of originality or innovation from a zombie book and I didn't really get any. Fairly straightforward to the point of being predictable, but Benny is a pretty realistic and quite endearing hero. The romantic subplot was kept out of the way of the actual plot and even though there was the threat of a love triangle the author maturely avoided it. I have only two concerns:
1. Tom Imura. He is a cool character, classic zombie-hunter-awesome-samurai-sword guy as well as incorporating an admirable morality. Definitely a good hero. However, Tom seems to be little more than a tool for the author to info dump, and to provide Benny with some training. It would have been nice if he were more fleshed out and real, instead of a bit of the mentor stereotype (who, I suspect, is definitely going to die to provide motivation to the hero and leave the 'awesome gentleman' gap later to be filled by the hero. Sigh. I say I don't need originality but just a LITTLE bit would be nice)(this is not a spoiler because I don't know if Tom is going to die, except that he most definitely will according to the laws of fiction).
2. The zombies. I like my zombies visceral, inhuman monsters roving for flesh. Maberry decided on a different route, humanising the dead and reminding us they were once human and you shouldn't desecrate corpses and all that. Now that's fine if that's the way you want to go, but it has the problematic side-effect of making the zombies decidedly less scary. These are the things you're meant to be threatening the hero with, but I'm not going to take that threat seriously if it keeps moping around its old house, staring passively at the walls. Pity and fear don't really go together.
I'll read the next books when I get a post-apocalyptic craving again, but there had better be some more gore. At the moment, Maberry is very far from the Rage-virus-walker end of the spectrum, ending up closer to Plants vs Zombies.
So this was reasonably fun. I don't expect a lot of originality or innovation from a zombie book and I didn't really get any. Fairly straightforward to the point of being predictable, but Benny is a pretty realistic and quite endearing hero. The romantic subplot was kept out of the way of the actual plot and even though there was the threat of a love triangle the author maturely avoided it. I have only two concerns:
1. Tom Imura. He is a cool character, classic zombie-hunter-awesome-samurai-sword guy as well as incorporating an admirable morality. Definitely a good hero. However, Tom seems to be little more than a tool for the author to info dump, and to provide Benny with some training. It would have been nice if he were more fleshed out and real, instead of a bit of the mentor stereotype (who, I suspect, is definitely going to die to provide motivation to the hero and leave the 'awesome gentleman' gap later to be filled by the hero. Sigh. I say I don't need originality but just a LITTLE bit would be nice)(this is not a spoiler because I don't know if Tom is going to die, except that he most definitely will according to the laws of fiction).
2. The zombies. I like my zombies visceral, inhuman monsters roving for flesh. Maberry decided on a different route, humanising the dead and reminding us they were once human and you shouldn't desecrate corpses and all that. Now that's fine if that's the way you want to go, but it has the problematic side-effect of making the zombies decidedly less scary. These are the things you're meant to be threatening the hero with, but I'm not going to take that threat seriously if it keeps moping around its old house, staring passively at the walls. Pity and fear don't really go together.
I'll read the next books when I get a post-apocalyptic craving again, but there had better be some more gore. At the moment, Maberry is very far from the Rage-virus-walker end of the spectrum, ending up closer to Plants vs Zombies.
Obvious sequel setup is obvious with and other shenanigans. Apart from that, though, a solid read. Much more of an emotional aspect than most zombie books. Good for middle grade, especially boys.
Tom... Tom <3 I hope he gets his own book. He's such a badass.
Spoiler
Charlie's Disney Villain DeathTom... Tom <3 I hope he gets his own book. He's such a badass.
It was a different kind of zombie book, in the best way possible. I really enjoyed it, although now I'm going to take a nice break from zombie stuff.
DNF. Promised my friend (who recommended it to me) that I would read at least 50 pages, so I did. And I hated it. It was badly written, and I was just so bored. Nothing happened, and I'm not a fan of slow-paced books. I could not make myself care about any of the characters at all.
I actually read the webcomic adapted by Taylor Grant et al. based on the book and it was fantastic. I think the comic might not have the complete story? I want to read the book some day too.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced