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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
3.5. I liked the idea behind the plot and the potential it had, but something about this just didn't click with me all the way. Maybe the series gets better as it gets along?
At first it was kind of hard to really get sucked into the book, a slow start. But that part was also important, alot of information.
After a few chapters the aventure began and the book caught me by surprise, it got captivating. It has a great story and it showes that sometimes humans are the actual monsters.
I've read a few other zombie books and I think Maberry created a unbelievable world of zombies.
I'm absolutly gonna read the other books in the serie. I like the book very much. When it once began it just got better and better until the end. XD
If I must choose a character that I like the most I have to say...Tom. Even if he had lived in the world of zombies a long time and do what he does, he still had that humanity intact. He was very cool and I hope he's as much in the next books as he was in the first.
After a few chapters the aventure began and the book caught me by surprise, it got captivating. It has a great story and it showes that sometimes humans are the actual monsters.
I've read a few other zombie books and I think Maberry created a unbelievable world of zombies.
I'm absolutly gonna read the other books in the serie. I like the book very much. When it once began it just got better and better until the end. XD
If I must choose a character that I like the most I have to say...Tom. Even if he had lived in the world of zombies a long time and do what he does, he still had that humanity intact. He was very cool and I hope he's as much in the next books as he was in the first.
I think I like Maberry's YA stuff better than the adult fiction. Sure, things are a bit... simpler, but not to any major degree, and the violence and testosterone-fest is toned down from the regular orgy level in his other books.
As a series opener (the next book is Dust & Decay), I think he does well setting up a new hero and his cohort, as well as all the potential inherent in venturing out into a zombie-infested America that still possesses intriguing hints of the old civilization.
As a series opener (the next book is Dust & Decay), I think he does well setting up a new hero and his cohort, as well as all the potential inherent in venturing out into a zombie-infested America that still possesses intriguing hints of the old civilization.
Not a great book. If you are looking for somethings try "Dark Roots"
I kept comparing this to The Walking Dead but then I realized that this is a YA novel and it's meant for 12 to 15 year olds. Moving along. This book was filled with watered down gruesome imagery of the brutal atmosphere of a typical zombie apocalypse. I loved the concept of a boy realizing who the real monsters are in his life. However, since I'm older and used to more rich and raw emotions associated with death and being torn alive from humans and zombies, I thought this book was whatever with the raw emotions. Also, the main character seemed too immature and angsty. I think Mayberry was trying too hard to make Benny act like a typical angry 15 year old. And I don't understand why there needs to be 4 more books after this, I really hope the author doesn't mess up by repeating ideas. But, if I were to read this at 14, I'd probably be in awe of the watered down gruesome imagery, somewhat raw feelings and the okay action packed storyline, Mayberry portrayed. I would definitely recommend this to middle schoolers and freshmen.
The summary above doesn’t even hint at everything this book entailed. This was not just a ‘ooh, run from the zombies’ book. It was much more.
So, it’s a dozen or so years into the future and the zombies have taken over. Everyone lives in a fortified “city” they call Mountainside. Outside of the gates is the great Rot & Ruin, where the zombies walk free and it isn’t safe. In this future, everyone who has been bitten becomes a ‘zom’, and once you die, no matter the cause, you will rise as a zom.
There are people who go out into the Rot & Ruin and kill zombies, sometimes for the fun of it, sometimes as a job for the zombie’s family. Let’s say Mary left her husband John as a zombie; she will hire one of the zombie hunters to find John and kill him for good, to release him from being one of the living dead. Benny’s not excited about becoming a zombie hunter with his brother, but it’s basically the only job he’s qualified for.
He thinks it will be a simple thing to kill the zombies, but what he sees out in the Rot & Ruin ends up changing him forever.
It seems there’s a zombie book on every bookshelf these days, but I think this one has its own unique spin. The ‘apocolypse’ has already happened, so we’re not dealing with running away from anything. The survivors have set up camp and created their own society where they’re fairly safe from the walking dead. Plus, everyone who dies turns into a zombie, not just those that have been bitten.
The writing was superb; I don’t mind admitting I got a little teary-eyed near the end. And there was real suspense that had me very nervous quite a few times.
The characters were wonderfully full and well written. I never wondered why someone did something, it was clearly part of their personality. I quickly cared about each of them and empathized with them and wanted them to be okay. It was quite easy to get in their heads and feel what they were feeling. The dialogue was nice and straightforward. Benny and his brother didn’t have a lot to say to each other, but Benny had a great rapport with his friends. His relationship with his friend-that’s-a-girl was sweet and honest.
Zero sexiness, but that’s okay. I think it would almost have seemed out of place to have that. These kids are young (though circumstances have forced them to grow up fast), and they’re still trying to understand the world around them. There were a few sweet kissing scenes, though.
I like the cover and I think the eyeball is sufficiently creepy. The dust and ash on the boy’s (Benny’s?) face sets an accurate mood for the story.
So, it’s a dozen or so years into the future and the zombies have taken over. Everyone lives in a fortified “city” they call Mountainside. Outside of the gates is the great Rot & Ruin, where the zombies walk free and it isn’t safe. In this future, everyone who has been bitten becomes a ‘zom’, and once you die, no matter the cause, you will rise as a zom.
There are people who go out into the Rot & Ruin and kill zombies, sometimes for the fun of it, sometimes as a job for the zombie’s family. Let’s say Mary left her husband John as a zombie; she will hire one of the zombie hunters to find John and kill him for good, to release him from being one of the living dead. Benny’s not excited about becoming a zombie hunter with his brother, but it’s basically the only job he’s qualified for.
He thinks it will be a simple thing to kill the zombies, but what he sees out in the Rot & Ruin ends up changing him forever.
He got up and slapped dirt from his jeans, then looked up at the yellow August moon that hung in the sky beyond the garden fence. It was the same moon, but it looked different now. He knew it always would.
It seems there’s a zombie book on every bookshelf these days, but I think this one has its own unique spin. The ‘apocolypse’ has already happened, so we’re not dealing with running away from anything. The survivors have set up camp and created their own society where they’re fairly safe from the walking dead. Plus, everyone who dies turns into a zombie, not just those that have been bitten.
The writing was superb; I don’t mind admitting I got a little teary-eyed near the end. And there was real suspense that had me very nervous quite a few times.
Tom took another step and then another. Benny eventually followed. The process was excruciatingly slow, but to Benny it felt as if they were going too fast. No matter how deliberately they went, he thought it was all wrong, that the zombies-all of them up, and down the street-would suddenly turn toward them and moan with their dry and dusty voices, and that a great mass of the hungry dead would surround them.
The characters were wonderfully full and well written. I never wondered why someone did something, it was clearly part of their personality. I quickly cared about each of them and empathized with them and wanted them to be okay. It was quite easy to get in their heads and feel what they were feeling. The dialogue was nice and straightforward. Benny and his brother didn’t have a lot to say to each other, but Benny had a great rapport with his friends. His relationship with his friend-that’s-a-girl was sweet and honest.
Zero sexiness, but that’s okay. I think it would almost have seemed out of place to have that. These kids are young (though circumstances have forced them to grow up fast), and they’re still trying to understand the world around them. There were a few sweet kissing scenes, though.
I like the cover and I think the eyeball is sufficiently creepy. The dust and ash on the boy’s (Benny’s?) face sets an accurate mood for the story.
I took to this book slowly. It wasn't even on my radar until it received a Cybils 2010 win. But gradually the story began to eat at me. A brother full of anger, a world full of secrets and a jarring series of action-packed twists and turns. I highly recommend it as a straight-through read. Don't take time to catch up on any other story - leave your movies, TV shows and RSS feeds aside. There were a few faltering steps to the story about 85% of the way in, but by then I was so satisfied in the thick heft of pages already moved to the left side of the book that I hardly cared. I like that an obvious twist took me by surprise and I look forward to seeing what else becomes of the story.
Fact: my eight-year old sister is all totally "not scared of the cover, but can we look at it one more time... okay... can we put it away now?"
Fact: my eight-year old sister is all totally "not scared of the cover, but can we look at it one more time... okay... can we put it away now?"
SLJ review:
Gr 8 Up—Fourteen years after First Night, when America was overrun with the dead who reanimated, 15-year-old Benny Imura joins his half-brother, Tom, in the family business of "closure" or zombie bounty hunting in Jonathan Maberry's novel (S & S, 2010). Benny thinks Tom is a coward and greatly admires the much flashier Charlie Matthias, but his opinions begin to change once out in the Rot & Ruin where he sees what Tom really does. His maturation and growing respect for his brother dovetail with a deep yet unacknowledged affection for his friend, Nix, and his fascination with a near mythical Lost Girl who is said to be living out in the Rot & Ruin on her own. Plenty of action and gore balance a delicate love story, and finely drawn, three-dimensional secondary characters make the tale sing. Brian Hutchinson capably handles the narration, expressing Benny's fear, determination, and dawning realizations. The ending is a bit predictable but satisfying, leaving plenty of room for a sequel. The setting, circumstances, and character development will be enjoyed by all who relish vivid storytelling, not just horror aficionados.—Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, Oxford, MI
Gr 8 Up—Fourteen years after First Night, when America was overrun with the dead who reanimated, 15-year-old Benny Imura joins his half-brother, Tom, in the family business of "closure" or zombie bounty hunting in Jonathan Maberry's novel (S & S, 2010). Benny thinks Tom is a coward and greatly admires the much flashier Charlie Matthias, but his opinions begin to change once out in the Rot & Ruin where he sees what Tom really does. His maturation and growing respect for his brother dovetail with a deep yet unacknowledged affection for his friend, Nix, and his fascination with a near mythical Lost Girl who is said to be living out in the Rot & Ruin on her own. Plenty of action and gore balance a delicate love story, and finely drawn, three-dimensional secondary characters make the tale sing. Brian Hutchinson capably handles the narration, expressing Benny's fear, determination, and dawning realizations. The ending is a bit predictable but satisfying, leaving plenty of room for a sequel. The setting, circumstances, and character development will be enjoyed by all who relish vivid storytelling, not just horror aficionados.—Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, Oxford, MI
Could. Not. Put. It. Down. This is the book that sparked my zombie obsession. Love the characters, love Maberry's story. I've read other zombie books, but this is my favorite.