Reviews

This novella for the most part didn’t make an impression on me, except for when it mentioned Tom Byrd’s age. He’s 19 here, which would make him only 13 in the events of The Scottish Prisoner (in which he’s shot) and all the back to only 10 in the earlier John Grey stories? I knew he was young and maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention in those other books, but I didn’t think Gabaldon had a literal child doing all these things. Of course, it may just be that she’s not keeping track of these details, which she outright admits in one of the other Outlander novellas in an author’s note.

gabmc's review against another edition

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3.0

This is a really fun novella set in Jamaica in 1761 and featuring Lord John Grey. Grey is now a Lt Col in the Army and has been sent to Jamaica to stop a slave rebellion. He meets with the Governor when he first arrives and can't help but notice that the Governor is scared to death of something. When John finds a small snake on the Governor's desk, the Governor runs out of his office. In the mean time, a servant comes to John to warn him about zombies. He has no idea what zombies are and decides to kill two birds with one stone - he visits one Mrs Abernathy at her plantation to show support to plantation owners and to find out what a zombie might be. Armed with a bit more information he goes to meet the Captain of the maroons to see what he can negotiate.

eg_m's review against another edition

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5.0

Lord John is one of my all time fictional characters. I got a little bored with the outlander novels after Firery Cross, but the Lord John Grey side-quels are always excellent. This installment has all the things I love about the character--wit, honor, physical and mental courage.

lisawreading's review against another edition

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4.0

This is probably the lightest entry in the Lord John series of books and novellas. It an interesting story, in which Lord John goes to Jamaica on behalf of the army to help control a slave rebellion, but instead finds corruption among the governing bodies and must deal with rumors of zombies.

It's entertaining and short, and I always enjoy Lord John, but this particular novella is probably the least consequential, as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps because John is away from home for the entire story, it lacks the charm of seeing John's interactions with his family and friends and the entertainment of social customs in London.

Fans should absolutely read Plague of Zombies -- or even better, listen to the audiobook, narrated by the incomparable Jeff Woodman.

kayleigh214's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

susanbrooks's review against another edition

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3.0

Cute - but way too short.

eamunro's review against another edition

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4.0

But sad there were no zombies

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