Scan barcode
david_agranoff's review
4.0
Lesser Creatures is a dystopia with a lower case d set 15 years after the dead started returning to life. not even close to a traditional zombie novel the returned dead share some traits with Romero zombies, mostly brain dead and slowly decaying but mostly they just hang around. They are not hungry from brains or flesh. This not a zombie apocalypse, more of a new zombie reality.
These people become known as second-lifers, they are gathered in group home environments that reminded me of the housing our society currently makes for the mentally Ill. There are second life rights advocates and people who hate them. Our main characters are a pastor from the Glory's children church who sees a divine purpose in the second lifers and Eric cooper whose Ex-girlfriend is walking dead after trying to kill him.
Lesser Creatures is a truly odd novel, one thing I loved is it shared no tropes or any common structure with any other horror novels or the zombie subgenre. This is a very original feeling novel. In that respect someone looking for a paint by the numbers zombie novel is going to be bummed. Anyone looking for a challenging weird exploration of loss and love will be stoked.
Having just finished reading the book ten minutes ago I am struggling with the many themes that Giglo explored and I think the best thing I can say about this novel is that I think I might need to read it again someday. These are not Romero rules and in many ways this novel defies just a horror label.
I have said alot of nice things, is there anything I didn't like? The novel is marketed as being Phillip K.Dick like, and the author dedicates the work to him. I can see the similarity in the odd nature of the second lifers that reminds me of things like the talking beds and android animals in Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep for example. Not that Lesser Creatures goes that far into satire. While Giglo nails the weird concept feeling of PKD it lacks the broken paranoid insanity of PKD. Of course that is hard to do.
In the end I thought this was a fantastic novel, I am really excited to explore more of Giglo's work after reading this.
These people become known as second-lifers, they are gathered in group home environments that reminded me of the housing our society currently makes for the mentally Ill. There are second life rights advocates and people who hate them. Our main characters are a pastor from the Glory's children church who sees a divine purpose in the second lifers and Eric cooper whose Ex-girlfriend is walking dead after trying to kill him.
Lesser Creatures is a truly odd novel, one thing I loved is it shared no tropes or any common structure with any other horror novels or the zombie subgenre. This is a very original feeling novel. In that respect someone looking for a paint by the numbers zombie novel is going to be bummed. Anyone looking for a challenging weird exploration of loss and love will be stoked.
Having just finished reading the book ten minutes ago I am struggling with the many themes that Giglo explored and I think the best thing I can say about this novel is that I think I might need to read it again someday. These are not Romero rules and in many ways this novel defies just a horror label.
I have said alot of nice things, is there anything I didn't like? The novel is marketed as being Phillip K.Dick like, and the author dedicates the work to him. I can see the similarity in the odd nature of the second lifers that reminds me of things like the talking beds and android animals in Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep for example. Not that Lesser Creatures goes that far into satire. While Giglo nails the weird concept feeling of PKD it lacks the broken paranoid insanity of PKD. Of course that is hard to do.
In the end I thought this was a fantastic novel, I am really excited to explore more of Giglo's work after reading this.
ctorretta's review
4.0
What an interesting take on zombies, which honestly feels a bit like a breath of fresh air after all the zombie books I’ve read. There are so many out there that you have to wade through them to find one that stands out. This one does exactly that.
The first thing that got me were the characters. They pop out. I was curious as to exactly who the bad guy was going to be, because honestly I just couldn’t really tell. There are multiple people trying to be in control while nobody actually has it, and tons of people just living their day to day lives just trying to exist. And then you have the zombies… ahem… the second lifers. Also trying to survive day to day, until Monika.
I really loved that I can see what Monika was thinking. It seemed like those times when your synapses just won’t find the word you’re searching for but you know it’s somewhere in your brain or on the tip of your tongue. It seemed that she was like that, but ALL the time.
Thankfully this was not about the politics behind what would need to happen if hundreds upon hundreds of dead people started to rise and didn’t crave flesh and you couldn’t kill them because of a curse. It would be a nightmare for everyone. But there’s so much more to it than that. So much that I didn’t see.
Although this is a fascinating read I think there could have been a bit more fleshed out. Reasons behind certain things but as is I did thoroughly enjoy it, especially being a zombie lover myself. It was a fun and very easy read with a bit of horror and gore but not overly so.
This is Peter Giglio’s newest book and my first of his, but it definitely will not be my last!
The first thing that got me were the characters. They pop out. I was curious as to exactly who the bad guy was going to be, because honestly I just couldn’t really tell. There are multiple people trying to be in control while nobody actually has it, and tons of people just living their day to day lives just trying to exist. And then you have the zombies… ahem… the second lifers. Also trying to survive day to day, until Monika.
I really loved that I can see what Monika was thinking. It seemed like those times when your synapses just won’t find the word you’re searching for but you know it’s somewhere in your brain or on the tip of your tongue. It seemed that she was like that, but ALL the time.
Thankfully this was not about the politics behind what would need to happen if hundreds upon hundreds of dead people started to rise and didn’t crave flesh and you couldn’t kill them because of a curse. It would be a nightmare for everyone. But there’s so much more to it than that. So much that I didn’t see.
Although this is a fascinating read I think there could have been a bit more fleshed out. Reasons behind certain things but as is I did thoroughly enjoy it, especially being a zombie lover myself. It was a fun and very easy read with a bit of horror and gore but not overly so.
This is Peter Giglio’s newest book and my first of his, but it definitely will not be my last!
lillahexan's review
3.0
Lesser Creatures has an interesting take on the whole zombie lore. Without spoiling too much, essentially the zombies, or as they call them "second-lifers" are not vicious, just mindless. They really like whiskey and fast food. But for some reason, whomever kills these second lifers, dies themselves. They call it "the curse". And this curse has some interesting side effects for the second-lifers as well.
I really like the descriptions of the second-lifers. Like when Eric goes to see his grandparents, and in first part where Monika is standing in line for fast food. The main downside to this book is at the end, I was still asking, "but why?" There just isn't much closure. Stuff happens, but there's little to no explanation for it. What's up with Glory? What's up with Steven? Is Steven actually magical? If so, how? Why did Eric forgive Monika instantly for what she did?
I mean, a big part of this book uses love as a motivation and an explanation, but being left with so many questions... I guess its supposed to be an "open ending" but in the end, I'm just confused and a bit disappointed.
I really like the descriptions of the second-lifers. Like when Eric goes to see his grandparents, and in first part where Monika is standing in line for fast food. The main downside to this book is at the end, I was still asking, "but why?" There just isn't much closure. Stuff happens, but there's little to no explanation for it. What's up with Glory? What's up with Steven? Is Steven actually magical? If so, how? Why did Eric forgive Monika instantly for what she did?
I mean, a big part of this book uses love as a motivation and an explanation, but being left with so many questions... I guess its supposed to be an "open ending" but in the end, I'm just confused and a bit disappointed.
giddypony's review
1.0
What a stinker. The.premise is good but destroyed by poor characterizations. The is not a single character who is more than one note.
More...