Scan barcode
heathbc's review against another edition
4.0
“What use was all that love when the person wasn’t there no more? It just went bad.”
Wow, Higson did an awesome job following a new cast’s journey while having the reader make inferences about connections to the first novel’s characters.
Liked:
-Time period of just a few weeks after the disaster started
-Friendship that felt genuine between the two main boys
-The immune adult and POV of his thoughts
-A sicko that had the imagery of a Pez dispenser
-Gory imagery that surprised even this well-versed horror fan
-Building up the zombies to be more than they appear
-Parallels between Frederique and the cat
Disliked:
-Making an obvious stereotype of a character that came across as prejudiced and then killing him off without subverting the stereotype at all
-The 3 girls’ friendship and the way they put each other down
Wow, Higson did an awesome job following a new cast’s journey while having the reader make inferences about connections to the first novel’s characters.
Liked:
-Time period of just a few weeks after the disaster started
-Friendship that felt genuine between the two main boys
-The immune adult and POV of his thoughts
-A sicko that had the imagery of a Pez dispenser
-Gory imagery that surprised even this well-versed horror fan
-Building up the zombies to be more than they appear
-Parallels between Frederique and the cat
Disliked:
-Making an obvious stereotype of a character that came across as prejudiced and then killing him off without subverting the stereotype at all
-The 3 girls’ friendship and the way they put each other down
jpk48's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
pezzo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gggina13's review against another edition
5.0
Charlie Higson really is a goddamn genius. The way he makes you care so much about so many different characters is insane. This installment in this series is about how things were shortly after things went wrong in London, while the first book was a year after those events. Book 2 really dug deeper into the way people who knew each other before maintained their relationships after, because it was more realistic for those relationships to still exist so shortly after the breakdown of society. These books are just so brutally real and I really can’t praise them enough.
justlily's review against another edition
I'm so annoyed right now. I RAVED about the first book, it was one of the best zombie books I'd ever read. I'm halfway through this one...and I quit. I'm bored out of my friggin mind. I don't care about a single one of these characters, the plot is dragging along like a dying animal, and it's a chore for me to keep picking it up.
What the hell!? How does this happen?! How can you write such a stellar first novel and then this crap? Ugh. Frustrating. SO frustrating.
What the hell!? How does this happen?! How can you write such a stellar first novel and then this crap? Ugh. Frustrating. SO frustrating.
sharlappalachia's review against another edition
5.0
I want to start by saying that this book is a LOT better than its predecessor. I cannot stress that enough.
The Enemy, the first book in this series, was recommended to me by a friend I respect. But in all honesty I didn't want to read it. It was juvenile, the characters weren't fleshed out, and it just wasn't my type of book. When I returned the book to my friend, he gave me the rest of the series. And because I didn't want to be rude, I started The Dead.
The Dead is the most I've enjoyed reading in months. There's so much to cover. Jack is not a particularly likable character, but he was one I could sympathize with. Ed and Bam were so likable but so flawed, and I loved the way Higson worked to flesh out every character, even the minor ones who had little to do with the actual plot. Ed was clearly the star of the story, and his transformation from a ridiculed coward to a bold leader was awesome. Matt's cult was admittedly fascinating and I thought it was ingenious that Higson took the words to it from Revelations (is that blaspheme? It was still really interesting, even if it is). Bam's leadership and character, Kwanele's self-righteousness, Brooke's volatile but strong will, Frederique's eventual insanity, Chris Marker's sad story but conviction. I love how we got to see the backstory to Saint George, the villainous sicko/grownup/lets-be-real-they're-zombies in The Enemy. Greg was a jerk, but he loved Liam and would do anything for him. I think it's so cool how Higson showed Greg's mental deterioration when he became infected: how he had forgotten his words, his life, and eventually his son to become Saint George.
Also, the ending was awesome. I love how it tied The Enemy's plot to The Dead's. Is Matt's religion coming true? I guess I'll have to read the rest of the series to find out.
The Enemy, the first book in this series, was recommended to me by a friend I respect. But in all honesty I didn't want to read it. It was juvenile, the characters weren't fleshed out, and it just wasn't my type of book. When I returned the book to my friend, he gave me the rest of the series. And because I didn't want to be rude, I started The Dead.
The Dead is the most I've enjoyed reading in months. There's so much to cover. Jack is not a particularly likable character, but he was one I could sympathize with. Ed and Bam were so likable but so flawed, and I loved the way Higson worked to flesh out every character, even the minor ones who had little to do with the actual plot. Ed was clearly the star of the story, and his transformation from a ridiculed coward to a bold leader was awesome. Matt's cult was admittedly fascinating and I thought it was ingenious that Higson took the words to it from Revelations (is that blaspheme? It was still really interesting, even if it is). Bam's leadership and character, Kwanele's self-righteousness, Brooke's volatile but strong will, Frederique's eventual insanity, Chris Marker's sad story but conviction. I love how we got to see the backstory to Saint George, the villainous sicko/grownup/lets-be-real-they're-zombies in The Enemy. Greg was a jerk, but he loved Liam and would do anything for him. I think it's so cool how Higson showed Greg's mental deterioration when he became infected: how he had forgotten his words, his life, and eventually his son to become Saint George.
Also, the ending was awesome. I love how it tied The Enemy's plot to The Dead's. Is Matt's religion coming true? I guess I'll have to read the rest of the series to find out.
mellabella's review against another edition
4.0
I read the first in this series a few years back. I got to thinking about it and here we are.
This is an action packed character driven YA zombie (or whatever the folks over 16 are) book of goodness.
It hit me in the fee fees (the author isn't scared to kill off main characters) and had me turning the pages to find out what happened in the action scenes.
I'm definitely on the next.
This is an action packed character driven YA zombie (or whatever the folks over 16 are) book of goodness.
It hit me in the fee fees (the author isn't scared to kill off main characters) and had me turning the pages to find out what happened in the action scenes.
I'm definitely on the next.
ctep's review
4.0
Right off the bat I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with the fact that the story did not continue from The Enemy. I was hoping to get into the characters more and find out what happened with the group from the palace.
With that being said The Dead did not disappoint at all. I spent the night glued to it and it was quite gory to say the least. The action was much more real and intense than the first book and I have to say that Gary scared me just as much as it did the boys (RIP Liam).
It was lively and definitely a memorable read. I can't wait to start on the next book.
With that being said The Dead did not disappoint at all. I spent the night glued to it and it was quite gory to say the least. The action was much more real and intense than the first book and I have to say that Gary scared me just as much as it did the boys (RIP Liam).
It was lively and definitely a memorable read. I can't wait to start on the next book.
kailaflick's review against another edition
4.0
So, after reading The Enemy I really wasn't sure if I wanted to continue the series. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great book. But I felt like by the end, I still didn't feel a connection to many of the characters or like I knew the direction the series was headed. But this changed that! I felt much more connected to these characters. The second in this series upped all the gore, scare, and gross factors. By like a million. And I was much more invested this time around. Plus the way it skips back to a time right after the disaster gives you a real feel for the overall direction of this series of books. Can't wait to pick up the next one!