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A review by sarahanne8382
Xombies by Walter Greatshell
2.0
This book is a total train wreck, and yet strangely readable. However it's the first of a trilogy, and I have no plans to read the rest of the series. Essentially, a man-made zombie-like plague has descended on the world, only women are more easily susceptible to it than men, thus infected humans are called Xombies. Our heroine is a 17-year-old who appears to be unaffected by the plague and manages to escape with her estranged father onto a returned-to-action Navy sub.
The writing isn't terrible, and probably why I didn't give up and through this book against the wall, but the plot is terrible, completely unpredictable in a manic way with holes big enough to drive a nuclear submarine through. I could detail it all for you, but I already spent enough time reading, so I'll just sum it up as a big misogynistic mess (made worse by the fact that I think the author doesn't get how misanthropic his storyline is. "But the hero is a woman!" I can imagine him saying. Yes, a woman who is the definition of a Mary Sue, who's played by every man in the book and her desirability is shown in large part by how many times men attempt to rape her and those who are her friends protect her. And don't even start on how the disease instantly infects menstruating women, but has to be transmitted orally to men and non-menstruating women ... but I digress).
So basically, save yourself some time and read a better zombie book. World War Z should be everyone's first read. Empire of Salt was also an interesting twist on the zombie genre. Otherwise I'm a big fan of the more comic Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter.
The writing isn't terrible, and probably why I didn't give up and through this book against the wall, but the plot is terrible, completely unpredictable in a manic way with holes big enough to drive a nuclear submarine through. I could detail it all for you, but I already spent enough time reading, so I'll just sum it up as a big misogynistic mess (made worse by the fact that I think the author doesn't get how misanthropic his storyline is. "But the hero is a woman!" I can imagine him saying. Yes, a woman who is the definition of a Mary Sue, who's played by every man in the book and her desirability is shown in large part by how many times men attempt to rape her and those who are her friends protect her. And don't even start on how the disease instantly infects menstruating women, but has to be transmitted orally to men and non-menstruating women ... but I digress).
So basically, save yourself some time and read a better zombie book. World War Z should be everyone's first read. Empire of Salt was also an interesting twist on the zombie genre. Otherwise I'm a big fan of the more comic Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter.