You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by rwilhoyte
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
4.0
I loved the short story "Family Business" in The New Dead anthology so I was really looking forward to Rot and Ruin, which takes that original story and expands on it. The first few pages did give me a sense of deja vu but there was enough added to keep me pressing through. I am not one of those people who immediately dismisses the YA genre because it is written for a non-adult audience. I believe that the age group that YA is really meant for is smart enough to not be talked down to and that's why the best YA novels can appeal to both young adults and adults. Rot and Ruin is one of those books. It's a great ride written written by an author who knows how to take the reader on one (I highly recommend the Joe Ledger books to any adults, they're fun).
Rot and Ruin tells the story of Benny Imura, a fourteen year old growing up in a post zombie apocalypse "Safe Zone". He must find a job before he is 15 or his rations will be cut in half. After resistance, mostly on Benny's part, Benny becomes an apprentice zombie bounty hunter to his brother, Tom. Due to some resentments Benny has against Tom for events happening on First Night (The night of the zombie outbreak), Benny and Tom's relationship is strained when Tom takes him outside the gates for the first time into the Rot and Ruin, where zombies still roam. Tom views his responsibilities as a zombie killer with better intentions than the bounty hunters that Benny idolizes. Throughout the events of the book, Benny learns his brother's approach to the job might be the right one for him and that life is not always safe, whether the threat be zombie or human, inside or outside the gates.
I love the relationship between Tom and Benny even while Benny is hanging on to his resentments. It feels like a real brother relationship and Tom and Benny are well fleshed out characters. I also thought Nix, Benny's friend and later love interest, was an interesting character. I've always enjoyed Maberry's strong female characters and Nix is definitely one of them. I found her to be more approachable than Lilah, the Lost Girl Benny and Tom go hunting for who has lived on her own since her caretaker died, out in the Rot and Ruin. But even Lilah is an interesting character because she represents the effects of having no human contact for so many years and having to defend yourself. In a way, she's like the zombies at first, an almost soulless killing machine until she befriends Nix and Benny.
The only reason I give this story four stars is because it didn't pack quite the emotional punch of the original short story. It couldn't (for me, at least). The characters' adventure into the Rot and Ruin is much longer and much more action packed, dampening the emotional impact of the end. It still made me cry though. So maybe 4 1/2 stars for real?
Rot and Ruin tells the story of Benny Imura, a fourteen year old growing up in a post zombie apocalypse "Safe Zone". He must find a job before he is 15 or his rations will be cut in half. After resistance, mostly on Benny's part, Benny becomes an apprentice zombie bounty hunter to his brother, Tom. Due to some resentments Benny has against Tom for events happening on First Night (The night of the zombie outbreak), Benny and Tom's relationship is strained when Tom takes him outside the gates for the first time into the Rot and Ruin, where zombies still roam. Tom views his responsibilities as a zombie killer with better intentions than the bounty hunters that Benny idolizes. Throughout the events of the book, Benny learns his brother's approach to the job might be the right one for him and that life is not always safe, whether the threat be zombie or human, inside or outside the gates.
I love the relationship between Tom and Benny even while Benny is hanging on to his resentments. It feels like a real brother relationship and Tom and Benny are well fleshed out characters. I also thought Nix, Benny's friend and later love interest, was an interesting character. I've always enjoyed Maberry's strong female characters and Nix is definitely one of them. I found her to be more approachable than Lilah, the Lost Girl Benny and Tom go hunting for who has lived on her own since her caretaker died, out in the Rot and Ruin. But even Lilah is an interesting character because she represents the effects of having no human contact for so many years and having to defend yourself. In a way, she's like the zombies at first, an almost soulless killing machine until she befriends Nix and Benny.
The only reason I give this story four stars is because it didn't pack quite the emotional punch of the original short story. It couldn't (for me, at least). The characters' adventure into the Rot and Ruin is much longer and much more action packed, dampening the emotional impact of the end. It still made me cry though. So maybe 4 1/2 stars for real?