A review by _b_a_l_
Feedback by Mira Grant

2.0

Good bits:
* The main character Ash is cute and quirky and fun to hunt zombies with.

* It ties in very well with a couple of narrative tracks from the rest of the series.

Bad bits:
* None of the other characters are interesting. When classic zombie narrative device in the first book

Spoiler

Shaun kills Georgia

I cried. When classic zombie narrative device in this book

Spoiler

Ash kills Mat

I really didn't care. And I found it hard to believe that Ash cared either.

* Mat is a particularly 2 dimensional character. In the entire book all that we learn about them is that they are trans, don't like being misgendered (how insightful) and like *gasp* both makeup and mechanics (way to revolutionize gender stereotypes). They don't even make sense in terms of the mythos of the world. News teams need a newsie, an irwin and a fictional. Oh yeah and Mat, who isn't just a token character at all guys.

* Really all the alt-lifestyle elements in this one feel forced. When we discover that

Spoiler

Shaun and Georgia are lovers

its really just a narrative about love and where people find it. And

Spoiler

incest is an order of magnitude further away from the norm than being gay or trans

. In this book there's even a scene where one character lecturers another about how we can't have different standards for different genders - it all feels somewhere between preachy and exploitative.