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shotwell 's review for:
Until the End of the World
by Sarah Lyons Fleming
I wanted to like this book. Really I did. But beyond some of the originality in the premise, it’s basically the same zombie story you’ve read elsewhere. Tropes abound and the book feels like the author is following a “Zombie Novel Tropes” flowchart. In short (major spoilers to follow, so scroll down only at your own peril):
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Average Protagonist Girl lives in Big City but it’s boring; Average Protagonist Girl and Wealthy/Vain Boy live together but life is boring; did we mention that APG’s life is mostly boring? APG and WVB and small Circle of Friends encounter zombies and the plague develops in earnest; APG breaks up with WVB (who she has obviously settled for) while pining for “the one that got away” who is Simply Perfect Boy; APG and CoF travel slowly north away from Big City because it is overrun; APG holds out hope that SPB is still alive despite immeasurable odds; CoF meets Older Fatherly Neighbor who lives off-grid and is willing to share his knowledge/supplies/home; circle of friends goes on supply run, bumps into zombies and then humans who are worse; battles ensue; APG’s Two-Dimensional Sister Character falls for WVB; WVB sacrifices himself and proves he is not Wealthy Vain Boy but rather has become Brave Decoy Boy. BDB (apparently) dies protecting the CoF while TDSC mourns; OFN sacrifices himself so the younger generation has a fighting chance; Travel north-ish resumes, following radio signals, which also hint that SPB is alive; APG worries that SPB has hard feelings/has moved on; APG reunites with SPB at an enclave he now is the leader of; APG marvels at SPB’s enclave leadership savvy and romance is re-kindled, because of course SPB never stopped loving APG; BDB is revealed to have survived because his character arc requires that redemption be rewarded superficially in the plot; APG validates BDB’s redemption and introduces BDB to SPB, and they get along splendidly because hey, he’s SPB and the other guy isn’t WVB any more. Sexual tension between AAG and SPB is finally released; author sets up next predictable book in series.
Was it the worst zombie novel I’ve ever read? Certainly not. Was it cliched? Absolutely. Would I read the second novel? Probably not, since I didn’t care about any of the characters by the end of the novel despite the author’s attempts to make me like Cassie and friends. Also the fact that it ends on a romantic, hopeful note was very predictable and also quite far-fetched, considering that the One Who Got Away also happens to be the Leader That We Need. There’s not much in this novel that is particularly unique, and quite a lot that is very predictable if you’ve watched TWD or any zombie movies.
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Average Protagonist Girl lives in Big City but it’s boring; Average Protagonist Girl and Wealthy/Vain Boy live together but life is boring; did we mention that APG’s life is mostly boring? APG and WVB and small Circle of Friends encounter zombies and the plague develops in earnest; APG breaks up with WVB (who she has obviously settled for) while pining for “the one that got away” who is Simply Perfect Boy; APG and CoF travel slowly north away from Big City because it is overrun; APG holds out hope that SPB is still alive despite immeasurable odds; CoF meets Older Fatherly Neighbor who lives off-grid and is willing to share his knowledge/supplies/home; circle of friends goes on supply run, bumps into zombies and then humans who are worse; battles ensue; APG’s Two-Dimensional Sister Character falls for WVB; WVB sacrifices himself and proves he is not Wealthy Vain Boy but rather has become Brave Decoy Boy. BDB (apparently) dies protecting the CoF while TDSC mourns; OFN sacrifices himself so the younger generation has a fighting chance; Travel north-ish resumes, following radio signals, which also hint that SPB is alive; APG worries that SPB has hard feelings/has moved on; APG reunites with SPB at an enclave he now is the leader of; APG marvels at SPB’s enclave leadership savvy and romance is re-kindled, because of course SPB never stopped loving APG; BDB is revealed to have survived because his character arc requires that redemption be rewarded superficially in the plot; APG validates BDB’s redemption and introduces BDB to SPB, and they get along splendidly because hey, he’s SPB and the other guy isn’t WVB any more. Sexual tension between AAG and SPB is finally released; author sets up next predictable book in series.
Was it the worst zombie novel I’ve ever read? Certainly not. Was it cliched? Absolutely. Would I read the second novel? Probably not, since I didn’t care about any of the characters by the end of the novel despite the author’s attempts to make me like Cassie and friends. Also the fact that it ends on a romantic, hopeful note was very predictable and also quite far-fetched, considering that the One Who Got Away also happens to be the Leader That We Need. There’s not much in this novel that is particularly unique, and quite a lot that is very predictable if you’ve watched TWD or any zombie movies.