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mollykanhas 's review for:
The Reapers Are the Angels
by Alden Bell
From the first page, I was engrossed in this book. It’s a zombie novel, yes, but also so much more. Bell’s writing is different, captivating, uniquely suited to describing a world overrun by zombies. In this world, Temple, a fifteen-year-old girl living in a world twenty-five years into the zombie apocalypse, travels through her memories, her life, and a world of small communities that barricade themselves from the zombie world. Like Bell’s writing, she is uniquely suited to this grotesque post-apocalyptic world. She is a survivor and a product of the mentality she had to grow up with, which includes bravery, a deeply-abiding faith and an optimism of sorts because she has known no other world. She is resigned, yes, but not in the way a zombie literature reader might expect.
There are things I truly enjoy about this novel. The first three-quarters, in fact, were fantastic. The writing, as I mentioned, is superb, and the story moves along at a brisk pace. There are familiar zombie tropes, but new ideas as well. I enjoyed that the word zombie is not used once, but rather “slugs”or “meatskins” are the terms most commonly applied to the walking dead. And I also enjoyed Temple’s rational survivor logic (one reason why I looooove the original Dawn of the Dead movie). She understands the slugs in her own way, and she moves through the world accordingly. Not fearfully, but with a determined understanding of what can get her killed and what can keep death at bay. And I liked how Bell designed his zombies: slow, hungry and with the “Hell is full” idea (every dead person becomes a zombie).
Temple’s character and Bell’s writing are so good that about two-thirds of the way in, when events start to tickle my disbelief nerve just a little too strongly, I’m willing to hang in anyway. At this point I trust the author, trust that everything new being introduced will have its place just as everything before has.
My trust was misplaced.
The family of hillbillies that tickles my disbelief nerve are never fully explained. Their very existence stretches even further the suspension of disbelief that a zombie story requires. In the end, they serve a purpose of sorts, but one that could have been served much better by something more within the norm. It wasn’t the ending event, exactly, that pissed me off so much. It was who did it, and how it happened. And what happened after. I felt that it didn’t fit with the rest of the book. Where everything had a point, the point began to stray with the intro of the hillbilly family. The point did get back on track, but finally the point was murdered by non-sense. Again, not what happened, but how. It didn’t feel right; it felt cheap, quick and dirty (now I have to get tested!). And thus my two stars out of five. Technically the book deserves more, it really does, but my vast disappointment in the ending ruined it all and infuriated me. It’s very possible that I just missed something, some detail or biblical reference that would have enlightened me to the true brilliance of the ending. All I know is that to me the ending seemed pointless and over-orchestrated instead of desperately sorrowful and meaningful (the ending I thought I was being led to).
Yes, the name is from a bible quote. No, I’m not confused about what it’s referring to. And yes, I did this when the book title came up in the book.
I’m not sure I can recommend this book as read or don’t read. I really, really, really wanted to like it, and I was enjoying it up until that point I described above. However, there are a lot of reviews from people on here who highly praise this book (after all, it's currently averaging 4.1). Again, maybe I just missed something. Or am an idiot. Actually, odd as it seems, I think I do recommend this book. If you find the ending palatable, then it will likely be a fantastic book for you. It’s not very long so if you find yourself drawn in within the first ten pages or so, give it a go. Just be warned that if you think like I do, you may pop a blood vessel when you get to the end.
There are things I truly enjoy about this novel. The first three-quarters, in fact, were fantastic. The writing, as I mentioned, is superb, and the story moves along at a brisk pace. There are familiar zombie tropes, but new ideas as well. I enjoyed that the word zombie is not used once, but rather “slugs”or “meatskins” are the terms most commonly applied to the walking dead. And I also enjoyed Temple’s rational survivor logic (one reason why I looooove the original Dawn of the Dead movie). She understands the slugs in her own way, and she moves through the world accordingly. Not fearfully, but with a determined understanding of what can get her killed and what can keep death at bay. And I liked how Bell designed his zombies: slow, hungry and with the “Hell is full” idea (every dead person becomes a zombie).
Temple’s character and Bell’s writing are so good that about two-thirds of the way in, when events start to tickle my disbelief nerve just a little too strongly, I’m willing to hang in anyway. At this point I trust the author, trust that everything new being introduced will have its place just as everything before has.
My trust was misplaced.
The family of hillbillies that tickles my disbelief nerve are never fully explained. Their very existence stretches even further the suspension of disbelief that a zombie story requires. In the end, they serve a purpose of sorts, but one that could have been served much better by something more within the norm. It wasn’t the ending event, exactly, that pissed me off so much. It was who did it, and how it happened. And what happened after. I felt that it didn’t fit with the rest of the book. Where everything had a point, the point began to stray with the intro of the hillbilly family. The point did get back on track, but finally the point was murdered by non-sense. Again, not what happened, but how. It didn’t feel right; it felt cheap, quick and dirty (now I have to get tested!). And thus my two stars out of five. Technically the book deserves more, it really does, but my vast disappointment in the ending ruined it all and infuriated me. It’s very possible that I just missed something, some detail or biblical reference that would have enlightened me to the true brilliance of the ending. All I know is that to me the ending seemed pointless and over-orchestrated instead of desperately sorrowful and meaningful (the ending I thought I was being led to).
Yes, the name is from a bible quote. No, I’m not confused about what it’s referring to. And yes, I did this when the book title came up in the book.
I’m not sure I can recommend this book as read or don’t read. I really, really, really wanted to like it, and I was enjoying it up until that point I described above. However, there are a lot of reviews from people on here who highly praise this book (after all, it's currently averaging 4.1). Again, maybe I just missed something. Or am an idiot. Actually, odd as it seems, I think I do recommend this book. If you find the ending palatable, then it will likely be a fantastic book for you. It’s not very long so if you find yourself drawn in within the first ten pages or so, give it a go. Just be warned that if you think like I do, you may pop a blood vessel when you get to the end.