biblio_kel's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I've loved zombie stories since I first saw George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" as a kid. Zombie movies, zombie books, zombie games...I grew up obsessed with them all. (Fun fact: my daughter's middle name is 'Romero'.)
Then the zombie craze of the early 2000s to 2010s burnt me out after a lot of mediocre zombie movies and novels.
It's only recently that I've started to venture back into zombie horror, with this being my first zombie novel, and it was a really satisfying return to the genre.
I'll be honest, I wasn't keen on the prologue and half expected to end up DNF'ing the story based on it, however, the quality of the writing and characters steps up dramatically with the main story.
The story follows Carla and her return home to New Zealand after being away for several years. Unfortunately for Carla, her timing couldn't be worse. A viral outbreak has taken hold of Christchurch and it's turning victims into frenzied cannibals.
It took me quite awhile to warm up to the main character but by the end of the story I was genuinely invested in their survival and that of their companions.
It's a tight focus story that does a good job of building tension and a sense of hopelessness that's elevated by authentic feeling familial moments.
I really liked that the characters weren't written to be selfless and heroic. Instead, they're actions felt realistic, often tragically so.
I also think it's worth mentioning that the book has two authors. Often co-written novels can feel disjointed or disconnected but I didn't get that feeling at all with this book. The writing, tone, and story felt cohesive and balanced.
Something I particularly loved were the elements of New Zealand culture that were included in the story, especially the inclusion of Te reo Māori words and phrases.
This was a really interesting and enjoyable read and I definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.
Thank you to Denver Grenell and Ian J. Middleton for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Then the zombie craze of the early 2000s to 2010s burnt me out after a lot of mediocre zombie movies and novels.
It's only recently that I've started to venture back into zombie horror, with this being my first zombie novel, and it was a really satisfying return to the genre.
I'll be honest, I wasn't keen on the prologue and half expected to end up DNF'ing the story based on it, however, the quality of the writing and characters steps up dramatically with the main story.
The story follows Carla and her return home to New Zealand after being away for several years. Unfortunately for Carla, her timing couldn't be worse. A viral outbreak has taken hold of Christchurch and it's turning victims into frenzied cannibals.
It took me quite awhile to warm up to the main character but by the end of the story I was genuinely invested in their survival and that of their companions.
It's a tight focus story that does a good job of building tension and a sense of hopelessness that's elevated by authentic feeling familial moments.
I really liked that the characters weren't written to be selfless and heroic. Instead, they're actions felt realistic, often tragically so.
I also think it's worth mentioning that the book has two authors. Often co-written novels can feel disjointed or disconnected but I didn't get that feeling at all with this book. The writing, tone, and story felt cohesive and balanced.
Something I particularly loved were the elements of New Zealand culture that were included in the story, especially the inclusion of Te reo Māori words and phrases.
This was a really interesting and enjoyable read and I definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.
Thank you to Denver Grenell and Ian J. Middleton for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
More...