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lostboylio's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
overall a very much horrifying read, a good story but the ending felt wrong and very rushed which i didn’t like
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Car accident, and Death of parent
cheye13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I picked this up because I'd heard raving reviews about it, but I have to admit, I don't understand. I'd seen many say this was "more than a regular zombie book," but while I found it a decent "regular zombie book," I didn't find much more within it. I read Warm Bodies earlier this year, and these stories have much in common.
Every zombie book that's caught my interest always has a unique angle on the fictional science as well as social commentary. This one executes the tropes well, but not in a particularly new or fascinating way. The novel also spends the first chunk setting readers up to despise a number of the main characters, so I was lacking a concern or connection to make action scenes impactful. That lack of emotion probably also affected the pacing - I prefer there to be action or suspense to push such a story forward, and this story failed to create that for me.
In general, an entertaining but not very impactful read for me.
Every zombie book that's caught my interest always has a unique angle on the fictional science as well as social commentary. This one executes the tropes well, but not in a particularly new or fascinating way. The novel also spends the first chunk setting readers up to despise a number of the main characters, so I was lacking a concern or connection to make action scenes impactful. That lack of emotion probably also affected the pacing - I prefer there to be action or suspense to push such a story forward, and this story failed to create that for me.
In general, an entertaining but not very impactful read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse and Gun violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Animal death
juliawren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Unique writing style - equally beautiful and childlike at times. It's so interesting to see a post apocalyptic world from the perspective of a child, even one like Melanie, and the author did a great job of showing that there's always a kind of hope to be found even in the darkest of times.
The plot slowed down significantly in the middle and required a bit of powering through, and parts of the ending felt a bit abrupt because of the difference in pacing, but I didn't mind that it wrapped up quickly, and it was satisfying both to have the mystery revealed and to have it fit so cleanly into the characters' arcs.
The plot slowed down significantly in the middle and required a bit of powering through, and parts of the ending felt a bit abrupt because of the difference in pacing, but I didn't mind that it wrapped up quickly, and it was satisfying both to have the mystery revealed and to have it fit so cleanly into the characters' arcs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death
valreadssometimes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book stuck with me to the point where I had to reread it. That doesn't happen to me often.
I think this book is so worth it because of its complex and very real characters, which are set in this bleak and dangerous world but do their best to stick to their own values and priorities.
The real magic of this book is that, despite the many wrongdoings by each person, none of them are truly the villain in this story. They are just each doing their best with what they have.
I think this book is so worth it because of its complex and very real characters, which are set in this bleak and dangerous world but do their best to stick to their own values and priorities.
The real magic of this book is that, despite the many wrongdoings by each person, none of them are truly the villain in this story. They are just each doing their best with what they have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Gore
Minor: Body horror
bigteo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Well I mean, it was okay I guess.
After the strong start of the novel, it kinda slows down and becomes a fairly straightforward “characters go from A to B” zombie thriller. I thought that the medical themes were actually very well researched and interesting and definitely some of the strongest parts of the book for me.
None of the characters were really likeable for me. I kinda liked the soldier characters, they were okay and their actions were on the whole reasonable. The teacher character, Justineau, was actually incredibly fustrating to me. A good example is when she decides to set off the flare gun after Melanie is only gone for one night. Why didn’t she wait until they fixed the armoured lab/truck thing? Setting off the flare didn’t even get Melanie to come back faster, she came back the next morning as if nothing happened. And it had barely any consequence to the plot, but it just had me so angry that she acted so irrationally. Same goes for how violent she was with the doctor character. I didn’t care for the doctor but her motives at least kinda made sense. The characters are allowed to hate eachother that’s fine, but for example near the end (spoilers ahead) when the doctor is being chased by the pack of hungry kids, she could’ve explained that’s what had happened and it was self defence, plus she got a good intact brain to test on which could potentially save all of their lives. I don’t know. Just unlikeable characters that all, in turn, don’t like eachother. So therefore I didn’t like them all that much either.
As for the ending (spoiler warning obviously but I’ll try to be brief), it ended super abruptly. The wall of fungus was something introduced in the last couple of chapters. And the military guy Parks decides to burn it. I thought for sure they’d at least try and drive through it maybe? The silver lining to the ending that Melanie proposes seems more of an afterthought. Like, “burning it screwed up the whole world, oh well maybe good can come of it” and not something that the characters would have had to wrestle with beforehand. Maybe that conflict could have been more central, I don’t know. The world ending part kind of just happens in the last few pages without any buildup or conflict to the decision to burn the fungus wall.
I know this review seems very negative but on the whole it’s a very straightforward, interesting zombie apocalypse book. I guess if you’re a fan of the genre then this book isn’t exactly groundbreaking but it’s a fun enough read that I got through pretty quickly.
After the strong start of the novel, it kinda slows down and becomes a fairly straightforward “characters go from A to B” zombie thriller. I thought that the medical themes were actually very well researched and interesting and definitely some of the strongest parts of the book for me.
None of the characters were really likeable for me. I kinda liked the soldier characters, they were okay and their actions were on the whole reasonable. The teacher character, Justineau, was actually incredibly fustrating to me. A good example is when she decides to set off the flare gun after Melanie is only gone for one night. Why didn’t she wait until they fixed the armoured lab/truck thing? Setting off the flare didn’t even get Melanie to come back faster, she came back the next morning as if nothing happened. And it had barely any consequence to the plot, but it just had me so angry that she acted so irrationally. Same goes for how violent she was with the doctor character. I didn’t care for the doctor but her motives at least kinda made sense. The characters are allowed to hate eachother that’s fine, but for example near the end (spoilers ahead) when the doctor is being chased by the pack of hungry kids, she could’ve explained that’s what had happened and it was self defence, plus she got a good intact brain to test on which could potentially save all of their lives. I don’t know. Just unlikeable characters that all, in turn, don’t like eachother. So therefore I didn’t like them all that much either.
As for the ending (spoiler warning obviously but I’ll try to be brief), it ended super abruptly. The wall of fungus was something introduced in the last couple of chapters. And the military guy Parks decides to burn it. I thought for sure they’d at least try and drive through it maybe? The silver lining to the ending that Melanie proposes seems more of an afterthought. Like, “burning it screwed up the whole world, oh well maybe good can come of it” and not something that the characters would have had to wrestle with beforehand. Maybe that conflict could have been more central, I don’t know. The world ending part kind of just happens in the last few pages without any buildup or conflict to the decision to burn the fungus wall.
I know this review seems very negative but on the whole it’s a very straightforward, interesting zombie apocalypse book. I guess if you’re a fan of the genre then this book isn’t exactly groundbreaking but it’s a fun enough read that I got through pretty quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
leligavi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I've tried for so long (since middle school, I think) to read this book and for some reason, I kept putting it down. However, I am SO glad I finally took the time to finish it. I really, really liked this book and I think that their makeshift team was brilliant. I love their character development as they get to know Melanie. I CANT BELIEVE MY MAN GALLAGHER WENT OUT LIKE THAT. I was SCREAMING when he was getting chomped on and saying he didn't want to hurt them. LIKE MY MAN HAD TO GO OUT LIKE THAT? BUT MELANIE WAS SO CLOSE TO FINDING HIM! AND PARKS TOO MAN! HE WAS SO CLOSE, MELANIE ALMOST SAVED HIM BUT HE DIED TOO????? AND LIKE IN A REALLY FREAKING SAD WAY????? LIKE REALLY? I'M HEARTBROKEN. Honestly, a little underwhelmed by Helen surviving and being a teacher but like...the rest of the book just makes up for it. But, all in all, I think we can all agree that Dr. Caldwell sucks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book was so good!!! i absolutely fell into this world and became so invested. i love spore-horror or anything related to mushrooms in books so this was perfect! i even almost cried at the end because i became so invested and the book ended so well!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
pulcotinette's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
J'ai vu le film (écrit en même temps que le livre) à sa sortie en 2016, et je n'avais donc que des souvenirs confus du livre. Je n'ai pas été déçu par sa lecture : les personnes sont attachants, bien écrits, et le fait d'alterner les points de vue permet au lecteur une vision d'ensemble dans la situation. L'auteur ne prend pas forcément partie pour un personnage, ce qui permet de se faire ses propres attaches.
La morale, la ligne conductrice du livre, est vraiment intéressante et j'aurai aimé qu'elle soit plus mise en avant. Malgré tout, c'est celà que je retenais du film et qui m'a donné envie de lire le livre.
La raison pour laquelle les enfants affams sont imunisés y est d'ailleurs mieux expliquée et plus logique.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié cette lecture, qui m'a donnée envie de lire plus de lire avec une apocalypse zombie d'un point de vue optimiste.
Au niveau du contenu, il y a mention de combats avec des armes à feu et de l'anthropophagie, mais ce n'est pas gore ou détaillé. On parle du sentiment de faim d'un personnage, de façon répétée mais plutôt superficielle. Contrairement à ce dont je me rappelais du film, ce n'est pas un livre d'horreur. On trouve aussi de la comp het (compulsory heteronormativity) en cela que les persos adultes masculin et féminin principaux sont forcément attirés l'un par l'autre.
La morale, la ligne conductrice du livre, est vraiment intéressante et j'aurai aimé qu'elle soit plus mise en avant. Malgré tout, c'est celà que je retenais du film et qui m'a donné envie de lire le livre.
La raison pour laquelle les enfants affams sont imunisés y est d'ailleurs mieux expliquée et plus logique.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié cette lecture, qui m'a donnée envie de lire plus de lire avec une apocalypse zombie d'un point de vue optimiste.
Au niveau du contenu, il y a mention de combats avec des armes à feu et de l'anthropophagie, mais ce n'est pas gore ou détaillé. On parle du sentiment de faim d'un personnage, de façon répétée mais plutôt superficielle. Contrairement à ce dont je me rappelais du film, ce n'est pas un livre d'horreur. On trouve aussi de la comp het (compulsory heteronormativity) en cela que les persos adultes masculin et féminin principaux sont forcément attirés l'un par l'autre.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Gore, and Forced institutionalization
lpogo16's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is less horror and more a fantasy journey story.
The story could have been edited down. There’s a lot that happens for the shock value or to make comments about other characters.
The story could have been edited down. There’s a lot that happens for the shock value or to make comments about other characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
Spores, Mushrooms, Fungusblackberryjambaby's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, and Abortion