A review by tania_kliphuis
After The Virus by Meghan Ciana Doidge

4.0

I read this book in two sittings - one evening, and the morning after. The writing style is punchy and the plot makes it a little hard to put down. I wasn't sure if I liked the author's habit of giving the "what happens next" away at the end of each chapter, but I got used to it and it bothered me less and less as I got through the book.

I know nothing about zombies. I know there are some fanatics out there, so I thought I should be clear about that. i had read that this was a zombie novel, but the the 'infected' didn't seem like zombies to me. Zombies are walking dead, right? These poor souls are dying, and being kept alive inhumanely. The 'infected' are not the biggest problem in this post-apocalyptic world where only 0.01% of the population have survived (the 'immune'). What makes this world scary and sick are the twisted human beings still left in it. In an attempt to seize power and start a new world order, some men and women have become monsters.

The story centers around a makeshift family, three people and a dog who have found each other and quickly become mom, dad, daughter and a dog. The love story is sweet and romantic, etc. etc. but I found the love story between these two adults and the child most touching. They see in her what most people see in children - hope, growth, possibility. And in a world bereft of all of those things, this is what spurs them on to try and make what is left better.

There is a lot of gore (probably not enough for the aforementioned zombiacs, but plenty for me), and a lot of references to rape and abuse of women. Don't let that put you off though. It works and is never quite gratuitous - although it does come very close often.

I'm probably making too much of it all though. Awesome read.