Book Review -- Flip This Zombie

Title:  Flip This Zombie
Author:  Jesse Petersen
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic with zombies
Pages:  Paperback, 247
Published:  2011
Opening Lines:  "When the zombie plague struck, I was just an office schlub.  You know the type."

"The zombie apocalypse has been good to Sarah and David.  Their marriage is better than ever.  They communicate well, share responsibilities, and now, they're starting a business, ZombieBusters—for all your zombie extermination needs.

"There are lots of zombies and that means lots of customers . . . Except one of them doesn't want the zombie dead, he wants them alive and ready for experimentation.  Mad scientists make for difficult clients, and this time Sarah and David might have bitten off for than they can chew."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  After the first book, I was really looking forward to the next two in the series.  However, I wondered whether the author would be able to keep up with Sarah's snarky humor.  And, in that regard, the author does not disappoint.

This book picks up a few months after the ending of the last book.  The Government has bombed major cities in an attempted to control the zombie population. While getting rid of a few, it has left shells of buildings for zombies to hide in and killed survivors.  However, the remaining survivors are finding a way to make the best of a bad situation.  They have started making tent settlements, a trade system, and so on. After the adventures of the last book, Sarah and Dave decide to go into business as for-hire zombie killers.  And it seems as though business is booming.  That is until they get a rather strange client wanting them to capture "live" zombies for medical testing.  And, if that fiasco isn't enough, they are hearing rumors of a newer, faster, and smart zombie—bionic zombies.  As you can imagine, Sarah and Dave have differing opinions concerning both issues and are stretched to the limit.

I found it hilarious that Sarah and Dave started a zombie killing business.  Even though she was a little timid about picking up a gun, after the first book Sarah took to killing quite easily.  And that doesn't even take into account Dave's mad-Halo-skills!  So, to me, it seemed natural.  The concept of the bionic zombies was interesting.  It stands to reason that there might be a different mutation.  I really liked how it played into the book and the story line.  I wonder how this new mutation will play into the next book.

Dr. Barnes was an interesting character.  From the onset, I was distrustful of him.  He seemed too good to be true, and he gave me a weird vibe.  However, I found Sarah's blind faith to be a little too naive, especially considering everything they had already been through.

The ending was a little too campy for me.  Without giving anything away, The Kid's ability seemed a little Deus ex machina.  Granted, we are kind of led into it by the comment that he is a genius, but . . . It was just too neat and out of the blue for me to appreciate.

While this book is very much in the spirit of the other, I felt that it didn't live up to the awesomeness of the first book.  Even though they snarky humor was still present, I felt it was too pushed.  Further, the book relied too heavily on Sarah's little quips and asides.  It ended up just being too over the top and forced.  The first one had something special, and it felt as though the author wasn't willing to give this book something uniquely it's own. Even though it was a fast and fun read, I am a little concerned about the next book.


Rating:
Currently: The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey
Current Pages: 1988
Current Progress:

6/50 books

Book Review -- The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Author: Carrie Ryan
Genre: YA post-apocalyptic
Pages: Oversize paperback, 308
Published: 2009
Opening Lines: "My mother used to tell me about the ocean. She said there was a place where there was nothing but water as far as you could see and that it was always moving, rushing toward you and then away."

"In Mary's world, there are simple truths.

"The Sisterhood always knows best.

"The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.

"And you must always mind the fences that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

"But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. and, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

"Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?"

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: I have been picking this book up since it was published. I still am unsure why it never ended up in my bag of books I purchased from the book store. However, after seeing it popping up all over the book blogging community, I decided to check out our local library. As I'm sure it is the same for all of you, nearing Christmas cash is a little tight, so no more book book purchases for a bit . . . :'(

Anyways . . . Reading the back, I never suspected that the Unconsecrated referred to zombies. The book struck me as a something akin to The Village. Boy was I wrong! Instead of escaping from society and forming a pseudo-utopia, the people in this book are just a little community of people left after the zombie apocalypse (what the book calls the Return). Even though the isolation is similar to The Village, that is where the similarities end. From what I gathered, the Sisterhood knows that it is possible for other communities to exist; however, they are unsure. And all Mary knows is that a fenced-off path that leads into the Forest is forbidden, which she never really questioned until she sees footprints . . .

The story follows this group of young people coming of age in this small community. After her mother dies, Mary is thrown into a life in the Sisterhood. However, after the fence is breached, the young people are forced to find a safe haven along the forbidden path. The book really questions our desires and drive, and what we consider to be enough.

While zombies are a devise to move the plot forward, I felt they offered a good antagonist without making any one character "bad." Further, the scenery in the story is well described and allows the reader to picture it for themselves without getting bogged down in details. Even though Mary is the central character, through Mary the reader is given a good picture of the supporting characters. However, in some ways I cannot understand the full 180 change in Cass. I wonder whether it was meant that way. Since it is a first person narrative from Mary's perspective, the author might want the reader in the dark and learn along with Mary.

My favorite part of the book was in the three-story house. Finding the chests full of clothing and pictures was exquisitely written.

However, because I pointed it out in the previous book I reviewed, there was an inconsistency I noticed. While Travis is confessing to Mary in the tree, he kneels in front of her and takes her hands in his. However, the next comment about him is that he flexes his hands on the windowsill. Hmm . . . What was he doing during his monologue? When did her drop her hands?

This book was hard to put down. I found myself wanting to read all night; however, my eyes refused to stay open! It is a fast paced novel, but doesn't lack in plot or substance. Rather, the pacing is a reflection of the urgency and anxiety the characters are feeling. So far, this my favorite YA zombie book! Needless to say, I just placed the next two books on hold at the library *squee*

Rating:
Currently: Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
Current Pages: 25178
Current Progress:

70/50 books

Book Review -- Married with Zombies

Title: Married with Zombie
Author: Jesse Petersen
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: Paperback, 240
Published: 2010
Opening Lines: "David and I became warriors in the zombie plague on the first day, but don't think that means we were front line soldiers or something."

Meet Sarah and David
"Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things -- the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat."

Meet The Zombies
"Now Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But just because there are zombies doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other."

~Jacket copy

Thoughts: This book was pretty funny! Even though I absolutely loved our marriage counselor, it was hilarious reading about the couple beating the crap out of her and the Wonderful Wilsons! Given the situation the couple was in when the book opens, I loved the chapter titles.

The book is a really quick read, so it is hard to pin down too much. At some points, I felt like it rushed through some things, but I'm not sure how to correct that besides making the book longer. Also, Sarah and Dave were pretty vague characters. Aside from having marriage issues, you don't know too much about them. I wonder if the author wanted us to meet them and build their characters based on the after effects of a zombie apocalypse. I also felt that all of the side characters were not fleshed out (no pun intended). Even if some of them did not make it, I wish there was a little more added to them. Amanda is a good example of that.

Aside from those issues, the book was fun, campy, and hilarious!

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Currently: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
Current Pages: 20412
Current Progress:

57/50 books

Book Review -- Graveminder

Title: Graveminder
Author: Melissa Marr
Genre: Fiction, possible urban fantasy
Pages: Hardback, 324
Published: 2011
Opening Lines: "Maylene put one hand atop the stone for support; pulling herself up from the soil got harder every year. Her knees had been problem enough, but of late the arthritis had started settling in her hips."

"Three sips to mind the dead . . . Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each one Rebekkah had watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: She took three sips from a silver flask and spoke the words 'Sleep well, and stay where I put you.'

"Now Maylene is dead, and Bek must go back to the place she left a decade earlier. She soon discovers that Claysville is not just the sleepy town she remembers, and that Maylene had good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in Claysville the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected; beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, a.k.a. Mr. D. If the dead are not properly cared for, they will come back to satiate themselves with food, drink, and stories from the land of the living. Only the Graveminder, by tradition a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker -- in this case Byron Montgomery, with whom Bek shares a complicated past -- can set things right once the dead being to walk.

"Although she is still grieving Maylene, Rebekkah will soon find that she has more than a funeral to attend to it Claysville, and that what awaits her may be far worse: dark secrets, a centuries-old bargain, a romance that still haunts her, and a frightening new responsibility -- to stop a monster and put the dead to rest where they belong."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: Admittedly, I was a little wary of this book. The concept was really, really intriguing, so I couldn't stop myself from picking it up. However, after reading the first two books in Marr's other series, I was really concerned that this book would end up just as poorly written, badly paced, etc. Surprisingly, I was wrong!

From the opening of this book, I was caught. But I'll start with the bad nonetheless. First, I am beginning to wonder where publishing companies are picking up their editors. I cannot even begin to explain my frustration when Rebekkah was spelled differently in the same paragraph! That shouldn't have skipped an editor's attention. Throughout the book, there were a number of editing mistakes. To me, it really distracts from the book. Also, she would mention several things that were quite interesting, but never really flesh them out or go into them in depth. I wonder if she is planning to use them in another book . . . Further, she did not spend enough time talking about the unwritten contract and everything surrounding that. It is such in integral part of the story, I felt something was missing. With Daisha, I wondered about her change in the last part of the book. I wish that was explained a little more. Plus, a little more resistance/conflict would have been nice.

Aside from that, I loved the book! Marr did a good job fleshing out Rebekkah and Byron, and gave the secondary characters enough depth to keep them from being flat. I really liked that she used drinking with Mr. D as a big deal. I was reminded of Persephone when she was brought to Hades. The existence of a long standing unwritten contract between Mr. D and the town founders created an awesome back story.

I like how the story ultimately ended, but I'm not sure how I feel about the culprit. It made a certain amount of sense; however, part of be didn't want to buy it. All in all, I still enjoyed the story!


Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Currently: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Current Pages: 14136
Current Progress:

39/50 books

Book Review -- Feed

Title: Feed
Author: Mira Grant
Genre: Fiction with zombies
Pages: Paperback, 571
Published: 2010
Opening Lines: "Our story opens where countless stories have ended in the last twenty-six years: with an idiot -- in this case, my brother Shaun -- deciding it would be a good idea to go out and poke a zombie with a stick to see what happens."

"'Alive or dead, the truth won't rest. My name is Georgia Mason, and I am begging you. Rise up While you can.'

"The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we had created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one unstoppable command: Feed.

"NOW, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives -- the dark conspiracy behind the infection. The truth will out, even if it kills them."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: When I was finishing this book, I was struggling through horrible sinus headaches, eyes that refused to focus, and a constantly runny nose. I found myself almost wishing for Kellis-Amberlee and the cure for the common cold, sans the shambling undead! Needless to say, the last couple of days, the book really spoke to me! Ha-ha!

Feed follows Georgia Mason and her brother Shaun. Growing up post-Rising, they decided to enter the blogging world to report the news. After being accepted to follow the campaign of a presidential candidate, they will discover that the story they uncover will be the story of a lifetime.

I loved this book from the opening lines! It is hard to go wrong with zombies, but I found that Grant put an interesting twist on it. I didn't expect this book to use zombies more as a vehicle/plot devise than the central point. To me, it was more of a political heavy-hitter and a social commentary . . . with zombies!

The characters were amazing! I felt that Grant did a good job fleshing them out without being too overpowering with one character or the other. Granted, the book is mostly narrated by Georgia, so it follows her most of the time. I also loved the pop-culture references with Buffy, the tech-savvy Fictional.

My biggest problem was the relationship between George and Shaun. I liked that they had a very close relationship and trusted each other the way they did, but it felt a little too canned. At times, it often felt like love-in-the-wrong-way: bordering on romantic. I love my brother and trust him with my life, but I cannot imagine being that close. That being said, however, it did make an interesting dynamic.

I would say the biggest deterrent for some with this book will be the political intrigue. That was the main focus of the book; zombies where a plot devise. If you have a hard time getting into politics, the games played, etc., then I might consider reading another book.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. I'm not sure what I think of a sequel. With the ending, I'm not sure I liked the ending narrator as much as George, so the sequel kind of makes me nervous. But we'll see.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Currently: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Current Pages: 13092
Current Progress:

36/50 books