Fun with undeath - a book review
The problem with finding new, good books is that I'm so eager to find out what happens that I rush through them like crazy resulting in a very short period of pure pleasure. The books I linger over the most are the books I'm least interested in. That's messed up. All three books took me three days, with two of those days being work days.
I just finished reading the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant. It was recommended by Howard Taylor of Schlock Mercenary who said it was a great rendition of a post-zombie apocalypse story with very genre savvy characters.
It's true, the characters (and author) are quite familiar with the tropes behind a zombie apocalypse story. This works wonderfully well when you see them reacting to various threats and dealing with the immediate situation. The problem is, no matter how genre savvy they are about zombie stories, they're less so with with murder mystery stories, which is what the plot turns into during the first book. It's a murder mystery set during a zombie apocalypse. I like figuring out the bad guy's identity five or ten pages before the main characters, not a hundred pages. Also, the bad guys were insufficiently developed, with motivations that sort of work, but really they're given too many contradictory ones and a mixture of short and long-sightedness which makes their actions seem really erratic. I think many of those actions are only there to allow the author to introduce more zombie tropes and cliches than because they really make sense. Whenever there's an outbreak, expect it to play out like a zombie flick, even the parts that don't really make sense. There's no kill like overkill, especially where zombies are involved, right?
What did they do right? The characters are well done. Their motivations are clear and engaging, and the multiple first-person viewpoint is skillfully managed to lend sympathy to the characters while avoiding confusion by making each character's voice distinct. I find it incredibly touching how codependent the two leads are, despite how awkward it makes their relationship to the rest of the characters. Perhaps I wish I had someone like that, though I really don't. I also like how hard it tries to stay in the realm of science fiction. Despite occasionally straying into thriller territory with zombie tactics, it mostly keeps to reasonable physics and biology and technology, and sticks with them when it comes to resolving problems (it's a bit more flexible when causing problems). Important plot twists are foreshadowed, and Chekov has a veritable armory. The style is engaging, and the scope is just less than epic.
If you like zombie stories, give these books a try. Be prepared for the tropes, and don't let them distract you from the characters.
I just finished reading the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant. It was recommended by Howard Taylor of Schlock Mercenary who said it was a great rendition of a post-zombie apocalypse story with very genre savvy characters.
It's true, the characters (and author) are quite familiar with the tropes behind a zombie apocalypse story. This works wonderfully well when you see them reacting to various threats and dealing with the immediate situation. The problem is, no matter how genre savvy they are about zombie stories, they're less so with with murder mystery stories, which is what the plot turns into during the first book. It's a murder mystery set during a zombie apocalypse. I like figuring out the bad guy's identity five or ten pages before the main characters, not a hundred pages. Also, the bad guys were insufficiently developed, with motivations that sort of work, but really they're given too many contradictory ones and a mixture of short and long-sightedness which makes their actions seem really erratic. I think many of those actions are only there to allow the author to introduce more zombie tropes and cliches than because they really make sense. Whenever there's an outbreak, expect it to play out like a zombie flick, even the parts that don't really make sense. There's no kill like overkill, especially where zombies are involved, right?
What did they do right? The characters are well done. Their motivations are clear and engaging, and the multiple first-person viewpoint is skillfully managed to lend sympathy to the characters while avoiding confusion by making each character's voice distinct. I find it incredibly touching how codependent the two leads are, despite how awkward it makes their relationship to the rest of the characters. Perhaps I wish I had someone like that, though I really don't. I also like how hard it tries to stay in the realm of science fiction. Despite occasionally straying into thriller territory with zombie tactics, it mostly keeps to reasonable physics and biology and technology, and sticks with them when it comes to resolving problems (it's a bit more flexible when causing problems). Important plot twists are foreshadowed, and Chekov has a veritable armory. The style is engaging, and the scope is just less than epic.
If you like zombie stories, give these books a try. Be prepared for the tropes, and don't let them distract you from the characters.