This was the First Brian Keene book that I picked up, and to be honest... I wasn't expecting much. I enjoy a good Zombie film as much as the next person, but had never read a zombie book before. I was pleasantly surprised while reading this book. The characters were (for the most part) very real, engaging, and the type of people the reader cares about.

The zombies were not your stereotypical zombies; they were far more mobile, and capable of using tools, weapons, and setting traps to catch the foolhardy mortals who they hunted. This made them all the more terrifying. There are several survivors whose stories we follow throughout the book, the primary ones being Jim a carpenter who is on the mission of finding his young son, Frankie a junkie/prostitute who is just trying to survive, and Baker one of the Scientists who started this whole mess who is seeking redemption. This book reads like a blended up version of "28 days later," "Apocalypse Now," and every Romero movie ever made. In fact many of these are mentioned in the book.

Many people have complained about the ending, but I found it to be pretty typical of the zombie genera, true I would have loved one more page... but I wasn't dissatisfied in any way. It was pretty clear what happened, and true, it left the novel open for a sequel, but I don't think you really need one. In the end, this was a very well written, post-apocalyptic story about the survivors doing the one thing they have been good at so far - trying to survive.




Michelle (USA: AR) (2015/07/03):
This book was wicked good!! It was just like watching a horror movie...only better. It was gross and disgusting, and I loved every page, lol. All it needed was a heavy metal soundtrack playing in the background. The action did not stop. The last page left me wanting more..... A+++++