In post-apocalyptic America, 15-year-old Benny Imura and his friends set out into the great Rot & Ruin hoping to find a better future but are soon ...
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Dec 19, 2011
Lou
rated it: 
'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' that’s how I describe this story it all unfolds like a Wild West Battle.
The GOOD is Tom Imura and his band of warriors Benny, Nix, Lilath and Chong.
THE BAD is White Bear and other bad zombie hunters.
THE UGLY of course are the Zoms (zombies).
I have said it before Jonathan Maberry is really a masterful storyteller packing a punch across genres. Genre for genre a pound for pound a heavyweight contender for book awards. He has really k More...
The GOOD is Tom Imura and his band of warriors Benny, Nix, Lilath and Chong.
THE BAD is White Bear and other bad zombie hunters.
THE UGLY of course are the Zoms (zombies).
I have said it before Jonathan Maberry is really a masterful storyteller packing a punch across genres. Genre for genre a pound for pound a heavyweight contender for book awards. He has really k More...
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(19 people liked it)
Jan 15, 2012
AH
rated it: 
Dust & Decay picks up seven months after the events of Rot & Ruin. Our young heroes – Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong have been training with Benny’s big brother Tommy. They learn his “Warrior Smart” method of protecting themselves from the zombies because you never know when one of your friends or loved ones will become a zombie…
This is a brutal world. People live in fenced, gated, and well armed communities. Travel outside these towns requires planning, heavy carpet coats, and a disgu More...
This is a brutal world. People live in fenced, gated, and well armed communities. Travel outside these towns requires planning, heavy carpet coats, and a disgu More...
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Feb 03, 2012
Jason
rated it:
5 Stars
“There is no God,” whispered the old man. “There’s just the devil and me and the Rot and Ruin.”
I am a biased reviewer and a huge fan of Jonathan Maberry, so to give this book less than 5 stars would not be fair to the overall feelings I have for this book and for this series. Maberry is a master at creating larger than life tough as nails adult heroes like Joe Ledger and Malcolm Crow, but in this series, it is the young adults, the hardly more than children, that More...
“There is no God,” whispered the old man. “There’s just the devil and me and the Rot and Ruin.”
I am a biased reviewer and a huge fan of Jonathan Maberry, so to give this book less than 5 stars would not be fair to the overall feelings I have for this book and for this series. Maberry is a master at creating larger than life tough as nails adult heroes like Joe Ledger and Malcolm Crow, but in this series, it is the young adults, the hardly more than children, that More...
Nov 16, 2011
Lou
rated it:
'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' that’s how I describe this story it all unfolds like a Wild West Battle.
The GOOD is Tom Imura and his band of warriors Benny, Nix, Lilath and Chong.
THE BAD is White Bear and other bad zombie hunters.
THE UGLY of course are the Zoms (zombies).
I have said it before Jonathan Maberry is really a masterful storyteller packing a punch across genres. Genre for genre a pound for pound a heavyweight contender for book awards. He has really knitted More...
The GOOD is Tom Imura and his band of warriors Benny, Nix, Lilath and Chong.
THE BAD is White Bear and other bad zombie hunters.
THE UGLY of course are the Zoms (zombies).
I have said it before Jonathan Maberry is really a masterful storyteller packing a punch across genres. Genre for genre a pound for pound a heavyweight contender for book awards. He has really knitted More...
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Nov 08, 2011
Trudi
rated it:
MABERRY, YOU BASTARD!!! I knew you would do this to me!! ::sobbity sob::
Review to follow when anger and choking tears subside.
In the first book Rot & Ruin, Maberry spends a lot of time putting us into the world as it exists almost 15 years after a zombie apocalypse. We need to know about how things are now, how people live and how they relate to one another. This is Benny's world. Maberry also spends a lot of time and care developing a cast of characters he wants us to fa More...
Review to follow when anger and choking tears subside.
In the first book Rot & Ruin, Maberry spends a lot of time putting us into the world as it exists almost 15 years after a zombie apocalypse. We need to know about how things are now, how people live and how they relate to one another. This is Benny's world. Maberry also spends a lot of time and care developing a cast of characters he wants us to fa More...
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Aug 08, 2011
Julie
rated it:
For 7 months Tom has been training Benny, Lilah, Nix, and Chong how to survive in the Rot & Ruin. Preparing them for their trek east in search of the jet they all saw fly over them months before. Nix cannot wait to leave all of her memories behind. Lilah cannot wait to feel freedom outside of the fences. Chong is only going for an overnight camping trip to further his training and of course to be with Lilah for a little while longer.
Once in the Rot & Ruin though things do not go the More...
Once in the Rot & Ruin though things do not go the More...
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Aug 08, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
The sequel to "Rot & Ruin" continues the story does not disappoint. A lot has changed for Benny and his friends in the months since they saw the jet in the sky, and they are more mature, stronger, tougher, and more determined than ever to change the way things are. The story touches on themes of loyalty, obligation, and courage, and it's pure action from beginning to end. You won't be able to put it down! There is heartbreak and devastation, but there is also hope, and now I begin the
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Feb 03, 2012
Rhiannon
rated it:
First review of Giving me the Creeps October, so I had to go Zombies.
In my Zombies or bust faze last year (no jokes, I was really into zombies), I picked up Jonathan Maberry's debut YA novel Rot and Ruin and fell in love. So it is now the far distant future, and Dust and Decay has passed through my hot little hands to be sucked up by my eyeballs and, dare I say it? Loved even more than Rot and Ruin.
Benny Imura has it all it would seem. The hero brother who's training him to be More...
In my Zombies or bust faze last year (no jokes, I was really into zombies), I picked up Jonathan Maberry's debut YA novel Rot and Ruin and fell in love. So it is now the far distant future, and Dust and Decay has passed through my hot little hands to be sucked up by my eyeballs and, dare I say it? Loved even more than Rot and Ruin.
Benny Imura has it all it would seem. The hero brother who's training him to be More...
Jan 31, 2012
Joe
rated it:
Dust and Decay may be the only book I've ever read that, immediately after finishing it, I got on the computer and tried to email thanks and congratulations to the author. The sequel to Rot and Ruin, Dust and Decay rivals World War Z as the best zombie novel I've ever read.
Much like the first novel, Dust and Decay concerns Gameland, an arena in which kidnapped children are forced to battle the undead before gambling spectators. The well-developed characters from the first book return More...
Much like the first novel, Dust and Decay concerns Gameland, an arena in which kidnapped children are forced to battle the undead before gambling spectators. The well-developed characters from the first book return More...
Jan 28, 2012
Jo Anne
rated it: 
I can't help but feel insulted by this book. I know it is young adult and I should probably not think too much about it since it is meant for a younger brain but I can't help it. This was just the ending of the first book, not a different one. I feel that Maberry took a cheap shot here or a cop out and maybe for the sake of drawing out the series longer to make more money.
I was expecting some new adventures not going back to Gameland to rescue some pesky teenager again. I didn't believ More...
I was expecting some new adventures not going back to Gameland to rescue some pesky teenager again. I didn't believ More...
Dec 18, 2011
gunneos
rated it:
I know I promised to write a less gushy review for Book 1, but I got lazy. Doesn't matter anyway - the novelty of a zombie book has worn off (Benny Imura being my first zombie-themed fiction), and I wish I could say I enjoyed this book as much, but meh, not really. I don't dislike it, but Book 1 was better written, IMO.
Maberry knows how to write a brotherly relationship. He knows it very well. He does not, unfortunately, know how to handle romances. There's something about Benny and Ni More...
Maberry knows how to write a brotherly relationship. He knows it very well. He does not, unfortunately, know how to handle romances. There's something about Benny and Ni More...
Dec 18, 2011
Andrea
rated it:
This is the forth Mayberry book I've read, and he never fails to stagger me with his use and knowledge of the English language.
I am not a fan of "zombie" books, but after meeting Mayberry at the Backspace Writer's Conference, I had to give one of his a try, and I was immediately hooked.
In Dust and Decay, he continues Benny's story with twists and turns that are beautifully written. I can feel's Benny's struggle between the kid his is and the man he knows he is becom More...
I am not a fan of "zombie" books, but after meeting Mayberry at the Backspace Writer's Conference, I had to give one of his a try, and I was immediately hooked.
In Dust and Decay, he continues Benny's story with twists and turns that are beautifully written. I can feel's Benny's struggle between the kid his is and the man he knows he is becom More...
Dec 02, 2011
John
rated it:
Benny and Nix are just about ready to leave with Tom and Lilah to search for the source of the plane they saw at the end of the last novel. However, Benny isn't certain that he really wants to go, Chong definitely doesn't want to see Lilah go, Morgie doesn't want anyone to go, and mysterious forces are gathering to prevent any of them from leaving. Zombies are still zombies; it's the people who are becoming more dangerous. In order to start a journey, you have to be able to leave your home be
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Nov 20, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 28, 2011
cecilia
rated it:
After being so hyped up on ROT & RUIN, of course I rushed to devour DUST & DECAY like a good zombie who needed a fresh new brain. Was it as tasty as its predecessor? Let me tell you, dear Readers, this sequel was slicker and smarter, but it was simply an extra side of appetizer before the main course begins.
THE GOOD BITS
{The Imura brothers in action.} Now that Tom and Benny have fully commited themselves to the “family business” and plan to set out into the Ruin in search of More...
THE GOOD BITS
{The Imura brothers in action.} Now that Tom and Benny have fully commited themselves to the “family business” and plan to set out into the Ruin in search of More...
Oct 19, 2011
Karen
rated it: 
At the end of Rot & Ruin, the gang sees a jet in the sky that gives them...hope. Hope outside of the ignorance in the town they live in. Hope outside of the ugliness in the Rot and Ruin. Hope that there's better out there and others working to take back their country.
This desire drives the gang in Dust & Decay to leave mountainside.
It was an okay read. It's probably more than okay for the audience it's intended for. It wasn't boring or anything. There's plenty of act More...
This desire drives the gang in Dust & Decay to leave mountainside.
It was an okay read. It's probably more than okay for the audience it's intended for. It wasn't boring or anything. There's plenty of act More...
Oct 03, 2011
P.M.
rated it:
A few months after seeing the jet, Tom Imura, his brother Benny, Nix Riley, and Lilah, the Lost Girl are ready to head out into the Ruin to try to find if civilization has managed to survive anywhere. Benny's best friend, Lou Chong, comes along for the first night as a camp-out experience. Immediately, things begin to go wrong. Everyone who matters to Chong seems to think it is his fault so he runs away. The group must split up out of necessity. Chong, however, has the bad luck to run into two t
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Oct 02, 2011
Rhiannon
rated it:
First review of Giving me the Creeps October, so I had to go Zombies.
In my Zombies or bust faze last year (no jokes, I was really into zombies), I picked up Jonathan Maberry's debut YA novel Rot and Ruin and fell in love. So it is now the far distant future, and Dust and Decay has passed through my hot little hands to be sucked up by my eyeballs and, dare I say it? Loved even more than Rot and Ruin.
Benny Imura has it all it would seem. The hero brother who's training him to More...
In my Zombies or bust faze last year (no jokes, I was really into zombies), I picked up Jonathan Maberry's debut YA novel Rot and Ruin and fell in love. So it is now the far distant future, and Dust and Decay has passed through my hot little hands to be sucked up by my eyeballs and, dare I say it? Loved even more than Rot and Ruin.
Benny Imura has it all it would seem. The hero brother who's training him to More...
Aug 27, 2011
Isidore
rated it:
"Family Business", the original Benny Imura novelette published in "The New Dead", was terrific. The novel-length version, "Rot and Ruin", was good, but the emotional impact of the original story was very much diluted in the process of expansion. Now, in "Dust and Decay", we have merely an entertaining read.
The trouble is that the new book sometimes feels like a rewrite of the first. The basic plot structure is similar; instead of a massive More...
The trouble is that the new book sometimes feels like a rewrite of the first. The basic plot structure is similar; instead of a massive More...
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Jul 05, 2011
Vicky
rated it:
I was fortunate to be able to read the ARC of this latest zombie book from Jonathan. He's at it again, with Dust and Decay being the second book in his zombie series. The first was Rot & Ruin, an excellent book.
This book takes up where the first one left off. Benny and his friends are training hard under the tutelage of Benny's brother, Tom. Lilith, the lost girl, has joined them as they prepare to do battle against the zombies. In the previous book, they killed Charlie Pink-eye and sh More...
This book takes up where the first one left off. Benny and his friends are training hard under the tutelage of Benny's brother, Tom. Lilith, the lost girl, has joined them as they prepare to do battle against the zombies. In the previous book, they killed Charlie Pink-eye and sh More...
Jun 21, 2011
Isamlq
rated it:
Let me get off my chest first:
Noooooh!!!
*sniff*
OK,
It took me a couple of moments to get over how young Dust and Decay sounded to me. I tried to recall what it was about Rot and Ruin that had me gushing over it the to begin with. And counting back, I realize that book was one of the first zombie books I'd ever read. I was deeply impressed by how none-scary the story was; It's message was actually quite positive and, at the time, new to me (the pa More...
Noooooh!!!
*sniff*
OK,
It took me a couple of moments to get over how young Dust and Decay sounded to me. I tried to recall what it was about Rot and Ruin that had me gushing over it the to begin with. And counting back, I realize that book was one of the first zombie books I'd ever read. I was deeply impressed by how none-scary the story was; It's message was actually quite positive and, at the time, new to me (the pa More...
Oct 05, 2011
Thia
rated it:
Dust and Decay is the sequel to Rot and Ruin, and manages to be just as was action filled Rot and Ruin. Despite the fact that, at 519 pages, it is pretty long, it never slows down or gets boring. But then, what do you expect in a zombie apocalypse?
Dust and Decay is set in the desolate Rot and Ruin, a land with no laws where zombies are everywhere and the other humans can be worse than the zombies. After 7 months of training to fight zombies, Benny and Nix are preparing to leave town More...
Dust and Decay is set in the desolate Rot and Ruin, a land with no laws where zombies are everywhere and the other humans can be worse than the zombies. After 7 months of training to fight zombies, Benny and Nix are preparing to leave town More...
Jan 01, 2012
Haley
rated it:
This is still the best zombie series I’ve ever read. Most other zombie series are either morbid and depressing, or scary. I like zombie movies, and this one channeled more of the Zombieland humor that I love. These books has amazing and funny dialog. I love these two brothers, Benny and Tom Imura and how they work so hard together. I love all the samurai warrior smart stuff, and bounty hunters. I love the friendship and love. There’s just so much in these books. I don’t know how Jonathan Maberry
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Oct 07, 2011
Schnaucl
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
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Jan 24, 2012
Peyton
rated it:
A great successor to Rot & Ruin. Maberry's teenagers are not always believable, but his action sequences are top-notch and his manipulation of zombie lore is excellent. While most writers and filmmakers ignore the inherent contradictions of zombies (they're decaying but they can still move, they only attack the living, they're dead but their brain still functions), Maberry acknowledges them all. Nothing can derail a story faster than the feeling that "this just isn't plausible", bu
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Nov 04, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I never would have guessed that so many philosophical questions could be packed into a dystopian novel about zombies. Jonathan Maberry, however, manages exactly that.
Dust and Decay is the sequel to Rot and Ruin, and takes place seven months after Benny and Nix spot a jet plane and realize that there are pockets of civilization that may have more technology and not be as afraid as the people in their town.
In this novel, Tom, Benny, Nix, and Lilah head out into the great More...
Dust and Decay is the sequel to Rot and Ruin, and takes place seven months after Benny and Nix spot a jet plane and realize that there are pockets of civilization that may have more technology and not be as afraid as the people in their town.
In this novel, Tom, Benny, Nix, and Lilah head out into the great More...
Jan 17, 2012
Tatiana
rated it:
Anyone who loved Rot & Ruin, will most certainly find that same love with Dust & Decay.
In the post-apocalyptic world where zoms roam free, brothers Benny and Tom Imura are doing everything they can to stay relatively close to one another and keep up with their "normal" lives. They go through the motions of their day to day life, which includes training for bounty hunting and working on being "warrior smart". When their group views an airplane, the first glimpse the More...
In the post-apocalyptic world where zoms roam free, brothers Benny and Tom Imura are doing everything they can to stay relatively close to one another and keep up with their "normal" lives. They go through the motions of their day to day life, which includes training for bounty hunting and working on being "warrior smart". When their group views an airplane, the first glimpse the More...
Jan 07, 2012
Joy
rated it:
If I had the whole day free, I could've read it in one go, but since I didn't, I finished it in two days. If I could compare this author's writing to video quality, I'd say it's HD.
This is the second installment of Jonathan Maberry's "Benny Imura" series with a new-and-definitely-improved Benny. He's not lanky anymore, he grew up in a short span of time enduring Tom's training for survival. I could just imagine how toned he is now and "warrior smart", as Tom drill More...
This is the second installment of Jonathan Maberry's "Benny Imura" series with a new-and-definitely-improved Benny. He's not lanky anymore, he grew up in a short span of time enduring Tom's training for survival. I could just imagine how toned he is now and "warrior smart", as Tom drill More...
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Aug 30, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
Ever fall in love with the first book in a series and then convince yourself the second book couldn’t be nearly as wonderful? Well, no worries because “Dust & Decay” is everything a sequel should be. I loved it even more than the first book. Jonathan Maberry is one of the best storytellers out there, in my opinion. To be able to capture the readers attention for the entire book (all 528 pages of it), is hard to do. But he easily keeps the story going at an even pace. When they re-enter the Ruin
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Oct 18, 2011
Rebekah
rated it:
Four stars. The fifth is lacking because my favorite character died-and I couldn't read the last page because of the tears blurring my eyes-a rare embarrassment.
The book basically takes up where Rot & Ruin left us-Tom is training the kids to be "modern samurai" and they want to pursue the jet (see the first book).
The action (and zombie violence) stars right up, but this time we have a more mature Benny (and emotionally damaged Nix) to confront it.
The authentic m More...
The book basically takes up where Rot & Ruin left us-Tom is training the kids to be "modern samurai" and they want to pursue the jet (see the first book).
The action (and zombie violence) stars right up, but this time we have a more mature Benny (and emotionally damaged Nix) to confront it.
The authentic m More...
