Steve Stred's Blog, page 18

Book Review: Feeding the Void by Morgan K. Tanner

Title: Feeding the Void

Author: Morgan K. Tanner

Release date: October 30th, 2023

Huge thanks to Morgan for sending me a digital copy of this one!

I’ve read a bunch of his work and love how brutal and bleak he goes so I was excited to dive into his newest creation!

There’s always something so intriguing about fiction that involves that all-encompassing term ‘the void.’ We all immediately think of this shimmering, moving, amphibian-esque textured, slightly sentient ‘thing’ that fills up space and ingests what gets too close. But there are so many unknowns and it is always the unknown that draws us in.

What I liked: The story follows Jeffery, first in childhood, and then as an adult. As a child, he has a loving mother, distant and standoff-ish father, and a basement he’s not allowed to go down into. He’s warned of a finger monster by his father, a way to try and keep him in his room at night, which works until his mother tells him its all a story and Jeffery visits the basement.

Morgan then takes us to see Jeffery as an adult, fully addicted and within the clutches of the thing that resides on the wall in the basement and takes over for his father and feeds it, ensuring all of its desires are met. We also meet a woman who has struggled with endometriosis, who falls in love and unexpectedly finds herself pregnant. And Morgan keeps the tensions high as those two worlds collide.

The ending, as most often in these types of stories, doesn’t fully close and will keep you wondering about the unknown…

What I didn’t like: I’m not a huge fan of POV shifts and this one goes through a few, first from 1st person POV for part one and then from our different main players once Jeffery is into adulthood.

The biggest thing I found with that POV shift, is with the opening being the POV of a very young child, the first section felt very young-reader. I wondered a few times if this was closer to feel to Morgan’s The Snuggle Zombies than to An Army of Skin. It continued to feel a bit horror-lite as it progressed and ultimately we don’t get much more than what Jeffery does to satiate the void.

This could’ve made for a very nerve-jangling short story, but in it’s stretched form, it becomes thin in some areas.

Why you should buy this: If you’re a fan of Tanner’s break-neck speed of story telling, then you’ll be salivating over this one arriving, especially as it’s been a short span since his last proper foray into longer horror. Jeffery is a maniac that runs the show and his progression into such a dark mental place will pull readers along.

3/5

Book Review: A Cemetery Stroll by Elford Alley

Title: A Cemetery Stroll

Author: Elford Alley

Release date: September 25th, 2023

If you’ve followed along on any of my social media pages, you’ll know that my seven-year-old son really enjoys the darker stuff for art, movies, and books. We love to read together – a wide variety of different things – but ultimately, we’ll always nudge back towards the world’s where things go bump in the night and something may or may not be lurking in the closet.

When I saw that Elford Alley had released this young reader’s book, I was really excited and once it arrived, it was apparent that Cemetery Gates Media – the publisher – had put a lot of love and care into packaging this quick and engaging kids book.

What I liked: The book arrived yesterday (October 5th, 2023) and we zipped through it before bed. The story follows Hazel, the only kid in her school who hasn’t taken the dare and walked across the cemetery in October. The problem for her, is that she only has this one last night to accomplish this task and wouldn’t you know it – it’s Halloween!

As Hazel tentatively makes her way across the space, she finds notes that tell a spooky story about different little creatures/monsters and it’s in these that Elford really shines. We get some light humor and some chills in the poems that make up the stories and when we’d finished, my son and I spent a solid five minutes discussing each of the stories and deciding on which of them were our individual favorites.

The story wraps up with a great moment and a really solid sentiment that brings everything together.

What I didn’t like: It should be noted that this is for young readers. So, if you’re grabbing this thinking there will be some gore or descriptive passages, look elsewhere. I really loved how introductory to dark themes this was without worrying that it might frighten my son.

Why you should buy this: If you have a young reader in your home that likes to giggle along to the spooky parts of life, Elford has really delivered here. Hazel leads us through a wonderful world of spooks and ‘things’ and the illustrations that accompany the stories were really great.

My personal favorite story was ‘The Thing That Followed Me Home,’ while my son’s was ‘The Circling Bird.’

Tons of fun for young kids and the adults who’ll be reading along with them!

5/5

Book Review: Crystal Moth Conspiracy: Ash Born Book One by Konn Lavery

Title: Crystal Moth Conspiracy: Ash Born Book One

Author: Konn Lavery

Release date: June 20th, 2023

Thanks to Konn for sending me a digital copy of this one!

I’ve only read a few short stories and Konn’s novel ‘Rave,’ but even with that short page count of his work under my belt, I’ve already come to see and feel his writing voice, which shines brightly – even during the dirtiest of descriptions.

He’s created a world, called the Macrocosm, which I haven’t dove into yet, although I suspected this novel was related to that world before I started. Either way, with this donning the BOOK ONE label, I decided that whatever I’d need to know would be shared and away I went.

What I liked: The story follows Lola, a fugitive on the run, exposing others and getting herself into some trouble along the way. Now, she’s trying to avenge the death of her loved one’s (at the hands of the Crystal Moths) and deal with the growing reality of a new drug – Ash – becoming more and more predominant with users.

The story rockets along, twists and turns coming frequently, but no matter how crazy things get, Lavery remains in charge, writing with a steady and a sure hand, keeping the characters in check and the story steamrolling towards the violent, bitter end. It works that the characters feel so thoroughly fleshed out and honestly, there wasn’t even one I’d consider a throw away character, which in a book with this thick of a page count is an achievement on it’s own.

I’m not sure exactly how many into this series Konn has planned, but taken as a singular, the reader could invest in this one and be satisfied with how it ends (even with some very big questions still left to be answered).

I also want to add that the illustrations were a nice touch and really helped to heighten this strange world Lavery has created. A world that reminds me of the way Joseph Sale or Brian Fatah Steele conjure and create.

What I didn’t like: I think this book would’ve felt way more straight forward if it was the singular book I was reading and focusing on. As it was, I had eight books on the go, so I was diving into this one in snippets and short bites, before dedicating a few longer reading sessions. With a longer book like this, it definitely works better if you can dedicate the time to it, otherwise – much like I had to do a few times – you’ll be scratching your chin over who the hell certain characters were, until you remember!

Why you should buy this: Is this Urban Fantasy? Dark Fantasy with Horror? Hard to categorize (and not necessarily something that needs to be categorized) but if you’re looking for a really well done and engaging world, with a main character who should have her own TV show, look no further. Lola was such a solid lead and Lavery has really outdone himself with this one.

4.5/5

Book Review: The Daughters of Block Island by Christa Carmen

Title: The Daughter’s of Block Island

Author: Christa Carmen

Release date: December 1st, 2023

Huge thanks to Christa for sending me a digital ARC of her debut novel!

The Gothic novel. Ahhh… my old nemesis. Those dark corners, those subtle nods to the ‘otherness’ in the room… Much like Epistolary stories, Gothic stories can be a hit or miss for me, but having previously read (and greatly enjoyed) Christa’s work, I was very intrigued by what I’d discover on Block Island.

This novel reviews itself slowly, layer by layer as more of the story is revealed and it seems like the perfect October-curl-up-in-a-blanket-by-the-fire type novel, which I think will have fans of this type of story over the moon.

What I liked: The novel begins with Thalia receiving a letter from a sister she didn’t know she had. Blake has reached out from Block Island, a place Thalia told herself she’d never return to. After doing some digging, she discovers that Blake passed away not long after sending the letter – and that Blake was on Block Island, searching for her own mom she’d never met, having been giving up for adoption, as well as for Thalia, the sister she didn’t know she had.

Carmen does a wonderful job of keeping the complexities of this island and its inhabitants sinister, as though Blake (and later Thalia) and annoyances and intrusions, while being superficially friendly. It captures the feeling one gets well, when going on vacation and having those who wish you stayed away let you know they wished you stayed away.

There’s a delicate paint-brush-stroke-esque to the way Carmen reveals this story, a textured softness that belies the darkness that seeps into every cranny, a fascinating misting of the readers brain that says ‘don’t get too comfortable.’

This remains in place up to (and including the afterword) the very end, when the story opens wide and the reveals take place. While this novel does wear a lot of its influences on its sleeves, its that familiarity that keeps this grounded in a slow burning tension from page one until the very end.

What I didn’t like: Like most Gothic stories of any length I read, I do struggle with some of the pacing. Carmen keeps things moving and keeps the reader engaged, but for some it may possess a pace that is less than what they typically enjoy and will hinder their progression through such a wonderfully written novel.

Why you should buy this: This novel feels like a modern throwback to the classics, where a rain-soaked woman is illuminated by the flash of lightening, while she flees from the horror within the home.

Carmen has done an immaculate job of building the setting into the story as much as the characters drive the novel and throughout we get quick, sharp stabs of horror, which worked so well to keep the reader on their toes.

As for me, I enjoyed it, but still had to work my way through it, this type of novel not one I’d normally ever go out and choose. So, for me, this was a solid 3/5 read. For those who’ll eat this one up and are desperately waiting for this to arrive, it’ll be an easy 5/5. So, I’ll split the difference and go with a very solid 4/5 overall, and one I definitely suggest you grab if you love this type of book!

Book Review: They Stalk the Night by Brian Moreland

Title: They Stalk the Night

Author: Brian Moreland

Release date: October 10th, 2023

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Brian Moreland for the digital ARC of this one!

Have you read Brian Moreland yet? I feel like he’s a name I don’t see shared enough on social media, nor his books. I’ve read a half dozen of his releases and have found I’ve enjoyed them all and loved a few of them. I was on the fence about grabbing this one, but his novel Tomb of Gods was SOOOOO good, and knowing how much I love cold-weather, folklore, creature features, I simply couldn’t pass this one up and OHHHHH BABY am I glad I snagged this!

What I liked: Fade in… to a small town with a riddled past. Where a demonic beast has been kept at bay through the elders of the village ensuring spells are cast and hungers are fed.

Fast forward… to a company blasting to build a pipeline and KABLOOOOUUUEEEEYYYY!!! The sacred hut and land where the beast lives is blown sky high and with that, carnage is unleashed.

Honestly, I could simply leave it at that and you’re either gonna race to order this or think ‘meh, not for me.’ And that’s fair. But you’d be missing out on so much more.

Moreland LAYERS this novel and I mean layers it. We get a mother of two young kids trying to keep her head up while she deals with a husband who is checking out and his best friend who assaults her. This best friend also happens to be the son of the local sheriff. We get a poaching subplot, a ‘this is our land’ subplot and we get a ‘I’ll do what’s right for me and my own’ subplot. But throughout, the guiding narrative of the book is this massive beast, loosed on the land and filled with nothing but vengeance.

It was a really refreshing take on cold-weather terror and throughout, Moreland has infused the novel with characters that have real depth. Even the ones we hate we get to know, understand and it helps us to root for or against them, especially in the final quarter when all bets are off and chaos consumes everything.

The ending was really well done, tons of action and Moreland wrapped it up in a way that had me completely satisfied. It felt like he spent time actively ensuring all loose ends were tied off, which made for a completely unambiguous ending.

What I didn’t like: There’s a few characters that will really get under your skin in this one, but that works well for the story. What did slightly annoy me was that some of these characters begin to be teased out as having bigger roles, only to either fade away or meet a swift ending.

Why you should buy this: Fans of Moreland will know what to expect. This has all his classic notes he hits – solid creatures, great characters and propulsive writing. For those new to him, this would be a great diving in point, especially if you’re a fan of snowy mayhem.

5/5

Book Review: Deadlands by Victoria Miluch

Title: Deadlands

Author: Victoria Miluch

Release date: September 12, 2023

Right off the bat, I have to give credit to my pal Julie aka @grimdreadful over on IG for even putting this book onto my radar in the oddest way ever!

Did you know you can get a free Kindle book with Prime every month? I didn’t, lol! Not until Julie posted a Tik Tok about snagging her free Kindle book. I went and sure enough, Amazon had six or eight books available for me to choose from. I went through the various books and out of all of them, this one interested me the most.

The book itself is a fairly straight-forward novel about isolation and the struggle to survive, which are two big boxes I always look to check off when I’m choosing a book.

What I liked: Set in the near future, the novel follows Georgia, a nineteen-year-old female who lives with her father and brother, in the middle of nowhere near Phoenix. The world isn’t how it is today. Temperatures have skyrocketed, the air is hard to breathe in cities and a lot of the US is simply on fire. The government has decided to build up instead of out, wanting to build domes for people to live in, with fresh air, drinkable water and all the resources that have faded away over the years.

One day, two strangers arrive where Georgia and Wulf (her brother) live and it’s there that the novel ramps up. Now, I have to admit, having been a horror reader my entire life, I immediately distrusted these two. I was thinking Tremblay’s ‘Cabin…’ or the movie ‘The Strangers’ type scenarios the entire time I was reading it, which made it harder for me to relax and enjoy some of the coming-of-age moments Miluch shared throughout, especially as Georgia comes to understand that she wants to be ‘out there,’ to see the wider world, and not live in isolation and fear.

Her father is an interesting character. I’m not sure if anyone reading this has ever watched the kids animated show Dinosaur King, but all I could picture the dad looking and sounding like was Dr. Z, the bad guy of the show! Ultimately, the character is suspicious, untrusting and anti-government. He wants to do what’s best for his family, but is haunted by events from the past.

As the novel goes on, we get a welcome change of scenery, an introduction of another character, Herm, and when the ‘big moment’ that changes everything occurs, we see how it effects Georgia and how she reacts to it.

The ending will be very divisive for readers. It’ll either work for you or it won’t. For me, I enjoyed it and it felt like a really nice way of sending Georgia off into the larger world, but without an expectation of a sequel.

What I didn’t like: As mentioned, you may find the ending to be a bit smooth, or like a song fading away, but I personally didn’t mind it.

What I didn’t like was the very obvious set up that a moment of intimacy was, as well as a very odd event involving Georgia’s father and one of the visitors in the woods. It’s a throw away moment over all, with her finding them doing something ‘adult,’ let’s say, but it really added nothing to the story. The other event, was fairly telegraphed early on that it would play a significant role later on in the progression, so much so, that when it does happen, it’s a bit of a let down.

Why you should buy it: If you’re looking for a cinematic story of a young girl trying to find her own way in the world, look no further. Miluch has really created an engaging world, a great cast of characters and the internal struggle between devotion to family and the longing to break away and find ones self was wonderfully done.

4/5

Book Review: Pre-Approved for Haunting by Patrick Barb

Title: Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories

Author: Patrick Barb

Release date: Sept 26, 2023

Huge thanks to Patrick and Keylight Books for sending me a digital ARC of this one!

Have you read Patrick’s novella ‘Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare’ yet?!?!

The reason I bring that up is two-fold.

1st – it is BRILLIANT and will make you an instant fan of Patrick’s work.

2nd – the atmosphere that Barb created within that novella is a perfect way to describe the atmosphere in this collection.

This is haunting. Bleak. Profound. Unsettling. Over and over again, rapid-fire in some instances, Barb sets the ball up and then knocks it out of the park, destroying the reader in the process.

What I liked: Time and time again, while reading these stories, Barb would deliver a story that had me think ‘Yup, that one, that’s my favorite of the batch,’ before the next one would arrive, and I’d repeat that thought. It’s been a while since I’ve read a collection that was just so heartbreaking. Andrew F. Sullivan’s collection that I recently read was close, a batch of real-life folks dealing with real-life sorrow, but this one just went an extra amount in the despondency conveyed and it made for a tough but worthwhile experience.

Let’s go through a few of my personal favorite stories.

This all begins with ‘Lost Boy Found in His Bear Suit.’ It is exactly what the title suggests, where a small child has wandered away from the campsite. His parents are frantic, and a local legend suggests that a mother bear lurks around to steal kids. It all culminates in an ending that made me shudder.

‘Rose From the Ashes’ was an interesting look at someone connecting with the souls of those who’ve recently departed in a funeral home.

‘And Our Next Guest’ was a chaotic and anxiety-fueled look at ‘live’ late night TV and had a really engaging twist.

‘I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script’ as a unique take on and with mixed media. This was a blast to read and one that will stay with readers for a long time after.

‘Pre-Approved for Haunting’ might be the title story but it wasn’t something simply thrown in because of that. We follow a ghost hunter who gets called back to the same house over many different years with many different owners. It made me grin the entire time.

When it was all said and done, my personal favorite was ‘Melvin and The Murder Crayon.’ With shades of the novella, I mentioned previously, this one was simply heartbreaking and as a non-American, feels like something completely and totally avoidable. I loved this story, but it makes me feel ill inside when I use the word ‘love’ for this one.

What I didn’t like: While the stories throughout were all really solid and enjoyable, some just didn’t connect with me. Very common with collections (and anthologies) and in this case a few just didn’t rattle my brain the same way the others did.

Why you should buy this: If you’re already a fan of Barb’s work this is a no-brainer to grab. If you’ve not read his work yet, this is a really great place to dive in and discover why Barb is quickly becoming a must-read author for so many readers.

4/5

Book Review: Silent Key by Laurel Hightower

Title: Silent Key

Author: Laurel Hightower

Release date: October 10th, 2023

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Flame Tree Press and Laurel for an advanced digital copy of this one!

Look, I’ll say it right off the hop here – I’m a huge fan of Laurel’s work and I consider her one of the most solid folks in the writing community. I consider her a friend and as such, I love seeing friends succeed. With the acclaim of her debut and her recent novellas, her fan base grew exponentially, and when I saw this one announced I was so over the moon excited for her! Flame Tree Press! Another step up the ladder that is well deserved and well earned.

I couldn’t wait to dive in – pun intended.

What I liked: Much like ‘Whispers in the Dark,’ ‘Silent Key’ follows a single mom trying to navigate her new normal and keeping her child safe. From there, the story morphs into its own beast, but it was great to see Hightower return to that POV character to drive this one, as that’s 100% her bread and butter.

After her husband has died under mysterious circumstances, some things have come to light that have her questioning the depth of their love, while also revealing some truths that have followed her and her daughter. Coupled with her ‘adopted’ Russian brother, they flee to her deceased uncle’s ranch in Texas, where, much to her surprise, the supernatural elements follow and make things that much more difficult when all they want is to just get away.

As the novel progresses, Laurel continues to reveal different elements that add to the narrative (I’m not gonna expand on this to prevent spoilers) and lead us to the deep dark depths where the crux of the story takes place. We’re led to this moment, often unsure of what exactly is going on, but when we get there, it’s an AH-HA! of storylines coming together.

The ending is solid, closing things off really nicely and giving us a glimpse of what life will look like for those who remain topside.

What I didn’t like: I’m not totally sure if I am 100% sold on Dimi’s storyline and how things turn out. I mean, it all makes sense, I just don’t know if I personally liked it haha!

And, I will say, the first quarter does have some repetitive storyline aspects where it feels like we’re spinning our wheels once Cam, her daughter and Dimi arrive. It is needed, especially in the police procedural narrative, but there are moments where it doesn’t feel like you’re progressing forward.

Why you should buy this: Cam may very well be Hightower’s most developed and ‘real’ character she’s created. You want to root for her, you want to see her succeed and be happy and when things go bad you want to step up and be her backup. ‘Silent Key’ features a melding of several genres that Laurel’s wields deftly and confidently, ultimately giving us readers one of the more solid ‘paranormal-mystery-thrillers’ I’ve read in some time.

4/5

Book Review: Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston

Title: Puzzle House

Author: Duncan Ralston

Release date: September 15, 2023

This meme, made from the viral video where the football player gave an interview and said that line, sums up this book perfectly for me.

A large part of it was my neglect at exploring more, going further, as well as simply ‘believing’ what Duncan had shared. Duncan and I message fairly regularly, and at one point he’d shared the synopsis and cover for this book. By all indications, I was under the assumption this was a singular release and it was a straightforward novel about a group of strangers in a ‘Saw’-type house, where they had to solve their way to survival.

For the most part, that is true, until about the half way point, when we learn way more about the ‘truth’ to who is behind the mystery within and we get a lot of occult/ancient deity involvement. And that, honestly, is where my reading brain started to hold back from the book.

What I liked: I should state first, though – thanks to Wicked House Publishing, Netgalley and the author for sending me a digital ARC of this one.

The novel begins just as I mentioned – we get some back story on an inmate and the world’s biggest female movie star, Joy, who are summoned to Joy’s ex-husbands home. Alexei has died and he’s decided to leave his staggering fortune to those who come. A group of six strangers, but with only Joy who knew Alexei before. Alexei made his fortune through creating complex puzzles and in order to receive their share of his fortune, they must solve the puzzles. Of course, this being a horror novel, we learn that they’ll need to not only solve the puzzles but that they’ll have to actually survive the puzzles as well.

Duncan does a solid job of setting up this premise, but also having us root for the two main characters, Joy and our prisoner. They play well off each other and as the book moves along, it was great to see them have a solid, platonic relationship without any hint of romance or potentially hooking up.

I really enjoyed each new puzzle room – up to a point, which I’ll discuss in a moment – and how they worked collaboratively together to solve it, even as each one becomes more extreme and more squirm inducing.

The first half of this novel had me hooked, but then it went in a very different direction, one I wished was a completely different book.

What I didn’t like: Briefly, before I get into the bread and butter of some stuff, I did find the extra characters, just that – extra characters. No connection, one dimensional and there simply to die in each room. But, the truth is, in a book like that, you need those characters. So, I didn’t mind that they weren’t as well defined or fleshed out.

I think for me, and minor spoilers here – so enter at your own risk – is I went in completely invested in a singular novel about people struggling to solve life-or-death escape rooms, and this was so much more. That so much more is a solid thing, a good thing in most cases (looking at you Ghostland trilogy), but I wasn’t invested in that when I started. I found the Book of Magic to feel out of place and the Infiniti Enterprises aspect should’ve been featured in a completely different book.

I went along for the ride, wanting to see who would survive and what would be left of them, but I was a bit frustrated when it went very ‘raising the dead’ and ‘the world you left isn’t the world you’ll return to.’ I was also expecting a solid, THE END, not a jarring finish with the dawning understanding that there would be another book.

Why you should buy this: Now, it may sound like I didn’t like this book, but honestly, I did. I liked each avenue separately, and I am invested now, wanting to see what tricks Alexei and Trent have in store for our survivor and what this strange new world has become. Saying that, I still do lament the fact that I didn’t get a straightforward Puzzle House story.

So, I’m splitting the difference. The first half, for me was a solid 5/5. The latter half a good 3/5.

Overall, this one was a 4/5 and a reminder that I shouldn’t always go in blind to books, as this reading brain will sometimes get far too stuck in its ways to loosen up and go with the flow!

Book Review: The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey

Title: The Boy on the Bridge

Author: M.R. Carey

Release date: May 2, 2017

Way back when, almost a decade ago, in 2014, M.R. Carey released the phenomenal ‘The Girl With All the Gifts.’ Not long after it came out, I snagged a hardcover and devoured it from front to back, loving his take on the Zombie trope. This was also around the time zombie’s had risen to storm the lands and take over everything once again. The Walking Dead was in control of what people watched, with tens of millions tuning in each week. Zombies were everywhere and after reading this book and a few of The Walking Dead novels, I slowly began to tune out the zombie ‘fad.’ I just had enough. The Walking Dead was the same every week and because it was on AMC, it felt like a Lite production. Not as dirty or gross as the real world would be. No swearing. No excessive violence. Just tame.

When this novel, the ‘sequel’ to ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ came out in 2017, I paid it no mind. A few years back, I snagged it on a Kindle deal, thinking maybe one day I’d get to it, if the day came where I felt like dipping my toes back into a subgenre of horror that I’ve struggled to find engagement in over the last few years.

But, and I have no clue why, recently, this novel as been pulling at me. Maybe it’s seeing it slowly make its way up my TBR list. Maybe it’s been seeing more people posting about it recently on Bookstagram and Booktok. Or maybe my brain is subconsciously saying, ‘Hey, big fella, why not rediscover the joy zombie fiction brought you for all those years?’

No matter the reason, I dove in and returning to a world that I’ve not been in for many years felt not only refreshing, but a bit like a homecoming.

What I liked: A decade after the previous events, a small group of scientists and soldiers have been tasked with heading out of the safety of the city of Beacon in an armoured vehicle, searching for a potential cure of the zombie virus or any significant changes in the world.

Not long after we get a brief intro to those onboard, we soon learn that Dr. Samrina Khan (Rina) is pregnant and will most likely have to give birth in the vehicle named Rosie. She has an unlikely friendship with Stephen Greaves, a teenager with high functioning autism, whom the douchebag crew of soldiers have labelled ‘The Robot.’

As the story moves along, we get political upheaval, the discovery of a possibly second generation of ‘hungries’ as the zombies are called and all the while we follow along as Rina’s belly grows and her anxiety increases.

The tension ramps up when someone is bitten, but Greaves devises a way to subdue the infection, to which the question is raised – the moral and ethical debate over the ages – is it better to wipe out an entire species in the hopes of saving the human race.

It was kind of odd to read this one post ‘Covid,’ in the sense that this felt similar to those who were anti-vax were focused solely on doing what was best for themselves versus the larger population of people.

The ending was fantastic, a great blast of carnage and action, which led to a somber and melancholic send off of a few characters.

I will say, the epilogue was glorious and a closure fitting really well with the two book story arc that Carey had created.

What I didn’t like: While I knew there was a reason for the way Stephen was treated, it still didn’t make for an enjoyable feeling. I wished Carey would’ve had a few of the scientists stick up for him more often, considering that they’d understand the autistic aspects and would have the means to tell the soldiers to stuff it.

As well, I still felt detached from the parts where suspense was supposed to happen because of my struggle with zombie stuff. This was a great take on them and changed things up, but it took me a bit to feel ‘worried’ at any moment.

Why you should buy this: If you loved ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ but haven’t read this one, definitely get on it. The world Carey’s created is wonderful and the quest for humankind survival invigorating. If you’re looking for a 1-2 punch of zombie books, these two work so well together and really carry the emotions of ‘how do we go on from here’ throughout both stories.

Really well done.

5/5