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When The Gods Walked Out
Josie is a nun who fears she has lost her connection with God. When she leaves the convent in search of it, she has no idea that she is walking into a world turned upside down.
No matter how hard he tries, Neal cannot figure out what is plaguing the human race. Science has never failed him before, but as more people continue to die and reanimate, he begins to wonder if he has put his faith in the wrong thing.
Brought together by the circumstances surrounding them, Josie and Neal must come to terms with their own ideas about life and death and try to escape the horror that has descended, now that the gods have walked out.
No matter how hard he tries, Neal cannot figure out what is plaguing the human race. Science has never failed him before, but as more people continue to die and reanimate, he begins to wonder if he has put his faith in the wrong thing.
Brought together by the circumstances surrounding them, Josie and Neal must come to terms with their own ideas about life and death and try to escape the horror that has descended, now that the gods have walked out.
154 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 1, 2014
This is a surprising story that is effectively a zombie fairytale in a modern setting. As it is a horror story, we are talking about the original fairytales that did not always have happy endings. You will see the heroine's journey into the underworld and how she and the hero lift each other up from the mire of death all around them. The tale takes the left-hand turning instead of the usual right-hand one answering the question of "what if" that is missing from some modern retellings of Grimm stories.
However, "When The Gods Walked Out" is not based off any particular tale, instead it is a unique one that shares the archetypes seen in other, older stories. Understanding that brings a lot of enjoyment to the tale as it is nothing that you expect from the zombie genre and stands apart from the pack as neatly and singularly as "Zombie Haiku". I recommend it for any zombie fan wanting a fresh take on their favorite genre, or for a fairy tale lover willing to dare a dark, new story.
However, "When The Gods Walked Out" is not based off any particular tale, instead it is a unique one that shares the archetypes seen in other, older stories. Understanding that brings a lot of enjoyment to the tale as it is nothing that you expect from the zombie genre and stands apart from the pack as neatly and singularly as "Zombie Haiku". I recommend it for any zombie fan wanting a fresh take on their favorite genre, or for a fairy tale lover willing to dare a dark, new story.
December 23, 2015
If I had to use only two words to describe C.E. Robertson’s zombie novella they would be “fast-paced” and “visceral.” Thank goodness I am not limited to just two words because the writer’s first published long work has much to offer. It is told at a blistering pace. I read it in one sitting. The main story of an ex-nun and a CDC scientist is interspersed with vignettes of zombie outbreak that give Robertson a chance to showcase her description of the horrific. In my opinion, any zombie story worth its gore is not really about zombies. Robert Kirkland has shown us that what makes the zombie apocalypse interesting is what it brings out in people. A good zombie tale uses zombies as background to tell us a story about people and how they react to unforeseen, the macabre, and the chilling. Robertson’s book is a good zombie story.
This is poignant novella about walking away from faith in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Josie is a nun who walks away from the convent because she no longer feels God, but she discovers she’s not the only one. What makes this particular zombie story interesting is the world-wide religious disaffection told from Josie’s point of view. When the Gods walk out, the zombies walk the earth. If this were a full length novel I expect Robertson would have expanded on Josie’s spiritual search. If I had one minor quibble it’s the characters of the minister and church secretary. Both are well-meaning hypocrites secretly living double lives. While not without corollary in a media-soaked age, this trope is so overused as to be stale. Just once I would love for the Buddhist or the Neo-Pagan to be the one being deceitful. Still, Josie’s own spiritual disaffection is good storytelling and I wished there had been more.
This is not to say there isn’t gore for the zombie aficionado. These zombies are not just nameless rotting faces, Robertson makes them the people our characters used to love. I found myself wincing at descriptions of the newly dead feasting on their loved ones--and I read The Walking Dead religiously. Roberson’s story is not about gore, however. It’s about horror--the horror of being abandoned by one’s gods in a hostile world of flesh-eating monsters that bare the faces of people we know. Be forewarned, however, Robertson has a penchant for unhappy endings as her collection of short stories, The Genre Doesn’t Matter and Sometimes the Bad Guy Wins will attest. When the Gods Walked Out is well your time. It will be interesting to see what she does with a ghost story in her upcoming Renshouse House Affair written as part of the Ed Greenwood Group--a writer’s collective helmed by the great fantasy writer and Forgotten Realms architect Ed Greenwood.
This is poignant novella about walking away from faith in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Josie is a nun who walks away from the convent because she no longer feels God, but she discovers she’s not the only one. What makes this particular zombie story interesting is the world-wide religious disaffection told from Josie’s point of view. When the Gods walk out, the zombies walk the earth. If this were a full length novel I expect Robertson would have expanded on Josie’s spiritual search. If I had one minor quibble it’s the characters of the minister and church secretary. Both are well-meaning hypocrites secretly living double lives. While not without corollary in a media-soaked age, this trope is so overused as to be stale. Just once I would love for the Buddhist or the Neo-Pagan to be the one being deceitful. Still, Josie’s own spiritual disaffection is good storytelling and I wished there had been more.
This is not to say there isn’t gore for the zombie aficionado. These zombies are not just nameless rotting faces, Robertson makes them the people our characters used to love. I found myself wincing at descriptions of the newly dead feasting on their loved ones--and I read The Walking Dead religiously. Roberson’s story is not about gore, however. It’s about horror--the horror of being abandoned by one’s gods in a hostile world of flesh-eating monsters that bare the faces of people we know. Be forewarned, however, Robertson has a penchant for unhappy endings as her collection of short stories, The Genre Doesn’t Matter and Sometimes the Bad Guy Wins will attest. When the Gods Walked Out is well your time. It will be interesting to see what she does with a ghost story in her upcoming Renshouse House Affair written as part of the Ed Greenwood Group--a writer’s collective helmed by the great fantasy writer and Forgotten Realms architect Ed Greenwood.
December 28, 2014
Enjoyed learning Josie's story and seeing her experience life outside the convent. Stressed right along with Neil and Green as they try to figure out what was going on in the world.
March 22, 2015
The only time I stopped reading the book was when I went to sleep last night. I did not want to but my eyes won that battle. :D A great story with interesting characters!
December 23, 2015
Fresh take on the zombie apocalypse. Vivid, sometimes beautiful and brutal imagery wrapped around a good story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews