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Rot & Ruin (Rot & Ruin #1)

by Jonathan Maberry (Goodreads Author)

4.1 · Rating Details · 27,877 Ratings · 3,276 Reviews

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach h ...more

Hardcover, 1st Edition, 458 pages

Published September 14th 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

filter: 1 star | sort: default (?) | Rating Details

Mar 31, 2011 Mariel rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: the three r's

Recommended to Mariel by: retch & roll

I don't really have anything new to add about Rot & Ruin other than throwing in my voice to chime with the naysayers in a bored "Nay!" I may even be lip synching. I'm not feeling the effort at all.
Imagine the most stereotypical response of a fifteen year old boy and apply that to any points the zombie killing concept/teenaged boy living in a post apocalyptic world can dredge up and that's your book. Stir in a dash of "I should have cared all along!" and generic teen friendships story. Add a ...more

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Jun 11, 2010 Megan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, zombies, not-mine-library, audio-book

It would be nice to think that this is simply a reflection of my reading tastes being very different from Jonathan Maberry's writing style. After all, I despised Patient Zero when so many people loved that book. And here again, I very strongly dislike Rot & Ruin. But is it really just me?

Maberry is the king of telling, not showing. One dimensional characters who seem so cliched. Even the zombie attacks couldn't make this more enjoyable. It was a chore to finish this and no matter how cool th ...more

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Mar 11, 2014 Adrian rated it did not like it

How is this rated so high? I don't write many reviews but I feel it's my civic duty to stop you wasting time on this lame story.

*Bitchy kids
*Conversations that are unrealistic
*Very childish

Maybe it's aimed at a different demographic and if it's you I never want to meet you.

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Oct 09, 2011 William Thomas rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This review may not wind up being as scathing as I wanted it to be because I can't bring myself to care about it very much.

All zombie literature, and zombie films, can be traced back to their father in the book 'I am Legend' by Richard Matheson.

I know. I know. I know. IAL is about vampires. Yes, it is. But it is the exact same dynamic that has been appropriated by such classics as 'Night of the Living Dead'. Jonathan Maberry's 'Rot and Ruin is hardly different in that it uses the same allegorie This review may not wind up being as scathing as I wanted it to be because I can't bring myself to care about it very much.

All zombie literature, and zombie films, can be traced back to their father in the book 'I am Legend' by Richard Matheson.

I know. I know. I know. IAL is about vampires. Yes, it is. But it is the exact same dynamic that has been appropriated by such classics as 'Night of the Living Dead'. Jonathan Maberry's 'Rot and Ruin is hardly different in that it uses the same allegories in rapid socio-political change. Because the zombie metaphor can basically be traced back to this story here, an Eastern parable:

"Once upon a time there was a Sultan who was good and just. This Sultan had a Vizier (Chief adviser) who was also good and just. The Vizier also happened to be an astrologer. One day the Vizier said to the Sultan he had seen a sign in the heavens which said that it was going to rain "crazy" water, and whosoever drinks from that water will become crazy. All the people in the land will drink from that water and they will lose their reasoning, they will no longer have a good sense of anything, they will not be able to tell right from wrong, nor truth from falsehood, nor sweet from sour, not even justice from injustice.

When the Sultan heard this he turned to the Vizier and said, "Since everybody will lose their minds we must take care not to lose ours, for otherwise how will we make just judgments?" The Vizier told him that he was quite right and that he should order that the good water they now drank was collected and kept in special reservoirs, so that they wouldn't drink from the ruined water and make crazy and unjust judgments, but rather just ones, as they were obliged to. That is what happened.

A little while later it really did rain, and the rain that came down really was crazy water, and the people really did become crazy. The poor things no longer had any idea of what was happening to them. They thought that falsehood was truth, good was bad, and injustice was justice. However, the Sultan and his Vizier drank from the good water which they had stored away and so did not lose their reasoning, but rather judged everybody with justice and righteousness. However everybody took this the wrong way, and they were not pleased with the Sultan's and the Vizier's judgments. They shouted that they had been wronged, they nearly caused a revolution.

Some time later, when they had seen more than enough, the Sultan and the Vizier lost their courage, and the Sultan said to the Vizier, "Those poor fellows really have lost their minds, and they see everything the wrong way around. If we carry on like this they will kill us because we want to judge them correctly with justice. Therefore my dear Vizier, let's throw away the good water and let us also drink the crazy water. We will become like them and then they'll understand us and they'll love us again." That's what happened. They also drank from the crazy water, they lost their minds and started to make crazy and unjust judgments, and all the people were happy and congratulated the Sultan for his wisdom."

Maberry doesn't succeed though and uses a veil that is practically made of rice paper in order to get his point across- People fear what they do not understand and destroy those things they feel are different. Oh, wow. How very enlightening. Please teach us about the human condition, Maberry.

The premise of 'Rot and Ruin' is "zombies are people, too." Maberry uses the zombies in place of (insert other race/minority/thing here). What I would insert there is Muslim. I think Maberry is using the zombie metaphor for socio-political change in the world today using the projections from 'Freaknomics' about Muslims breeding out the Jews in Israel. Honestly, that is not true, but in this case, it is wide open to interpretation. As I said, we can insert damn near anything in that space. Don't be afraid of [blank] because they aren't really the way you think they are.

His attempt to humanize the zombies and show a 'different' side of the zombie killing machines in order to teach us a very special lesson about our uneducated opinions. That if we just got to know the truth of the matter, we would embrace the thing we once feared.

And he writes this silly diatribe in the form of a young adult novel that basically reads like 'see dick run'. Littel to no descrition, a poor example of world-building, and an allegory that basically slaps you in the face with its transparency.

Grade: F- ...more

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May 25, 2010 Darcy rated it did not like it

Shelves: couldn-t-bring-myself-to-finish, 2010, ya, zombies

I had high hopes for this book as I like this author's other zombie series, but this one just isn't for me. I made it about 50 pages in and was bored with the story and Benny irritated me, he was such a selfish, self-centered person. I realize he is just a kid, but that didn't matter. It was his demeanor that really turned me off of this book.

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Sep 19, 2012 Emily rated it did not like it

Shelves: public-library, zombie, post-apocalypse

Usually, I try to breakdown books into what I like and hated, but I pretty much hated everything. This gets an extra star because I finished it, and because I think I liked something about it, just don't ask me to pin down what yet.

The world building is illogical. Why on earth would the dead not rot? Biologically improbable. Also, this is another one where the military failed because they didn't realize they were dealing with zombies. The more and more that zombies rise in popular culture, the l ...more

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Jul 09, 2015 Sam rated it did not like it

Shelves: the-eye-roll, dnf

I tried. I seriously tried to get through this book. I knew from other reviews that the beginning was slow but that if you stuck around it picks up. Well, I never made it there because I just couldn't take its message anymore.

In this book, zombies are people; they matter and deserve your respect because they were once people....huh???? THEY'RE ZOMBIES!!!!

The explanation from Benny's big brother Tom ( the "badass" self-righteous zombie lover) goes something like this:

Tom: Would you get mad if one ...more

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May 21, 2015 Gigi rated it did not like it

Let me just say that usually, it doesn't take me almost two months to read a book.

That should say something.

Every time I would sit down to read, I would look at my choices. Every time, I decided that I would pick up Rot and Ruin some other time. Well... Almost every time.

I did not like Rot and Ruin. It had an OK plot, and an OK backstory, but it just felt really boring. I would read a chapter and then set it down, feeling as though I had just slogged through 2 pages of an encyclopedia. I can't r Let me just say that usually, it doesn't take me almost two months to read a book.

That should say something.

Every time I would sit down to read, I would look at my choices. Every time, I decided that I would pick up Rot and Ruin some other time. Well... Almost every time.

I did not like Rot and Ruin. It had an OK plot, and an OK backstory, but it just felt really boring. I would read a chapter and then set it down, feeling as though I had just slogged through 2 pages of an encyclopedia. I can't really describe WHY I felt this way. I just sort of did. There were also other things that made this a long, long read.

-In the beginning of the story Benny can be described like this- A normal teenage boy. But, after he sees his brother quiet one zombie, and give him a speech about how killing a disease spreading zombie is equal to someone defiling on a dead loved one at a funeral (???????????) Benny turns into this insightful, deep person, who is able to interpret everything that comes his way, and see clear right wrong, and types of character. Ummm... He JUST turned 15 right? And was just joking around with his other 15 year old friends about immature stuff right? And he was just figuring out that he had a crush on a long time friend and being awkward right? Right!

-TOO MUCH BENNY AND NIX!!!! I do not give a crap about whether or not these two kids have a relationship or not. Personally, I think that Nix is way to good for Benny, pretty, funky, interesting, and a lot smarter (until Benny's moment of realization or whatever) then Benny. However, she and seems to be super invested at the beginning about maybe having a relationship with this boy.

-I Just don't care. Characters make up a book, and I didn't care about these characters. There wasn't enough character development to get to know what these characters were like. Therefore, I didn't care about the story, the plot, or anything else. Nix got captured? Do I care? No. Benny is in danger? Do I care? No! Tom 'died'? Do I care? NO!

Meh. This book was just Meh. I will not be reading the sequels. ...more

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Mar 06, 2015 Louise rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: castaways-i-give-up, 1st-part-of-a-series, summer-bingo-botns-2015

Interesting setting, but Benny - the main character - is tough Company for me. He seems like a really strange emotional mix of an angst-ridden 8 y old with a tendency towards emotional rollercoaster rides (divas everywhere go home) and asking really obvious questions, and then a rebellious teenager (he's supposed to be 15) who goes against his authoritative older brother Tom, but becomes a sobbing wreck everytime his brother lectures him on life and zombies. I really wish the author would have g ...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Nury rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, zombies, ya, unfinished

No. Nop. Nope.

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Oct 31, 2014 Aimee Meester rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: hated, just-weird, apocalypse

I'm looking at all the four and five star reviews for this book, and I'm trying to figure out if I'm missing something, and other people were reading something other than the mess I just finished. Because I would very much like to take back those hours of my life.

Honestly? I feel cheated. This was a book with promise, that badly, desperately wanted to be good but had the misfortune to be confusingly, shabbily handled with some of the worst writing I've read in a while. I want to believe that's ...more

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May 20, 2013 Kamryn rated it did not like it

***FIRST REVIEW*** :)

When I first opened up Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry I was expecting something like the experience I had when I watched The Walking Dead, which was a strong excitement to watch more. And for the first three chapters it seemed that way, I thought; this book is going to be action packed with zombies, blood, mystery, all that good stuff. Sadly though, I was wrong. The "action" if that's what you want to call it didn't start till I was half way through the book. Even when the ***FIRST REVIEW*** :)

When I first opened up Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry I was expecting something like the experience I had when I watched The Walking Dead, which was a strong excitement to watch more. And for the first three chapters it seemed that way, I thought; this book is going to be action packed with zombies, blood, mystery, all that good stuff. Sadly though, I was wrong. The "action" if that's what you want to call it didn't start till I was half way through the book. Even when the "action" parts did come up I don't think they can even count as action scenes, unless you count a bit of gun shooting, characters constantly calling each other's names when they're in some sort of danger, and walking around in the woods while you're older brother gives you a lecture on how zombies are people too.

The characters in this book didn't leave an impression on me either. Benny, the main protagonist in Rot and Ruin is whiny at best. It pissed me off how he though so little of his brother, thinking he was a coward. Benny was just going off of what he remembered from when he was 18 months old. 18 months! And that was that he thought his brother was a coward for leaving his parents on First Night (the day the zombies came).

Benny wasn't the only character I had a problem with in this book, I also has an issue with Benny's older brother, Tom. I think Maberry was trying to make Tom seem all awesome to the readers and that we would just gobble it up and love it, love him. I didn't gobble it up. I thought he came off as typical. I think the main reason I didn't like Tom was because of his view of the zombies, this goes the same with a reason why I didn't like the book as much as I had hoped. Tom's message to Benny was in this book; Zombies need to be respected, they're people too. When I read that at first I didn't understand, I thought it was a joke to be honest with you. After I realized this was in fact not a joke, and was the way Jonathan Maberry had decided to give his zombie book a twist to make it different from others I thought it was incredibly dumb. I don't care if this zombie was once someones loved one, it's not anymore. What was once them isn't there anymore, a monster is all that is left to fill in the empty skin.

The last character I'll talk about is Nix. The young red headed girl who Benny obviously has feelings for even though he tries to convince himself otherwise, why? Because some of his friends made a promise that none of them who go after her, or something along those lines. Nix was basically the same as Benny to me. I thought she was just a blah, typical character. Nothing special about her at all.

The ending to Rot and Ruin was nothing special, it didn't leave me wanting more, didn't have a cliff hanger, no real amazing action happened. To me this book was pretty predictable. Everything was just blah, this book to me was very blah, at first it had me interested, but I quickly lost interest. And with it's set of boring, whiny, and annoying characters it was hard for me to want to keep reading. This book definitely left a bad taste in my mouth about zombie books, this being my first one I don't know if I'll try to read more. ...more

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Feb 24, 2013 April Johnson (Patton) rated it did not like it

Shelves: did-not-finish

Rot & Ruin is the story of half-brothers Benny and Tom navigating life in a post-apocalyptic world infested with zombies. Everyone must be employed by age fifteen or forfeit half of their ration allowances. Benny, despite trying several jobs and finding fault with all of them, reluctantly agrees to an apprenticeship to his brother Tom, famous zombie hunter.

I made it to page 168 before giving up for the following reasons:

1. The main character, Benny, he has three unremarkable friends, no in Rot & Ruin is the story of half-brothers Benny and Tom navigating life in a post-apocalyptic world infested with zombies. Everyone must be employed by age fifteen or forfeit half of their ration allowances. Benny, despite trying several jobs and finding fault with all of them, reluctantly agrees to an apprenticeship to his brother Tom, famous zombie hunter.

I made it to page 168 before giving up for the following reasons:

1. The main character, Benny, he has three unremarkable friends, no interests or skills, and lives in a stable environment where all his needs are met. He's boring, and his only distinctive attribute is rage.

"He hated Tom for running away. He hated that Tom hadn't stayed and helped Mom. He hated what their dad had become on that First Night all those years ago. Just as he hated what Dad had turned Mom into. In his mind they were no longer Mom and Dad. They were the things that had killed them. Zoms. And he hated them with an intensity that made the sun feel cold and small."

Benny witnessed the horror of zombies only once, at age 18-months, when his parents where killed. This single experience filled him with a white-hot rage that eliminated all hints of a personality. I found this extremely hard to believe. After he agrees to work with Tom, his first hunt fractures him further:

"For five days after they got back, Benny did nothing. In the mornings he sat in the backyard, invisible in the cool shade of the house as the sun rose in the east. When the sun was overhead, Benny went inside and sat in his room and stared out the window. As the sun set he'd go downstairs and sit on the top step of the porch. He didn't say more than a dozen words. Tom cooked meals and laid them out, and sometimes Benny ate and sometimes he didn't."

At this point, Benny has evolved from an unforgiving, relentless rage-machine into a recluse with Vietnam War-like PTSD. I get it, Benny. We just can't fathom the horrors you have seen on your single trip beyond the fence.

2. Tom, the zombie-hunter/savant, is patronizing and preaches too much about the way zombies should be treated. Not only is Tom's philosophy of "respect-the-zombies-they-were-once-someone's-loved-one" annoying and distracting, it is completely unbelievable. Tom witnessed the carnage on First Night (when the zombie apocalypse began), as an adult. Unlike Benny, Tom had fully developed relationships with his parents when they were killed, and could understandably carry rage, disgust, and blood-lust toward zombies. Yet, he doesn't, and I just don't buy it.

3. The first 168 pages betray not one hint of the conflict of the story. I need something to root for when I read, and in this story it's certainly wasn't going to be the characters. All Mayberry had to do to keep my interest in a zombie book is give me a strong main character, a moderately-exciting conflict, and some zombie-packed action scenes. What I got instead, was a jumble of under-developed characters, some exploration of the post-apocalyptic world, and confusing internal conflict without purpose or credibility.

If you want a great zombie book with a main character you can root for, read The Reapers are the Angels, by Joshua Gaylord.

...more

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Mar 29, 2014 Jen rated it did not like it

Shelves: didn-t-finish

Got to page 62 and I couldn't take the pontificating on how zombies are "just like us, killing them is disrespectful to who they were" BS anymore. It's not disrespectful, it's SURVIVAL. It's disrespectful to those who survived to let the zombies live. I, for one, wouldn't leave a loved one as a zombie because 1) it's dangerous and 2) they wouldn't want to turn anyone else into one and would be upset I didn't stop them. I would hope my loved ones would extend to me the same curtesy.

This is a zom ...more

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May 08, 2015 Madel rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. To put it simply, this book is terrible. I’m a little less than halfway through with it (although I’ve read about 170 pages) and I kind of hate it. Not to be sexist or stereotypical, but I’m assuming that this book was written for boys, as it has more action than plot and the only reason the only female character in the entire book is in the plot is to be a love interest. That’s literally her only function. Hopefully this will change, but I don’t feel like it will. The main character goes out in ...more

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Oct 14, 2014 Mike Cliffe rated it did not like it

Shelves: gave-up

I couldnt make myself read past chapter 1!!! That is completely unusual for me as I dont remember ever starting a book and not finishing it til this. EVER. You should know though that i hate zombies. Always have always will. Why did i decide to try to read this then? Because my sister is obsessed with Walking Dead, World War Z, these books, etc etc. she has been trying for years to get me to watch or read something zombie related. I picked these. I had full intentions on reading the whole series ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 Amelia rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: no one

Recommended to Amelia by: OBOB

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 29, 2013 Kristy rated it did not like it

Shelves: zombies, quit-reading, read-in-2013

QUIT READING ... pg 335 (okay, so I probably wouldn't even have to note that. Being that far in counts as fully reading it, I think)

REASON FOR QUITTING: As most of you who follow my reviews know by now, I am not okay with books that use God's name as curse words. This is a young adult novel, so I really didn't expect there to be any of that in here. Unfortunately I was wrong, and even more appalled that the further into the book I got, the more it came up. In the beginning it's once maybe every ...more

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Sep 06, 2013 Jack rated it did not like it

Ok... I thought the basic idea of this book was great ... A post apocalyptic world, 12 or so years after zombies attacked, at the age of 15 kids have to work or have their rations cut in half,... There is also an underground fighting ring where kids are kidnapped and forced to fight zombies... Exciting right?
I was excited to read this book, especially since it was the 2013 gateway winner. Unfortunately I was very disappointed , the main character was whiny and uninteresting and his older broth ...more

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Priscila rated it did not like it
Jun 27, 2013

Oct 06, 2015 Karen Treadwell rated it did not like it

This book was nominated for the Illinois High School Abraham Lincoln Book Award and since I'm reading all the nominated books (20), I decided I would read it all the way through. It was terrible at the beginning and didn't get any better. Granted, this is the first zombie apocalypse book I have ever read, but it's not even close to good. The style is choppy and the word choice is forced. If three adjectives don't explain the characters feelings, the author adds two more in the following sentence ...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Ben Liu rated it did not like it

I'm sure nobody expects realism coming from a zombie novel but as something aimed towards young adults this novel is flawed. I'm sure Johnathan Maberry used the math: Zombies=cool, teenage romance=big market, zombies+teenage romance=$$. This is simply not the case to be sure. The whole premise of why the romance doesn't happen is because of promising that the main characters would never date friends which is a completely superfluous sort of thing when compared to the shock and horror that the bo ...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Alexandra Rose rated it did not like it

Shelves: books-i-stopped-reading-after-a-cou

I didn't even bother finishing the book. I already felt/knew that i won't be too happy about it after reading the first few pages but i still decided to give it a chance because I love zombie, post-apocalypse themed books. Wrong decision. This one made me want to cry and scream just thinking about the time i'll be wasting if i am to finish it still. I was bored, disappointed, and at one point, felt like i was back in 6th grade reading SVH (bec of the story-telling style? i dunno.), and had maybe ...more

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Aug 28, 2013 skylar patton rated it did not like it

Benny hates the family business and didn't want to join because of his first memorie was of his mom getting turned in to one of then the mom just throw Benny into Tom's arms and told him to climb out the window so he did all he could feel was the warm tears of Tom and his heart beat he hates the family business with a pashion Benny and tom never talked about zom hunting they should but they never did he also needed to find a job soon or they will cut it in half and he was tired of hearing the fi ...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Kristy rated it did not like it

I can't even finish this book. I got through about 30% and I was forcing myself to read it. It is way to preachy, the author is trying to teach the reader a lesson rather than tell a story. I especially hated his line about how oil and gas are bad! And people who use them are scavengers. No thanks! I read zombie books for the fast paced action, fight for survival that is so exciting. None of that in this zombie book. Just a boring lesson on humanity from an older brother to his younger brother. ...more

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Jul 02, 2013 Lindsey rated it did not like it

Shelves: awful

I couldn't finish this, I just got so frustrated with "we can't just kill zombies even though they pretty much ended the world as we know it and probably have diseases and want to eat us because they used to have loved ones" and I had to stop. It's possible it could have something to do with my "zombie-loving" phase ended before I read this book, but since I already owned it, I thought I might as well.

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Jun 24, 2014 Madina rated it did not like it

As a big fan of the whole zombie theme, I was willing to overlook pretty much any flaw to the book. After having read it, I honestly can't think of anything good to say instead. It's boring, predictable, primitive and filled with cliches up to the brink.
The book may be useful for parents of an eight year old, who hates reading and needs to be lured into it by a catchy story, easily comprehensible for someone with no reading habit. Apart from that, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

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Sep 28, 2012 Amy rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Weirdly "preachy" for a zombie novel. It felt too heavy-handed with the, "Zombies are people, too," stance. While I understand what the author was trying to do - yes, zombies were once someone's loved ones, and you wouldn't want someone to defile the body of a deceased family member - but, really... when I read a zombie story, what I'm looking for is creepy, suspenseful, scary moments, and zombie hunters taking down zombies! Not was I was hoping for. :(

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Aug 13, 2013 Isabel rated it did not like it · review of another edition

The character development was about as in depth and personal as a blade of grass. The writing was sub-par and seemed like the author was going off every teenage stereotype he could think of. Dialogue was cheesy and awkward- similar to how I'd expect it to be in a bad anime. The zombies were dull and not an ounce terrifying. Action scenes; lackluster.

With that said, I enjoyed the idea of the story. This book had lots of potential but, sadly, fell flat as a pancake.

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Jun 16, 2014 Wendy rated it did not like it

Shelves: fiction, zombies, reading-bingo-2014, 1-star-hated-it-fiction

This book was so dumb. I initially thought I'd be giving it 3 stars because it was ok, just different than I expected. But it was so slow. And the dialogue was so cheesy. I had a hard time even finishing it, and just hated it by the last 100 pages. For more entertainment than this book, read the 1 and 2 star reviews.

2014 Reading Bingo: Book with non-human characters (that might be a stretch since zombies were once human...?)

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About Jonathan Maberry

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries.

His novels include the Pine Deep Trilogy: GHOST ROAD BLUES (Pinnacle books; winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel in 2006), DEAD JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries.

His novels include the Pine Deep Trilogy: GHOST ROAD BLUES (Pinnacle books; winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel in 2006), DEAD MAN’S SONG (2007) and BAD MOON RISING (2008); the Joe Ledger series of action thrillers from St. Martin’s Griffin: PATIENT ZERO (2009, winner of the Black Quill and a Bram Stoker Award finalist for Best Novel), THE DRAGON FACTORY (2010; now available), THE KING OF PLAGUES (March 2011), ASSASSIN’S CODE (March 2012), EXTINCTION MACHINE (2013); THE WOLFMAN (NY Times bestseller from Tor, based on the Universal Pictures film starring Benecio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Sir Anthony Hopkins; winner of the Scribe Award for Best Adaptation); the forthcoming standalone zombie thriller DEAD OF NIGHT (Oct 25 2011); and the Benny Imura series of Young Adult dystopian zombie thrillers from Simon & Schuster: ROT & RUIN (2011; named in Booklist’s Ten Best Horror Novels for Young Adults, a Bram Stoker and Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award finalist; winner of the Cybils Award, the Eva Perry Mock Printz medal, Dead Letter Best Novel Award, and four Melinda Awards), DUST & DECAY (Aug 30 2011), FLESH & BONE (2012) and FIRE & ASH (21013).

Jonathan was an expert on the History Channel documentary on zombies scheduled to air October 26.

His nonfiction works include: VAMPIRE UNIVERSE (Citadel Press, 2006), THE CRYPTOPEDIA (Citadel, 2007 –winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction; co-authored by David F. Kramer), ZOMBIE CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead (Winner of the Hinzman and Black Quill Awards and nominated for a Stoker Award; 2008), THEY BITE! (2009 co-authored by David F. Kramer), WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE (2010; Bram Stoker nominee; co-authored by Janice Gable Bashman), and THE VAMPIRE SLAYERS FIELD GUIDE TO THE UNDEAD (2001, written under the pen name of Shane MacDougall).

He writes a variety of projects for Marvel Comics involving CAPTAIN AMERICA, BLACK PANTHER, DOOMWAR, WOLVERINE, DEADPOOL, THE X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, the NY Times bestselling MARVEL ZOMBIES RETURN, MARVEL UNIVERSE vs THE PUNISHER and MARVEL UNIVERSE vs WOLVERINE. All of Jonathan’s comic book collections are released as Graphic Novel collections within a month or two of individual comic publication.

Recent short stories include “Pegleg and Paddy Save the World” (HISTORY IS DEAD, Permuted Press 2007), “Doctor Nine” (KILLERS, Swimming Kangaroo Press, 2008; and reprinted in THE STORIES (in) BETWEEN Edited by Greg Schauer, Jeanne B. Benzel, and W.H. Horner. Fantasist Enterprises, 2009), “Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost” (LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN STATE 2, Bloodletting Books, 2008), “Clean Sweeps” (AND SO IT BEGINS, Dark Quest Books, 2008), “Family Business” (THE NEW DEAD, St. Martin’s Press, 2010), “Like Part of the Family” (NEW BLOOD edited by Patrick Thomas and Diane Raetz, Padwolf Press, 2010), “Zero Tolerance” (THE LIVING DEAD 2, Night Shade Books), “Flint and Steel” (GI JOE: COBRA WARS, 2011), “Saint John”(THE MONSTER’S CORNER, 2011, St. Martin’s), “The Death Song of Dwar Guntha” (Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, 2012, Simon & Schuster), and “The Wind Through the Fence” (an original e-story available for all e-readers). His essay, “Take Me To Your Leader” will be included in the nonfiction book, TRIUMPH OF THE LIVING DEAD: Robert Kirkman's Zombie Epic on Page and Screen edited by James Lowder (BenBella Books/Smart Pop, 2011).

All of Jonathan’s novels are available on audio, including the audio-only collection, JOE LEDGER: THE MISSING FILES (Blackstone), which includes the short stories “Countdown”, “Ze ...more

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“There are moments that define a person's whole life. Moments in which everything they are and everything they may possibly become balance on a single decision. Life and death, hope and despair, victory and failure teeter precariously on the decision made at that moment. These are moments ungoverned by happenstance, untroubled by luck. These are the moments in which a person earns the right to live, or not.” — 191 likes

“Often it was the most unlikely people who found within themselves a spark of something greater. It was probably always there, but most people are never tested, and they go through their whole lives without ever knowing that when things are at their worst, they are at their best.” — 129 likes

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