Dead Things

I'll start by admitting that I'm not a zombie fan: It's a genre that's really overstayed it's welcome. However, I'm always up for a decent story, well written characters, and the possibility of a new twist on a tired motif. Sadly, this book had none of those things.

The biggest issue I had with this book is that the author suffers from "Brownian Crichtonitis": devoting huge swaths of the book to long-winded exposition, soap-boxing, or "look at this cool theory I thought up!", which MAY touch briefly on the plot, but more often than not yanks the reader out of the urgency of the situation. The segment comparing "Star Wars" to "Dune" was, by far, the worst offense.

The characters didn't stand out in the least. I only remember their names because I just finished the book yesterday. There were practically no development in any of them, and what little there might have been seemed so sudden due to a lack of relevant back-story for anyone. Again, had the author cut down on the incongruous monologue/dialog fluff, there might have been room to make me care about the characters.

I get that this is a "zombie book", and it seems all zombie stories aren't about the living, but about the dead. The living are the minor players and are used to showcase how foul the zombies are. I gave this book two stars because when the zombies entered the picture, they really did shine. Most zombie theory is squarely in the science category, and this is no exception. It would have bolstered the story to get more into that aspect, but the author painted himself into a corner with the other, more frightening focus of the book, which was the rule of the Church.

After the collapse of American society, the Church became the authority, banning scientific study and returning the country to the era of witch burning. Zombies are bad enough, but having to deal with what must be a biological epidemic and not being able to tackle it biologically meant that the author COULD NOT offer a satisfactory resolution, and the characters are basically screwed.

The ending...well, I wasn't even aware that the ending was near. It pretty much drew to a screeching halt, with what little plot traffic there was piling up in a heap on the last few pages. It sounds like there might be room for a sequel or two. I hope that if the author decides to tackle this opportunity that he spends more time on the characters, and less in using them as mouthpieces for unrelated exposition.