This review was originally posted on Sincerely Soulful on November 12, 2019

I did not get what I was looking for when I picked this up. I was looking for horror and terror, absolute carnage and mayhem. I wanted horror. This is categorized as horror on places like goodreads, but it’s also categorized as Science Fiction and I think that the latter fits much better. This book did not scare me in the general sense of horror. I wasn’t afraid of the zombies. What I got was a look at the human condition, at humanity in all its ugly glory. I got a look at the horror that living, breathing, uninfected humans would create in this post-apocalyptic climate.

Did I like this book? That’s probably the question you’re asking right now. That’s what reviews are for, and I can say that it is complicated. I loved the different take on zombies (though I wont spoil it). It’s a minor difference but it is absolutely fascinating and horrifiying at the same time. It’s something that you could only think of in your absolute nightmares. I loved the characters. They were deep and complicated and funny and so so real. They felt real and I felt for them. I loved and hated the ending, and if that doesn’t tell you anything well… I hope you find out for yourself.

What I didn’t love about this book was the pacing. It took far too long for the action to happen. Granted the first half of the book was interesting in terms of the little things going on. That good, good foreshadowing and those twists, but for me it dragged. I had started reading it physically and had to switch over to the audiobook 200 pages in. Thank god I did though. I don’t think I would have finished it otherwise. Halfway through things really picked up and I was hooked. I will give the book some credit in that it is the first in a series, so first-book-itus is bound to be happening here, but still it felt slow.

4 stars