Dust & Decay (Rot & Ruin, #2)

After a very emotional and thrilling ride with Benny Imura in Rot & Ruin, Jonathan Maberry has left me almost speechless by Dust & Decay. (I wouldn't be me if I didn't always have something to say!) If you haven't read Rot & Ruin... Oh my God. PLEASE, GO get it and Dust & Decay because it comes out

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today!

Dust & Decay picks up just a few months after we left Benny and his friends in the last book. They are preparing for their trip across the great Rot & Ruin in hopes of finding the origin of the JET they had seen while rescuing Nix from Charlie and Hammer in last book.

An unexpected zombie outbreak IN TOWN causes Tom to drastically move up the date of their departure. He invites Morgie and Chong to go with them on an 'over-night' camping trip as a farewell. Chong is less than thrilled, and Morgie completely refuses to go. Morgie is still harboring some WICKED hard feelings over Benny and Nix being together and the last words he says to Benny are,

"I hope you die out there Benny. I hope you all die." ~Morgie

From the MOMENT their camping trip begins... YOU will NOT be able to put this book down. Danger, adventure and carnage ensue in one heart-stopping/breathe-catching moment after another.

Chong disappears into the forest, Charlie 'Pink-Eye' may still be alive and there are rumors that Gameland is back up and running. White Bear is scarier than ANY zombie, and has every bounty hunter in the Ruin looking to bring in the famous Tom Imura, Benny, Lilah and Nix... dead or alive...

Dust & Decay is FIERCE, fast-paced, gut-wrenching- and BEAUTIFULLY written. With each chapter the intensity increases, grabs a hold of you and doesn't release you until the very last page...

Jonathan Maberry weaves together witty humor, sob inducing emotion and the horror of unabashed reality in a story about family, friendship, love, loss, life... death... and of course ZoMbIeS.

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I really loved Rot & Ruin, it was a different kind of zombie with fantastic characters and was also emotionally draining. I was excited for Dust & Decay, not only because I wanted to know what happened next, but because I quite liked Maberry's writing. I was not disappointed. I don't think it was

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necessarily better than R&R, but it was very good. The characters had grown and changed, and would continue to do so throughout the novel. The violence in the book was just as personal and heartbreaking as in the first novel and then end did what I expected and drained the emotion right out of me. I was worried that Maberry was going to do some cop outs, and even with the deaths at the end, I don't think he did. He made some tough choices, but I really hope there's another book in this series.

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Best. sequel. ever. Period.

It is scary and truly haunting. The plot twists are perfect and the characters are so honest. They express fear, cowardice, love, and hatred so honestly. I can't wait to get my hands on more of Maberry's books.

The second installment in the Benny Imura series is a page turner! Benny, Nix, Tom, and Lilah are going to head East to find the jet. They've trained for months and word of their leaving has left a power void. Gameland has reopened and Charlie Pink-Eye's family is out for power and revenge. Chong

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goes along on an overnight in the Rot & Ruin to say goodbye. Worst camping trip ever with loads of gore, suspense, and cameos by lots of famous figures from the Bounty Hunter cards!

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Read for Fun!
Challenges: Zombies, Read for Fun
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.75
Character Rating: 4.50

First Thought when Finished: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (Don't ask I am not going to tell you why)

What I Loved: I am not going to give spoilers so while I LOVED almost

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everything about this book, I can't really be specific. Dust & Decay is about journey, leaving the comfort (even in a Zombie infested world) of what you know and seeking out something better. This book really pulled at my heartstrings and made EVERYONE grow up! Dust & Decay reminded us that this is a world filled with bad people, interesting people, and really no answers as to what makes a Zombie tick. Perhaps it is the fact that once you think you have figured out how to live in a Zombie world, the rules change. I laughed, cried, and was seriously thinking about reading the last chapter way before I got there!

What I Liked: Jonathan kept it real! People got hurt, killed, treated badly, and unfortunately not everyone got what was coming to them! This just made Dust & Decay more gripping. He also introduced quite a few new characters that were perfect fits to the story. You just got the feeling that the crew was in for an adventure of epic proportions whether they were ready or not!

Final Though when Finished: Seriously September? *stamps foot*

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benny and Nix are eager to leave home, head out into the Rot & Ruin and find the airplane they saw when they were last out of the fence around their small town. They train with Benny's brother Tom and with wild-girl Lila, but nothing preapres them for the horrors they face outside.

Instense, scary,

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sad and completely heartbreaking, this was a fantastic follow-up to Rot & Ruin. And now the long wait for the next in the series.

A must-read for zombie, survival, suspense or all-round awesome character fans.

Highly recommended.

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I was having a conversation today about how you know you love the first book of a series. An easy way to tell is that if you are only catching on to the series late in the game, you pick up the second book right away!
Jonathan Maberry, man, I like, love you, sniff. I'm really into his books. Why?

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They've got it all! So much adventure, an epic love story, the baddest of bad guys (and his don't necessarily stay dead, either!) and enough twists that keep you reading until dawn. And I don't say that too often. Please see evidence below. This story is about the Imura brothers (& co.) adventure east. What's east? We don't know. It could be the jet that was sighted during the raid on Charlie Pink-Eye's camp. It could be fewer zombie. It could be a cure. It's definitely the ocean (eventually, anyway). The group has decided to ditch Mountainside in pursuit of greener pastures. What they don't realize is that there is a bounty on THEIR heads this time. (Ahhh, no wonder those bad guys keep popping up everywhere!). I can't wait for the next book in this series to come out. There are just so many places this story could go. Please pick it up after you read Rot & Ruin. See my blog at bookstress.blogspot.com

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This is the sequel to Rot & Ruin. Nix, Tom, Benny and Chong leave their home and set off into the Rot and Ruin to locate a jet so they can travel east, looking for a better life.

Jonathan Maberry continues to amaze me as every time I finish one of his books I think can it get any better? And then he blows me away with the next book. If you read my review of the first book in this series, Rot & Ruin, you know I loved it and I enjoyed this one even more.

Benny who slightly

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irritated me in Rot & Ruin has matured and I actually really started to like him although his older brother Tom is still by far my favorite character in the series. His relationship with Nix is complicated as she has to deal with the death of her mother and her determination to find out where the plane they saw fly overhead came from. We also see new sides to Lilah, Chong and most shockingly Morgie. I think the depth Maberry adds to all of his characters is really what makes his books rise above all the other zombie books out there. The reader truly becomes invested in the characters and has you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen to them.

The action is pretty much non-stop as we follow Tom, Benny, Lilah, Nix and Chong on their journey out in the rot and ruin. Zombieland has been re-built and there are those out for blood to avenge Charlie Pink-eye's death. Thrown into the mix is that the zombies are showing strange, new behavior that defies everything Tom has learned about zombie behavior. The suspense of finding out what causes this change was killing me through out the book as I tried to guess where Maberry was going with this twist.

A new cast of characters are introduced made up mostly of fellow bounty hunters that Tom has befriended at one point or another. There are the two surfer dudes who seem straight out of a video game, the Greenman who once was a forest ranger and many other quirky folks. I enjoyed seeing the difference in how all these people adapted to the horrors they have faced since that first night.

I would say the only thing that kept me from giving this book a solid 5 out of 5 was that entries from Nix's journal are thrown in here and there and it threw off the rhythm for me. Most of the information wasn't anything new or all that mind blowing so I could have done without it. Still I loved this book even though it literally brought me to tears at one point. I can't say why without ruining anything but let's just say I'm glad I was reading it on my lunch break at home and not at the office. I am on pins and needles waiting for the next book, Flesh & Bone, to come out.

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After being so hyped up on ROT & RUIN, of course I rushed to devour DUST & DECAY like a good zombie who needed a fresh new brain. Was it as tasty as its predecessor? Let me tell you, dear Readers, this sequel was slicker and smarter, but it was simply an extra side of appetizer before the main

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course begins.

THE GOOD BITS

{The Imura brothers in action.} Now that Tom and Benny have fully commited themselves to the “family business” and plan to set out into the Ruin in search of answers, the action packed into DUST & DECAY channels the same intensity as its predecessor. I already knew Tom Imura was cool, but holy smoky eyes, does he ever dish out the badass and demonstrate why he is a force to be reckoned with! Smart, strong, honorable, innovative – Tom embodies the ideal hero figure. Even better, Benny gets to prove his worth this time around. Much more mature, thoughtful, and less whiny – he follows in Tom’s footsteps and shows promise into being just as strong and amazing as his older brother.

{The Zombie Cards come to life!} It is like Jonathan Maberry and I (plus illustrator) hopped onto the same brainwave after ROT & RUIN because the featured Zombie Cards in DUST & DECAY actually played a role this time. The cards weren’t just eye candy – they entered the scene and took it by storm when the going got tough and bloody. I loved the diversity of the bounty hunters – good, bad, newbie, experienced, funny, wacky, solitary – they made an already spectacular zombie story into something even more memorable. From surfer dudes to roller derby queen to woodland hermit, they show that courage can be found from any background – and also that anyone can become a survivor.

{The suspense.} If you read the book jacket or any sort of summary, you know that our band of heroes do not make it very far into the Ruin – and ultimately land in Gameland. It sounds like a pretty straightforward plot, but Jonathan Maberry milked the journey for all its worth! Introducing new characters both good and bad, having old characters disappear or break away from each other, DUST & DECAY will be sure to make you wonder how everything fits together. It seems pretty strange to watch how quickly the world falls apart since ROT & RUIN, but given the zombocalypse, I suppose nothing is permanent – and everything is always mutating.

THE BAD BITS

{Not much progress since Book 1.} Don’t get me wrong, DUST & DECAY is an excellent stepping stone for the series. Yet, considering that we leave ROT & RUIN with the intent to find the mysterious jet, the characters did not make it too far in that direction. Gameland stood in their way. Leaving their hometown virtually defenseless and prey to other less honorable bounty hunters was not acceptable. Still… I wanted them to find more signs of an outside world in Book 2. This sense of not getting too far away from the beginning reminds me a little of LOST. I hope that Book 3 gets our characters to where they want to be – and that they all get to survive until then.

{More deaths of certain characters.} *sigh* I really hate this part. I know that their deaths serve a purpose, but I wasn’t ready for this to be the end! Have I mentioned that I quit reading any STAR WARS books since the death of Chewbacca? I was THAT devastated. The deaths in DUST & DECAY did not feel as powerful as those in ROT & RUIN – if that makes any sense. In ROT & RUIN, Jonathan Maberry drove home point that zombies are ex-humans who had loved ones, so the deaths played a part in delivering that message. DUST & DECAY did not have as clear a message, and the deaths seemed to prove that life was unfair and ugly sometimes. And there was ONE particular death that will totally change the whole scheme of things – and I hope that Book 3 will be strong enough to survive without this character!

THE OVERALL

I think DUST & DECAY served as another “Book 1” to get to know the characters as they mature and prepare themselves to face the harsh world in order to find answers. Whereas ROT & RUIN focused on the Imura brothers’ relationship, DUST & DECAY begins to set the stage up for the group dynamics. I am sad that our characters had to leave their hometown behind with family and friends, but it will be exciting to see where their journey will take them.

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Good followup to Rot & Ruin, looking forward to the next in the series.

As weird as some of you may think this is, I am a zombie lover. They scare the crap out of me but I can’t help watching and reading everything I can get my grubby little hands on. Even if it means losing sleep at night. Mr. Maberry’s Rot & Ruin remains one of the best zombie books evah (at

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least, in my book). I loved it! It wasn’t just guts and gore, but it surprisingly had depth and meaning.

Dust & Decay is the sequel to Rot & Ruin. Our favorite characters are back! Benny Imura, his brother Tom, Nix Riley, and Lilah, the Lost Girl, are back out in the Ruin - this time in search of that mysterious jet. After 7 months of training under the mighty Tom, the kids are now ready to take on what lies in the Ruin, a place where pretty much everything is out to kill you. As always, things don't turn out as planned and sooner than expected they are split up and end up on quite the adventure.

Benny, is a wonderful narrator. I love his inner dialogues, how he still finds hope in a world where there really is none. He's like a bit of sunshine on rainy day. He's also quite the charmer. His sense of humor and inner turmoil really make for good reading. Mr. Maberry has once again impressed me in the depth he gives his characters. Because while this story is zombie-infested and geared for teens (especially boys, I think), his characters go through a whole slew of emotions - giving the reader an adrenaline rush one minute and comtemplating humanity in the next.

All in all, I thought this was a wonderful installment in the series. It was full of action, adventure, laughs, tears... and zombies (of course), I found that I could not devour this one quick enough.

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This book picks up 7 months after the end of the book Rot & Ruin. Tom and Benny and Nix brought Lilah, the Lost Girl back to town and she has been living with the Chongs, and Tom has been training Benny, Morgie, Chong and Nix in Sammurai and Zombie hunting and surviving skills.
Tom, Benny and Nix

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plan to leave town and go east in search of the jumbo jet they saw and the civilization it might represent. Chong goes with for the first night to see them off - or at least that was the plan. In reality, they cannot leave without confronting Gametown, where children are tossed into pits to fight the zoms while adults place bets on it. Once again, we are faced with the question of who the real monsters are - and it is not the zombies.
This book is very intense, filled with action, mystery and a bit of romance.
I hope the author continues this series.

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This series is so much more than it seems on the surface. A coworker was telling me about some LBJ biography he read this summer and asked me what I've been reading. When I told him I've been reading about zombies he gave me the strangest look. Alright, I know a book about zombies probably sounds

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childish and like it will be a waste of time, but really it's not. Maberry really delves in deep and there is so much to think about... ethics, morality, friendship, sanity. He covers it all so well. My only complaint about this one is that it ends so close (geographically) from where it began and I came in it expecting an epic journey. Give me book number three!!

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Six months have passed since the destruction of Gameland, the deaths of the Motor City Hammer and Charlie Pinkeye, and the jet sighting. Benny Imura, Lou Chong, and especially Nix Riley are still reeling from these events and have changed so much because of them. Benny, Nix, and Benny's brother Tom

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decide to leave town in search of the jet after months of grueling training led by Tom. They decide to leave their town in search of the plane and aren't planning to come back. So they, plus Lou Chong, set out into the Ruin where everything goes wrong. They are attacked by wild animals, zombies, and crazy people. Plus Charlie Pinkeye may still be alive. The group gets split apart and have to face danger on their own or die.

I immensely enjoyed Rot and Ruin last year, but I was a little wary of its sequel because it could fall into the second book pitfall (where it just sets up for the next book) or just wouldn't be as good. Dust and Decay proved to be even better than Rot and Ruin. The character development and twists and turns are much better and more involved. Benny Imura grew out of being incredibly whiny and immature in the last book, but he still has a lot of growing to do. Dealing with the very harsh realities outside his town makes him realize what's important. Nix is much different. Her mother's death left her more somber and depressed than before and very eager to leave her home town forever. I really enjoyed her journal entries interspersed between chapters throughout the novel. They gave a lot of insight into her character and enlightened us about the science behind the zombies. Lilah has been one of the most consistently strong and stoic characters, but she breaks down and shows a softer side of herself. She has to come to terms with that fact that she can lose the people she cares about after not having anyone for so long. My favorite was the insight into Tom's character and how he did things to perpetuate love instead of hatred. He would examine his feelings to make sure he was in the right frame of mind and would give his all to protect those he loves and what is right.

Dust and Decay covers a lot of new territory. The Ruin is much more wild and dangerous than Benny ever saw. It's home to wild animals (even a rhino!) and zombies as well as bounty hunters and some very unsavory people. Every time these characters think they are safe, something else dangerous comes up that they have to deal with. The action is practically nonstop. Many new characters are introduced. The new villain is incredibly creepy on many different levels. He makes my skin crawl. Many of the bounty hunters from Benny's trading cards are introduced as well. My favorite of them are J-Dog and Dr. Skillz, who are cheerful with their obsolete surfer dude slang and laid back attitudes despite seeing horrible things and living in the wild.

Jonathan Maberry's strength is creating characters that I cared about and that were incredibly realistic. I could read about these characters all day and I found myself longing to read the book when I was busy. I am so happy Flesh and Bone comes out this month because I don't think I could have waited months for the next book.

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I liked Rot & Ruin. It was a solid read, if nothing completely exceptional. If you liked it, I can pretty much guarantee that you're going to like Dust & Decay. The formula is similar, just as full of action, zoms and danger. Actually, I think I liked this one a bit better, with one exception,

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although I can't say whether that's because I knew what to expect or because it was higher quality.

So I might as well begin here with the one thing I could not get over and did not like, even though I did try to come to terms with it: they get attacked by a rhino. My first reaction was approximately, "lol whut?" because, well, rhinos don't generally chill out west. Then I thought about zoos and how they wouldn't be manned anymore, so animals might just roam, which did turn out to be the explanation. I also briefly wondered if rhinos can survive here what with not being native and perhaps not used to rough winters, but gave up since I don't know much about rhinos. Anyway, explained or not, I really don't know why the rhino attack happened. I mean, it was a disheartening thing to have happen on their quest, but couldn't it have been a less ridiculous animal, like a big ass boar, which is what I expected?

Rhinoceros aside, I really liked the pacing of this book (except for the little snippets of Nix's notebook, which made her seem like an airhead and not like the badass we all know she is). It kept the action coming and blended in some interesting ideas and thoughtful moments well. For example, I really loved the Greenman's (please tell me this is a reference to It's Always Sunny...) observation that the earth was actually recovering because of the zoms. Oh, and the scene where a horse and zombie did a little do-si-do with the horse just staying out of reach.

Unfortunately, I am totally ready to read the next alliteratively titled book in the series right now, but I'm guessing it won't be published for another year at least. Sigh. It promises to be even better, because I really want to know what's happening in other parts of the country. How cool if different places reacted in different ways!

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Dust And Decay by Jonathan Mayberry is the second entry his zombie YA series featuring brothers Tom and Benny Imura who live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in a zombie infested world where most people cower behind walls. Benny and his group of friends however, dream of a better

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future, one where they can live in safety.

Six months have passed since the closing of the first book and Benny and his friends have been training with Tom to be “Warrior Smart“, getting ready to go out into the Rot and Ruin to search for the jet plane that they saw at the closing of the first book. Reading this book is like taking a ride on a roller coaster, lots of ups and downs, lots of action and adventure. The author is a born story-teller giving the reader many chills and thrills, yet he still manages to squeeze in some major character development and growth.

I know these books are far from perfect but they deliver a great zombie story with lots of heart and I am a huge fan. I am looking forward to the further adventures of Benny Imura as he and his friends continue their unique road trip.

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These are the second and the third installment, and a novella of the Benny Imura series. 14 years have passed since Benny and his older brother Tom found refuge in Mountainside, a village which is protected by a chain link fence from the outside world. Outside of this fence awaits them nothing

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other than the zombs which roam the Earth since the apocalypse, driven by nothing more than their insatiable hunger for human flesh and blood.

However, while his brother trains him beyond the fence, to become a zombie hunter as well, Benny learns pretty quickly that they aren’t the terrible monsters he always believed them to be. Benny didn't realize the whole truth about his brother’s work until he started to train with him. Tom gets hired by some residents of Mountainside to kill their loved ones with dignity, something Benny didn't know. Tom’s clients usually find it difficult to live with the notion that their loved ones have become vicious zombs, with no memory of their earthly life. Through his training with his brother, Tom and Benny unexpectedly welds them together even closer. Benny realizes quickly that some of the bounty hunters quite often have less humanity than the zombies themselves and could easily be the greater threat. Tom trains Benny and his friends to get “warrior smart” in order to survive this harsh world with their cruelties and difficulties. Together they encounter one adventure after the other in order to find a haven.

I have only recently discovered my passion for zombie stories; although I often get extremely cross as they too often end in cliffhangers. Baaaaah! However, the reason why I quite like this series is that Jonathan Maberry managed to create an engaging and believable world which he describes and builds remarkably detailed in the first book Rot and Ruin. It’s not just about zombie hunts and killing, but about growing up in a world which is about to fall. The stories are about the right to live, the treatment of the dead and the living together in communities. What do you do if there aren’t any real laws to follow and you have to deal with people who act like they are God himself and think they can put their welfare over the welfare of all others? All in all, this is a good series which is fun to read as the focus is not just on moaning, drooling and bloodthirsty zombies but also on emotions, solidarity and on how to create a new future. Definitely a series I can recommend to any zombie fan.

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This book was amazing!! What a flipping ride. I loved it. Loved it. I can't believe I picked up the first in this series on a whim and by a recommendation only. I feel like this series should have been on my radar long before.

The narration of both Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay is very well done; so

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good that I had a hard time pausing the audio to live my life (get work done, be a parent, talk to my boss, etc. etc.)

Dust & Decay starts off slowly and at some points, Tom Immura's philosophizing and constant instruction is irritating -- let me emphasize -- only at some points. But then, the story abruptyly takes off and it is non-stop until the end of the epilogue. Dust & Decay comes close to the fabulousness of Rot & Ruin but it will also break readers' hearts. My 13 year old is reading Rot & Ruin right now and I can imagine that Dust & Decay will bring her to tears.

I love how Maberry brings a new twist to the zombie tale -- the tale of humanity, morality and human beings. If you haven't started this story, I highly recommend it. If you like audio books then I recommend trying the audio as the narration is done really well. Unfortunately, #3 (Flesh & Bone) is not available in audio right now and I am trying to decide if the audio is worth waiting for or if I should dive right back in to the world of Benny Immura.

Warrior Smart!!

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This is the second book in the Benny Imura series. Honestly I didn’t like this book nearly as much as the first. There are two more books in this series “Flesh and Bone” and “Fire and Ash”.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was really well done. It has the same narrator as

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the first book and I really enjoyed listening to it. The narrator does an excellent job with character voices and an excellent job conveying emotion.

Everyone is recovering from the events with Charlie Pink-Eye in the first book. Benny, Nix, and Tom are ready to leave Mountainside and track down the plane they saw in the first book. However Mountainside doesn’t want to Tom to leave, they are worried about other evil bounty hunters moving in to take his place. One bounty hunter, named White Bear, is causing a lot of trouble. Now there is a bounty on Tom’s head and it seems like Gameland is more prosperous than ever.

This was still a good book but I didn't like it nearly as much as the first one. I was disappointed that this book was about similar issues as the first book. I was all excited to read about Benny, Tom, Lila, and Nix's journey across the Rot and Ruin, instead what I got was more of the same as the last book.

Pretty much as soon as the group leaves Mountainside things start going wrong. We end up reading about territory wars with “evil” bounty hunters and trouble with Gameland. I find the whole Gameland idea to be a bit silly and was disappointed that so much of this book focused on that. I was hoping to read more about the Rot and Ruin as a whole, and gain better understanding of this world and why the zombies happened.

Benny has definitely grown as a character since the first book. Nix is harboring a lot of rage for what happened to her mother in the last book, we watch as she struggles through this anger.

Lila is in the story a lot, which is awesome. She too is struggling with issues of fitting in. She is so used to surviving alone, that it is tough to watch her as she struggles to become part of society.

We meet a lot of awesome new “good” bounty hunters. It was super fun to meet some of the bounty hunters we’ve heard so much about from the Zombie cards. We also meet a lot of completely evil baddies. There was a lot more action in this book as welll we get to see Tom kick some serious butt. As I mentioned above we also get very up and personal with Gameland.

This book is still well written and I love that there is a lot of philosophical introspection as well as zombie fights. There is brief mention about zombies starting to Swarm and some curious stuff going on where zombies are acting different than they have in the past. I just wish we had got to hear more about that and less about Gameland.

Overall a decent continuation of this series. These books are well written and I love that there is time spent on philisophy, as well as fighting zombies. I was disappointed that this book was more about Gameland and evil bounty hunters. I was hoping to read about Nix, Benny, and Tom journeying across the Rot and Ruin. We do get to meet a lot of new bounty hunters that are awesome and there are some spectacular fight scenes in here. Recommended to those who enjoy post-apocalyptic zombie novels.

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**Caution: Spoilers! Read at your risk!**

Loved Rot and Ruin. This book was also ten times better than Rot and Ruin. Everything just got better when I read this book.

The characters got better (except Nix, for some reason I just can’t get myself to like her). There were moments of close calls for

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these characters and some nail biting moments. I absolutely loved the introduction of the different hunters (the Surfers were awesome! and Sally Two Knives!). The humor is back again in this book, I loved the banter between Benny and Chong. I also loved the banter between Lilah and Chong. I’m so happy they eventually became a couple. It’s an odd couple nevertheless, but given the circumstances of what’s happening around them, it goes hand in hand.

The writing style and character development is excellent. There’s a handful of characters to keep track of but the main core would be Benny and his friends. Benny’s group including himself develop, and you see them grow up mentally. After what Nix experiences, she’s matured but through no choice of her own. However whenever you do read the banter between the friends, they act just like kids do and in a sense, it’s comforting because they can still act like their age despite what’s going on around them.

The plot itself was excellent, and keep in mind it follows right after the events of Rot and Ruin, so it’s best if you read in order. The final third of the book is filled with action and an epic fighting scene. Unfortunately some characters do have to leave. I didn’t want this particular one to go and was absolutely blindsided with this turn of events. I was so attached to this particular character, I have to admit, I cried. This shows though, that Maberry’s writing and characters are very well done, because we get attached to them emotionally and we cheer them on.
Definitely a good follow up to Rot and Ruin, and it looks like it’s a great series so far. An absolute must read for zombie YA readers.

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It was ok. A decent enough continuation of the story.This book is much more obviously YA than the first. I am now vested into the characters (even if they are kinda irritating teenagers!) and intend to read on. I need/want to know what happens next in their story. I do like the changing environment

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of the ruin and the changing "zombie virus". Nobody still knows what caused it, there are lots of theories tossed around in the book. I want to see what direction that takes in the story. I just wish it had been written with a bit older audience in mind, I think the YA crowd is a smart bunch and can read at a....higher level ( for lack of a better word). Bring on the third book!

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It was ok. A decent enough continuation of the story.This book is much more obviously YA than the first. I am now vested into the characters (even if they are kinda irritating teenagers!) and intend to read on. I need/want to know what happens next in their story. I do like the changing environment

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of the ruin and the changing "zombie virus". Nobody still knows what caused it, there are lots of theories tossed around in the book. I want to see what direction that takes in the story. I just wish it had been written with a bit older audience in mind, I think the YA crowd is a smart bunch and can read at a....higher level ( for lack of a better word). Bring on the third book!

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Excellent sequel to Rot & Ruin. Tom, Benny, Lilah, Nix, & Chong set out from Mountainside and its safety to find the jet that flew over toward the East. Fast moving and action packed, it's hard to believe this book takes place over a two day period. They immediately run into zombies and multiple

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other problems. Is the Ruin getting worse? Are the zombies evolving into quicker, faster beings? Danger and crazy twists and turns come at them from every angle. When Benny & Nix finally make it to their "safe" destination the world turns upside down and inside out. Loved it, read it in a day and a half and will be starting book three today.

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