Review: The Departing by Daniel Greene

Author: Daniel Greene
Publisher: October 2018
Publication Date:  Rune Publishing LLC

Steele and his followers retreat before the might of Colonel Jackson’s rogue military unit. Jackson is always two-steps ahead in their small apocalyptic war and Steele’s back is against the ropes. He must find a way to outlast his opponent while holding his loose confederation of allies and former enemies together or face certain annihilation.

Back in her small hometown of Hacklebarney, Iowa, Gwen struggles to convince her cautious neighbors to provide refuge for Steele’s haggard forces. If she doesn’t succeed, Jackson’s noose will tighten and her friends and loved ones will be crushed on the banks of the Mississippi River.

The remaining loyal United States military implements a daring plan to hold the nation’s eastern flank against the dead. Operation Homefront hinges on the successful training of the civilian population for war. Colonel Kinnick quickly finds that not everyone wants their help.

The Departing is the fourth book in the End Time Saga.  If you had told me a few months ago that I would have stuck with a post apocalyptic series for this long, I would have called you crazy.  But, here we are at book four and waiting to find out when book five will be coming out.  

Reading one of these books feels like watching an entire season of a TV show.  There is so much packed in each one with multiple perspectives.  This book picks up right after the end of the third book.  So, I can't recommend reading these out of order.  The characters go through a lot of growth over the books and their motivations may not make sense to someone coming into the series later on.  

There is a bit of a lack of undead in this installment. However, as I have said from the beginning, the books are less about the zombies and more about how the apocalypse affects the human condition. No one is safe in the series.  No spoilers, but there was one death that had me choked up.  I will miss that character..  If you like shows like The Walking Dead, then I highly recommend this series.  I really hope there is going to be a fifth book.  I want to see what is next for these characters both good and evil.

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

by:  M. R. Carey
published by:  Orbit
publish date:   June 19, 2014

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad. 

From that description, I really didn't know what to expect.  I thought it was going to be some kind of horror novel.  Maybe like a creepy kid psychological thriller.  Nope.  Post-apocalyptic zombie book.  Really?  Really.

I was a little bit aggravated that the book ended up being that kind...yet again.  Seriously, we're not done with that yet?  I really like those kinds of books and I'm burnt out on them, I felt a little betrayed to be blindsided with one.  Melanie is a captured zombie that has  the ability to learn, but she's elite among these types of zombies, she's a genius.  That makes her the focus of the work being done at the military base they're all staying at.  Of course, things go wrong and their happy haven is at risk.  

Begrudgingly, I ended up liking this book.  It was a good storyline and the characters were likable in the end.  This book did have a unique idea for how the zombie virus was spread and in the end Melanie's actions  with the zombie virus was surprising.  I would recommend this book for people that enjoy these types of books

Positive by David Wellington

by:  David Wellington
published by:  Harper Voyager
publish date:  April 21, 2015

Years after a plague killed 99 percent of the population, turning them into infectious zombies, Finnegan and his family live in a barricaded New York City. But Finn's sheltered life fractures when his unsuspecting mother falls sick with the zombie disease—latent inside her since before her son's birth.

Finn, too, can be infected. If he remains healthy for the last two years of the potential incubation period, he'll be cleared. Until then, he must be moved to a special facility for positives, segregated to keep the healthy population safe.

Tattooed with a plus sign on his hand that marks him as a positive, Finn is exiled from the city. But when marauders kill the escort sent to transport him, Finn must learn how to survive alone in an eerie, disintegrated landscape. And though the zombies are everywhere, Finn discovers that the real danger is his fellow humans. 

This book takes place about 20 or so years after a zombie apocalypse.  The human population is slowly starting to develop back into areas of civilization with governing bodies and rules.  Finn lives in one of these areas.  When it is determined he might possibly have the zombie virus, he is sent away to live in a special camp for Positives.  However, he never makes contact with his escort and has to set out to find the camp on his own.  He doesn't understand that he must travel through many states to get to where he is going, he was born after the plague and his concept of how huge the United States is distorted by lack of education.

When Finn sets out from New York City, he thinks he's going out on a short hike to Ohio.  It obviously take him a very long time.  He has to learn what life is like outside his protected life in New York City.  This is a long journey for him and it takes him a long time to get to the camp.  Once he gets to the camp it's nothing like he expected.

This was a pretty good book overall.  Even though I'm kind of burnt out of zombies and apocalypses, this book held my interest very well.  That is to say, it held my interest for about 3/4 of the book.  Then it just got way too long.  I don't mind a long book, but this one took forever to get through and I kind of skipped and skimmed my way through the last little bit just to see how it ended.  It could have done with some heavy editing to get it down some.  

I would recommend this book to the zombie lovers, the post-ap lovers.  It was well written and and a good addition to the genre.

Fiend by Peter Stenson

by:  Peter Stenson
published by:  Crown
publish date:  July 9, 2013

When Chase sees the little girl in umbrella-print socks disemboweling the Rottweiler, he's not too concerned. As someone who's been smoking meth every day for as long as he can remember, he's no stranger to such horrifying drug-fueled hallucinations. But as he and his fellow junkies soon discover, the little girl is no illusion. The end of the world really has arrived. And with Chase's life already destroyed beyond all hope of redemption, Armageddon might actually be an opportunity-a last chance to hit restart, win back the love of his life, and become the person he once dreamed of being.

I thought I was going to really like this book.  It was being described as Breaking Bad meets The Walking Dead.  Sounds like it would be pretty awesome right?  Turns out a zombie apocalypse told from the point of view of a meth addict really isn't my cup of tea.  This book has gotten a lot of really great reviews so I guess I'm in the minority here.

My issue wasn't really with the story.  The story was fairy interesting.  The zombie apocalypse hits and the only people who didn't turn are the meth addicts.  The main character Chase is dealing with the potential loss of his parents, his girlfriend, but more importantly his meth.  All that was ok.  I was getting really grossed out by the descriptions.  I don't want to hear things described as "smelling like an abortion" or "laying there like a used tampon".  I know zombies are gross and disgusting, but come on...seriously, that was going a bit overboard in my opinion.

So Fiend was just kinda eh for me.  I don't see myself recommending it to other people.  However, if you are interested in a twisted, junkie book, tomorrow we're posting about a book called Bait.  I liked it a lot better.

Zom-B Underground by Darren Shan

by:  Darren Shan
published by:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers
publish date:  January 2, 2013

Waking up in a military complex, months after zombies attacked school, B has no memory of the last few months. Life in the UK has turned tough since the outbreak, and B is woven into life- and battle- in the new military regime quickly. But as B learns more about the zombies held in the complex and the scientists keeping them captive, unease settles in. Why exactly was B saved? And is there anyone left in the world to trust?

The first Zom-B book was a surprise for me.  It was one of those books I ended up liking a lot more than I expected to.  So, I was excited when my library got the audiobook for the second book in.  This book, like the first, was narrated by Emma Galvin and she's one of my favorites, so automatically it goes up a few notches in my book.

At the end of the first book (sorry if this is a spoiler) B gets turned.  She wakes up in some kind of prison and/or testing facility.  While she is a zombie, she has somehow managed to retain her consciousness.  B is part of a small group of zombies that still have functioning brains.  However, she is locked up while government official try to figure out how to use her and others like her to their advantage.

Zom-B Underground was just as interesting as the first book.  I really like this series and can't wait to see where it goes.  There are two more books in this series coming out this year.  The first Zom-B City is coming out April 9, the next book Zom-B Angels is slated for July 9.  It looks like there might be a Zom-B #5 as well, but no title on it yet.

Audiobook: Zom-B by Darren Shan

by:  Darren Shan
published by:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers
publish date:  October 16, 2012

When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B's racist father thinks it's a joke-- but even if it isn't, he figures, it's ok to lose a few Irish.  B doesn't fully buy into Dad's racism, but figures it's easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse.  When dodging his fists doesn't work, B doesn't hesitate to take the piss out of kids at school with a few slaps or cruel remarks.  That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers.

I picked up the audiobook for Zom-B at the library because it sounded like a good story.  I was happy to hear that Emma Galvin was the narrator for the audiobook.  If you haven't listened to one of her audiobooks I highly recommend them.  I've listened to Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth and Graveminder by Melissa Marr.  All of them were well done, including Zom-B. 

Zom-B is a really short book.  The audiobook was only about 3 1/2 hours long.  It tells the story of B.  Who is a girl by the way.  That little tidbit is a little unclear at times because she's shaving her head and beating people up a lot.  She lives in London with her racist father and complacent mother.  She BSes her way through school until the zombies show up.  Then she has to make the tough decisions.  Is she going to fall back on the racist teachings of her father or is she going to follow what she knows is right in her head and heart?

I've read a lot of negative comments about this book regarding the issue of racism.  It would be one thing if B was a straight up racist because her dad was.  Then it might be politically incorrect.  However, I think the writer does a great job with her struggle between wanting to please her dad and wanting to take her own path.  A lot of kids have that issue, maybe not with racism, but maybe religion or career.

Zom-B is the first book in a series.  There's a fantastic twist right at the very end so I can't wait to read the next book to see where the story of B goes next. 

Audiobook Review: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Author: Lia Habel
Publisher: Del Ray (Random House Publishing)
Date of Publication: October 2011

Love can never die

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie? 

If you can get over the ick factor of rotting flesh, this is actually a pretty good story.  I'm not a huge zombie fan, but I found myself entertained by Dearly Departed.  This was an interesting mix of YA, steampunk, dystopia and zombies. 

The year is 2195 and due to the melting of the polar ice caps and nuclear civil wars, the world is now divided into territories with tribes.  For some reason, in rebuilding society, they have chosen the Victorian age as their social model except the technology is beyond what it is even today. Nora Dearly is an orphan who is kidnapped by rebels when she returns home for the holiday break.   Rebels, known as Punks, have begun raiding and terrorizing the areas of New London.  Turns out some of the punks are reanimated by the "Laz" virus.  When you are reanimated, you are either a sane zombie or you go crazy and try to eat people.   

That is just a short summary of what is going on in this book.  At the heart of the book are the characters.  Nora and Bram, despite their difference in mortality, are really sweet together.  I loved Bram;'s character and really felt for him.  He is a really noble guy who is trying to do the right thing, he just happens to be the walking dead.  I will admit that the thought of a romance between a living girl and an undead boy grossed me out at first.  When I was explaining the book to Autumn, I realized that this relationship is no more gross than a young girl and a vampire.  They are the walking dead, right?  They just don't have rotting flesh to deal with.


I found several parts of the book very amusing.  The humor among the good zombies was a lot of fun.  The author does a great job of raising sympathy for them.  Just like Bram, they are all in a situation that they are trying to make the best of until they eventually rot away die for good. I think Chas was my favorite out of the lot of them. 

The book is told through the points of view of multiple characters.  On the audiobook, each character had a different narrator.  That made it easier to remember whose point of view I was listening to and that made me like it even more.  The book ends with a few questions and a cliff hanger.  The next book in the trilogy, Dearly Beloved, comes out this month.  So far there is no hint of the dreaded YA love triangle.  I really hope it stays that way.  This was a pretty good YA book.  I found nothing really objectionable in the book, so I think that it would be OK for the over 14 crowd.