Rot & Ruin: Jonathan Maberry (Rot & Ruin - Book 1)

Rot & Ruin is the first book in a series of 3 (maybe 4?) books set post-zombie apocalypse.

The novel(s) follow(s) Benny Imura, younger brother of 'zombie slayer' Tom Imura, who is in desperate need of an occupation to which he can actually commit.

He ends up apprenticing with his older brother, but he has a lot to learn over the course of the novel. Fortunately for us, he does seem to figure out how to grow the fuck up. I mean, he's only 14 (I believe) so it's not like it's that unreasonable that he'd be immature, but nonetheless.

Quite frankly, although there are a lot of things that I could say about this book, there's really only one that I particularly want to--the reason that I'm reviewing the novel at all:

I thoroughly appreciate the way that Maberry has worked his zombies and such. It is a disease, but they don't know what it is or what caused it, but literally anybody who dies at this point will reawaken a zombie unless 'silenced', which is a practice of taking a metal pin thing and shoving it into the spinal column in the back of the neck to sever the nerves, etc. Also, they kind of just stand in place without anything to stimulate their senses. They have to hear noise or see movement in order to "animate." Going out into the wilderness is still dangerous, of course, but that at least makes it a little easier.

However. My main criticism of this novel is simply that it's aimed at such a young audience. This book is aimed at males ages 10-15 approx. Obviously I'm a 21 year old female and therefore not the intended audience, but that isn't the point. Maberry's prose is so hollow; there's so much that he could be doing with this series, so many things that could be really delved into deeply, but aren't because of the intended audience. Don't get me wrong, it's done very well as is, but I just really feel like it could be so much better if it was aimed at an older audience.

So. By all means go read it, but buyer beware: Unless you tend to rather enjoy tween lit, you'll feel a little disenchanted.


Unrelated: I got my boyfriend to read this and the sequel, Dust & Decay, because he'd been complaining about not really reading anymore and I wanted to fix that. He read each of them in about a day and a half I think, and he is intending to order the 3rd through Amazon so that he can finish (theoretically) the series. He, like me, hates to leave things unfinished. Plus, the second one ends on one helluva cliffhanger.


Until next time,
--Emily