"Something is happening in Russia. Something huge .... According to the Ministry of Health, we've reached the 'breaking point' in an epidemic, and a pandemic is now inevitable. It should hit Spain in a matter of days, if it's not here already. It happened so fast--just two weeks since it started .... The strangest part is the official secrecy surrounding the disease. No symptoms have been made public; neither has its incubation period, or how many people have died. Nothing. All we know is that it's highly contagious, it's very lethal, and its spreading .... News of the plague has been reported from every corner of the planet. The epidemic is now global."
I know half of you will probably stop reading this review when you come to the word 'zombie'. And that's okay. Zombie apocalypse novels are not everyone's cup of tea. But I like them. And Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End by Manel Loureiro is better than most. It takes place in Spain. The main character, like the author, is a lawyer who lives and works in Galicia. He has a cat named Lucullus. And he narrates his story, and the end of the world, in a series of blog posts, which become journal entries when the power and internet go out. Before this crises, 'zombie' wasn't even part of his vocabulary; I mean, the man doesn't even know how to use a gun. But he's going to have to learn if he wants to survive. As the only living human among an endless zombie hoard, it's going to take everything he's got just to stay alive.
"I'd just learned an important lesson. The undead weren't the only things that could kill me. Accidents, disease, hunger--all the normal causes of death--were just lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance. If I weren't careful, they'd catch me. I'd only been thinking about my stalkers. I'd forgotten something very basic: man is a fragile being."My one problem with this book is all the f-bombs in it; I could have done without ALL of those, but other than that I liked this novel. I liked the pacing, the narration, and the rapidly devolving world. And I liked Lucullus, his cat. It's another zombie apocalypse at its terrifying best (or worst).
Happy Reading!
Other great zombie reads:
World War Z by Max Brooks
Autumn by David Moody
Devil's Wake by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due
This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
Zombie Haiku by Ryan Mecum
Feed by Mira Grant
Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen
Haha, I did not even know Zombie Apocalyps novels was a genre! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like fun, though, something relaxing. And any book with a good cat in it is worth a read.
Kind regards,
It's a popcorn kind of read...fast and kind of fun. And I did really like the cat. :)
DeleteIt shouldn't surprise me that the Zombie Apocalypse has its own genre. I haven't gotten into it. I've never seen The Walking Dead. This one does sound promising though. And the F-bomb thing. I seriously hate that. A well placed expletive is good. Prolific profanity is not!
ReplyDeleteI get so tired of how limited some authors' vocabularies seem to be. When there are thousands of wonderful words out there, why do some authors only know the four-letter ones?
DeleteZombie books aren't my cup of tea. Surprisingly I've read several though. I do like that he has a cat.
ReplyDeleteWhich ones have you read?
Delete:) I'm interested in this one. I dislike the overuse of profanity, too, but the rest definitely sounds interestingf!
ReplyDeleteIt is. I really liked getting a European perspective on what a zombie apocalypse would be like.
DeleteEr, I'm not a huge zombie fan. If I've to choose, I think I'll probably watch the movie than reading a book about zombies since the actions will most likely distract me, lol. That said, this sounds like a good read to readers who enjoy this genre. :-)
DeleteTotally understand where you're coming from. :)
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