Frederick S Blackmon
Autore di The Zombie Doctor
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Fonte dell'immagine: Frederick S. Blackmon
Opere di Frederick S Blackmon
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Questa recensione è stata scritta per gli Omaggi dei Membri di LibraryThing .
i have to say i was pleasantly surprised. i liked this book. At times it felt a bit rushed, but i'm glad the pace moved quickly and it wasn't a long book. As a positive, the main character. I liked her(which doesn't happen a lot with main charachers). All in all, it was a pleasant read .
1 
jenny_acc | 3 altre recensioni | Apr 3, 2019 |
jenny_acc | 3 altre recensioni | Apr 3, 2019 | 
Questa recensione è stata scritta per gli Omaggi dei Membri di LibraryThing .
Talk about a AWESOME NOVEL! At first I was bored, but then it got better. The year is 2075 and people had survived The Great Tribulation, the wealthy got the lion's share of food and luxuries that left the poor with scrapes, and they all had to work an excessive amount of hours, or face death. A group of rebels called The Black Star was slowly staging a revolt, but there were not enough of them yet, but they were determined. I sure hpe that them author continues the saga as I REALLY ENJOYED IT!
Questa recensione è stata scritta per gli Omaggi dei Membri di LibraryThing .
I received this book as a part of Member Giveaway on LibraryThing in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is painfully long and basically a tour of the entire book, and, therefore, contains spoilers galore. My reviews don't tend to follow a consistent format, and this one took on a life of its own. I let it. Usually my longest reviews are reserved for books I did not like, but, as you can see from the rating, I did actually like this.
Six months after some sort of catastrophe that left Decedents (people turned into zombies) and Remnants (survivors who have not turned into zombies... yet? bwaahahaah) as Earth's inhabitants, we come upon loner Dr. Kayla Greene. Apparently, Dr. Greene played a part in causing this catastrophe (oooo, dark secret), but we don't know why/how yet.
She doesn't like other people, so this apocalypse is perfect for her.
Did I mention she doesn't like people?
In case you didn't get it, people aren't her thing.
Just making sure you got that.
Because it will be totally ignored in 3 pages.
Dr. Greene comes across a Decedent in a sweet truck. After telling us how she was a doctor and so knew the "right tools" (which so far appear to be only a shotgun or a hammer--I kept waiting for some grand insight about how she used unexpected weapons on zombies because of her medical training or something) to dispatch these creatures, she pulls out a shotgun.
Really? A shotgun? That is the "best tool" for this job? A noisy AF gunshot for no reason (it's not like she was being merciful or needed/wanted the truck at this point) to handle one zombie in a truck that isn't even a threat?
Then, she gets distracted by a Remnant woman yelling for help, puts away the shotgun, then takes out a hammer to finish off the lone zombie, saying that this will dispatch it quietly so as not to draw attention to her.
...
Okay, then why the shotgun in the first place?? It wasn't because things changed and now she actually wanted the truck to find the screaming woman because, either way, the window would have been broken (when randomly shooting the zombie, or, when trying the door handle and finding it's locked, when breaking it with the hammer) so switching to a hammer wasn't about preserving the integrity of the vehicle.
Then, what does Dr. Greene do? Peels out in a loud joyride down the interstate, which is remarkably free of stalled vehicles, except for the one random one that she purposefully clipped (creating more noise) as she drove by it.
Really? Three sentences after a speech about how being inconspicuous is tantamount to survival so you don't draw "Decedent hordes" and after you decided not to use the shotgun to avoid attention?
Not to mention that this is after a speech about how cities are difficult to navigate because of all the dead people, dead cars, and piles of trash, so she preferred to travel on foot through them.
I guess we are supposed to believe that she changed this rule because she wanted to get to the screaming woman as soon as possible? Even if I believe that, how did she come across the one car on the interstate full of escaping Remnants that somehow wasn't trapped in a sea of other cars that allowed her to leave so easily and in such a showoff-y way?
Then my thoughts drift to why Dr. Greene would care about helping this woman when it was established that 1) the screaming woman could be a trap set by other Remnants to steal everything she has of value and 2) DR. GREENE IS A LONER. The only excuse we are given is:
...Dr. Greene was all but powerless against her insatiable curiosity. If she didn't place a face to that voice, it would haunt her for the rest of her journey.
Really?
Also, she states that she could hear the woman screaming from a mile or two away.
Really? I don't care how your hearing has been heightened by the silence of the fall of civilization, I don't believe you could hear someone screaming from that far away unless the woman is using a megaphone. But, since I don't really have a scientific understanding of these things, I let that one go (mostly).
When Dr. Greene stops the truck, it seems like it's for no reason, like she forgot about the screaming woman. Instead, she talks about keeping the truck, despite cities being difficult to navigate, to continue West ASAP.
Dr. Greene hears the screams again, and finds an injured elderly man and what are supposedly his two young grandchildren, running from a large group of zombies. Dr. Greene leaps down to defend them so they can all get to a motel nearby. In the middle of the fight, she laments that satisfying her "curiosity" landed her in a life-or-death situation and that she is no longer a lone traveler.
Really? Why are either of these conclusions a surprise? What else would it result in?? Seems like going to the aid of someone screaming for help, whether it's a trap or not, would only result in those things.
After kicking open the door in the motel and fending off another zombie, Dr. Greene effortlessly scoops up the elderly man and carries him in to the motel.
All by herself.
Really? I mean, I know she's supposed to be physically fit and adrenaline may be at work and all, but how could she carry him??
Then, she tends to the old man's wound and completely forgets about the door that won't latch BECAUSE SHE KICKED IT IN (maybe it is supposed to be because she is a doctor and the instinctive need to patch him up took over common sense about the situation??), which nearly lets zombies in because the granddaughter doesn't have the strength to keep them out.
During the battle to kill off any lingering zombies outside (after being careful not to let the zombie truck lady scratch her arm), Dr. Greene rips off the face of a zombie with the hammer claw and gets blood and gore sprayed on her own face (though seemingly not her eyes because she one-handed-ly, and very cooly, swiped on some sunglasses when she got out of the truck after her joyride).
Really? She doesn't even mention this as being a possible scenario that may turn her into a zombie? So, a scratch can turn you into a zombie, but getting zombie gore in your mouth, eyes, or other opening wouldn't?
When Dr. Greene returns to the motel, the children, for some reason, turn on her and try to rob her at gunpoint. I have no idea why a 19-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother thought they could pull it off--especially when they apparently didn't know to check guns to see if they are loaded before you threaten someone with them. At some point, Dr. Greene pointedly says she can "see the will to kill" in the girl's eyes, but they both give up quickly after finding out she's a doctor and there aren't any bullets in either weapon.
Really? This "Goth" girl (identified by her black lipstick, red hair streak, inability to play sports, and pyromania tendencies) had the "will to kill" in her eyes, but there is absolutely no motive for her to kill Dr. Greene WHO JUST KILLED SEVERAL DOZEN ZOMBIES FOR THEM, doesn't have anything of real value (though of course the "Goth" girl wants the sunglasses *rolls eyes*), and the only other adult in their party WHO IS ALSO THEIR GRANDFATHER IS ABOUT TO BLEED TO DEATH (even if Dr. Greene hadn't been a doctor, it still doesn't make sense to alienate the only other adult in the party, especially when all they've done is help you). The supposed willingness to kill Dr. Greene for no reason is not the best way to establish the "Goth girl" as a badass.
After that fiasco is over, Dr. Greene patches up the grandpa. He wakes up and there is a pointed description about him not having much of an appetite despite smelling food, then two paragraphs later for some reason he is starving.
How is he smelling the food if nothing has been heated up and it's just open cans of soup that don't really emit an odor, especially from across a room??
Dr. Greene finishes her food, then heads to the bathroom to "splash water on her face."
Uhhhh... Wouldn't this be "furiously scrubs her face," given that she got a face-full of zombie blood and gore when she ripped the face off that one zombie? Also, it is occurring to me as I'm writing this that she EATS without first washing all that off. Gross.
She begins to pack up her things, telling the family she's heading out on her own, but then receives a monumental guilt trip from the family over how Danny is legally blind and they got in trouble in the first place by trying to go to a warehouse to get a pair of eyeglasses for him that were never delivered due to the apocalypse.
Dr. Greene decides to fall on this sword (apparently due to her "curiosity" again--I am beginning to think that curiosity killed Kayla, not the cat) because the family is going to try again with or without her help, and for some reason she can't resist skinny, lanky, vulnerable Danny when he is crying.
So much for Dr. Greene's insistence that she is immune to the charm and allure of children.
She takes Amber with her, leaving Gene and Danny behind.
Really? We're going to take Amber with us? Why does Dr. Greene think she is capable and clever? Nothing the reader has seen makes this a reality for us (no matter how much Dr. Greene insists she saw the "will to kill" in her eyes), particularly after the failed holdup incident.
After picking the truck earlier randomly with the supposed immediate intention of using it rescue people and the further intention of driving it West, Dr. Greene spends an inordinate amount of time picking a vehicle for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission, explaining to Amber how important it is to be thoughtful about it and quoting the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, just in case she hadn't gotten her point across.
When an SUV with appropriately viscous oil is found, Amber slams the door shut after getting in.
I would imagine this action would be pretty noisy after all that time spent stealthily choosing the car, but Dr. Greene doesn't admonish her. Seems out of character to me.
Since there are no keys, Dr. Greene has to hot wire it. For some reason, this entails being UPSIDEDOWN with her legs kicking Amber in the face.
I tried to picture how this would work in my head, and I could not.
While Dr. Greene is busy doing this (and pointedly mentioning a headache, which I thought would prove significant later, but did not), Amber notices a zombie ballerina girl heading toward them. Dr. Greene finishes hot wiring the SUV as the girl jumps onto the hood. Dr. Greene guns the vehicle forward and zombie ballerina girl flies off.
How would the zombie ballerina girl spin off the hood if Dr. Greene only sped forward, but didn't either turn or stop quickly to dislodge her? If she was only going straight at high speed, zombie ballerina girl would more likely to stay ON.
Then Dr. Greene runs over zombie ballerina girl mercilessly until she is dead (again).
Okay, that part was kind of funny.
Amber, of course, has a problem with this, and Dr. Greene rightly points out that that kind of sentimentality is what gets you killed.
Hmm... maybe this is starting to get better.
They head toward a mall to go on a shopping spree for supplies for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission. They speed noisily down the road, which includes a "liberal burning of rubber."
Maybe not. Continuing to ignore previous declarations about the importance of not drawing attention to one's self.
They arrive at a mall, which is not dark inside because the generator is still working.
The generator at the mall is still working? Even though the apocalypse has been going on for six months? I know the mall may not have succumbed until recently, but because we don't know the specifics (because Kayla and Amber don't know) the implication is that the mall went down early on... and somehow the generator is still working after nearly half a year.
They encounter a Decedent almost immediately, which gives Amber her first practice kill with "Biff" (the hammer). The sporting goods store is littered with bodies in the front, which gives us a weird interlude where we for some reason learn that Amber wanted to be a detective and could somewhat analyze the "crime scene" using what she studied in a criminal justice class.
Really? I can only assume this will prove significant later somehow. (Later: It didn't, that I could tell. I think it's trying to establish something about Amber's personality, but I have no idea what.)
During their casual walk to the sporting goods store, we learn that Kayla was a military doctor, which is how she knows so much about survival, combat, and weaponry (and maybe explains now why she would have known from the smell of a motor oil fire how long ago it had been set, which was described at the beginning of the book and was a O_o moment for me).
Thanks to her knowledge of "the best tool for the job," Dr. Greene hooks Amber up with some golf clubs while Amber grills her on why the hell she stopped to help them.
Good question.
Dr. Greene tells her, basically, as we've heard before, that her curiosity tends to get her into trouble. Amber asks her if she regrets helping them. Dr. Greene lies and says she doesn't.
Seems totally out of character to me. Suddenly Dr. Greene is careful about what she says?
They finish their "shopping" and, after Dr. Greene clumsily deflects Amber's question about how she knows so much about Decedents, they run into the Decedent store manager. As before, Amber looks to Kayla to dispatch the monster, but Kayla tells her that the 5 iron should do nicely, and Amber takes care of it.
I actually like this because Dr. Greene is teaching her how to fend for herself, particularly since once Dr. Greene supposedly leaves their group, Amber will be the only logical person who kills Decedents with any sort of prowess.
As they’re leaving the mall to make their way back to the motel (which is a more dangerous undertaking now that the sun is setting), Amber gives Dr. Greene some space, still not sure she trusts her (to be fair, even though Dr. Green is helping them, she IS clearly hiding something, so Amber's instincts are sound since what she is hiding could be significant), all the while mulling over this:
“After the cataclysm, it was difficult to trust anyone. All the heroes were dead. The only people left on the earth were the cowardly and the malicious.”
While that may be a little dramatic and defeatist, I sort of enjoyed the poetic nature of this musing.
But, of course, Amber ruins the newly found respect I have for her by running off alone to her favorite store (not taking her golf clubs with her, although she at least still had "Biff") while Dr. Greene had nipped into a bathroom to get some more supplies. She makes a bunch of noise running her fingers along the earring racks, then talks about how quiet she has to be while going into the dressing room area to try on a shirt she had already decided was "just her size" because "the thrill of standing in front of a mirror excited her"--and this is even after hearing suspicious noises in the mall courtyard.
Amber is, of course, attacked from behind by a Decedent girl that went to her school, who also has black lipstick and is wearing one of the pairs of earrings Amber had gleefully nabbed from the rack not two minutes earlier.
That was amusing.
She screams for Dr. Greene (who sees what is going on from the sidelines because she wants to see what Amber does before she interferes), but ultimately anticipates "the inevitable result of her greedy actions."
She might be kind of dense, but at least she is somewhat self-aware and will maybe learn something from this.
Using a jump rope, Dr. Greene rescues Amber by pulling the zombie away like it's an actress who has spent too long on stage accepting applause. She kills it with a clothing rack pole, talks Amber out of having a breakdown, and they run out of the store only to find the courtyard is full of zombies, blocking their exit.
Props to Dr. Greene for not shaming Amber about what happened; in fact, she admonishes herself for bringing Amber to what she should have known would be a Decedent trap. Fortunately, Dr. Greene had enough foresight to load the car up already (though how she had time to do this, I have no idea--Amber was only in the shop for maybe five minutes before getting attacked and Dr. Greene would have had to exit the bathroom, take everything downstairs, load the car, reenter the mall, find Amber, AND stand there watching her get attacked for a while), so they "just" have to make their way to the exit, all while Amber is smelling like a delicious fruit tart to all of the encroaching Decedents due to her injuries. My favorite part is when Dr. Greene wrenches a table umbrella free and then sprints "at full speed toward the main exit like a pole vaulter."
They make it out and, for once in a show of noisiness I agree with, burn rubber out of the parking lot. They get some rest, Amber (who was patched up the night before) and Gene get their bandages changed.
While going over strategies for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission, it becomes apparent that Dr. Greene has an ulterior motive for going to the shipping warehouse, particularly for some packages "headed west that she might be interested in and has to get a closer look at." And, for some reason, Amber thinks she knows the exact location of Danny's eyeglasses package in the warehouse.
Really? Does she hang out at warehouses in her spare time? Wouldn't a normal person have absolutely NO CLUE where it would be?
The ride to the warehouse is uneventful with some bonding talk over an accidental zombie pecker glimpse, Amber's pyromania tendencies (she wanted to know if you could set zombies on fire to kill them--Dr. Greene vividly describes why this wouldn't be a good idea), and what religion has to do with the cataclysm. They make a pitstop at a dive bar to get wasted and eat bar snacks, but not before making faces at a bloated barkeep Decedent trapped behind the bar.
On their way again after Dr. Greene amusingly "tosses her hair back alluringly" in an imitation of drunken Amber, they reach the warehouse without incident.
Though enjoyable and I could understand the desire to get wasted for this work, I am not sure what this whole bar scene is meant to do, except to provide comic relief?
Once they get to the warehouse, they lure out and trap as many Decedents as they can, then put on their "battle armor," which consists of elbow and knee pads, several baseball bats (in addition to other weapons), lacrosse helmets, and, for Amber, pink rollerblades. For whatever reason, only Dr. Greene has protective eye gear (her sunglasses).
Once again, Dr. Greene seems to know more about the habits of the Decedents than is typical, but she deflects Amber's question again and they start the massacre. After, Amber asks if she can burn all the carcasses.
LOL.
Dr. Green says she can, but at the end.
Amber forgets Danny's prescription and has to go back for it. She retrieves it with no issue.
When Amber does this, she doesn't actually look at the "folded piece of paper" to make sure it is the prescription and not another sheet of paper. I thought this was going to be significant later (like impede their ability to get the eyeglasses that day so they'd have to go again) due to the very pointed description of the paper being folded, but it didn't come back to haunt them.
Also, I'm not sure why they even need this prescription to identify Danny's eyeglasses because the package would be addressed to the Monroes (so they would know it's the correct package), they don't include prescriptions like a receipt in deliveries of eyeglasses for privacy reasons so if the idea is to have them compare the prescription they have with what's inside that would not work (and, even if it is wrong, what difference does it make, it's not like they can order them again and they've already wasted the time retrieving them so just grab the package and RUN), and it's not like the warehouse will somehow organize and store the packages according to prescription. It's the SHIPPING AND TRACKING INFORMATION that they need.
After struggling mightily with two mighty Decedents at the entrance, Dr. Greene is impressed that the Monroes made it into the warehouse on their own and Amber admits they never got that far. Understandably, Dr. Greene is like "WTF. How do you know where the eyeglasses are then or whether they're in here for sure?" Amber says she doesn't know any of that after all (honestly, why Dr. Greene believed her when she said she did earlier was a mystery to me).
Apparently, Amber thought Dr. Greene would know because she is a doctor and would know what to look for.
...
...
That makes even less sense than the prescription thing.
Dr. Greene leaves Amber in an office to try to find a list that might tell them where Danny's eyeglasses are, then heads off on her own into the warehouse and learns that this place houses mostly medical stuff, shelf-stable food, and government stuff going to the West Coast. At this point, Dr. Greene muses to herself that "they were trying to outrun the virus."
Who was? And how would all of that stuff have already been in there if the disaster hadn't happened yet unless someone knew it was coming (Dr. Greene says that the warehouse must have been in operation all the way up until the disaster--meaning there is some sort of conspiracy that she was not privy to??)?
Somehow, Dr. Greene finds the item number for Danny's package on the whiteboard.
Why a number for this package would be on this board (and, further, why Dr. Greene would know that number by heart?) like it's something significant, I am not sure. Clearly, this warehouse is not individually writing the numbers of the thousands packages on this whiteboard for tracking purposes. It would have made more sense if Amber had found the location in a list from the office.
Before getting the eyeglasses, Dr. Greene climbs a storage shelf to get a delivery address off the packages in a military crate while three Decedents stare hungrily at her from below.
Unfortunately, Amber stupidly comes into the warehouse and yells out Dr. Greene's name, rerouting the three hungry zombies toward her.
Meanwhile, we pan to Grandpa Gene back at the motel, who is reminiscing about the good ol' days in a very "kids these days," patriotic, retired military, socially conservative kind of way (I am sure if he had to kill zombies as a kid, he would have had to do it after walking five miles uphill in the rain with no shoes on) and contemplating the fragility of human existence and civilization.
Dr. Greene arrives, breaking his reverie. She carries Amber (carrying Amber on her own makes more sense than carrying the grandfather on her own) in her arms up to bed and tells them she is okay, just exhausted. She also hands Danny a padded envelope, which he rips open so he can put on his new eyeglasses.
SORRY BUT SPECIALIZED EYEGLASSES FOR HIS CONDITION THAT HAD TO BE SENT FROM LONDON AND PROBABLY COST WELL OVER $1,000 (read: even just my progressives, which is just a fancy way of saying "early bifocals," cost nearly $1,000) WOULD NOT BE SHIPPED (EVEN FROM A LOCAL FACILITY) IN ONLY A PADDED ENVELOPE EVEN IF THEY WERE IN A CASE (which this doesn't seem to indicate they were).
Dr. Greene wakes up in the middle of the night with the intent of, once again, abandoning the family. She appears be reluctant to do this, and struggles internally. Danny predictably shows up to guilt her into staying or to take him with her, which only confuses Dr. Greene's feelings over figuring out if she is starting to understand what a family is or if a family really is something that just weighs you down.
Danny tells her that there is safety in numbers and they need her, but then they both start talking about how being a drifter can be easier because then the people you love don't get hurt.
There are so many things wrong with this statement, but I just don't have the energy to overanalyze it.
For some reason at that point, Dr. Greene craves a cigarette, even though she's never smoked.
Given all the things wrong with what Danny said and what a little manipulative PITA he's being right now, I can kind of sympathize with Dr. Greene, but it's a little weird how out-of-the-blue this is.
Dr. Greene explains to Danny that no one wants to be a drifter and it's nothing to glorify, it just happens; for her, she chose her career over a family. Danny is persistent in his desire for Dr. Greene to either stay or take him with her. She tells him she can't take him with her because she has something important to do, but Danny still insists and lays more guilt on her. At this point, Dr. Greene actually has a desire to hit the boy, but doesn't because she doesn't want to break his new eyeglasses.
Whu... Okay, this is just taking a strange turn. I mean, he's a pain, but slapping him seems extreme?
Finally, she shrugs Danny off, leaves the SUV for the family, and begins her solo journey on foot. First stop? Get wasted at the bar she and Amber stopped at before the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission. She laments that the two dead bikers in the corner don't have any cigarettes.
I have no idea what this sudden obsession with smoking is all about. It would make more sense if she HAD been a smoker previously, but for a non-smoker it is just bizarre.
Also, as enjoyable as the imagery is of her leaning against the bar, I'm not sure why she is leaning against it since she and Amber flooded it with zombie gore a couple days ago and it's not like it would clean itself up. Either the author forgot that, or went with it to demonstrate her complete lack of caring for anything at that time.
Gene and Amber arrive at the bar to ask Dr. Greene where Danny is. They tell her he ran away to find Dr. Greene and "it didn't occur to [Kayla] that he wasn't ready to part ways" and she basically should have known better than to leave before he was ready. Gene adds that Dr. Greene should have given Danny more time to adjust because he is special and can be difficult and hard to control.
Okay, now I'm annoyed.
Wow. Not saying it's cool to try to leave without telling anyone, but Danny running away is not Dr. Green's fault. Time for Danny to learn that it isn't always about Danny. I hope Dr. Greene lets them have it.
"You let little Danny run all over you and then you expect someone to come along and clean up the mess."
YAAAAASSSSSS!
But wait, there's more.
Talkative due to the alcohol, Dr. Greene goes on to basically admit that she helped create the Decedents to fulfill average Americans' demand to be safe and have a weapon to "protect their slimy little lives," which of course ironically backfired in that the Decedents decimated the very lives they were meant to protect.
Woah. I mean, I was pretty sure Dr. Greene helped create the zombies and she wanted to go West to help fix things, but this completely unfiltered version of Dr. Greene is harsh. Though, in a way, I'm kind of okay with it.
Amber, however, is not okay with it, and says she is disgusted by Dr. Greene, that they never asked her to tag along (just to help with their current situation), and that she does not appreciate Dr. Greene's judgmental appraisal of people she doesn't know. She continues, saying that even though they can't pay her for her help, Dr. Greene could have "borrowed a pinch of their self-respect" and they would have "given her some dignity for free."
If you're going to say some shit like that, you'd better make sure your own doesn't stink first. For one thing, pot calling the kettle black: 1) the Monroes don't know Dr. Greene any more than she knows them and 2) only a day earlier Amber was as messily drunk as Dr. Greene is (AND she's underage, which I know wouldn't really matter in an apocalypse, but still!)! I think all of that about how they can't pay her with money but she could have found some dignity and respect with them is supposed to be profound, but it's really just silly. For one thing, despite being messily drunk right now, overall Dr. Greene is plenty dignified and has self-respect--for Heaven's sake, all she's done is help them since they met her, even after they tried to rob her. For another, given what has transpired, I don't think the Monroes are a particularly fine example of respect and dignity. What they (and Dr. Greene) are an example of is that they are all fucked up with their fine points and their not-so-fine points, exactly the way everyone in the world is.
Dr. Greene doesn't respond to this and only tells them to look west for Danny because that's where he thinks Dr. Greene is headed. Then, she tells them she will go with them because it's "her fault" Danny went after her.
*SIGH*
Amber is mad at her for wanting to help (seriously, there is no pleasing this girl, even when her manipulations get her what she wants) because her motivations are selfish (Dr. Greene wants to alleviate her guilt over Danny following her and possibly getting killed as result). Dr. Greene considers what to do, thinking she thought she'd never see these people again, but now they are challenging her to another "honorable task."
*SIGH* I am sad that I was with this book until this 60%-ish mark, and now I'm getting fed up, particularly at how easily Dr. Greene is manipulated by these people, despite all of her talk of being a loner. But, I'll keep going because proper character growth for everyone may still occur.
Dr. Greene then thinks about how Danny is a stupid little kid, but also that he reminds her of her at his age so of course she will rescue him. But, at least she tells them that she's doing it for Danny so he can be put in his place and learn to not walk all over them because a day will come when they can't rescue him. She finishes it with a flourish of words about how after this last task with them she is done with them--and all Remnants--forever!
(Riiight.)
Meanwhile, Danny is wandering around looking for Dr. Greene in what he hopes is a westerly direction, and encounters a convoy of monster trucks whose drivers play "gangster rap."
Dr. Greene was on FOOT when she left and she didn't get far. Instead of waiting until he couldn't see her anymore, why didn't Danny just start to follow her at a distance and keep her in his line of sight? Oh, right, because then he wouldn't need rescuing.
They encircle Danny, who has dramatically surrendered by kneeling and putting his hands behind his head, but are interrupted when a group of zombies heads toward them. Sufficiently distracted, the members of the convoy don't notice when Danny gets up and runs away. Unfortunately, they go after Danny immediately and catch him.
Of course. I have no idea why Danny would be so important to them, except as an object of entertainment and ridicule.
Pan to Amber, Gene, and Dr. Greene... they searched all day without luck, even with "Amber's investigative skills."
Really? She took maybe a semester's worth of classes in criminal justice. That's it.
They look for a place to stay and, of course, Amber has learned nothing from her previous trial and, while Dr. Greene is scoping the potential of a house, loses patience and charges out on her rollerblades to join her.
They go inside after Dr. Greene "checks the temperature" of the house with her arm and deems it zombie-free. After dinner, they are relaxing as best they can and Dr. Greene spends the time contemplating the various conditions in which they might find Danny.
LOL.
Then she thinks about how what she "truly is missing from her life is a patient man to dull away her sharp edges."
Wait. What? Suddenly strong, independent Dr. Greene has decided that all along a man is what would have completed her life? A part of why I liked this book is that it's one of the only ones where there hasn't been any talk like this from the female protagonist--it is okay to want those things, but it makes me salty when authors spend 3/4 of a book trying to insist on the independent nature of their protagonist who made her own choices in life, only to undo all that by basically saying it was all an act and she regrets every choice she's ever made because she was too afraid to make herself vulnerable enough to be a mom and a wife, so then she was never truly happy and was just fooling herself. PLUS, the idea that this Monroe family would be the ones to bring her to this realization is ludicrous! Minus a 1/2 star.
She then goes on to talk about how perceptive Amber is and that she gets into the "real Kayla cowering inside." She ponders if "this is how family works."
Eh. Amber is arguably perceptive, but not because she is trying to help Dr. Greene, she is using it to manipulate her. I am not even touching the statement about whether this is how family works.
Before we have to read any more of this tripe, the large convoy that kidnapped Danny (is it kidnapping if he had already run away?) rolls into the neighborhood, still listening to their music full of swearwords (that for some reason is offensive to Dr. Greene--I would have thought someone who used to be in the military would be desensitized to that kind of thing?). The convoy catches sight of Dr. Greene and stops to talk to threaten her, at which point she learns their gang name is "Killa Goons."
Okay, that is hilarious.
They tell her she can't stay or, if she does, she has to give them "payment" (either in supplies or other... unfortunate ways). After telling them she'll move on by morning, she asks if they've seen Danny and one of them lets something slip about "Four Eyes," then they deny it all. After more threats, they leave and Dr. Greene rushes into the house to get them all moving again while they can still follow the convoy to learn more about where Danny might be.
While following them, Dr. Greene says she hopes to make it to their camp because maybe she can beat the information out of them, which Amber says is a bad idea because they have tattoos and big guns.
I agree with the gun part, but the idea that the tattoos somehow are proof of their bad intentions is kind of silly--many people with tattoos are totally harmless and plenty of people without any tattoos are extremely dangerous. I mean, I get that they are supposed to be thugs so there has to be some stereotyping, but sometimes this book relies too heavily on stereotypes so the characters end up being caricatures of people instead of having any depth. (Sort of like the author had a list of types of people he wanted in his book that would serve a purpose [Goth girl, ex-military doctor woman, annoying child with disability, thugs, aging grandfather], but forgot that they also have to come across as actual people. Which is even more disappointing when you consider how very few characters there are in this book--it wouldn't have been hard to up the ante on this a little bit.) I am surprised Amber didn't add in their music as a third reason why going after them is a bad idea because, clearly, only people of their ilk would listen to it. (But, neither can I be too upset about the stereotyping because the name of the gang is absolutely hilarious--that is the kind of instance where stereotyping can be genius and funny without being too heavy-handed or bordering on offensive.)
They follow KG to their intensely lit baseball park den (very reminiscent of Fear the Walking Dead? Not sure if that was coincidental or purposeful on the author's part) and sneak up on it on foot. Of course, they get caught very quickly, with another reference to Dr. Greene's insatiable "curiosity" that got them into yet another situation. (Oh, haha, that curiosity! >.>) They are frisked and every item of value they have is taken.
Turns out Danny doesn't have it so bad at the ol' KG homestead, and finds a new "friend" in the leader, Li'l Smoke (oh, God, these names--this book is almost worth reading just for them, LOL), who took over when his brother (who led the gang before the apocalypse) was "muted" (which is when "you mutate into whatever that is, and you don't say nothing more"--the KGs are almost kind of clever) and when the cops ran away they got the whole neighborhood to themselves. Danny gets to eat BBQ and then gets taken to the weapons room, where Li'l Smoke tells Herbo (*giggles*) that Danny has identified himself as a "drifter." While they are laughing at that, Danny wanders over to a stack of grenades, takes one, and shoves it down his pants. Then, he proceeds to conspicuously continue his tour with his hand over his crotch to "cover the bulge."
And no one says anything about how bizarre this is??
They go to the gun range where Danny is given an "imported bottle of German beer," which they hand out willy-nilly to everyone who goes to the range, and proceeds to show his shooting skills at Li'l Smoke's behest. Of course, the grenade slips down his pants leg, but before he can retrieve it, Amber, Dr. Greene, and Gene are led into the compound. Amber recognizes Li'l Smoke's girlfriend, Carol Ann, from detention. They are given a more in-depth tour than Danny was privileged to and, aside from learning that they have electricity by having Decedents on a treadmill reaching for an overweight youngster eating snacks on a couch, we also learn that Li'l Smoke's predictably named big brother, Big Smoke, is still with them as one of their "pets."
Li'l Smoke decides to keep Amber, turn Danny into a "pet" by muting him, and orders the others to be fed to Big Smoke. Danny calls out while everyone is arguing, brandishes the grenade, and all hell breaks loose. Eventually, the four escape and race away from gunfire to the Bronco, lovingly described as their "faithful steed." When they get close, Decedents descend and Danny somehow takes out three of these moving targets one after the other.
Really?
Decedents continue to come because "without guards posted on the perimeter of the camp, the Decedents were able to infiltrate the entire area unchecked."
Really? Gosh, that seems awfully short-sighted of the KG, who seem kind of organized despite their thug natures. But, on the other hand, they are also touted as a bunch of obnoxious teenagers who think they are invincible so it may have never occurred them that there would be a situation where guards only wouldn't suffice. Either way, I'm just surprised there aren't, like, any traps and stuff set up.
Eventually, they all get into the SUV and speed away. As they gain some distance, the "artificial lights of Camp KG were replaced with an equally brilliant blaze that rose in the distance."
I see what you did there. "Riding off into the sunset on in a faithful steed."
Danny brags about his trick with the grenade and Dr. Greene, unable to contain herself any longer, violently stops the vehicle, hauls Danny out of the backseat, and spanks him mercilessly with a belt for several minutes. Amber wants her to stop, but Gene puts a restraining hand on Amber's shoulder.
Finally.
After telling Danny his drifting days are over and they are all (including Dr. Greene) sticking together, they discuss several options for where to go next, including the bar and the house. In the end, they head back to the motel to regroup--only they don't go to the motel, they park the Bronco there and empty it of all useful items, then go to the gas station across the street. Good thing, too, because the Killa Goons made Swiss cheese of the motel (and the SUV) later that night.
Although this is impressive and I get why they did it, this seems like a ridiculous waste of ammo and resources for an elderly man, a teenager, a prepubescent boy, and an ex-military doctor. O_o
Also, I'm not sure how the goons knew they were at the motel (I don't readily remember them ever seeing the small group there), except perhaps they somehow followed the SUV there? But, if that were the case, how could they do that inconspicuously (their entourage is so flashy and loud!) and in a timely manner (if they followed soon enough, they also would have seen the small group going into the gas station instead and known to shoot that place up instead?). Maybe they sent individual scouts out who determined they were at the motel, then came back with reinforcements?
After congratulating themselves on their escape, Dr. Greene tells them all they are going to Story, Wyoming, where she knows it is safe because she helped build the government facility in which they will find shelter.
Now, see, finally we have a book that has both a continuation of the story AND some completion to other parts of the story!! Okay, just for that, this gets a 1/2-star bump.
General Weirdness
- The book name is a bit of a misnomer. The way it reads, you expect Dr. Greene to either be a zombie who is a doctor or a doctor who treats zombies. She is neither of those. She is an ex-army doctor who fights zombies.
- The author first calls a road an "interstate," then shortly after refers to it as an "expressway." I didn't think these things are the same, so I Googled it. What I learned:
-- A freeway is a restricted-access highway found in big cities and highly inhabited areas.
-- Freeways are included as a part of the interstate organization because interstates go through the big cities.
-- A freeway is sometimes referred to as an expressway.
My conclusion: A freeway (expressway) can be a part of an interstate, but an interstate is not a part of a freeway; therefore, "expressway" cannot be used interchangeably with "interstate" (though it could arguably be used interchangeably with "freeway").
- Dr. Greene talks about how, with the silence that has followed this mess, her hearing and other senses have improved without the other noises of society to interfere, including being able to discern which birds are chirping from which trees. Is this trying to imply that in a flock of birds that are simultaneously chirping, she can match individual chirps with individual birds?? If so, that is ludicrous. And, if it's just implying a few birds in trees, I am not sure why someone wouldn't have been able to distinguish them in that way pre-apocalypse, anyway??
- The author describes Dr. Greene's hair color as "natural mahogany," which just seemed weird. Why not just "mahogany"? I think it's meant to establish not just her looks but a part of her personality somehow (like to show that she doesn't like frou-frou things?), but I fail to see why that should matter to us in such a pointed way.
- Possible misspelling of "play" that was meant to be "plan."
- Random pronoun-switching between he/she/it for Decedents.
- Somehow Dr. Greene casually slings the shotgun onto her back during a fight scene, despite already having a backpack on? Does this mean she wedged it between her back and the backpack?? Or through some sort of strap on the backpack, which how would you do that so easily while in the middle of a fight? It doesn't say she had a sling or rigged something for the gun on her back, and even if she did, it would have been obscured by the backpack.
- Apparently, a small cut can "attract a mindless Decedent from a mile away." Excuse me, but these are not sharks. And, by dint of turning into a zombie, one doesn't develop superhuman powers, like a vampire. A human wouldn't suddenly undergo some sort of physical alteration or mutation that would leave them with the ability to smell blood, especially from a small cut, FROM A MILE AWAY. I would believe a hundred YARDS away, maybe. But, A MILE??
- Also, why is everything "a mile away" in this book. The screams are a mile or two away. Zombies can smell small cuts from a mile away. It's like the author's only way of indicating impressive distance, whether it makes sense or not.
- This is probably overly nitpicky, but I noticed it, so I will mention it: Dr. Greene, when picking an SUV for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission, makes humphing noises while investigating the cars, then when she finds one she likes, she makes "that audible hmmp noise" that she is satisfied with it. I would have thought she'd make a DIFFERENT audible humphing noise to indicate being pleased rather than the same disgruntled ones, but apparently her humphing noises are all the same.
- The term "double tap" is used for hammer blows, but I am not sure that's correct usage? I thought that was only for guns. Yes, you can hit someone with a hammer quickly two times in succession, but that is not really double-tapping??
- I kept reading "Decedents" as "Descendants" which was distracting and kind of bothersome. In fact, I wrote the first half of this review with the latter in the text and had to go back to fix them all.
- Use of "insure" instead of "ensure." Some people consider these interchangeable--I do not.
- Suddenly toward the middle of the book Dr. Greene is "sucking her teeth" all the time. I have never been fond of this mannerism to begin with (for some reason it's always used to show contemplation in "tough" people?), and overusing it doesn't make it any better. This mannerism dwindled later, thankfully.
- We need more ways of describing when people put the pedal to the metal other than "mashed on the gas."
- A guard at the KG park was first "smoking a joint," then when he flicks it away it's a "cigarette butt." Pretty sure those things aren't interchangeable.
Instances of Bizarre Phrasing, Stating the Obvious, Chronic Repetition & Over-Explaining
She [Dr. Greene] cocked the shotgun and pointed it to the sky. "Over here," she taunted, letting off a loud, but random blast.
We already know it's random because the gun was pointing toward the sky.
...Gene Monroe felt insistent hunger pains in his stomach. He looked down at the can of cold tomato soup in his hands and ravenously began spooning out the red broth with his hands. Everyone was eating, including the tall stranger. So, Grandpa Gene naturally followed suit.
Where else would the hunger pains be, if not in his stomach? Also, he was already hungry ("ravenous") before he saw everyone else eating, so why would his own hunger not be the impetus for him eating versus eating just because everyone else is like some kind of pack mentality?
Also, the weirdness of never just calling him "Gene"--we already established his last name and the fact that he is a grandfather. Why again? This continues throughout the book, where everyone is referred to by some combination of their given name, their given name and surname, or both (and Gene as "Grandpa Gene"). I am not sure if the author thought we would forget these details (as if they are even that important??) from chapter to chapter (or even paragraph to paragraph), was trying to change things up by not always referring to them by the name same, or what. Honestly, referring to the characters inconsistently was kind of confusing and irritating because it didn't seem to serve any purpose I could ascertain (these aren't some sort of courtly or high-falutin' society where people have several names depending on their station, rank, or familiarity--it is just different ways of identifying them by their given names).
We are repeatedly told that the canned soup they are eating is "cold." Anytime the soup is mentioned, it's "cold." Once that has been established, there is no reason to repeat it over and over. Also, how could it be cold? It was in Dr. Greene's backpack and they were eating it from the can. I think the author meant "room temperature" or "not heated up."
We are repeatedly told that Danny is spindly, long-legged, gangly, skinny, etc. We only need to be told this once, maybe twice. But every time he is talked about, we have to hear it again.
Kids complicated things, or maybe it was the other way around.
How could it be the other way around? Things complicate kids? I mean, I guess that could be true philosophically, but I don't think that's what the author meant and I can't figure out what he did mean since that isn't a point he was trying to make with this scene.
Kayla noted that the lenses were rather unusually thick, but they looked like eyeglasses all the same.
Since when do lenses being really thick render a pair of eyeglasses to not look like eyeglasses?
Kayla was so confident and capable that everyone just trusted her word.
It has already been thoroughly established that this is how we are to view Dr. Greene; we don't need to explicitly state it.
Kayla parked the car right in front of one of the mall's main entrances. She put the Ford Bronco in park...
If she parked the car, then the gear shift would already be in the "park" position. "Kayla stopped the car..." would have relieved this redundancy. Also, I have no idea why sometimes this author is so insistent on repeatedly naming things instead of just being more generic ("Ford Bronco" instead of "SUV" or "vehicle" when we already KNOW it's a Ford Bronco), particularly when other things aren't named at all (like the type of shotgun Kayla carries around).
"Just go for a couple of well-placed strikes to the crown of the head." She traced a circle on her own forehead to demonstrate the target area. "Or to the back of the head."
Uh, no. The "crown" of the head is at the top back of the skull, NOT THE FRONT AT THE FOREHEAD. It should read: "'Just go for a couple of well-placed strikes to the crown of the head.' She traced a circle on the back of her own skull to demonstrate the target area. 'Or to the forehead.'"
"I hope I never see [the world] the way you do. I don't ever want to become so desensitized to the sins of humanity ... that I can traipse about in someone else's home like a common thief."
I think the author is trying to say that Gene doesn't want to lose himself in the fight against the zombies by doing what he needs to do to survive (kind of like what Peeta tells Katniss in, I think, Catching Fire). But, this isn't worded quite right; however, I'm not sure I can explain how I feel it went awry. Desensitization isn't about changing behavior, it's about not noticing or being affected emotionally by something any longer. Further, the world is different now, there are lines of gray everywhere, humans must adapt, and you can't apply pre-apocalypse ideals to a post-apocalypse world. Gene saying it's "morally wrong" to take things from the abandoned homes of people who are either dead or lost so he can eat (and thereby survive) is just... naive and silly, especially for an ex-military person. Gene would rather die than "rob" an abandoned home for nourishment or weapons?
Kayla put on her sunglasses (even though it was quite dark outside) to complete her tough girl face. ... The moon was just a bright speck in the sky now, but its warm glow streaked across the whole cul-de-sac in thin, piercing sheets. Kayla shaded her eyes with her hand and thumbed the head of the hammer.
Uh. If it's dark outside AND she has sunglasses on, why is she shading her eyes like it's brightest noon? Even if the moon were completely full, this still doesn't make sense.
There were cars in many of the driveways but at least Kayla had the presence of mind to hide their SUV inside the garage.
If this is about preventing it from being stolen, that might make sense (though then people could just break into the garages if they were really that determined). But, this is more like trying to indicate how clever and forward-thinking Dr. Greene is at hiding the fact that they are in the house? Which makes zero sense. Apocalypse or not, just because there is a car in the driveway doesn't mean people are home, and just because there is no car in the driveway doesn't mean no one is home.
Another Decedent crowded into the garage and reached for Kayla's legs through the [SUV] window just as the Ford Bronco roared to life. Kayla kicked at it furiously until she could get a good enough angle to smash its head with the hammer.
I don't understand so many of these car scenes with fighting. How could she kick at it through the window if she's sitting down?
Final Thoughts
I feel conflicted about this book. Even though there were so many problems right from the beginning, I kept reading when I have abandoned other books for less. I think maybe because, despite the countless flaws, I feel like there is potential here. I still finished it, I still wanted to know what would happen (and what will happen in the next book), there is nothing in this review here that couldn't be avoided in the future with a decent editorial lookover by someone who is critical and aware enough, there was some actual character growth even if they still are kind of all caricatures, I had a delightful time writing this review which helped me enjoy the book, the plot and world building were not overly complicated or annoyingly open-ended, the writing tried too hard at times but was actually very good overall with some good descriptors that gave the book levity and atmosphere. I think I'll close out this review with some of my favorite examples of those:
- squishy thud
- creep over to them like a lioness
- her eyes never left the mall's open jaws
- there were a few Decedent corpses sprinkled into the fleshly mix
- lethargic shuffling
- heavy dead hand
- It was the store manager, coming to confront the brazen thieves who dared loot his over-priced merchandise. As punishment, he would break their limbs and dine on their eyeballs.
- desperately empty
- [after Amber uses her golf club on a Decedent] a clod of flesh kicked out of the man's head
- fell to the floor with a commotion of glass and girth
- She felt like coughing as the warm liquid snaked down her throat, but once it hit her stomach it settled sublimely.
- looming over them like a stocky castle
- the entire warehouse erupted like an angry ant hill
- Amber looked in a rear view mirror and saw Dr. Greene standing directly in front of the approaching horde like an iron rod.
- sized up the dense pack of anonymous faces that used to belong to names and souls
- she felt the anxiety of fear creeping through her veins
- feel the hot, noxious breath of the undead man frothing down over her
- a few drips of ageless spittle
- and the metal latch clipped her heartstrings on the way out
- she was draped like a discarded coat against the worn padding of the bar… (altro)
This is painfully long and basically a tour of the entire book, and, therefore, contains spoilers galore. My reviews don't tend to follow a consistent format, and this one took on a life of its own. I let it. Usually my longest reviews are reserved for books I did not like, but, as you can see from the rating, I did actually like this.
Six months after some sort of catastrophe that left Decedents (people turned into zombies) and Remnants (survivors who have not turned into zombies... yet? bwaahahaah) as Earth's inhabitants, we come upon loner Dr. Kayla Greene. Apparently, Dr. Greene played a part in causing this catastrophe (oooo, dark secret), but we don't know why/how yet.
She doesn't like other people, so this apocalypse is perfect for her.
Did I mention she doesn't like people?
In case you didn't get it, people aren't her thing.
Just making sure you got that.
Because it will be totally ignored in 3 pages.
Dr. Greene comes across a Decedent in a sweet truck. After telling us how she was a doctor and so knew the "right tools" (which so far appear to be only a shotgun or a hammer--I kept waiting for some grand insight about how she used unexpected weapons on zombies because of her medical training or something) to dispatch these creatures, she pulls out a shotgun.
Really? A shotgun? That is the "best tool" for this job? A noisy AF gunshot for no reason (it's not like she was being merciful or needed/wanted the truck at this point) to handle one zombie in a truck that isn't even a threat?
Then, she gets distracted by a Remnant woman yelling for help, puts away the shotgun, then takes out a hammer to finish off the lone zombie, saying that this will dispatch it quietly so as not to draw attention to her.
...
Okay, then why the shotgun in the first place?? It wasn't because things changed and now she actually wanted the truck to find the screaming woman because, either way, the window would have been broken (when randomly shooting the zombie, or, when trying the door handle and finding it's locked, when breaking it with the hammer) so switching to a hammer wasn't about preserving the integrity of the vehicle.
Then, what does Dr. Greene do? Peels out in a loud joyride down the interstate, which is remarkably free of stalled vehicles, except for the one random one that she purposefully clipped (creating more noise) as she drove by it.
Really? Three sentences after a speech about how being inconspicuous is tantamount to survival so you don't draw "Decedent hordes" and after you decided not to use the shotgun to avoid attention?
Not to mention that this is after a speech about how cities are difficult to navigate because of all the dead people, dead cars, and piles of trash, so she preferred to travel on foot through them.
I guess we are supposed to believe that she changed this rule because she wanted to get to the screaming woman as soon as possible? Even if I believe that, how did she come across the one car on the interstate full of escaping Remnants that somehow wasn't trapped in a sea of other cars that allowed her to leave so easily and in such a showoff-y way?
Then my thoughts drift to why Dr. Greene would care about helping this woman when it was established that 1) the screaming woman could be a trap set by other Remnants to steal everything she has of value and 2) DR. GREENE IS A LONER. The only excuse we are given is:
...Dr. Greene was all but powerless against her insatiable curiosity. If she didn't place a face to that voice, it would haunt her for the rest of her journey.
Really?
Also, she states that she could hear the woman screaming from a mile or two away.
Really? I don't care how your hearing has been heightened by the silence of the fall of civilization, I don't believe you could hear someone screaming from that far away unless the woman is using a megaphone. But, since I don't really have a scientific understanding of these things, I let that one go (mostly).
When Dr. Greene stops the truck, it seems like it's for no reason, like she forgot about the screaming woman. Instead, she talks about keeping the truck, despite cities being difficult to navigate, to continue West ASAP.
Dr. Greene hears the screams again, and finds an injured elderly man and what are supposedly his two young grandchildren, running from a large group of zombies. Dr. Greene leaps down to defend them so they can all get to a motel nearby. In the middle of the fight, she laments that satisfying her "curiosity" landed her in a life-or-death situation and that she is no longer a lone traveler.
Really? Why are either of these conclusions a surprise? What else would it result in?? Seems like going to the aid of someone screaming for help, whether it's a trap or not, would only result in those things.
After kicking open the door in the motel and fending off another zombie, Dr. Greene effortlessly scoops up the elderly man and carries him in to the motel.
All by herself.
Really? I mean, I know she's supposed to be physically fit and adrenaline may be at work and all, but how could she carry him??
Then, she tends to the old man's wound and completely forgets about the door that won't latch BECAUSE SHE KICKED IT IN (maybe it is supposed to be because she is a doctor and the instinctive need to patch him up took over common sense about the situation??), which nearly lets zombies in because the granddaughter doesn't have the strength to keep them out.
During the battle to kill off any lingering zombies outside (after being careful not to let the zombie truck lady scratch her arm), Dr. Greene rips off the face of a zombie with the hammer claw and gets blood and gore sprayed on her own face (though seemingly not her eyes because she one-handed-ly, and very cooly, swiped on some sunglasses when she got out of the truck after her joyride).
Really? She doesn't even mention this as being a possible scenario that may turn her into a zombie? So, a scratch can turn you into a zombie, but getting zombie gore in your mouth, eyes, or other opening wouldn't?
When Dr. Greene returns to the motel, the children, for some reason, turn on her and try to rob her at gunpoint. I have no idea why a 19-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother thought they could pull it off--especially when they apparently didn't know to check guns to see if they are loaded before you threaten someone with them. At some point, Dr. Greene pointedly says she can "see the will to kill" in the girl's eyes, but they both give up quickly after finding out she's a doctor and there aren't any bullets in either weapon.
Really? This "Goth" girl (identified by her black lipstick, red hair streak, inability to play sports, and pyromania tendencies) had the "will to kill" in her eyes, but there is absolutely no motive for her to kill Dr. Greene WHO JUST KILLED SEVERAL DOZEN ZOMBIES FOR THEM, doesn't have anything of real value (though of course the "Goth" girl wants the sunglasses *rolls eyes*), and the only other adult in their party WHO IS ALSO THEIR GRANDFATHER IS ABOUT TO BLEED TO DEATH (even if Dr. Greene hadn't been a doctor, it still doesn't make sense to alienate the only other adult in the party, especially when all they've done is help you). The supposed willingness to kill Dr. Greene for no reason is not the best way to establish the "Goth girl" as a badass.
After that fiasco is over, Dr. Greene patches up the grandpa. He wakes up and there is a pointed description about him not having much of an appetite despite smelling food, then two paragraphs later for some reason he is starving.
How is he smelling the food if nothing has been heated up and it's just open cans of soup that don't really emit an odor, especially from across a room??
Dr. Greene finishes her food, then heads to the bathroom to "splash water on her face."
Uhhhh... Wouldn't this be "furiously scrubs her face," given that she got a face-full of zombie blood and gore when she ripped the face off that one zombie? Also, it is occurring to me as I'm writing this that she EATS without first washing all that off. Gross.
She begins to pack up her things, telling the family she's heading out on her own, but then receives a monumental guilt trip from the family over how Danny is legally blind and they got in trouble in the first place by trying to go to a warehouse to get a pair of eyeglasses for him that were never delivered due to the apocalypse.
Dr. Greene decides to fall on this sword (apparently due to her "curiosity" again--I am beginning to think that curiosity killed Kayla, not the cat) because the family is going to try again with or without her help, and for some reason she can't resist skinny, lanky, vulnerable Danny when he is crying.
So much for Dr. Greene's insistence that she is immune to the charm and allure of children.
She takes Amber with her, leaving Gene and Danny behind.
Really? We're going to take Amber with us? Why does Dr. Greene think she is capable and clever? Nothing the reader has seen makes this a reality for us (no matter how much Dr. Greene insists she saw the "will to kill" in her eyes), particularly after the failed holdup incident.
After picking the truck earlier randomly with the supposed immediate intention of using it rescue people and the further intention of driving it West, Dr. Greene spends an inordinate amount of time picking a vehicle for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission, explaining to Amber how important it is to be thoughtful about it and quoting the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, just in case she hadn't gotten her point across.
When an SUV with appropriately viscous oil is found, Amber slams the door shut after getting in.
I would imagine this action would be pretty noisy after all that time spent stealthily choosing the car, but Dr. Greene doesn't admonish her. Seems out of character to me.
Since there are no keys, Dr. Greene has to hot wire it. For some reason, this entails being UPSIDEDOWN with her legs kicking Amber in the face.
I tried to picture how this would work in my head, and I could not.
While Dr. Greene is busy doing this (and pointedly mentioning a headache, which I thought would prove significant later, but did not), Amber notices a zombie ballerina girl heading toward them. Dr. Greene finishes hot wiring the SUV as the girl jumps onto the hood. Dr. Greene guns the vehicle forward and zombie ballerina girl flies off.
How would the zombie ballerina girl spin off the hood if Dr. Greene only sped forward, but didn't either turn or stop quickly to dislodge her? If she was only going straight at high speed, zombie ballerina girl would more likely to stay ON.
Then Dr. Greene runs over zombie ballerina girl mercilessly until she is dead (again).
Okay, that part was kind of funny.
Amber, of course, has a problem with this, and Dr. Greene rightly points out that that kind of sentimentality is what gets you killed.
Hmm... maybe this is starting to get better.
They head toward a mall to go on a shopping spree for supplies for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission. They speed noisily down the road, which includes a "liberal burning of rubber."
Maybe not. Continuing to ignore previous declarations about the importance of not drawing attention to one's self.
They arrive at a mall, which is not dark inside because the generator is still working.
The generator at the mall is still working? Even though the apocalypse has been going on for six months? I know the mall may not have succumbed until recently, but because we don't know the specifics (because Kayla and Amber don't know) the implication is that the mall went down early on... and somehow the generator is still working after nearly half a year.
They encounter a Decedent almost immediately, which gives Amber her first practice kill with "Biff" (the hammer). The sporting goods store is littered with bodies in the front, which gives us a weird interlude where we for some reason learn that Amber wanted to be a detective and could somewhat analyze the "crime scene" using what she studied in a criminal justice class.
Really? I can only assume this will prove significant later somehow. (Later: It didn't, that I could tell. I think it's trying to establish something about Amber's personality, but I have no idea what.)
During their casual walk to the sporting goods store, we learn that Kayla was a military doctor, which is how she knows so much about survival, combat, and weaponry (and maybe explains now why she would have known from the smell of a motor oil fire how long ago it had been set, which was described at the beginning of the book and was a O_o moment for me).
Thanks to her knowledge of "the best tool for the job," Dr. Greene hooks Amber up with some golf clubs while Amber grills her on why the hell she stopped to help them.
Good question.
Dr. Greene tells her, basically, as we've heard before, that her curiosity tends to get her into trouble. Amber asks her if she regrets helping them. Dr. Greene lies and says she doesn't.
Seems totally out of character to me. Suddenly Dr. Greene is careful about what she says?
They finish their "shopping" and, after Dr. Greene clumsily deflects Amber's question about how she knows so much about Decedents, they run into the Decedent store manager. As before, Amber looks to Kayla to dispatch the monster, but Kayla tells her that the 5 iron should do nicely, and Amber takes care of it.
I actually like this because Dr. Greene is teaching her how to fend for herself, particularly since once Dr. Greene supposedly leaves their group, Amber will be the only logical person who kills Decedents with any sort of prowess.
As they’re leaving the mall to make their way back to the motel (which is a more dangerous undertaking now that the sun is setting), Amber gives Dr. Greene some space, still not sure she trusts her (to be fair, even though Dr. Green is helping them, she IS clearly hiding something, so Amber's instincts are sound since what she is hiding could be significant), all the while mulling over this:
“After the cataclysm, it was difficult to trust anyone. All the heroes were dead. The only people left on the earth were the cowardly and the malicious.”
While that may be a little dramatic and defeatist, I sort of enjoyed the poetic nature of this musing.
But, of course, Amber ruins the newly found respect I have for her by running off alone to her favorite store (not taking her golf clubs with her, although she at least still had "Biff") while Dr. Greene had nipped into a bathroom to get some more supplies. She makes a bunch of noise running her fingers along the earring racks, then talks about how quiet she has to be while going into the dressing room area to try on a shirt she had already decided was "just her size" because "the thrill of standing in front of a mirror excited her"--and this is even after hearing suspicious noises in the mall courtyard.
Amber is, of course, attacked from behind by a Decedent girl that went to her school, who also has black lipstick and is wearing one of the pairs of earrings Amber had gleefully nabbed from the rack not two minutes earlier.
That was amusing.
She screams for Dr. Greene (who sees what is going on from the sidelines because she wants to see what Amber does before she interferes), but ultimately anticipates "the inevitable result of her greedy actions."
She might be kind of dense, but at least she is somewhat self-aware and will maybe learn something from this.
Using a jump rope, Dr. Greene rescues Amber by pulling the zombie away like it's an actress who has spent too long on stage accepting applause. She kills it with a clothing rack pole, talks Amber out of having a breakdown, and they run out of the store only to find the courtyard is full of zombies, blocking their exit.
Props to Dr. Greene for not shaming Amber about what happened; in fact, she admonishes herself for bringing Amber to what she should have known would be a Decedent trap. Fortunately, Dr. Greene had enough foresight to load the car up already (though how she had time to do this, I have no idea--Amber was only in the shop for maybe five minutes before getting attacked and Dr. Greene would have had to exit the bathroom, take everything downstairs, load the car, reenter the mall, find Amber, AND stand there watching her get attacked for a while), so they "just" have to make their way to the exit, all while Amber is smelling like a delicious fruit tart to all of the encroaching Decedents due to her injuries. My favorite part is when Dr. Greene wrenches a table umbrella free and then sprints "at full speed toward the main exit like a pole vaulter."
They make it out and, for once in a show of noisiness I agree with, burn rubber out of the parking lot. They get some rest, Amber (who was patched up the night before) and Gene get their bandages changed.
While going over strategies for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission, it becomes apparent that Dr. Greene has an ulterior motive for going to the shipping warehouse, particularly for some packages "headed west that she might be interested in and has to get a closer look at." And, for some reason, Amber thinks she knows the exact location of Danny's eyeglasses package in the warehouse.
Really? Does she hang out at warehouses in her spare time? Wouldn't a normal person have absolutely NO CLUE where it would be?
The ride to the warehouse is uneventful with some bonding talk over an accidental zombie pecker glimpse, Amber's pyromania tendencies (she wanted to know if you could set zombies on fire to kill them--Dr. Greene vividly describes why this wouldn't be a good idea), and what religion has to do with the cataclysm. They make a pitstop at a dive bar to get wasted and eat bar snacks, but not before making faces at a bloated barkeep Decedent trapped behind the bar.
On their way again after Dr. Greene amusingly "tosses her hair back alluringly" in an imitation of drunken Amber, they reach the warehouse without incident.
Though enjoyable and I could understand the desire to get wasted for this work, I am not sure what this whole bar scene is meant to do, except to provide comic relief?
Once they get to the warehouse, they lure out and trap as many Decedents as they can, then put on their "battle armor," which consists of elbow and knee pads, several baseball bats (in addition to other weapons), lacrosse helmets, and, for Amber, pink rollerblades. For whatever reason, only Dr. Greene has protective eye gear (her sunglasses).
Once again, Dr. Greene seems to know more about the habits of the Decedents than is typical, but she deflects Amber's question again and they start the massacre. After, Amber asks if she can burn all the carcasses.
LOL.
Dr. Green says she can, but at the end.
Amber forgets Danny's prescription and has to go back for it. She retrieves it with no issue.
When Amber does this, she doesn't actually look at the "folded piece of paper" to make sure it is the prescription and not another sheet of paper. I thought this was going to be significant later (like impede their ability to get the eyeglasses that day so they'd have to go again) due to the very pointed description of the paper being folded, but it didn't come back to haunt them.
Also, I'm not sure why they even need this prescription to identify Danny's eyeglasses because the package would be addressed to the Monroes (so they would know it's the correct package), they don't include prescriptions like a receipt in deliveries of eyeglasses for privacy reasons so if the idea is to have them compare the prescription they have with what's inside that would not work (and, even if it is wrong, what difference does it make, it's not like they can order them again and they've already wasted the time retrieving them so just grab the package and RUN), and it's not like the warehouse will somehow organize and store the packages according to prescription. It's the SHIPPING AND TRACKING INFORMATION that they need.
After struggling mightily with two mighty Decedents at the entrance, Dr. Greene is impressed that the Monroes made it into the warehouse on their own and Amber admits they never got that far. Understandably, Dr. Greene is like "WTF. How do you know where the eyeglasses are then or whether they're in here for sure?" Amber says she doesn't know any of that after all (honestly, why Dr. Greene believed her when she said she did earlier was a mystery to me).
Apparently, Amber thought Dr. Greene would know because she is a doctor and would know what to look for.
...
...
That makes even less sense than the prescription thing.
Dr. Greene leaves Amber in an office to try to find a list that might tell them where Danny's eyeglasses are, then heads off on her own into the warehouse and learns that this place houses mostly medical stuff, shelf-stable food, and government stuff going to the West Coast. At this point, Dr. Greene muses to herself that "they were trying to outrun the virus."
Who was? And how would all of that stuff have already been in there if the disaster hadn't happened yet unless someone knew it was coming (Dr. Greene says that the warehouse must have been in operation all the way up until the disaster--meaning there is some sort of conspiracy that she was not privy to??)?
Somehow, Dr. Greene finds the item number for Danny's package on the whiteboard.
Why a number for this package would be on this board (and, further, why Dr. Greene would know that number by heart?) like it's something significant, I am not sure. Clearly, this warehouse is not individually writing the numbers of the thousands packages on this whiteboard for tracking purposes. It would have made more sense if Amber had found the location in a list from the office.
Before getting the eyeglasses, Dr. Greene climbs a storage shelf to get a delivery address off the packages in a military crate while three Decedents stare hungrily at her from below.
Unfortunately, Amber stupidly comes into the warehouse and yells out Dr. Greene's name, rerouting the three hungry zombies toward her.
Meanwhile, we pan to Grandpa Gene back at the motel, who is reminiscing about the good ol' days in a very "kids these days," patriotic, retired military, socially conservative kind of way (I am sure if he had to kill zombies as a kid, he would have had to do it after walking five miles uphill in the rain with no shoes on) and contemplating the fragility of human existence and civilization.
Dr. Greene arrives, breaking his reverie. She carries Amber (carrying Amber on her own makes more sense than carrying the grandfather on her own) in her arms up to bed and tells them she is okay, just exhausted. She also hands Danny a padded envelope, which he rips open so he can put on his new eyeglasses.
SORRY BUT SPECIALIZED EYEGLASSES FOR HIS CONDITION THAT HAD TO BE SENT FROM LONDON AND PROBABLY COST WELL OVER $1,000 (read: even just my progressives, which is just a fancy way of saying "early bifocals," cost nearly $1,000) WOULD NOT BE SHIPPED (EVEN FROM A LOCAL FACILITY) IN ONLY A PADDED ENVELOPE EVEN IF THEY WERE IN A CASE (which this doesn't seem to indicate they were).
Dr. Greene wakes up in the middle of the night with the intent of, once again, abandoning the family. She appears be reluctant to do this, and struggles internally. Danny predictably shows up to guilt her into staying or to take him with her, which only confuses Dr. Greene's feelings over figuring out if she is starting to understand what a family is or if a family really is something that just weighs you down.
Danny tells her that there is safety in numbers and they need her, but then they both start talking about how being a drifter can be easier because then the people you love don't get hurt.
There are so many things wrong with this statement, but I just don't have the energy to overanalyze it.
For some reason at that point, Dr. Greene craves a cigarette, even though she's never smoked.
Given all the things wrong with what Danny said and what a little manipulative PITA he's being right now, I can kind of sympathize with Dr. Greene, but it's a little weird how out-of-the-blue this is.
Dr. Greene explains to Danny that no one wants to be a drifter and it's nothing to glorify, it just happens; for her, she chose her career over a family. Danny is persistent in his desire for Dr. Greene to either stay or take him with her. She tells him she can't take him with her because she has something important to do, but Danny still insists and lays more guilt on her. At this point, Dr. Greene actually has a desire to hit the boy, but doesn't because she doesn't want to break his new eyeglasses.
Whu... Okay, this is just taking a strange turn. I mean, he's a pain, but slapping him seems extreme?
Finally, she shrugs Danny off, leaves the SUV for the family, and begins her solo journey on foot. First stop? Get wasted at the bar she and Amber stopped at before the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission. She laments that the two dead bikers in the corner don't have any cigarettes.
I have no idea what this sudden obsession with smoking is all about. It would make more sense if she HAD been a smoker previously, but for a non-smoker it is just bizarre.
Also, as enjoyable as the imagery is of her leaning against the bar, I'm not sure why she is leaning against it since she and Amber flooded it with zombie gore a couple days ago and it's not like it would clean itself up. Either the author forgot that, or went with it to demonstrate her complete lack of caring for anything at that time.
Gene and Amber arrive at the bar to ask Dr. Greene where Danny is. They tell her he ran away to find Dr. Greene and "it didn't occur to [Kayla] that he wasn't ready to part ways" and she basically should have known better than to leave before he was ready. Gene adds that Dr. Greene should have given Danny more time to adjust because he is special and can be difficult and hard to control.
Okay, now I'm annoyed.
Wow. Not saying it's cool to try to leave without telling anyone, but Danny running away is not Dr. Green's fault. Time for Danny to learn that it isn't always about Danny. I hope Dr. Greene lets them have it.
"You let little Danny run all over you and then you expect someone to come along and clean up the mess."
YAAAAASSSSSS!
But wait, there's more.
Talkative due to the alcohol, Dr. Greene goes on to basically admit that she helped create the Decedents to fulfill average Americans' demand to be safe and have a weapon to "protect their slimy little lives," which of course ironically backfired in that the Decedents decimated the very lives they were meant to protect.
Woah. I mean, I was pretty sure Dr. Greene helped create the zombies and she wanted to go West to help fix things, but this completely unfiltered version of Dr. Greene is harsh. Though, in a way, I'm kind of okay with it.
Amber, however, is not okay with it, and says she is disgusted by Dr. Greene, that they never asked her to tag along (just to help with their current situation), and that she does not appreciate Dr. Greene's judgmental appraisal of people she doesn't know. She continues, saying that even though they can't pay her for her help, Dr. Greene could have "borrowed a pinch of their self-respect" and they would have "given her some dignity for free."
If you're going to say some shit like that, you'd better make sure your own doesn't stink first. For one thing, pot calling the kettle black: 1) the Monroes don't know Dr. Greene any more than she knows them and 2) only a day earlier Amber was as messily drunk as Dr. Greene is (AND she's underage, which I know wouldn't really matter in an apocalypse, but still!)! I think all of that about how they can't pay her with money but she could have found some dignity and respect with them is supposed to be profound, but it's really just silly. For one thing, despite being messily drunk right now, overall Dr. Greene is plenty dignified and has self-respect--for Heaven's sake, all she's done is help them since they met her, even after they tried to rob her. For another, given what has transpired, I don't think the Monroes are a particularly fine example of respect and dignity. What they (and Dr. Greene) are an example of is that they are all fucked up with their fine points and their not-so-fine points, exactly the way everyone in the world is.
Dr. Greene doesn't respond to this and only tells them to look west for Danny because that's where he thinks Dr. Greene is headed. Then, she tells them she will go with them because it's "her fault" Danny went after her.
*SIGH*
Amber is mad at her for wanting to help (seriously, there is no pleasing this girl, even when her manipulations get her what she wants) because her motivations are selfish (Dr. Greene wants to alleviate her guilt over Danny following her and possibly getting killed as result). Dr. Greene considers what to do, thinking she thought she'd never see these people again, but now they are challenging her to another "honorable task."
*SIGH* I am sad that I was with this book until this 60%-ish mark, and now I'm getting fed up, particularly at how easily Dr. Greene is manipulated by these people, despite all of her talk of being a loner. But, I'll keep going because proper character growth for everyone may still occur.
Dr. Greene then thinks about how Danny is a stupid little kid, but also that he reminds her of her at his age so of course she will rescue him. But, at least she tells them that she's doing it for Danny so he can be put in his place and learn to not walk all over them because a day will come when they can't rescue him. She finishes it with a flourish of words about how after this last task with them she is done with them--and all Remnants--forever!
(Riiight.)
Meanwhile, Danny is wandering around looking for Dr. Greene in what he hopes is a westerly direction, and encounters a convoy of monster trucks whose drivers play "gangster rap."
Dr. Greene was on FOOT when she left and she didn't get far. Instead of waiting until he couldn't see her anymore, why didn't Danny just start to follow her at a distance and keep her in his line of sight? Oh, right, because then he wouldn't need rescuing.
They encircle Danny, who has dramatically surrendered by kneeling and putting his hands behind his head, but are interrupted when a group of zombies heads toward them. Sufficiently distracted, the members of the convoy don't notice when Danny gets up and runs away. Unfortunately, they go after Danny immediately and catch him.
Of course. I have no idea why Danny would be so important to them, except as an object of entertainment and ridicule.
Pan to Amber, Gene, and Dr. Greene... they searched all day without luck, even with "Amber's investigative skills."
Really? She took maybe a semester's worth of classes in criminal justice. That's it.
They look for a place to stay and, of course, Amber has learned nothing from her previous trial and, while Dr. Greene is scoping the potential of a house, loses patience and charges out on her rollerblades to join her.
They go inside after Dr. Greene "checks the temperature" of the house with her arm and deems it zombie-free. After dinner, they are relaxing as best they can and Dr. Greene spends the time contemplating the various conditions in which they might find Danny.
LOL.
Then she thinks about how what she "truly is missing from her life is a patient man to dull away her sharp edges."
Wait. What? Suddenly strong, independent Dr. Greene has decided that all along a man is what would have completed her life? A part of why I liked this book is that it's one of the only ones where there hasn't been any talk like this from the female protagonist--it is okay to want those things, but it makes me salty when authors spend 3/4 of a book trying to insist on the independent nature of their protagonist who made her own choices in life, only to undo all that by basically saying it was all an act and she regrets every choice she's ever made because she was too afraid to make herself vulnerable enough to be a mom and a wife, so then she was never truly happy and was just fooling herself. PLUS, the idea that this Monroe family would be the ones to bring her to this realization is ludicrous! Minus a 1/2 star.
She then goes on to talk about how perceptive Amber is and that she gets into the "real Kayla cowering inside." She ponders if "this is how family works."
Eh. Amber is arguably perceptive, but not because she is trying to help Dr. Greene, she is using it to manipulate her. I am not even touching the statement about whether this is how family works.
Before we have to read any more of this tripe, the large convoy that kidnapped Danny (is it kidnapping if he had already run away?) rolls into the neighborhood, still listening to their music full of swearwords (that for some reason is offensive to Dr. Greene--I would have thought someone who used to be in the military would be desensitized to that kind of thing?). The convoy catches sight of Dr. Greene and stops to talk to threaten her, at which point she learns their gang name is "Killa Goons."
Okay, that is hilarious.
They tell her she can't stay or, if she does, she has to give them "payment" (either in supplies or other... unfortunate ways). After telling them she'll move on by morning, she asks if they've seen Danny and one of them lets something slip about "Four Eyes," then they deny it all. After more threats, they leave and Dr. Greene rushes into the house to get them all moving again while they can still follow the convoy to learn more about where Danny might be.
While following them, Dr. Greene says she hopes to make it to their camp because maybe she can beat the information out of them, which Amber says is a bad idea because they have tattoos and big guns.
I agree with the gun part, but the idea that the tattoos somehow are proof of their bad intentions is kind of silly--many people with tattoos are totally harmless and plenty of people without any tattoos are extremely dangerous. I mean, I get that they are supposed to be thugs so there has to be some stereotyping, but sometimes this book relies too heavily on stereotypes so the characters end up being caricatures of people instead of having any depth. (Sort of like the author had a list of types of people he wanted in his book that would serve a purpose [Goth girl, ex-military doctor woman, annoying child with disability, thugs, aging grandfather], but forgot that they also have to come across as actual people. Which is even more disappointing when you consider how very few characters there are in this book--it wouldn't have been hard to up the ante on this a little bit.) I am surprised Amber didn't add in their music as a third reason why going after them is a bad idea because, clearly, only people of their ilk would listen to it. (But, neither can I be too upset about the stereotyping because the name of the gang is absolutely hilarious--that is the kind of instance where stereotyping can be genius and funny without being too heavy-handed or bordering on offensive.)
They follow KG to their intensely lit baseball park den (very reminiscent of Fear the Walking Dead? Not sure if that was coincidental or purposeful on the author's part) and sneak up on it on foot. Of course, they get caught very quickly, with another reference to Dr. Greene's insatiable "curiosity" that got them into yet another situation. (Oh, haha, that curiosity! >.>) They are frisked and every item of value they have is taken.
Turns out Danny doesn't have it so bad at the ol' KG homestead, and finds a new "friend" in the leader, Li'l Smoke (oh, God, these names--this book is almost worth reading just for them, LOL), who took over when his brother (who led the gang before the apocalypse) was "muted" (which is when "you mutate into whatever that is, and you don't say nothing more"--the KGs are almost kind of clever) and when the cops ran away they got the whole neighborhood to themselves. Danny gets to eat BBQ and then gets taken to the weapons room, where Li'l Smoke tells Herbo (*giggles*) that Danny has identified himself as a "drifter." While they are laughing at that, Danny wanders over to a stack of grenades, takes one, and shoves it down his pants. Then, he proceeds to conspicuously continue his tour with his hand over his crotch to "cover the bulge."
And no one says anything about how bizarre this is??
They go to the gun range where Danny is given an "imported bottle of German beer," which they hand out willy-nilly to everyone who goes to the range, and proceeds to show his shooting skills at Li'l Smoke's behest. Of course, the grenade slips down his pants leg, but before he can retrieve it, Amber, Dr. Greene, and Gene are led into the compound. Amber recognizes Li'l Smoke's girlfriend, Carol Ann, from detention. They are given a more in-depth tour than Danny was privileged to and, aside from learning that they have electricity by having Decedents on a treadmill reaching for an overweight youngster eating snacks on a couch, we also learn that Li'l Smoke's predictably named big brother, Big Smoke, is still with them as one of their "pets."
Li'l Smoke decides to keep Amber, turn Danny into a "pet" by muting him, and orders the others to be fed to Big Smoke. Danny calls out while everyone is arguing, brandishes the grenade, and all hell breaks loose. Eventually, the four escape and race away from gunfire to the Bronco, lovingly described as their "faithful steed." When they get close, Decedents descend and Danny somehow takes out three of these moving targets one after the other.
Really?
Decedents continue to come because "without guards posted on the perimeter of the camp, the Decedents were able to infiltrate the entire area unchecked."
Really? Gosh, that seems awfully short-sighted of the KG, who seem kind of organized despite their thug natures. But, on the other hand, they are also touted as a bunch of obnoxious teenagers who think they are invincible so it may have never occurred them that there would be a situation where guards only wouldn't suffice. Either way, I'm just surprised there aren't, like, any traps and stuff set up.
Eventually, they all get into the SUV and speed away. As they gain some distance, the "artificial lights of Camp KG were replaced with an equally brilliant blaze that rose in the distance."
I see what you did there. "Riding off into the sunset on in a faithful steed."
Danny brags about his trick with the grenade and Dr. Greene, unable to contain herself any longer, violently stops the vehicle, hauls Danny out of the backseat, and spanks him mercilessly with a belt for several minutes. Amber wants her to stop, but Gene puts a restraining hand on Amber's shoulder.
Finally.
After telling Danny his drifting days are over and they are all (including Dr. Greene) sticking together, they discuss several options for where to go next, including the bar and the house. In the end, they head back to the motel to regroup--only they don't go to the motel, they park the Bronco there and empty it of all useful items, then go to the gas station across the street. Good thing, too, because the Killa Goons made Swiss cheese of the motel (and the SUV) later that night.
Although this is impressive and I get why they did it, this seems like a ridiculous waste of ammo and resources for an elderly man, a teenager, a prepubescent boy, and an ex-military doctor. O_o
Also, I'm not sure how the goons knew they were at the motel (I don't readily remember them ever seeing the small group there), except perhaps they somehow followed the SUV there? But, if that were the case, how could they do that inconspicuously (their entourage is so flashy and loud!) and in a timely manner (if they followed soon enough, they also would have seen the small group going into the gas station instead and known to shoot that place up instead?). Maybe they sent individual scouts out who determined they were at the motel, then came back with reinforcements?
After congratulating themselves on their escape, Dr. Greene tells them all they are going to Story, Wyoming, where she knows it is safe because she helped build the government facility in which they will find shelter.
Now, see, finally we have a book that has both a continuation of the story AND some completion to other parts of the story!! Okay, just for that, this gets a 1/2-star bump.
General Weirdness
- The book name is a bit of a misnomer. The way it reads, you expect Dr. Greene to either be a zombie who is a doctor or a doctor who treats zombies. She is neither of those. She is an ex-army doctor who fights zombies.
- The author first calls a road an "interstate," then shortly after refers to it as an "expressway." I didn't think these things are the same, so I Googled it. What I learned:
-- A freeway is a restricted-access highway found in big cities and highly inhabited areas.
-- Freeways are included as a part of the interstate organization because interstates go through the big cities.
-- A freeway is sometimes referred to as an expressway.
My conclusion: A freeway (expressway) can be a part of an interstate, but an interstate is not a part of a freeway; therefore, "expressway" cannot be used interchangeably with "interstate" (though it could arguably be used interchangeably with "freeway").
- Dr. Greene talks about how, with the silence that has followed this mess, her hearing and other senses have improved without the other noises of society to interfere, including being able to discern which birds are chirping from which trees. Is this trying to imply that in a flock of birds that are simultaneously chirping, she can match individual chirps with individual birds?? If so, that is ludicrous. And, if it's just implying a few birds in trees, I am not sure why someone wouldn't have been able to distinguish them in that way pre-apocalypse, anyway??
- The author describes Dr. Greene's hair color as "natural mahogany," which just seemed weird. Why not just "mahogany"? I think it's meant to establish not just her looks but a part of her personality somehow (like to show that she doesn't like frou-frou things?), but I fail to see why that should matter to us in such a pointed way.
- Possible misspelling of "play" that was meant to be "plan."
- Random pronoun-switching between he/she/it for Decedents.
- Somehow Dr. Greene casually slings the shotgun onto her back during a fight scene, despite already having a backpack on? Does this mean she wedged it between her back and the backpack?? Or through some sort of strap on the backpack, which how would you do that so easily while in the middle of a fight? It doesn't say she had a sling or rigged something for the gun on her back, and even if she did, it would have been obscured by the backpack.
- Apparently, a small cut can "attract a mindless Decedent from a mile away." Excuse me, but these are not sharks. And, by dint of turning into a zombie, one doesn't develop superhuman powers, like a vampire. A human wouldn't suddenly undergo some sort of physical alteration or mutation that would leave them with the ability to smell blood, especially from a small cut, FROM A MILE AWAY. I would believe a hundred YARDS away, maybe. But, A MILE??
- Also, why is everything "a mile away" in this book. The screams are a mile or two away. Zombies can smell small cuts from a mile away. It's like the author's only way of indicating impressive distance, whether it makes sense or not.
- This is probably overly nitpicky, but I noticed it, so I will mention it: Dr. Greene, when picking an SUV for the Great Eyeglasses Rescue Mission, makes humphing noises while investigating the cars, then when she finds one she likes, she makes "that audible hmmp noise" that she is satisfied with it. I would have thought she'd make a DIFFERENT audible humphing noise to indicate being pleased rather than the same disgruntled ones, but apparently her humphing noises are all the same.
- The term "double tap" is used for hammer blows, but I am not sure that's correct usage? I thought that was only for guns. Yes, you can hit someone with a hammer quickly two times in succession, but that is not really double-tapping??
- I kept reading "Decedents" as "Descendants" which was distracting and kind of bothersome. In fact, I wrote the first half of this review with the latter in the text and had to go back to fix them all.
- Use of "insure" instead of "ensure." Some people consider these interchangeable--I do not.
- Suddenly toward the middle of the book Dr. Greene is "sucking her teeth" all the time. I have never been fond of this mannerism to begin with (for some reason it's always used to show contemplation in "tough" people?), and overusing it doesn't make it any better. This mannerism dwindled later, thankfully.
- We need more ways of describing when people put the pedal to the metal other than "mashed on the gas."
- A guard at the KG park was first "smoking a joint," then when he flicks it away it's a "cigarette butt." Pretty sure those things aren't interchangeable.
Instances of Bizarre Phrasing, Stating the Obvious, Chronic Repetition & Over-Explaining
She [Dr. Greene] cocked the shotgun and pointed it to the sky. "Over here," she taunted, letting off a loud, but random blast.
We already know it's random because the gun was pointing toward the sky.
...Gene Monroe felt insistent hunger pains in his stomach. He looked down at the can of cold tomato soup in his hands and ravenously began spooning out the red broth with his hands. Everyone was eating, including the tall stranger. So, Grandpa Gene naturally followed suit.
Where else would the hunger pains be, if not in his stomach? Also, he was already hungry ("ravenous") before he saw everyone else eating, so why would his own hunger not be the impetus for him eating versus eating just because everyone else is like some kind of pack mentality?
Also, the weirdness of never just calling him "Gene"--we already established his last name and the fact that he is a grandfather. Why again? This continues throughout the book, where everyone is referred to by some combination of their given name, their given name and surname, or both (and Gene as "Grandpa Gene"). I am not sure if the author thought we would forget these details (as if they are even that important??) from chapter to chapter (or even paragraph to paragraph), was trying to change things up by not always referring to them by the name same, or what. Honestly, referring to the characters inconsistently was kind of confusing and irritating because it didn't seem to serve any purpose I could ascertain (these aren't some sort of courtly or high-falutin' society where people have several names depending on their station, rank, or familiarity--it is just different ways of identifying them by their given names).
We are repeatedly told that the canned soup they are eating is "cold." Anytime the soup is mentioned, it's "cold." Once that has been established, there is no reason to repeat it over and over. Also, how could it be cold? It was in Dr. Greene's backpack and they were eating it from the can. I think the author meant "room temperature" or "not heated up."
We are repeatedly told that Danny is spindly, long-legged, gangly, skinny, etc. We only need to be told this once, maybe twice. But every time he is talked about, we have to hear it again.
Kids complicated things, or maybe it was the other way around.
How could it be the other way around? Things complicate kids? I mean, I guess that could be true philosophically, but I don't think that's what the author meant and I can't figure out what he did mean since that isn't a point he was trying to make with this scene.
Kayla noted that the lenses were rather unusually thick, but they looked like eyeglasses all the same.
Since when do lenses being really thick render a pair of eyeglasses to not look like eyeglasses?
Kayla was so confident and capable that everyone just trusted her word.
It has already been thoroughly established that this is how we are to view Dr. Greene; we don't need to explicitly state it.
Kayla parked the car right in front of one of the mall's main entrances. She put the Ford Bronco in park...
If she parked the car, then the gear shift would already be in the "park" position. "Kayla stopped the car..." would have relieved this redundancy. Also, I have no idea why sometimes this author is so insistent on repeatedly naming things instead of just being more generic ("Ford Bronco" instead of "SUV" or "vehicle" when we already KNOW it's a Ford Bronco), particularly when other things aren't named at all (like the type of shotgun Kayla carries around).
"Just go for a couple of well-placed strikes to the crown of the head." She traced a circle on her own forehead to demonstrate the target area. "Or to the back of the head."
Uh, no. The "crown" of the head is at the top back of the skull, NOT THE FRONT AT THE FOREHEAD. It should read: "'Just go for a couple of well-placed strikes to the crown of the head.' She traced a circle on the back of her own skull to demonstrate the target area. 'Or to the forehead.'"
"I hope I never see [the world] the way you do. I don't ever want to become so desensitized to the sins of humanity ... that I can traipse about in someone else's home like a common thief."
I think the author is trying to say that Gene doesn't want to lose himself in the fight against the zombies by doing what he needs to do to survive (kind of like what Peeta tells Katniss in, I think, Catching Fire). But, this isn't worded quite right; however, I'm not sure I can explain how I feel it went awry. Desensitization isn't about changing behavior, it's about not noticing or being affected emotionally by something any longer. Further, the world is different now, there are lines of gray everywhere, humans must adapt, and you can't apply pre-apocalypse ideals to a post-apocalypse world. Gene saying it's "morally wrong" to take things from the abandoned homes of people who are either dead or lost so he can eat (and thereby survive) is just... naive and silly, especially for an ex-military person. Gene would rather die than "rob" an abandoned home for nourishment or weapons?
Kayla put on her sunglasses (even though it was quite dark outside) to complete her tough girl face. ... The moon was just a bright speck in the sky now, but its warm glow streaked across the whole cul-de-sac in thin, piercing sheets. Kayla shaded her eyes with her hand and thumbed the head of the hammer.
Uh. If it's dark outside AND she has sunglasses on, why is she shading her eyes like it's brightest noon? Even if the moon were completely full, this still doesn't make sense.
There were cars in many of the driveways but at least Kayla had the presence of mind to hide their SUV inside the garage.
If this is about preventing it from being stolen, that might make sense (though then people could just break into the garages if they were really that determined). But, this is more like trying to indicate how clever and forward-thinking Dr. Greene is at hiding the fact that they are in the house? Which makes zero sense. Apocalypse or not, just because there is a car in the driveway doesn't mean people are home, and just because there is no car in the driveway doesn't mean no one is home.
Another Decedent crowded into the garage and reached for Kayla's legs through the [SUV] window just as the Ford Bronco roared to life. Kayla kicked at it furiously until she could get a good enough angle to smash its head with the hammer.
I don't understand so many of these car scenes with fighting. How could she kick at it through the window if she's sitting down?
Final Thoughts
I feel conflicted about this book. Even though there were so many problems right from the beginning, I kept reading when I have abandoned other books for less. I think maybe because, despite the countless flaws, I feel like there is potential here. I still finished it, I still wanted to know what would happen (and what will happen in the next book), there is nothing in this review here that couldn't be avoided in the future with a decent editorial lookover by someone who is critical and aware enough, there was some actual character growth even if they still are kind of all caricatures, I had a delightful time writing this review which helped me enjoy the book, the plot and world building were not overly complicated or annoyingly open-ended, the writing tried too hard at times but was actually very good overall with some good descriptors that gave the book levity and atmosphere. I think I'll close out this review with some of my favorite examples of those:
- squishy thud
- creep over to them like a lioness
- her eyes never left the mall's open jaws
- there were a few Decedent corpses sprinkled into the fleshly mix
- lethargic shuffling
- heavy dead hand
- It was the store manager, coming to confront the brazen thieves who dared loot his over-priced merchandise. As punishment, he would break their limbs and dine on their eyeballs.
- desperately empty
- [after Amber uses her golf club on a Decedent] a clod of flesh kicked out of the man's head
- fell to the floor with a commotion of glass and girth
- She felt like coughing as the warm liquid snaked down her throat, but once it hit her stomach it settled sublimely.
- looming over them like a stocky castle
- the entire warehouse erupted like an angry ant hill
- Amber looked in a rear view mirror and saw Dr. Greene standing directly in front of the approaching horde like an iron rod.
- sized up the dense pack of anonymous faces that used to belong to names and souls
- she felt the anxiety of fear creeping through her veins
- feel the hot, noxious breath of the undead man frothing down over her
- a few drips of ageless spittle
- and the metal latch clipped her heartstrings on the way out
- she was draped like a discarded coat against the worn padding of the bar… (altro)
Statistiche
- Opere
- 5
- Utenti
- 17
- Popolarità
- #654,391
- Voto
- 4.2
- Recensioni
- 6
- ISBN
- 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEEfYFsZXBw
Enjoy!