Tag Archives: dystopian

World Between (by Sarah Lyons Fleming)

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Dystopian / Zombies

Rose, Tom, Clara, Holly, Mitch, Jesse and Craig return for book two of the Cascadia series.

They have settled into the fairgrounds in Eugene, OR and they are making the most of it. But Rose’s relationship with her ex-husband is hostile and the soldiers who control the safe zone are little more than feudal overlords. And with hundreds of people all crammed together and living on top of each other the zombies are the least of their problems.

One crisis follows another and before the end they will once again be fighting for their lives.

World Between continues what will eventually be a four book series. Sarah Lyons Fleming is a master of this particular sub-genre and her books are all entertaining page-turners that flip between urban fantasy, science fiction, horror and perhaps just a little romance. She somehow manages to make it work.

5 Stars.

Reckoning in an Undead Age (by A.M. Geever)

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Horror / Speculative Fiction

Every genre / sub-genre has rules and tropes. Coded language that readers of the genre intuitively understand. One example would be the covers of the books in this series, they speak to readers of dystopian fiction right down to the colours chosen. There are things you expect, shortcuts in telling the story that rely on the readers understanding of the genre.

Any good author will know the rules, but a great author will know how to get away with breaking them.

And that brings us to the Undead Age series. I’ve read a lot of books in this genre, but I haven’t read any books that have broken this many rules.

And somehow A.M. Geever gets away with it. I’m the first to admit that it took me a while to figure out what the hell was going on in book one, but once I figured it out, it blew my mind.

Reckoning in an Undead Age is the last book in the series. The events of book two destroyed lives and ruined those who were left behind. Miranda and Mario are grieving, trudging through depression and both are coping in different ways. Miranda has pushed those she loves away while Mario has stepped onto the path of revenge.

And that is what this book is about. Grief, depression and ultimately redemption. But more lives will be lost a long the way.

Many thanks to the author who provided me with a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Love in an Undead Age (by A.M. Geever)

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Zombies / Dystopian

It’s not always easy to define zombie books.
At one end they are a sub-genre of Horror, but they can also be a sub-genre of Romance and even humour.
I’ve always had a basic model of what a zombie book is, based on a bunch of recurring themes and archetypes.
There are of course brain eating undead.
They usually come from the south. There is a plucky band of survivors. A Walmart. A fort. I could go on but you get the idea.
I guess those things are the rules of the genre.

Authors love breaking rules but I haven’t read a zombie book that has broken this many of them.

First of all Love in an Undead Age is set years after the zombie apocalypse. There is a vaccine and that vaccine is controlled by the City Council. Surviving infection is all about getting vaccinated but the council are anything but benevolent.

In something of a cold war with the council is the Jesuit priests. They don’t have the vaccine but control much of the food. They also have an audacious plan to make the vaccine available to all.

And there you have the basic premise.

I loved this book if for no other reason than it is so different from everything else. It’s not an easy book. It’s quite dense and the set-up was tough going but when it clicks into gear it’s a runaway train.

Many thanks to the author who provided me with this review copy.  

Storm of Locusts (by Rebecca Roanhorse)

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Dystopia / Urban Fantasy

When the waters rose gods and monsters were set free and once again walk amongst us. Maggie is a Navajo monster hunter, the God Killer. She killed coyote and trapped Neizghani (Book 1: Trail of Lightning), now a new threat has emerged. A cult led the elusive White Locust has kidnapped two of her friends and Maggie is determined to rescue them.

Occasionally a writer comes along who changes everything in a genre.
They make you excited again.
It’s like everything is right with the world.

Mark Henwick is one of those authors. He took an old idea and made it exciting and surprising again.
And Rebecca Roanhorse is one of those authors as well.

She takes themes I’ve read before. Things I’ve seen dozens of times. But she saturates them with authenticity and somehow makes them original. I wish I knew more about the myths and lore of the Diné –– I don’t but this book feels right, it feels respectful of the Navajo people and their traditions, and I love it for that.

But it’s much more than that.  It’s a book that will suck you in and entertain you until the very last page.