Books in Brief: Zombie Edition!

Whilst its fun writing reviews for the books I'm reading now, I keep regretting that I've read so many great books previously. I really want to share them, but they just aren't fresh enough in my memory for a full review. As a result I've decided to try out a new feature of sorts: Books in Brief, where I will write a very diddy review of 3-4 books I want to talk about, linked by some sort of common theme. Today, I'm starting with zombies.

First up is The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell. 

In one of my favourite books of 2012 we follow 15 year old Temple across a devastating wasteland as she runs not just from zombies, but a vengeful man determined to see her dead. Temple is brilliant, and broken. Growing up post-apocalypse has made her tough, and she does what it takes to survive with a hardened calm which masks the terrors of her past. Although written in third person, the narrative carries Temple's distinctive voice, which is part of what makes the book so memorable. You can see what I mean from the very first line:

“God is a slick god. Temple Knows. She knows because of all the crackerjack miracles still to be seen on this ruined globe.”

I was hooked from there, and even once I finished the book her voice seemed to linger in my head. This quote also leads into another thing I loved about this one: Temple's ability to see the beauty that exists even in her ravaged world. It's a reminder that no matter how dark your situation, the sparks of light are always there if you look for them.

A beautifully written book, with a protagonist I adored and some memorable supporting characters. I had to give it 5 stars.

Next is This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers.

In This is Not a Test Sloane Price and 5 of her schoolmates take refuge in their old school to hide from a world which is falling to pieces outside. As they listen to the zombies clamouring at the doors, fear and mistrust stretches the tensions between the group of teens to breaking point.

Sloane stands out from other zombie apocalypse protagonists in that instead of fighting to stay alive, all she really wants to do is die. In an ironic twist of fate, the disaster actually saves her life in the first chapter, when she is preparing to end it. Swept up in events, as her companions cling to survival she remains detached, quietly working out the best time to leave for good.

This is Not a Test is a book which contains zombies, but is not really about them. It is what happens within the walls of the school which is important, and the way humanity, when frightened, can be as dangerous as any supernatural monster. Summers' characters are believably flawed and sometimes frustrating, but hard to dislike. In terms of plot and pacing I was always on the edge of my seat, as the tension was palpable throughout. Whilst it wasn't on the same level as The Reapers are the Angels for me, I rated This is Not a Test a very decent 4 stars.

Finally we have The Infects by Sean Beaudoin.

After an incident at the chicken processing factory where he works, Nick is sent to boot camp with an assortment of misbehaving teens. However things take an unusual turn when their camp counsellors suddenly develop a taste for human flesh. Joining forces with another group, which happens to include Nick's school/work colleague and crush, Petal, they fight to stay alive.

Honestly, I can't say I enjoyed this one very much. I never really cared about any of the characters, and the pervasive puerile humour wasn't really my style. I also felt like it tries just a bit too hard to be clever, which turned me off. There are a lot of references to popular Zombie films, most of which I haven't seen, so its possible parts were going over my head. Maybe I would have enjoyed the book more if this wasn't the case, but I do have to point out that my ignorance never stopped me enjoying the equally derivative Shaun of the Dead.

The Infects just escapes a 1 star rating because despite my complaints it did keep me reading, and an interesting twist made it just about worth making it to the end. I also thought Nick's relationship with his sister was quite sweet. As a result, I'm bumping it up to 2 stars.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Any other zombie books you would recommend?  Let me know in the comments below. :) Happy Easter all!

REVIEW: The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson

When I was little my favourite film was E.T. I loved it so much that at one point I insisted on watching it every single day. Needless to say, my family were soon sick of it, but apparently I was a difficult child to bore. I never got tired of watching that movie and a while later, when I learned to read, I was exactly the same with books.

Whenever my current stack of library loans was exhausted, out would come the favourites. Harry Potter, The Hobbit and His Dark Materials were all very well-thumbed. I could never get tired of diving back into those worlds, drinking up the details I might have missed before and greeting the characters like old friends. And I'm definitely not alone in that! But there are some books which, whilst they're absolute classics in my eyes, don't seem to get quite the attention they deserve out in the wide world.

so, to finally reach the point of this rambling introduction, I decided to revisit and review one of my childhood treasures: The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson.

Synopsis (Goodreads)

The magic in the Valley is dying.

In the forest, the cedar trees whisper the news. The age-old spell can no longer protect the land from its enemies.

Four companions must find the sorcerer who conjured the ancient power. He has not been seen for centuries, hidden in the dark heart of an evil Empire. Their journey is desperately dangerous, and the travellers are shadowed by a mysterious figure. Is the shape-changing Ropemaker their ally? Or a deadly enemy? And does he command the deepest magic of all? That weaves and unweaves the great rope that is time itself...

Review

Our heroine, Tilja, lives in a small community isolated from the rest of the world by impassable mountains and a forest which strikes down all men who enter with a mysterious sickness. This is a miraculous boon for the people of the valley, as it allows them to live in peace, protected the cruel empire which lies beyond. However, as we enter the story the legendary magic of the forest is failing and danger looms. To save the valley, Tilja and her companions (a boy called Tahl and interestingly, their grandmother and grandfather respectively) must venture beyond it, in search of the magician who cast the original spell of protection. The hunt takes them into a tyrannical realm where magic is real but strictly regulated, and you cannot even die special without permission from the emperor.

Though The Ropemaker takes place in a fantasy world, the focus is very much on the characters rather than the backdrop (although this doesn't mean the setting isn't both well thought out and compelling- it is!). I fell in love with nearly everyone in this book, especially the grandparents, Meena and Alnor. Having two elderly characters playing such an active role in a YA novel is so refreshing. And then there is Calico. She may just be a pony, but with her cantankerous personality she as memorable as any of her human companions (And I'm a real sucker for books which treat animals as significant, rather than background props).

I must have journeyed with Tilja and co. at least 10 or so times over the years, so I feel qualified enough to recommend this book unreservedly. It's original and highly readable, whether you are exploring the twists and turns for the first time or gleefully anticipating them.

REVIEW: Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver

Summary (Goodreads)
I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead. But the old Lena is dead too. I buried her. I left her beyond a fence, behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite

Review
WOW. Okay, I have to admit I was putting off reading this book. I absolutely love-love-loved Delirium, but I was so scared that Pandemonium would go off in the wrong direction, I didn't dare start it! Now of course I realise how stupid that was, because it was wonderful and had me glued to the page from start to finish.

The chapters in Pandemonium switch between two time frames: "Then", which follows Lena when she first arrives in the Wilds, and "Now", in which she is involved in a Resistance mission. I actually really liked this format as it kept things fresh. I could never stop reading because I was so desperate to keep finding out what was happening in the different sections! Lauren Oliver kept them very well balanced, and I never found myself aching for one and skimming the other, as I sometimes do when two stories are intersected in this way.

I loved Lena in Delirium and I love the new, tougher Lena just as much, if not more. I don't want to give too much away, but I think it's pretty much a given that there's going to be some sort of romantic element going on here. As worried as I was that I wasn't going to like this, I really did. Perhaps not as much as I adored Alex & Lena in Delirium, but still!

Of course there were plenty of new characters to meet and there were quite a few who stood out to me. Raven was deliciously complex and though I hated her at times, I could completely understand whey she behaved the way she did. From the very first scene with Julian I was dying to know more about him and I wasn't disappointed. I felt so sorry for him and admired his bravery throughout. I also liked Tack a lot, I really hope he'll have a decent part in book 3 because he remains a bit of an enigma here.

I'm really struggling to come up with any negatives for this book. I suppose at times the foreshadowing was a little heavy-handed. There was one point when I wanted to scream at Lena because she kept saying that she had a bad feeling about something but she never did anything about it. Also the ending... I just knew it was going to happen and when it did I have to say it felt like a bit of a cheap trick. Also: meanest cliffhanger ever! It does makes me worry a little about the direction Requiem will take. However I'm pretty sure even if my fears were to come true, Lauren Oliver would still pull it off wonderfully.

She is definitely amongst my very favourite writers. She has such a beautiful way with words and I often found myself wanting to stop and flag or copy down a particularily lyrical phrase. Whilst some books get bogged down with pretty words and forget about the plot and characters though, Lauren Oliver keeps both very engaging throughout. There are a lot of tense and action-packed moments in this book and at times I honestly found I was holding my breath and could feel my heart beating faster as I read! Overall it's easy for me to say that I absolutely adored this book, and I cannot wait to read the final instalment in 2013, no matter what happens!