Book Review: Dust and Decay by John Maberry

 

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also been six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them.

But before they even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town, and as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers, and the horrors of Gameland—where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

 In the great Rot & Ruin, everything wants to kill you. And not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will survive…. (description from amazon.com)

My thoughts:

I loved John Maberry's first book in the series, Rot and Ruin. It happens to be a 2013 Connecticut Nutmeg nominee! I would love for it to win, but I suspect that Matched by Ally Condie will. I loved Matched, but Rot and Ruin is a great book that deserves some recognition. The fact that it is a zombie story will keep it from winning. The subject matter isn't for everyone. Can't compete with a dystopian love story. 

I waited and waited for Dust and Decay to come back to the library (someone took their own sweet time). Ugh. Finally came in and I loved it.  Just as much as I did the first. Yeah!  Sometimes the second book in a trilogy is just a set up for the third book and the story remains stagnant and so do the characters.  Not this one.

Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong actually grew a lot in this book. A lot. Benny is learning more about what happened First Night and therefore gains a lot of respect for his brother Tom. Nix is healing from the loss of her mother, Lilah is learning to live with and interact with people, and Chong, he learns what the Rot and Ruin is really about, and ends up surprising himself.  A relationship or two might have developed, and I like the fact that the author was able to keep it awkward and teenage-like while they are killing zombies in the middle of the apocalypse.

As for the story itself, Mr. Maberry does a decent job of reintroducing you to what happened in Book One. I did not feel the need to even skim Rot and Ruin, even though I had it right by my side. We see the introduction of a lot of new characters; many of them the bounty hunters that were introduced in the first book. Loved Sally Two-Knives and the Greenman. We see the return of a major problem character from the first book. Without spoiling the story, it was filled with action, gore and surprisingly for a zombie book, a lot of emotion. I was not prepared for the ending.  I have the third book in the series, Flesh and Bone, on reserve from the library and hope to read it soon.