Zom-B

Darren Shan

Little Brown

$14.99, 174 pages, young adult

Reviewed by: Amy Shane 

An in your face zombie thriller with open jaws gnashing at your face. Zom-B can only be described as a shudder inducing assault to your senses.  Zom-B is a horrific zombie tale that got it right. Fast paced and a very quick read.

Taking root on the streets of London, with a main character named “B” and his vile unrelenting father, who in the book could only be described as- “a bully, a wife beater, a racist, and a hateful nasty sod.” Shortly after the news coverage of an alleged zombie attack outbreak in Ireland, people in London quickly dismiss it as an internet hoax. Throwing caution to the wind and continuing on with their normal lives. However when B arrives at school and ends up trapped in the auditorium for an assembly, his life suddenly takes a turn for the worse and he quick learns this is not a hoax.

While the zombie action was intense, the unlikeable characters were nearly impossible to relate to, and left you with a main character you are suppose to hate and despise.

The unrelenting racist comments and continual bullying by B were almost too much to stomach.  However, if that is too much for you, you will never make it through the graphic zombie attacks. These attacks are often very violent and are described in great detail.  The scenes highlight the horrors of zombies, as flesh is torn off bodies and intestines are splayed before you.

Taking just over 100 pages to get into any zombie action normally isn’t bad, however with this book only being 178 pages, waiting for the action to start was pure agony. Only after finishing this book did I find out that this book is the building block to a 12 part series, relinquishing you to the fact that the lengthy start and complex character building is purposeful to the building of a lengthy series. However, once the action hits the pages with its brutal intensity, no character is safe.  It propels you through to the end, wrapping you in enough intrigue to keep you engrossed.

Zombie and horror fans alike will delight in this book.  It leaves you with that queasy feeling in your stomach when you realize that this is only the beginning.  It’s not for the faint of heart, but is great for horror fans of all ages.

About Russ Thompson

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