Mark Wilson (14)

This is the sort of book that makes you resent all the unnecessary interruptions in life like work, eating, and sleep. It embodies one-more-chapter syndrome. Hell of a thing to start reading right after just losing an hour of sleep to Daylight Saving Time*.

Wonderful character development, exciting battles, and answers to so many questions. I raged. I teared up. I felt connected. Despite it being a prequel and me knowing exactly how things were going to pan out in the end, I still felt drawn into the story. And that can only be accomplished with truly excellent writing.… (plus d'informations)

I was thrilled to be asked to be a beta-reader for this book. Partially because I was excited to participate in the book process, but mainly because it meant I didn't have to wait any longer for the next part of the story.

Alliances continues with all the aspects of Vantages which I loved so much: well-developed and unique cultures, clear and resonant descriptions which suck you right into the action, touches of humor, genuinely strong and credible characters, and themes which reach beyond the basic plot. This time, however, there is less romance and the style is something of an interesting twist on a classic adventure. All of which made me happy.

And the ending? Epic. Absolutely epic.… (plus d'informations)

Wowwowwow! So much to love!

I love the subcultures that formed in the aftermath of the zombie plague. I especially delighted in the religious concepts behind The Brotherhood and The Exalted. I though those were brilliant.

I'm thrilled to see genuinely strong female characters. Characters that do some saving and sometimes need some saving right alongside their male counterpoints. It's great that toughness wasn't a trait reserved for only main characters either.

Mark Wilson also has a nice descriptive style that pulls you right in to the action and make his world so easy to visualize.

And the end! Oh. Nicely done, sir, nicely done.

I didn't care for the romance because I am that reader whose eyes autonomically roll back into their skull when a love story pops up. With that said, it was tolerable and inoffensive. It did not overwhelm the story or even rear its mushy little head too often.

On a somewhat less subjective note, in chapter 19 as Joey and Alys are reacting to descriptions of pre-zombie life, the author hits the zombie to modern man metaphor a bit too hard. Great analogy, but I think a more subtle presentation would have been preferable. It just sort of screamed METAPHOR for a brief moment.

The biggest criticism I have is regarding one scene which just didn't read emotionally true for me. I include it in the following spoiler tag as it reveals a delightfully gruesome surprise and I wouldn't want to deny anyone the pleasure of the reaction I had to it. Joey and Alys are smiling and flirting while her cousin lies unconscious on the ground with her eyeball hanging out. Really? I just don't find that credible. It was especially disappointing considering how competent both characters had been portrayed as being and suddenly they're mooning at each other while her cousin's eye is hanging out of her skull. Just no.

With all the animadversion above, the 5 star rating might seem in err. However, the book was overall a thrill to read and difficult to put down to do other stupid things such as work or eat or sleep. The end was a powerhouse and I want more story NOW!… (plus d'informations)