Review: A Man of the Code
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 11, 2013
First, let me say "30 Minute Plan" was a great read. I rarely find authors whose works I can flow through in one sitting, but the plot, action and dialogue was terrific. Fans of "The Walking Dead" will enjoy this one.This novella is a zombie story, but it's a fresh look into the genre so, as you're reading, you don't get this feeling that you've somehow read or seen this before. I appreciate that, the fact that you can bring a fresh angle to something that has been flipped over and over again.A little bit about the plot: Danton is a former convict turned "dog" (a zombie-killing foot soldier, a.k.a. grunt) that goes out into the field to fight Ziggies (zombies) and execute tests created by the "brains" (human scientists). The dogs have a code of honor, never leave another dog to the ziggies. If a dog is bit, they're put on the thirty minute plan, in which time they can either die honorably (a form of harakiri, except with a pistol instead of a blade to the belly like in samurai culture) or humanely (a fellow dog executes the infected).Getting back to the storyline, on one expedition, the brains have them spraying strawberry and lemon scents at packs of zombies. One of the dog's, Cargill, accidentally sprays himself with the lemon scented chemical. Once this is completed, the soldiers return to base, but all is not safe as a pack of lemon scented zombies bust into the compund and take Cargill away, mistaking him as one of their own.Presumed dead, the dogs and the brains are surprised to hear from him days later, learning he is still alive and well in the pack that took him away. Some believe this is a trick to lure them out into the field, that Cargill is no longer a human being. They decide not to seek him out.Danton, hellbent on preserving the code of the dog, decides he will go out and give Cargill a proper sendoff if he finds him to be a ziggy. Once Danton leaves the compound, the story takes some very cool twists and the action and flow of the plot takes the reader on a tour of hell as Danton sinks deeper and deeper into the quicksand adventure he has stumbled into.This novella should not be free but, since it is, readers need to jump on it.