Review: A Journal of the Crazy Year
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 18, 2013
This is a unique take on a "zombie" type of book which made it fun and interesting!A large comet is coming toward Earth - no, it isn't going to crash into us but lots of strange side effects may (or may not depending on who you believe!) of it coming into our orbit.The man character is a man who is extremely intelligent, highly amusing, and apparently crazy.  Or, at least he used to be....John Cruz wakes up in a mental hospital.  A basically deserted mental hospital with no idea how he got there or why he is there.  Imagine his surprise when he finds out that he has actually BEEN there for three years!  The reason it is deserted?  Because all of the "insane" are now becoming "sane" and no one knows why.  John is actually one of the last "holdouts" to the miraculous cure of people all over the world.Unfortunately, for the rest of the world, others are now falling ill to a strange ailment.  They either a. fall asleep and don't wake up b.  fall asleep, eventually wake up and are okay or c.  turn extremely violent and behave "like zombies" in that they attack and "eat" the people that they subdue in their violent fits.The story follows John as he is released from the institution and then tries to start his life again with his wife, Maria, who has patiently stood by all these years waiting for him to "wake" from his catatonic state.This is a story of survival from "the crazies" and figuring out what is going on.  The twists and turns make it hard to put down (thanks for no sleep that night when I found myself finishing it up at 4 am on a work night!) and the ending was just so unexpectedly PERFECT.It is not your "traditional" zombie book but it is full of moral dilemmas, things that make you think deeply (Dante's Circles of Hell for example) and an overall great read.You will get some gore but mainly, you will get a story of the love a man has for his wife and how he will do anything to make sure that she survives.Enjoy!