Review: Nice Change of Pace
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2014
I enjoyed this book from a new author and found it to be a nice change of pace in the zombie genre.  The "Zombie Rules" are the life lessons propagated by Zach, a not so unlikely 16 year old zombie outbreak survivor.  They seem like a take off from the movie "Zombieland" but are none the less, pretty insightful.  Our first person view of Zach shows a kid who is smarter and mentally tougher than his classmates even though they do not see his brains as a real survival tool.Zach is an orphan being raised by his grandmother and he has already lived a life with plenty of hard knocks, so adjusting to the zombie apocalypse did not leave him overwhelmed.  Okay,  not too overwhelmed.  This is a kid who hardens up pretty quick once the zombies and "real" people start trying to kill him, and he is always planning ahead.  The book has plenty of surprises and some complicated characters often not seen in this genre.  I cannot write much more without risking spoilers, but this author has a nice touch at hitting the homely, everyday elements of survival that are often overlooked.  I appreciated the detail as it explains later why some characters are starving while Zach and his people are making their way just fine, but I saw some reviewers complaining about the slow parts.  Be warned, this book is not all explosions and car chases, thoguh there is plenty of action, but the author chose to actually explain how some things get done.In all, I truly found this book entertaining and thoughtful in a way not often seen in a zombie story.  This is not "great literature" but the story is well told and the editing is sufficient for an indie book.  As a final note, I saw one reviewer commenting on the unlikelihood of a 16 year old kid knowing how to raise cattle and I wondered if that person bothered to read the first few chapters describing his after school job working on a farm, raising cattle.  If you like zombie books with complex characters and intersting dynamics, do not pass up this book.