Review: This World After
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 28, 2012
Dang it - don't you hate when the zombies come and it brings out the worst in the neighbors??  And I am not talking the zombie neighbors although they are bad enough. I am talking the murders, rapists, torturers, etc.. Can't we all just get along and not fight over that last can of baked beans?  Although, in this book, it is not the food but the women that are being treated like the wishbone in the Thanksgiving turkey...The concept in This World After is not new - the zombies come and we must scramble to survive.  What makes it a really good book is the characters.  They are just so likeable!  I mean seriously - you like each and every one of them (except the bad guys that is!).Our main leader is Jack.  Now, Jack was my kind of guy from the very beginning - mainly because he drove a jeep that he LOVED and he named her.  That is what I do with all of my vehicles so I knew he was a good guy.  He didn't even need to rescue Anne to prove that point.  Jack is in his mind, an average guy.  Currently single, thinking he is nothing special.  He rode out the month or so alone and has decided to hit the road to see what he can find out there.  Anne was holed up in her apartment and feeling secure until some guys started joy riding and shooting up the place.  This was enough to her decide to head east to Nebraska or Kansas to check out new places and look for other people.  Poor Anne didn't get five miles away before she was attacked by two guys that decided that she would make a fun addition for rape and mayhem and is rescued by Jack.  She is the first "stray" that he gathers and they decide to travel on together.Along their journey, it turns out that Jack is good at gathering people even when he doesn't want to be responsible for them and finds himself with a group of around 40 people.  They make a camp at the top of a road where no one can see them and begin their new lives.We meet other characters that find their way to the camp and learn their back stories as well.  It is a diverse group that comes together and turns into a close core group of approximately six people that are responsible for the rest of the members.  We have an "odd couple" with a 13 yr old boy (who is mature beyond his age) that is in love with a 19 yr old girl (does it count as cougar if she isn't old enough to vote?) - after all he rescues her and keeps them both alive and becomes Jack's right hand man/boy.  Sue and her daughter are rescued along with Matt and his neighbor's child that he saved.  Sue is the "overly friendly" one that is referred to in another review (which made me laugh when I read it!) and gives the best advice.  We also have an ex police man, a group of bikers, an escaped tortured woman and her ward, and more...It is true, as the other reviewer said, a LOT of dialogue and planning goes into the decision of what they should do about the "bad guys" that are on the other side of town.  After all, we know they are bad because they keep women on leashes and tortured Jo until she escaped.  Something has to be done but do they leave town and ignore the issue?  Do they kill them all?  And would they even have enough people that COULD kill them?  After all, it is much more difficult to take a human life, even a bad human, than it is a zombie...This book is more about relationships and people than it is about zombies.  The zombies are almost an afterthought.  Most of the "action" is dialogue between the individuals and how they grow as people and into their cohesive group.  That is not a bad thing at all - just don't expect a lot of gore and gratuitous violence and chopping off of heads of dead people and black blood and brains every other chapter.  Instead, you are going to get people who are planning for their futures and working to have a life, not just an existence.It could have been shorter without taking away from the storyline and there are some grammatical errors but not enough to make you scream at the author.What I loved:  the diverse, well developed characters, the dialogue, the moral discussions, and yes, all the touchy/feely kissing between the friends.  After all, this is the zombie apocalypse and you should show your love today because they may be food tomorrow...This World After is a good addition to your library - I recommend that you pick it up today!  And I will be waiting for a sequel to find out what happens to Jack, Anne, Gary, Jess, Sue, Tiny, Maria, and the rest of the gang next!!