Review: A terrific third book- brutally realistic... 5 Stars.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 27, 2013
"Death Springs Eternal" is a the third of four books in 'The Rift' series by author Robert Duperre with illustrations by Jesse David Young.This Kindle e-book was a 1397 Kb download (approx. 348 printed pages) and sold for $3.95 at the time of writing this review.Please Note: the author provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Spoilers (general theme)With the Zombie/Wraith  infestation  spreading across the land most of surviving humanity has been relegated to isolated pockets. The largest and most organized of these has been in Richmond, Virginia where self appointed General Alexander Bathgate has decided to set up the new capital of the USA. The problem is that his ranking is in name only... having procured his uniform from an injured 5 Star General who he accidentally came across and then murdered. The army at his command is made up of remnants of few scattered army personnel but most are comprised of nothing more than small town vigilante-type militias. A mixture as unstable as any you'd likely come across... where decency and civility become rarer by the day.End SpoilersSome thoughts on "Death Springs Eternal"...1.) well written with a great sense of pace and timing. Also the action vs drama ratio is spot on, making this book hard to put down.2.) brutally realistic... with little or no tempering authoritative counterbalance, human depravity runs unchecked.3.) many people can be grievously injured or die. Adding a sense of realism to this incredible tale... the difference here is that he numbers are larger than in most books of this ilk.4.) the impressive character development continues.5.) haunting drawings at the end of each chapter by illustrator Jesse David Yound add their own impact ot this extraordinary tale.Impressions:The glimmer of hope that was seen at the end of the second book was effectively extinguished in this one. But the thing with this novel is that you begin to realize that if there ever was any apocalyptic event, that this is very likely what the world and its surviving pockets of civilization would develop into... many small and a few larger, despotic enclaves.As the author says in his notes about this particular story, 'happy endings are in short supply'.And finally, a personal observation. My favorite sub-story... Chapter 5: "The Sad, Sad tale of Brandon Hawthrorne". A stunning and brilliant diversion.Conclusions:A terrific third book... maybe the best so far.This is one of the best Zombies/apocalyptic series I've ever read... bar none. And it's the quality of writing and story-telling that separates this work from so many of its brethren of the same genre.As it is... 5 Stars.Ray Nicholsonraynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com