Review: A delightful novel with a solid relatable central character
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 8, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this well-crafted and plotted zombie survival novel. An especially attractive attribute is the author's decision to tell her story through the senses and thoughts of her central character.  This gives Hayden a range and depth to her which is compellingly empathetic.I've deducted One Star for two relatively minor quibbles. First, character dialog is somewhat twee and stilted at times. For example, different characters often tend to "speak" alike - a big no-no. Maybe it's me but this problem gets less pronounced as the book progresses, yet this does hint at the author's "still learning" status. Dialog-heavy narrative is always a hard row to plough, but it is essential to get right since it is the primary means of adding patina to characters.  Second, the author's lack of experience with weapons and close quarter (melee) battle is acutely obvious.  (Suggestions: visit a shooting range and immerse youself in action novels from the likes of Andy McNab and Chris Ryan.)Overall, this novel is a little cracker, unquestionably endorsed as a fine read and amazing value for its risible price.