Review: A Solid Enjoyable Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 18, 2012
A very well done zompocalypse book. The writing, plotting, pacing and characterization are all handled well. Only rarely does the interaction of the characters hit a false or forced note, which is a major plus in this sub-genre and this alone puts this title ahead of most of it's competition. Both the action sequences and the slower paced interludes are well written, and both the actions and reactions of the characters stay consistent pretty much throughout.The only quibbles I had with this book are minor. One, the first couple of pages start off with the main protagonist telling us what he is doing eight months after the viral outbreak, then it suddenly jumps back in time and tells the tale of the first couple of weeks of the outbreak. Nothing really unusual in that, however, the story never returns to the "present" and therefore it seems a bit disjointed. Two, the story ends rather abruptly. I suspect this is an indication of a sequel to come, but it was a bit too jarring and could have been handled better. Three, a pet peeve, though it's nice to see a book in this sub-genre with a title that doesn't contain the words "zombie" or "dead", 'The King of Clayfield' really doesn't have anything to do with the story. Again, I suspect this, as well as quibble one and two, has something to do with one or more upcoming sequels. Should that be the case, then I will be more than happy to have these quibbles resolved with more excellent zombie tale telling!Bottom line- I highly recommend this book to fans of end-of-the-world fiction.