Review: Starts really strong, falls flat once the action starts
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 22, 2014
Parts of this story are beautifully written and I think the author has a lot of potential.  It just felt as if once the situation was set up, the author lost interest in the story.This is the story of a young man growing up in a society recovering from the ravages of a zombie outbreak.  Life in his community is stark and focused on survival.  There is a sudden break in routine when a travelling circus arrives and he has to decide if he will defy authority and visit the circus.  There is a sense of magic in this story and there is beauty in how Blackburn writes.  However, the story is fatally undercut by the author's choice to have his main character -- our only narrator -- be unconscious during the main part of the action and then jumping over key details in what feels like a mad rush to end the tale.  The strength of the earlier sections makes the end that much more disappointing.