Autumn
Originally self-published and offered as a free download, Moody’s sluggish apocalyptic survival story follows three characters as they deal with the aftereffects of a virus that kills most of the population, then turns them into zombies. When the dead first rise, they are harmless and unresponsive, but eventually they regain their most basic senses and turn violent. Most survivors, having become accustomed to the undead being rather benign, are unprepared for this change and perish quickly (though regrettably off-page), but Michael, Carl, and Emma, barricaded in an isolated farmhouse, remain secure—for a little while. While the staged progression of the virus makes for an interesting premise, the execution is lacking, with excruciatingly slow pacing, repetitive dialogue, and characters as dull and aimless as the dead. While the story picks up around the 200-page mark, concluding with an exciting escape scene that leaves two of the characters’ fates undecided, zombie fans may want to give this first in the Autumn series a pass and read Moody’s superior Hater (2009) instead. --Krista Hutley