Autumn

In less than a day, 99% of the population died because of an unknown virus. The few survivors are shocked and gather together for safety in a community. Then some of the many corpses start to walk around. Most of the survivors start to panic and turn on each other, so Michael, Carl, and Emma decide to go off by themselves and find a safer place to stay. They find a secluded farm house in a rural area and opt to settle there for the time being. Then the walking corpses seem to be more aware and gather around people or things that make noise. The survivors don't know what to make of this new development, so they try to avoid the dead and make a new life for themselves. Then, they start to attack the survivors. Michael, Carl, and Emma realize the danger they are in. The walking dead keep coming in huge numbers and are attracted to the light from the house and every sound they make. Can they figure out a way to survive in this world full of corpses dead set on destroying them?

Autumn is a good, solid zombie book. The writing style and plot really drew me in from the very first pages. Others have complained that the pacing is too slow, but I disagree. The focus of the book isn't on the zombies, but the emotions and conflict between the human characters. It takes time to illustrate detailed characters, their different lives, and their connections with each other. This situation seemed much more plausible and realistic to me. The survivors are upset because practically everyone they know is dead and of course their minds aren't instantly going to go to zombie apocalypse. They are confused and don't really know what to do or why everything is happening. Emotions are running high, causing them to make unwise decisions and lash out at each other out of fear or anger. This is how people act in extreme situations. Michael, Carl, and Emma all have their own unique things to deal with and aren't perfect characters. They doubt themselves and agonize over what would be best to do. No one is confident in their course of action in this post-apocalyptic world. The survivors' actions made sense to me and illustrated what real people would do in a horrible situation.

This isn't your typical zombie book. There aren't gobs of blood and gore drenching every page, but there is definitely potential for more in the next book. I really enjoyed the quiet, slow burn of the book. It is reminiscent of John Ajvide Lindqvist's Handling the Undead. I would recommend this to zombie fans that don't mind a more casual pace and a more cerebral approach to the zombie genre. I can't wait until the next book comes out.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins