Dark of Night by Jonathan Maberry

Desdemona Fox was part of a caravan of buses transporting children out of her hometown. Unfortunately, they were separated from the rest and stranded by an EMP. She has to find a sace place for the kids before they are eaten by zombies or killed by scavengers. Joe Ledger is travelling with his dog, helping those who need help and killing those who hurt others. Rachael Elle used to be a cosplayer and now is a warrior against the undead. She is part of a community and seeks to find people who need help. All of them will eventually meet up and find themselves fighting against a very human threat.

Dark of Night is a novella continuation of the Dead of Night series, falling in between the second and third books. It's a nice piece to fill in gaps, but isn't really necessary to the story. Dez and Joe are from previous stories and Rachael is a brand new character. Dez is one of my favorite characters ever. She does what needs to be done, even murdering adults who make noise after many warnings of the danger. To save the children, she painted the bus with zombie blood to keep them away and kept them safe until she knew it was time to leave. Joe Ledger is a strong soldier struggling to keep his humanity after losing his family and killing to many zombies and degenerates. Rachael is a former cosplayer who sharpened elven knives and a sword to fight orcs (what she calls zombies) and uses the heroes of science fiction and fantasy as inspiration to keep fighting and keep saving people. Each character brought something different to the story and had a different perspective on the situation.

Many things have happened since the last book. The government thought it somehow prudent to set off nuclear bombs and EMPs to slow the spread of the disease. It only really creates radioacive zombies, horrible weather, and kills what few vehicles were left. The zombies have some new behaviors that they exhibit as time goes on. They seem to be attracted to each other and travel in packs. Smell, sight, and sound make them swarm towards something, moving rather slow and shuffley. As with the previous books, a worm parasite causes this disease and spreads through bodily fluids. The previous installment made it airborne, causing every corpse to turn after death. These developments moved the storyline forward and explained how the characters start this story.

Dark of Night is a colorful novella that combines disparate characters against a common foe. My biggest problems were in the very poor editing (numerous misspellings and grammar mistakes) and in the human enemies. They may as well have been zombies because they blended together in a horde of people calling themselves the Nu Klux Klan. No one stood out and they all acted exactly the same: attacking, slaving, pillaging, and generally being horrible. I wish they were a little different or stood out in some way. The development of the main characters and the world building were all great, but this aspect stood out to me as being a bit lacking in comparison to his other works. It was still enjoyable and I can't wait to read the followup, Still of Night. 

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

The New Hunger

The New Hunger is a prequel to the novel Warm Bodies. It examines the origins of characters R, Julie, and Nora eight years before they cross paths in Warm Bodies. The three narratives are told in alternating chapters and all are amazing. The world they live in is falling apart. Civilization is hanging by a thread. Cities that were deemed save not long ago are discovered to be overrun. The weather is becoming more and more extreme in addition to the zombie problem. No place is safe.

R has just wakened to his unlife as a zombie. He's fairly confused and can remember snatches of his old life, but it's fleeting. There's a monster in the back of his mind who mocks him and won't tell him what will sate this horrible, insatiable hunger inside of him. His story shows that he was never a normal zombie. Even when the inner monster was screaming at him, he would sometimes save whatever human victim was in front of him. He also meets M, sees the Boneys' creation, and has small but meaningful encounters with Julie.

Julie is 12 years old, but she's adept in combat training and weapons as is necessary to live in this post-apocalyptic world. Although young, she already has a jaded, adult air about her. She's never experienced anything that a normal teen should: first kiss, awkward dates, school, and no real worries. She has starved for days, killed people in defense, killed zombies, set piles of bodies a fire, and tries to take care of her family however she can while they look for a permanent home. Her parents try to shield her as much as they can, but she can't be protected from a shattered world where most are dead and they can't find a safe haven.

Nora is 16 years old and the guardian of her 7 year old brother Addis. She can't succumb to her own sadness or hopelessness because she would take her brother with her. She keeps strong and pushes forward to find food and shelter each night. I found her story the most compelling because she was presented with the hardest choices. Should she help a random stranger or leave them to die for the safety of herself and her brother? So many of us would say it's an easy choice. However the crux of the novel is that without humanity, it isn't really living. You wouldn't really be any different than the zombies. Her story was also the most emotional for me.

The New Hunger had one small flaw. Marion describes R and M very similarly and it wasn't clear at times who it was. The novella is also so short. It makes me want to read Warm Bodies again to have a different view of R, Julie, and Nora. Other than that, I absolutely loved The New Hunger. It has gotten me more eager for the sequel to Warm Bodies called The Burning World.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Beach Blanket Bloodbath

Amanda Feral, shallow zombie socialite, is back with her entourage of snarky undead friends. They embark on a road trip. Amanda needs to get her tell all book on the supernatural underbelly of Seattle, Happy Hour of the Undead, off the ground with a book tour. Wendy is a budding dealer of Cloud, basically zombie breath in a cream that is an aphrodisiac to vampires. Her supply is stolen, so she goes along to get it back and make the thief pay. Gil is just along for the ride. They stop in a sleepy seaside town for Amanda's book tour and are immediately caught up in a murder mystery surrounding a beauty pageant. The ensuing adventure is hilarious with amorous weresharks, a vicious gang of gay male strippers, and our lovable gang of undead.

Amanda Feral is back! This is only the first in a series of three novellas, so it's like three small nibbles of Amanda instead of giant zombie bites. The story is self contained, so knowledge of the previous three full length books isn't necessary, but why wouldn't you read them? This novella is the perfect balance of supernatural horror and humor. Amanda's narrative reads true as an inner monologue complete with overshares and judgy thoughts that she would never say out loud. I like that Henry uses Amanda to show the realities of being a published author and throws some shade at the industry at the same time.The addition of the Golden Boys, a dangerous gang of gay male strippers, and the wereshark are inspired and fit well into this wacky world. I hope we see the wereshark in the other novellas as well. Amanda tackles the murder mystery with her usual flair and it ends with hilarious, yet disgusting results.

Although I greatly enjoyed the novella, I miss the footnotes that were a staple in the previous books. The asides are still there, but not as obvious anymore. They gave Amanda a deranged and irreverant Jane Austen vibe. I also wish the other novellas were out already because I want to know what happens! Definitely recommend for Amanda fans and newbies to the series.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins