Cotton Crossing is a dead end of a place. It's a small town with little opportunity, but Ginny Mills is gaining experience as a librarian in the county system in order to be more competitive in a bigger city after a year or two. Lee Quartine, on the other hand, lives there to have a simple life after military service. He has a crush on Ginny and checks out loads of books to have an excuse to talk to her, only to chicken out every time. When a slew of people get sick and weird things are all over the forest, a missed connection and a job are the least of their worries.
Cotton Crossing portrays the start of a zombie apocalypse started by the US government on accident. It isn't the first time that something extra has been added to the year's flu vaccines that has been proven to benefit the population in some way. This one was supposed to make people heal faster, but it somehow made them into zombies instead. At first, it appears that there just happens to be rioting in some major cities until those cities are then quarantined and cut off from all communication. City after city goes dark, leaving Cotton Crossing a little puzzled. They go on with their everyday lives until it isn't possible anymore. Throughout the book, small vignettes from the perspective of a minor character show who they are, what they're doing, and how they turn into a zombie. I loved these micro-stories because each one is like a small piece of the mosaic that makes up the town to show how the infection is moving.
The zombies are fairly standard. They have grey, blind eyes, foam at the mouth, and have ability to move quickly. My favorite part of these zombies is the familiar mixed with the horror of undead. Many point out clothing or a trait typical to that person only to have it marred by the rotting flesh and animalistic need to eat people. The disease starts with flu-like symptoms such as fever and vomiting until it progresses into convulsions that lead to their death. Many people's criticism of fast moving and quickly infected zombies is that it simply wouldn't go beyond a city or two, but in this case, those flu vaccines went all over the US. It's hard to tell how far the infection has gone, but it's definitely all over the US.
The main characters are interesting, nuanced people. Ginny is marking time in the small town, dreaming of bigger, better things, and dealing with her overly dramatic family. She's frantic once she loses contact with them and vows to find them in one of the quarantined areas. I personally think the plan is horrible as she doesn't know survival or fighting skills, but I understand the need to care for family. Lee, on the other hand, has no family connections and is just trying to enjoy a simple life. When people are shot in the streets and zombies attack in broad daylight, Lee switches modes. He keeps cool, commands panicked people, and keeps them as much out of harm's way as he can. He also recognizes the frazzled state of the military, indicating that the situation is much worse than he sees. Lee is mostly quiet and keeps to himself, but his warm, caring actions towards Ginny and other civilians really shows what kind of person he is.
Cotton Crossing is a good start to a zombie series. So far it has 3 books and is still going. If you'd like to receive it chapter by chapter as a serial, go here and subscribe. I personally like purchasing the books, but I'm intrigued at the series as a whole. Everything from the mode of infection to the characters is well done and establishes a world where the zombie apocalypse is just starting. I especially like the small references like the underground government organization being called Umbrella Corp. The zombie scenes are scary and suspenseful while feelings bloom between Lee and Ginny. It's a nice balance and I want to know what happens.
My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins
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