Bits & Pieces

Rot & Ruin #5

by Jonathan Maberry

Benny Imura’s journey through the Rot & Ruin is well known, but who were the others navigating the ravaged, zombie-ridden landscape? Jonathan Maberry returns to fill the gaps in what we know about First Night, surviving the plague, and the land of Rot & Ruin.

Comprising brand-new short stories from Nix’s journal as well as previously published short stories, this collection shows a side of the Rot & Ruin series readers have never seen before. And as a bonus, the script of the first issue of the Rot & Ruin comic is included in the back.

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Young Adult, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

577 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2015

About the author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-seller and Audible #1 bestseller, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, anthology editor, comic book writer, executive producer, magazine feature writer, playwright, and writing teacher/lecturer. He is the editor of WEIRD TALES Magazine and president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. He is the recipient of the Inkpot Award, three Scribe Awards, and was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers. His books have been sold to more than thirty countries. He writes in several genres including thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and mystery; and he writes for adults, middle grade, and young adult.

Jonathan is the creator, editor and co-author of V-WARS, a shared-world vampire anthology from IDW Publishing that was adapted into a NETFLIX series starring Ian Somerhalder (LOST, VAMPIRE DIARIES).

His young adult fiction includes ROT & RUIN (2011; was named in Booklist’s Ten Best Horror Novels for Young Adults, an American Library Association Top Pick, a Bram Stoker and Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading winner; winner of several state Teen Book Awards including the Cricket, Nutmeg and MASL; winner of the Cybils Award, the Eva Perry Mock Printz medal, Dead Letter Best Novel Award, and four Melinda Awards); DUST & DECAY (winner of the 2011 Bram Stoker Award; FLESH & BONE (winner of the Bram Stoker Award; 2012; and FIRE & ASH (August 2013). BROKEN LANDS, the first of a new spin-off series, debuted in 2018 and was followed by LOST ROADS in fall 2020. ROT & RUIN is in development for film by ALCON ENTERTAINMENT and was adapted as a WEBTOON (a serialized comic formatted for cell phones), becoming their #1 horror comic.

His novels include the enormously popular Joe Ledger series from St. Martin’s Griffin (PATIENT ZERO, 2009, winner of the Black Quill and a Bram Stoker Award finalist for Best Novel) and eleven other volumes, most recently RELENTLESS. His middle grade novel, THE NIGHTSIDERS BOOK 1: THE ORPHAN ARMY (Simon & Schuster) was named one the 100 Best Books for Children 2015. His standalone novels include MARS ONE, GLIMPSE, INK, GHOSTWALKERS (based on the DEADLANDS role-playing game), X-FILES ORIGINS: DEVIL’S ADVOCATE, and THE WOLFMAN --winner of the Scribe Award for Best Movie Adaptation

His horror novels include The Pine Deep Trilogy from Pinnacle Books (GHOST ROAD BLUES, 2006, winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and named one of the 25 Best Horror Novels of the New Millennium; DEAD MAN’S SONG, 2007; and BAD MOON RISING, 2008; as well as DEAD OF NIGHT, and its sequels, FALL OF NIGHT, DARK OF NIGHT, and STILL OF NIGHT.

His epic fantasy series, KAGEN THE DAMNED debuts in May 2022. And he just signed to co-author (with Weston Ochse) a new series of military science fiction novels that launches the SLEEPERS series. Jonathan will also be launching a new series of science fiction horror novels for the newly established Weird Tales Presents imprint of Blackstone Publishing.

He is also the editor of three THE X-FILES anthologies; the dark fantasy anthology series, OUT OF TUNE; SCARY OUT THERE, an anthology of horror for teens; and the anthologies ALIENS: BUG HUNT, NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD (with George Romero), JOE LEDGER UNSTOPPABLE (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt); two volumes of mysteries: ALTERNATE SHERLOCKS and THE GAME’S AFOOT (with Michael Ventrella); and ALIENS V PREDATOR: ULTIMATE PREY (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt). He is also the editor of DON’T TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, the official tribute to SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK. His next anthology will be ALIENS VS PREDATOR: ULTIMATE PREY (with Bryan Thomas Schmidt), debuting in spring 2022.

Jonathan was an expert on the History Channel documentary series, ZOMBIES: A Living History and TRUE MONSTERS. And he was participated in the commentary track for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: REANIMATED.

His many nonfiction works include VAMPIRE UNIVERSE (Citadel Press, 2006); THE CRYPTOPED

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://melissa413readsalot.blogspot.c...



I totally loved this book, as I do all of the Rot & Ruin novels. This one is filled with bits & pieces of stories, some are about the people we know, some are about the first day, some tell about things happening years before rot & ruin. There were also some pages from Nix journal. I think this was brilliant!



I loved all of the stories but I had some that I loved better than others. I liked how we get to hear the thoughts of the zombie bride while she was a zombie but had not totally lost herself.

My favorite story though, is about Rags and Bones. Rags is was a little girl all alone in the world and she saved a dog who became her friend. We learn that she had to do some terrible things in her past and the dog actually belongs to Captain Joe Ledger :)

At one point Joe and Tom Imura meet each other and Tom decides to go with Joe to take out some bad peeps along with Joe's dog Baskerville. They finally catch up with Rags and Bones who happen to be in a bad situation. Joe and Tom find this little girl is so strong, she has a backbone she shouldn't have to for one so young. After the altercation they helped Rags out of, Joe asks her to go back with Tom to the town and be safe. Rags decides she wants to go on the road and Joe decides to go with her. They stay together for some years until Joe goes off to do some other things. It jumps ahead with Rags as an adult traveling with Ghoulie, one of Bones relatives. They find some wacked out adventures of their own. I loved the people they ran into, but I can't give out any more spoilers.

I enjoyed reading about Riot, Jolt and Gummi Bear as well. It tells how they came to be and it's just so good!

Going through all of these stories and learning some little tid bits of things that happened here and their from the other books was awesome. I think all fans of the series would love this book, I don't see why not. I also wouldn't recommend starting with this book, I believe this series needs to be read from first to last.

[AziaMinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall Rating : A+

What morbidly amazing short stories with cameo appearances by Johnathan Maberry's other series. I'm so glad I read this.

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realized I never gave star ratings for the first half of the stories so I'll try to muster up whatever I can remember from them.

Dead and Gone: 3 stars
Rags and Bones: 4 stars
In the Land of the Dead: 3 stars
The Quick and the Dead: 4 stars
Hero Town: 4 stars
Tooth and Nail: 4 stars

3.5 stars overall

After many years I have finally finished this book. I figured since I'm quarantined right now this is a good time to read a book set in a post zombie apocalypse world. Gotta prepare myself just in case.

As I said before I have forgotten the majority of the beginning of the book. What I can say is that I know it definitely dragged and the early stories didn't hold my interest much. It's the reason why I took so long to finish this. However, the second half that I just read in the last few days held my attention. The new characters we meet are interesting, and I get to read about the familiar characters. I definitely forgot I had already met some of the characters though so the significance of a couple of their stories may be a bit lost to me.

What I enjoyed the most was getting Tom back even if it was for just a little while. I really wish there was a story from way back in the beginning when he was giving it his all to keep him and baby Benny alive. He deserves his own origin story. It's been years, but I still miss him. Still, it was nice to revisit this world during such a strange time in my life.

[Paige Bookdragon]

What the hell..
Guys!Are you seeing this?!

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you loved the Rot & Ruin series, then this compilation of short stories and tidbits from Benny Imura's world will not disappoint. The structure is different from the main four books, jumping around the timeline to characters familiar and new, but the same live pacing, strong emotional response, and unimpeachable wisdom is here to be reveled in for five hundred seventy-seven pages. Some of the tales are long—novellas more than true short stories—and others are only a page or two, the entries in Nix Riley's journal being shortest. The timeline goes back as far as First Night—fourteen years before book one (Rot & Ruin), when toddler Benny was lucky to survive the sudden zombie outbreak that destroyed civilization around the globe—to the interlude between books three (Flesh & Bone) and four (Fire & Ash), with Benny and his friends stationed at a secret government outpost as top scientists work to isolate a cure for the zombie pandemic. Brief stories, originally available only as e-books, fill in the gaps, and while nothing in Bits & Pieces is essential for the series to make sense, I felt grateful to spend another few days in the company of Benny, Nix, and the rest. Their physical and emotional odyssey holds truth that cannot be ignored; whether you're fending off crises in the apocalypse or dealing with the tribulations of normal life, the time will come when you must stand up to your foes or be consumed alive. Bits & Pieces, and the entire series, makes this point with elegance, sagacity, and poignance, providing rich allegory as well as evocative horror. Enter here and be part of a marvelous YA reading experience.

Sunset Hollow is the opening piece, Benny and Tom Imura's origin story on the night the zombie plague reached critical mass and overran society. It started with Benny's father being bitten, then he bit Benny's mother (Tom's stepmother) as she tried to help her husband. In her final seconds of clarity before the monster took control, she handed little Benny to twenty-year-old Tom and begged him to guard his half-brother. It required all of Tom's budding mastery as a samurai warrior to beat back the zombies and escape with Benny, and a legend was born, psychologically devastating as the encounter was for Tom. When Benny grew to adolescence he would harbor bitter anger against his brother, convinced that Tom forsaking their parents was a cowardly act. We learn the truth in Rot & Ruin, but get a more detailed picture from Sunset Hollow. The next short story, Jack and Jill, is my personal favorite, featuring a new cast of characters facing the unreal horror of First Night. Jack Porter is a rail-thin twelve-year-old from Stebbins County, Pennsylvania who has one foot in the grave before the zombie siege. The monster he's stressed about is cancer, which returns with a vengeance to his little body no matter how many times the doctors fry it into remission and express optimism that the war might be over this time. Jack has given up hope, trying to ready himself for death even if his parents and sister, Jill, won't admit defeat. Early news reports of zombie infection have become cause for concern, but their seriousness only hits home when Jill suffers a bite. The gash oozes black blood, a grotesque indicator that this is no standard flesh wound. When Jill reanimates as a flesh-devouring beast, the hostiles in their home quickly come to outnumber the good guys. Jack has seen death coming for months, but is he ready for such a violent end? Maybe riding that black wave into the mysterious beyond won't be so awful. He's already prepared himself for oblivion, even if his family had little reason to do the same. Jack and Jill is dark and haunting, and Jack probably became my favorite character of the series when I read his story, which is saying a lot. Jack and Jill is a chilling example of Jonathan Maberry's unique excellence.

Another short story, The Valley of the Shadow, comes after an extended journal entry from Nix. Hannahlily hasn't had luck with boyfriends, winding up with guys who are preoccupied with her body, but the string of unimpressive guy friends seems to have ended with her newest, a boy named Tucker. Hannahlily isn't afraid to go far physically with him because he doesn't demand it, patiently waiting for her to be ready. Arranging a night alone together at a farmhouse, Hannahlily wonders what she's ready to let him do, but the drama of young love is overwhelmed by panic as the zombie invasion breaks out and doddering eaters of human flesh pursue Hannahlily and Tucker. If they escape the immediate threat then shelter may be attainable, but what if that's not their destiny? What if there's no storybook ending for these two? Like Jack and Jill, The Valley of the Shadow reminds me of something the legendary Robert Cormier would write. A Christmas Feast explores offbeat territory with a holiday zombie tale, a sprinkling of December magic over the bloody chasm of mass murder. Dan and his six-year-old brother Mason are on the run from the undead, but it isn't going well. They're exhausted, starving to death, and winter's cold hits them hard because their bodies contain minimal stored fat. Stumbling along in desperate search of shelter, the brothers find a house with working electricity, mountains of food, and a warm interior. But who owns the place? Miracles have been in short supply, and Dan doesn't buy that this bounty would fall in their laps without a serious catch to it. Mason believes in the blessing as a gift from Santa Claus, but what do we think is going on? More questions than answers crop up, but for now a boy and his brother have another few days of life, bleak as the future has come to be. There's hope as long as they continue breathing.

First Night is revisited through the eyes of multiple characters in First Night Memories: a jaded pastor, a hotel manager who watches San Francisco burn to the ground, Tom Imura roaming the zombie-infested wastelands and meeting Captain Joe Ledger, a primary hero of the series' later books. Joe Ledger and his massive combat dogs are spectacular to see in action again, and I'm glad they're in much of Bits & Pieces. We fast-forward to the weeks leading up to Rot & Ruin and catch a conversation between Benny and Chong that expresses Benny's contempt for his older brother at that juncture. Overdue Books, set a year after First Night, is about a couple of guys barricaded in a library, hoping for rescue before something goes wrong and they fall victim to one of the seven billion zoms trekking the world. We move on to Dead & Gone, a longer story featuring Riot before she adopted her nickname but after she renounced and fled the Night Church. Reapers are constantly dispatched to apprehend Riot, and she must defend herself. Her mother would execute her, or worse, if the reapers capture her. Few of them are more lethal than Riot, but like many refugees, she's starving to death, until she crosses paths with a group who maintain a lighthearted demeanor despite the cruel nature of the new world. Wound tighter than a spring, Riot is suspicious of Jolt and his posse at first, but the young parkour expert's fun-loving personality puts her at ease even as she knows it's a matter of time before more reapers track her down. When they do, the confrontation with Riot and Jolt is extreme, but Riot has finally found people she belongs with, and she's not going to let that go by the wayside without a struggle. Even under atrocious circumstances, life is worth a lot of hardship when we discover where we belong.

Rags & Bones follows a thirteen-year-old girl called Rags who, against steep odds, has lasted a year after First Night on her own. Well, not quite on her own. At some point she found a huge, strong dog locked in a car, a dog much like the ones trained by Joe Ledger. After releasing the animal from confinement, it repaid the favor by mauling a group of degenerates who were about to do something bad to Rags, and the girl ran off. The dog found her later, though, and they became companions. Rags named her canine warrior Bones. The duo act works until they're confronted by a brutal gang of psychopaths, the very gang Joe Ledger was chasing when he and Tom joined forces. The numbers are stacked against Rags, and she knows what gangsters like these do to young girls in a society with no rule of law, but the situation flips when a rescuer (or two, or three) appears. The standoff is tense, filled with pages of electric dialogue before the abusers of the innocent are brought to account for their sins. There's some vigorous moral debate in this story, enough to prompt discussion for a long time.

In the Land of the Dead is a short overture between Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay that shows Benny's new potency of spirit after submitting to Tom's samurai training, and The Quick and the Dead provides background on the characters' mindset in that period between novels. It also reinforces Benny's feelings for Nix, ending on a powerful note. Hero Town is an excellent centerpiece story that moves back and forth from sixteen-year-old Rachael Elle and her friends at a cosplay event on First Night, and Rags's continuing saga more than ten years after Rags & Bones. Rachael and the cosplay teens are totally unprepared for zombie invasion, mindless monsters rapidly killing the costumed members of their group. How many of them will live past this wretched day? In the present, Rags and her new dog, Ghoulie (Bones has passed away) still wander the former United States. Rags has no idea what she wants from life, and depression occasionally brings suicidal thoughts. Would restful nothingness be better than this ugly, torturous world, full of twisted humans who are worse than zoms? One day she enters an out-of-the way burg and runs into a coalition of heroes. Not ones like Joe Ledger, but people dressed as famous fictional superheroes, living in a large makeshift camp and doing their best to combat depravity in the new world order. After more than a decade of aimlessly trudging the barren landscape with little sign of anything improving, Rags has found reason to hope, a community that proves humanity isn't all bad these days. She couldn't have found them at a better time.

Tooth & Nail is the longest novella, more than a hundred pages. Its two main narratives are set in the time span separating Flesh & Blood and Fire & Ash. Benny broods at Sanctuary, a hidden government test facility where doctors are researching a cure for the zombie disease, a find that would profoundly alter Benny's life now that Chong is infected, a wild, mindless shadow of the intelligent boy he used to be. Benny clashes with Joe Ledger for claiming he can teach him truths about survival that Tom couldn't. To Benny, Ledger's words feel like bald disrespect now that Tom is gone. Trying to prove he's as clever as the captain, Benny picks his way up a sheer mountain boundary at Sanctuary's edge, but finds himself surrounded by reapers intent on dispatching him into the darkness. The ultimate tribute to his slain older brother will be getting out of this fix alive, but Benny might not have to do it alone. He has friends who care, who can help complete Tom's mission of saving his little brother, and that's what Benny has to comprehend before making his final stand against the homicidal legions of the Night Church. Knowing you're loved and cared for goes a long way when you're about to face the greatest evil on the planet. In the other half of Tooth & Nail, the Night Church's Brother Marty and Saint John are moving toward Mountainside, the town where Benny grew up, focused on finding it and the cluster of nearby fenced-in villages and exterminating the people who live there as a perverted service to Thanatos, god of darkness. Saint John plans an ambush to capture Iron Mike Sweeney, a man rumored to know Mountainside's location, but getting the brawny military genius to talk is tough. When Iron Mike does speak, chained and already savagely beaten by Saint John's minions, he does what no human has ever come close to doing: frightening Saint John. The cult leader is impervious to threats and mind games, but Iron Mike leaves him haunted and shaken in his faith. The Night Church is on a collision course with the remnants of orderly society and won't be stopped by Iron Mike, but worse may await Saint John on the other side of darkness than even the torment he's inflicted on others. There are deeper enigmas than anything conceived of in this finite lifetime.

Bits & Pieces is packed with insight and symbolism from every place imaginable. Probably my favorite is a thought Jack has, exasperated that his mother is always on him to rest because of his battle with cancer: "I'm going to be dead for a long time. Let me be awake as much as I can for now." You don't have to die young to see the prudence of wanting to lead a worthwhile life for as long as possible. Death comes for all someday, so why not live to the full while your limbs and mind are quickened with the miraculous breath of life? Why rest now when you'll enter eternal rest soon enough? Tangible hope is more precious than a three-course meal after First Night, a rare bird that spreads its wings and vanishes at the slightest sound, which is why Dan has trouble believing in the Christmas bonanza he and Mason come upon. "They had to be careful. They had to learn to live without trust. To live without assumption or expectation." "(H)ope was like a backstabbing friend. You could trust it sometimes, and then it would turn and drive its blade deep." How hard is it to be let down every time you really trust someone? Not as hard as never trusting at all. Hope in the midst of despair is the only avenue to better days ahead, the end of an apocalypse that feels endless.

Tom's samurai lessons enhance every book of the series, and we get a dose in one of Nix's journal entries, which separate most of the short stories and novellas. Tom was frustrated one day that Benny and his friends weren't grasping the samurai concept, but Chong figured out what Tom wanted to hear. "People think that learning to be a samurai means learning to fight and kill...But we're not learning how to kill...We're learning how to be alive." That statement is the answer to everyone hesitant to slay zombies or sadistic villains in this new world, fearing it may make them as monstrous as the enemy. Good guys have a right and responsibility to stop marauders from preying on the innocent. "Quieting" zoms is a mercy, too, because every zombie rendered incapable of killing may mean that one or more people will live another day. Destroying the wicked or dangerous isn't about vengeance; it's proactive heroism, and thorny as the ethics get in Bits & Pieces, its heroes are ready and willing to defend themselves and their loved ones.

Allegory runs deep in the Rot & Ruin series, pretty much as deep as you choose to follow. Tom is stymied for years by the people of Mountainside, who hesitate to expand the town or look for homeless outsiders to boost the population. People are "stubbornly entrenched in convenient worldviews", Chong says. "Which is his way of saying that people don't want to think about anything but what they think about every day." In her own way, that lethargy is what brings Rags down as she tours the desolation with her dog, Ghoulie. "What terrified her most was the thought that staying alive had become nothing more than a habit. That was it. A reflex action without further or deeper purpose." That's exactly how the zombies behave, unaware of their own death and shambling along in old patterns because inertia pushes them to do so. A set of new characters in Tooth & Nail watches a herd of zombies amble after the shadow of a cloud, following it without realizing there's nothing there. "They would chase it the way they chased anything else that moved, hoping for a meal they didn't need to satisfy a hunger that was as bottomless as forever. And if they caught up to the shadow and found that it was nothing but an illusion, with no substance, they would not cry out in despair, because that is an expression of emotion, and the dead were empty. Nothing but empty shells." Revolted as humans naturally are by the zombies in this series, many of us lead lives that aren't so different from the shuffling, groaning, unthinking zoms. Aren't most people couched in "convenient worldviews", caring not whether their beliefs are right, but only if they're comfortable to espouse? People are prone to develop mind-numbing routines, wiling away priceless years in a slow descent to the grave. Why settle for gradual death instead of breaking the pattern and living up to the exhilaration of sentient existence? When we reduce staying alive to a habit, pursuing high-paying jobs so we can retire early and relax until the grim reaper shows up, what are we doing? We're chasing a cloud's shadow, an image of no substance we go after merely because we think we're supposed to. Don't embrace the incremental death of a cookie-cutter existence for the short time you're alive, pursuing what you think you're obligated to want rather than the desires of your heart. Humans are living and zombies are deceased, and it's infinitely better to be in the former group. May Bits & Pieces remind you to stay truly alive.

When applicable, I measure authors by the percentage of Robert Cormier's greatness they achieve. I don't ordinarily think of Jonathan Maberry as Cormier-like, but he rises to a decent percentage of the Master in Jack and Jill and The Valley of the Shadow. Besides Jack and Jill, The Quick and the Dead might be my favorite story. Bits & Pieces is exactly what I hoped for, a book of the same philosophical verve as the four preceding volumes, and I'd give it three and a half stars. I love the new characters, and cherished reuniting with old friends. We're going to miss you, Benny Imura.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of short stories that occurred between the Rot & Ruin main series books. I liked hearing the back stories of the characters and hearing stories about First Night, but it was a collection of short stories and not a cohesive story by itself.

I read some of the earlier books a while ago, so I don't remember some of the elements of the stories. The stories are not in chronological order, so be sure to look at the timeline notations. I think I would've appreciated these stories more if I had read them in sequence as I was reading the series.

First Night Rot & Ruin #.1
~ Sunset Hollow ★★★
Tom Imura & Baby Benny run away from their bitten monster parents.
~ Jack & Jill ★★★
A terminally ill boy witnesses the fall of his family, including his healthy twin sister, Jill.
~ The Valley of the Shadow ★★★
A teenage Hannahlily Bryce sneaks away with her boyfriend and some bloody strangers break in. Benny and company meet the stern nurse Hannahlily at the Sanctuary.
~ A Christmas Feast ★★★★
Dan and his 6 year old brother Mason are starving and they come upon a Christmas miracle.

Dying Years
First Night Memories Rot & Ruin #.5 ★★★★
Many really short stories, most only a few pages long. I like the story about Tom Imura helping a big man, Capt. Joe Ledger, when he gets attacked by 5 bikers. Joe was a sergeant in the Army Rangers, then a Baltimore police detective, then Special Ops with the Dept of Military Science. Baskerville is Capt. Joe Ledger's combat dog.

Overdue Books Rot & Ruin #.6 ★★★★
Are Walker and Keaton the surfer dudes, Dr. Skillz and J-Dog?

Dead & Gone Rot & Ruin #2.5 ★★★
Sister Margaret runs away from the Reapers, and meets up with Jolt who is a gorgeous guy into fun and parkour. Spam and Dole pineapple with the can of beans, amused me being from Hawaii. But Jolt's group doesn't kill.

Rags & Bones Rot & Ruin #.7 ★★★
Rags rescues Bones from a locked car. Bones is a massive attack dog. Bones kills 5 armed adults. Then Bones tracks Rags into her Japanese museum. Bones is Capt. Joe Ledger's dog, Boggart. Tom is still with Capt. Ledger helping with the scavengers. Rags makes the guys let Mama Rat go after shaming her for attacking a girl when she's got a daughter back at her camp. Rags turns down the safety of Mountainside and will travel with Joe.

Adrift in the Rot and Ruin
In the Land of the Dead ~ The Fence - Rot & Ruin #1.5 ★★★
Benny talking to a new fence guard

The Quick & the Dead Rot and Ruin #1.6 ★★
Solomon Jones sees a herd of zombie's heading west. Chong and Benny talking about Lilah and Nix. Benny spars with relentless PTSD Nix.

Hero Town Rot and Ruin #.8 ★★★★
Story flips between first night and time of Rot and Ruin. Cos player heroes band together before Comic Con when the world ends. 27 heroes kept 31 civilians safe. Rags and Bones's pup, Ghoulie, come into the hero compound during a training exercise gone wrong. Rags and Ghoulie help the heroes. Doylestown now have 11,000 civilians and 256 cosplayers. Wow.

Tooth & Nail Rot and Ruin #3.5 ★★★★
POV switches between Benny Imura, the girls and the Saviors hunting for Mountainside. Cool introduction to some new Rot and Ruin characters giant red-head, red-eyed Iron Mike Sweeny, the group of girls led by Samantha (Tiffany, Michelle, archers Heather & Laura), and learned more about Ranger Joe Ledger and his giant mastiff, Grimm, Saint John of the Knife and Brother Marty Kirk, the ex-Hollywood producer.

Benny's bad attitude and surly behavior is getting old. I hope he gets over this soon!

[Alondra Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

I had missed this series so much. I am so glad the author gave us "Bits & Pieces" of that world again.

We get a lot of the characters thoughts and feelings during first night and the immediate years after; which is great insight to how the day changed their lives. We get introduced to a few new characters, and get more background, which I love. I love details and little nuggets of information that tell you why a character behaves the way they do; and why they make the choices that they make.

We learn a few more atrocities of the night church; like we needed that. It just makes you hate them more.

We get a peek inside Nix's diary. Nothing too long or drawn out; just enough to let you in and see her pain and sadness.

If you have not picked up this amazing series; then I suggest you get on the bandwagon. Well-written, well-rounded characters, and a storyline that just does not stop.

...and yes, Joe is all in this bitch!!! Yes!!

[Cindy Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just what the title claims--bits and pieces of stories from various characters' lives and perspectives. It was interesting to have some of these things fleshed out. Didn't really advance the plot, but still interesting.

[Ceyrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was kind of fun returning to this world of rot and ruin. When I started reading the first book in the series, I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It was a fun piece of escapism. Bits and Pieces is a collecting of short stories that take place in between the books in the series and follows the stories of other characters in the rot and ruin.

[WendyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short stories from the Rot & Ruin world.

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enjoyable as the others, but an okay read overall.

[Zulfiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a collection of short stories in the post-apocalyptic world, and it is, but somehow it is book 5 in the series :-)

Despite being the fifth book in the series, it was actually quite enjoyable. The stories definitely are connected to some major events in the universe, but they are still enjoyable on their own.
Besides, they are very dark for the target audience, and this was a part of the reading pleasure. They are also quite gruesome and graphic for their target audience, and they explore very mature and controversial topics of death, sacrifice, meaning of life, etc.

That is why I enjoyed these stories so much. I actually considered reading the wholes series of Rot and Tuin, but then I listened to the Joe Ledger book by the same audience, and was so disappointed as it turned out to be just a basic puerile thriller with the primitive conservative bias ala chicken level thrillers that I had to say, "No". How can a YA book be decent and complex, and the book for the grown ups so simplistic?

[Karyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Maberry has done it again!! I believe it was Rick Riordan who told me to read Rot and Ruin, and I'm so grateful that he did. I know the market may be flooded with zombie novels and movies, but Maberry's series is so different and amazing that I was enthralled from page one. It's really that good.

It's been a while since I read Fire and Ash, the last in the series, so the characters and events are a little rusty in my brain. But this book, a weaving of stories that take place not only on First Night but also soon afterward, fills in so many of the small gaps that an author necessarily may have to leave in his novels. While speaking to a friend, I likened this book to the extra features on a special edition DVD, and that's really what this is. It's even more Benny and Tom and all the beloved characters, plus some new ones, and more background and detail.

There is a slight caveat to my love of this book. I am a somewhat sensitive person, and the futility of trying to stay alive in a world that didn't really exist any more really got to me with the stories that happened soon after First Night. Knowing that these people (a lot of them kids) didn't have any survival skills made me think about how I would survive if there were no services, like electricity or running water, and if I had to protect myself from not only zombies but also random people that would kill me for my supplies. Maberry's able to conjure up such a world so vividly that it really threw me for a slight loop for a few hours.

I highly recommend this book, even if you haven't read any of the series yet. But you should definitely read them all!

[Reading is my Escape · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great zombie series. So, I love the Rot & Ruin series by Jonathan Maberry. The writing is excellent, clever, suspenseful and fun. I just read this one and loved it as much as the others. It includes short stories from before and during the rest of the series. 
 
If you haven't read it yet, and you like zombie stories. Try this one. 

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series!!! I would really like to see a Rot & Ruin book from Joe Ledger's perspective.

[Sue Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to supplement the Rot & Ruin series. It gives some great background to some of the more interesting characters that are introduced in the main series that the integral heroes run into and interact with. It’s also has diary inserts from Nix’s talked about diary, all at various points throughout the series - before, during and at the end ….or close to the end anyways. It shows some great thought processes by the author of the storyline and the aftermath of a catastrophic virus and how society would react - even giving some interesting insights to the zombie side of things.

All in all, it was a fun read. Definitely would advise reading it shortly after ingesting the main Rot & Ruin series to get the most out of it.

Oh …… and can I gush on about the book cover? The whole series has had exceptional thought behind their cover designs and this one is no less fabulous. Subtle and obvious at the same time with that great flip design to let you see it all in a different light. Love it!

[Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so wish I read these short stories along side the novels. It has been a while since I read the series and getting back into this world was interesting. Most of the stories in this collection didn't add anything to the world or story for me after finishing the series. While we do get to see some of the characters we're familiar with, we see a lot that are new - at least I don't remember them. I do wish there were more stories about the time when First Night happened and how the towns were created. While there is a story on how Tom survived First Night, I think I would really appreciate a full length prequel novel about him as well.

I unfortunately don't believe short stories are for me. That is the reason I haven't read very many in the past and this experience does make that belief seem valid. Though I didn't enjoy this collection as much as the series, I am excited to re-visit this world in the next series.

[☁Cloudless day ☁ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series (although, I did not enjoy the romance between Ben and the red head whose name I forgot.)

*******
I picked this book up because it was about zombies. But if you read the books, zombies aren't the main topic. Nothing wrong with that, until the plot is something completely different and you've got Mayberry yelling "zombies!" A mile away just to keep you interested.

*******
I'm sorry to say that Tom Imura was boring. You would expect a zombie-killing katana-swinging badass to be a little more exciting, and do more than just talk about philosophical things like the pissing on a dead guys coffin which somehow was about zombies having feelings (sorry; Maybe it's just because I only have three working braincells, but i really didn't understand it.)

********
In my opinion, killing the zombies isn't a wrong thing to do. Sure, putting zombies in a big hole and torturing them by forcing people to fight them is repulsive, but the zombies need to die. Who in their right mind is going to try and coexist with undead creatures because they are "people's family members" and "have feelings."

********

Aspen out ✌

[Raul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I loved being back in this world, this short story collection was a real disappointment for me. Some of the stories felt like they didn't belong or had any purpose, and others left me wanting more. I think the series would have benefited more with having a prequel novel following Tom rather than this collection of underwhelming stories.

[Thomas Pianka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This addition to the tetralogy was a smart move. I really enjoyed it since it helped fill in the gaps between events and also gave a better insight into the characters' past lives before the First Night. It answered most of my questions curiosities the fourth book left me with. I strongly recommend that anyone read this series and this fifth book immediately after.

[Misti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories was all over the place; some of them were good but some of them really added nothing to the series. I guess I got a little more Tom though.

[Aliena · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was everything I hoped for.

[Ashley (gotbookcitement) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to Come

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.8/5

I liked it. Some stories I questioned as to how they related to the Rot & Ruin world, but other stories contained some familiar faces.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024
A good, but not great addition to the series. Definitely prefer the first four "core" books. But this did include some cool backstories for some of the characters

[Jenelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe it’s just Ray Porter’s deliciously velvety voice, but I think this book is my favorite of the series. I loved all the small stories and whew, some are soo creepy!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I have to make a guilty admission that I haven't read Fire & Ash or any of the short stories yet because I've fallen behind on the series but I really need to go do so now. Jonathan Maberry has yet to disappoint me and still holds true. I meant to just start this book but next thing I knew it was 1:30am when I finished reading it.

I loved it and I loved reading about where a lot of the "famous" zombies came from as well as more of the heroes of the Rot & Ruin. At first it was a little confusing as the book jumps from the first night events, to events before Rot & Ruin, Dust & Decay, etc. But once you get into the rhythm I loved it. It was kind of funny to go back to the "early days" before Benny grew up and stopped being a PITA and remembering me how much he ticked me off.

The other part I loved is the tying in of two of my favorite Maberry series, the Benny Imura books and the Joe Ledger books. I love Joe and it was great seeing him throughout the book as well. If you choose only one zombie series to read it would have to be one by Jonathan Maberry. His writing is absolutely amazing.

[Alley Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've literally been waiting to read this since last November, but I forgot it existed. Oops. I met Jonathan Maberry over at Anderson's last November for the release tour of his new series, Nightsiders. I still haven't touched that book either. I was too obsessed with this. You see, it's been several years since I read the last Rot & Ruin book. They were one of my favorite series in Junior High, and when I met Mr. Maberry, he read the first chapter of Rags' story from an ARC of this book. I was instantly thrown back into the world of his writing! I was finally able to pick this up yesterday, and I devoured it faster than a zombie devours his prey! The First Night stories were my favorite. It was amazing and so realistic how fast the world collapsed. Some of the stories were extremely heart wrenching, such as "Jack and Jill." It was cool to see Joe Ledger as well, the main protagonist from Maberry's other series that I also have not read yet. Oops. I still have to say that Rags is my favorite character from this anthology. There was not one, but two stories about her, and they were both amazing!

[Adam Duclos · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very disjointed set of short stories from the ‘Rot and Ruin’ series. They were uniformly awful, only interesting as a way to see how the backstory evolved, and I’m glad these stories and ideas were cut from the main series. There was one story where scary things were happening with zombies, then everyone died in a flood (it also had the zombie worms, but they were super obvious). Another story had some kid get saved by a dog, then by Joe Ledger from the main series, who then in another story decided to live with cosplayers. Another story had a woman become a zombie but keep her human mind, but nothing came of it. Another one introduced magic and werewolves, which got completely cut in the main story.

Also, the time period skips around from the day of the outbreak, midway, and during the events of the books. Annoyingly, the one thing that isn’t shown is the lead up to the outbreak. Come on! This would have been the time to show us whodunnit! Lame cash in.

[Saphirablue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love them all. Most of the time with collections of short stories, there are some that I don't like that much. Not here. I really liked them all and never have been bored or something while reading them.

I also love that some of the stories tell us how some people met, how some people we know from the books went through First Night or certain other stuff after it. I love that we see Tom's and Joe's first meeting and them working together. There are some characters I really would love to know what happened to them - Dan and Mason being on top of that list.

A certain thing really blew my mind and if that is (still) true. Oh. My. God. These poor people.

All in all, a great collection of short stories in this universe. :)

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives backstories of famous zoms and Tommy Imura which gives us much joy. It is like finding something you lost but getting it back.