Rot & Ruin (Rot & Ruin, #1) in The Zombie Group!

Oct 19, 2010 Lou rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, other-beings, june-read

http://more2read.com/?review=rot-ruin-benny-imura-1-by-jonathan-maberry
This story is about two brothers, The Imura brothers, Tom the bounty hunter and Benny the not so yet bounty hunter. Benny since First Night, the time when the Zombie outbreak began has not yet killed, has now come to the stage in his life where he's going to have to make some big decisions. Will he embrace the path of a bounty hunter like his brother or not? What sets Benny on a stepping-stone to his chosen destiny is the sea http://more2read.com/?review=rot-ruin-benny-imura-1-by-jonathan-maberry
This story is about two brothers, The Imura brothers, Tom the bounty hunter and Benny the not so yet bounty hunter. Benny since First Night, the time when the Zombie outbreak began has not yet killed, has now come to the stage in his life where he's going to have to make some big decisions. Will he embrace the path of a bounty hunter like his brother or not? What sets Benny on a stepping-stone to his chosen destiny is the search for one girl, that he becomes besotted with.

Forget the tag of 'Young Adults fiction' as the only thing you are going to miss is unwanted foul language and sex scenes. This story gets to the meat and bone of what is a really good thriller about zombie hunters, many of today's fiction that i have read for the Young Adult genre have cheesy one liners and cliché scenes, in this one gem you would not find this. Maberry takes you straight to the heart of the story and the action of the moment in this flowing and page-turning story. This has the makings of a TV series, similar to ‘Supernatural' where you also have two brothers who hunt out demons and ghosts instead.
There is something more worse out there than zombies, more of an enemy for the Imura brothers, this enemy is killing off family members. A few of these bounty hunters, evil individuals have started something called the Gameland and are taking everyone down without rules.

With really good locations like 'The Hungry Forest' the author has created an interesting and engaging story. All I need now is to buy myself one of those Zombie cards from the story, they are like picture cards on the front of each was a portrait of a famous bounty hunter. On the back was a sort bio and the name of the artist. The next book in the series has all the makings of something even better!.

"Out here-I kill. Walkers, bad men. I kill and I live. I'm safe here"

"Cadaverine was a nasty-smelling molecule produced by protein hydrolysis during putrefaction of animal tissue. Benny remembered that from science class, but he didn't know that it was made from actual rotting flesh. Hunters and trackers dabbed it on their clothes to keep the zoms from coming after them, because the dead were not attracted to rotting flesh."

"The pair of them-Charlie and the Hammer-were the toughest bounty hunters in the entire Rot and Ruin. Everyone said so. Except for a few weirdoes, like Mayr Kirsch, who said that Tom Imura was tougher."

"Most of the hunters were paid by the town to clear zoms out of the areas around the trade route that linked Mountainside o the handful of other towns strung out along the mountain range. Others worked in packs as mercenary armies to clear out towns, old shopping malls, warehouses, and even a few small cities, so that the traders could raid them for supplies. According to Charlie the life expectancy of a typical bounty hunter was six months."

" 'Quieted' was the acceptable term for the necessary act of inserting a metal spike, called a 'silver', into the base of the skull to sever the brain stem. Since First Night, anyone who died would reanimate as a zombie. Bites made it happen too, but really any recently deceased person would come back. Every adult in town carried at least one silver, though Benny had never seen one used."

"Every dead person out there deserves respect. Even in death. Even when we fear them. Even when we have to kill them. They aren't 'just zoms,' Benny. That's a side effect of a disease or from some kind of radiation or something else that we don't understand. I'm no scientist, Benny. I'm a simple man doing a job." "Yeah? You're trying to sound all noble, but you kill them." Benny had tears in his eyes.

" The world is bigger and harder to understand than you think, Benny. It was before First Nigh and it still is now. You have to keep your mind as wide-open as your eyes, because almost nothing is what it seems."

"She may answer to the name Lilah or Annie. Approach with caution, she is considered dangerous and may suffer from post traumatic stress disorder."

...more

20 likes · Like · see review

Jul 10, 2011 Netanella rated it really liked it

Shelves: zombies

I have read some great zombie books this year. Sadly, this one fell short by a few marks.

- The first part of the book was long and preachy. I mean, loooong and preachy about zombie's being human and mebbe having feelings and the real bad guys are the humans and why can't we all get along anyway? I was ready to pummel Tom Imura over the head with his katana.

- Charlie Pink Eye dodges a bullet. Really? Where are we, the Matrix?

- Charlie Pink Eye philosophizes about the nature of power and corru ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 01, 2012 Kat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: udate, ya, zombie

I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about when I say that reading a new book by one of your favourite authors is kinda nerve-racking. You're excited because it's a NEW BOOK but you're also scared because, well, what if you don't like it? This was exactly how I felt about Rot & Ruin. After all, Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero was one of the very first zombie books I read, and Dead of Night was one of my favourite books of 2011 - what if I didn't like Rot & Ruin?

The very first thing that stru I'm sure everyone knows what I'm talking about when I say that reading a new book by one of your favourite authors is kinda nerve-racking. You're excited because it's a NEW BOOK but you're also scared because, well, what if you don't like it? This was exactly how I felt about Rot & Ruin. After all, Jonathan Maberry's Patient Zero was one of the very first zombie books I read, and Dead of Night was one of my favourite books of 2011 - what if I didn't like Rot & Ruin?

The very first thing that struck me about Rot & Ruin was that I didn't really like Benny - whiny and ungrateful and more than a little bit of a spoilt brat. BUT as the book progressed, he changed quite a lot, and by the end I actually did like him quite a bit and I love when a character grows and matures during the course of a book. His older brother Tom is far more likable, with a quiet confidence and sense of right and wrong.

By far my favourite characters in Rot & Ruin were Nix and Lilah - strong and determined female characters are something often missing in zombie books, but Jonathan Maberry can definitely write a good female character.

The world of Mountainside and the Rot & Ruin were infinitely fascinating. The town itself is a mixture of frontier town with bounty hunters and a small village with people going about their daily lives and trying to make the best of a crappy situation.

The Zombies themselves are the standard brain-eaters, but Maberry explores some very interesting ideas both of the characteristics of the zombies (zombies would apparently go downhill by habit as it's easier for them to follow a downhill slope than go uphill - may be an important point during the zombie apocalypse!) and the way that the survivors react to them. Although they are pretty much mindless eating machines, they are still viewed as people, in as much as they can be, and the survivors are incredibly respectful, right down to employing people specifically to end their loved ones' suffering.

The villains are magnificently villainous, especially Charlie - ugh how I loved to hate him. Along with his gang of thugs, he made for a truly despicable, evil character and I couldn’t wait to see him get his just deserts.

The final and most moving scene, between Benny and Tom was incredibly bittersweet, and also really showed how their relationship had changed during the story.

I had a rocky start with Rot & Ruin, but by the end I could completely see where Mr. Maberry was going with the characters, the plot and the world-building and I can’t wait to see what happens in Dust & Decay.

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie
...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 22, 2010 Schnaucl rated it really liked it

Shelves: young_adult, fiction, post-apocalyptic, library, horror, later_purchased, november, series, zombies, read_2010

Four and a half stars.

If you read Jonathan Maberry's story in The Living Dead 2 part 1 (a little over 100 pages) will seem very familiar, though it stops short of the final scene in the short story. Although it was repetitive because I have read the short story, I really didn't mind. Each zombie apocalypse is a little different and Maberry uses the pages well to set up the rules for his world.

This series is post-outbreak. The protagonists live in a walled off village and at the age of 15 everyo Four and a half stars.

If you read Jonathan Maberry's story in The Living Dead 2 part 1 (a little over 100 pages) will seem very familiar, though it stops short of the final scene in the short story. Although it was repetitive because I have read the short story, I really didn't mind. Each zombie apocalypse is a little different and Maberry uses the pages well to set up the rules for his world.

This series is post-outbreak. The protagonists live in a walled off village and at the age of 15 everyone is required to find a job and be a productive member of society or else live on half-rations. Zombies still exist outside the village but the villagers don't really have a siege mentality. Instead it seems like there's an acceptance of the standoff. It's been a little over a decade since the outbreak and so far population control doesn't seem to be a problem. Unfortunately, whatever is causing the dead to rise is still around because once a person dies he becomes a zombie. In order to prevent the newly dead from rising he is "put down" with a metal spike at the base of the skull.

When the story opens Benny is fast approaching the time when he must choose a job. He tries several different jobs, each time hoping for something where he can slack off and not have to actually work. Predictably in a post-outbreak world, no such position exists. One of the more interesting positions he tries out for is that of an erosion artist. The job of an erosion artist is to create portraits of what a given living person might look like as a zombie so that zombie hunters can find him and give him final death. In a brilliant touch, it turns out that the collectible zombie cards are in fact some of the earliest erosion portraits.

Finally, the only job hasn't tried is the one his older brother Tom has. Tom kills zombies in the Wasteland. It's not that Benny dislikes the idea, it's that while Tom is held in high esteem by nearly everyone in the village, Benny has always seen him as a coward. As far as he's concerned, Tom abandoned their parents on the night of the outbreak and he's never forgiven him.

Tom takes him out into the field and for the first time Benny gets some perspective on what life is really like. He learns about people who follow a peaceful religion that honors zombies. He and Tom start to really see each other for the first time.

The are a lot of zombies novels out there, and a fair number try to get the reader to see zombies as the people they once were. This book is the only one I've read so far that actually succeeds in making the zombies feel like the people they used to be. It's a great take on the zombie genre.

Recommended. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2012 Christine Verstraete rated it it was amazing

Shelves: zombie-books

While this was definitely aimed at boys, with all the action and super-hero brother with near unbelievable prowess, that doesn't mean anyone won't enjoy it. A quick read, it had me rooting for Benny and glad when the story didn't go in the direction that it seemed it was going. It did lag a bit for me in the middle, maybe I was tired of all the zombie fighting, but it's a book that's worth sticking with. The ending might be expected at a certain point, but it's touching and fitting. An enjoyable ...more

Like · see review