Rot and Ruin - Scott Maberry

Rot and Ruin 

by Scott Maberry

                I was extremely hesitant to read this series. Though zombies are the trend (Walking Dead, Warm Bodies, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, etc.), it never appealed to me. One of my co-workers, who I get most of my book recommendations from, pushed me to read this. Grudgingly, I picked it up and finished it. Then I picked up the second book in series; finished it. Then I went out seeking the third most recently published in the series; finished it. All in the course of two and half days.  I could not put it down.

You know your life is going to be tough when your first memory is your mother handing you to your older brother while she is being attacked by your zombie-fied father. For this, Benny Imura resents his older brother Tom for being a coward and running away while his parents deteriorated. Fast forward fifteen years and in post-apocalyptic, zombie infested America and Benny’s main concern is finding a job. After failing at half a dozen jobs in their fenced in town of Mountainside, Benny must learn the “family business” from his older brother: zombie killing. At first, Benny expects mindless and easy slaughter of the slow walkers, but as he learns from his brother, his perception total changes. The undead are not the scariest monsters around.

This book, like the Imura family business, is extremely complex. It is no mindless slaughter of words but instead a multifaceted and emotional telling of a family and compassion. In most zombie-dystopian stories, you are required to have a fairly large suspension of disbelief but this telling feels fairly believable. These characters fell incredibly real. Maberry captures the arrogance and awkwardness of fifteen year old boys perfectly while weaving in a story of romance, brutal violence, and samurai logic.

I fell in love with this book for several reasons. One. The writing is rich without sounding conceited. Two. I’ve been reading a lot of ‘girl’ books (not that there is anything wrong with that!) and liked the freshness of a male protagonist. Three. Zombie infection feels like a real thing that could happen. I hope the Center for Disease Control is taking note of this trend and preemptively working on a cure. Four. Tom Imura is hot as hell and I want him on my team in case of an apocalypse.

 For fans of anything zombie, this is a must read. It’s like the Walking Dead’s younger brother; if Carl grew up and followed in Rick’s footsteps. Even if you are not a fan of zombies, read this book. Whatever the reason you are not liking this trend will completely change after reading it. Frankly, I would love if they made this book into a movie or better yet, a video game. I’d play the hell out of it.

This book rocks. Pick it up and read it. You will not regret it. And, even better, it’s available in paperback. And the kindle/whatever other e-reader is there, if that’s your thing.