Witch Island by David Bernstein

May 29, 2014 By Leave a Comment

WITCH
Witch Island by David Bernstein
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (218 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A witch’s curse from beyond the grave!

Witch Island used to be feared. Even the bravest would not dare go there. Legend said a witch had been burned alive at the stake, and upon her death she cursed the town. Terrified residents performed rituals to keep her spirit trapped on the island where she was buried.

Now, over a hundred years later, a group of high school seniors have decided to forgo the local graduation parties and have a small gathering of their own—on Witch Island. They don’t fear the legends. They scoff at them. But the group will soon learn these particular legends are nothing to scoff at. And Witch Island will prove far worse than they could have ever imagined.

Every community has its share of local legends. Some of them are true while others have been so blown out of proportion over the years that it’s nearly impossible to know if anything they claim actually happened. Of course Witch Island must be one of those tall tales. Or is it?

At first I was surprised by how much time Mr. Bernstein spent introducing all of the characters and explaining how the legend of Witch Island began. Many horror novels leap into the action almost immediately. Once the plot thickened, though, I appreciated all of the information that had been provided about the identity of the witch and the types of people who were about to visit her island. It was easier to keep track of such a large cast of characters given how much I knew about what their lives had been like before they decided to camp out in such a haunted place.

While all of the main characters had well-developed backstories, I would have liked to get to know their personalities better. Their childhood experiences were interesting, but for most of them I never quite found the connection between those memories and their current behavior. This is a strongly plot-based tale, so I wouldn’t expect it to spend as much time on character development as it did on pushing forward to the next scene. It still would have been helpful to have a better sense of who works well under pressure or has a tendency to be too trusting though.

The horror elements of this story take a while to show up, but once they do they’re much stronger than the science fiction elements. There are some genuinely frightening scenes in here that I’m very glad I didn’t try to read after dark or while on a camping trip. It certainly would have been scary to encounter those scenes while listening to all of the unfamiliar nighttime calls in the woods, but I don’t think I would have gotten any sleep had I tried to do that!

I’d recommend Witch Island to anyone who is a fan of the gorier side of these genres. It is full of the viscerally terrifying kinds of scenes that work so well in this kind of horror.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Night Never Ends by Martin Clark

May 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment

NIGHT
Night Never Ends by Martin Clark
Publisher: Eggplant Literary Productions
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Horror, Historical, Paranormal, Action/Adventure
Length: Short Story (83 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

On a humid Los Angeles evening in 1951 Lucas Helath witnesses a murder in his office. The cops would love nothing more than to pin it on Helath. But before they can start he watches a woman step in front of a truck after delivering an impossible message: “Harry Furie sends his regards.”

Impossible because Furie, Helath’s former partner, is dead, lost in the Korean War. As the night deepens, Helath is dogged by memories, the wisecracks of an Imp that may just be all in his head, and spirits that might be all too real. Bodies are piling up, and Helath needs to know what’s going on.

He has till dawn to track down the killer and clear his name or the mob, the Church and the LA PD will come down on him, hard.

It’s hard to know who to trust when you’re the number one suspect.

While he isn’t someone I’d want to befriend in real life, Lucas is a complex character whose flaws are even more interesting than his virtues. What I found most compelling about his tendency to mouth off to other people was how oblivious he was to what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of his jabs. Just enough hints were provided about his past to give a reasonable explanation for his most harmful habits, though. This character is a very good example of how a protagonist can be extremely intriguing without necessarily being likeable.

It wasn’t always clear to me whether certain conversations were actually occurring or Lucas was simply thinking about them. It’s difficult to discuss this topic without inadvertently giving away spoilers, but there were times when I wasn’t sure if his perception of reality was the same one shared by the secondary charaters. Knowing more about the circumstances in which these conversations occurred would have helped me find answers to both questions.

The snappy dialogue in this story was as funny as it was informative. Each character expressed his or her personality in large part through what they said and how they said it. One needs a quick wit to survive in this universe, and it was amusing to see how all of the people who live in it have learned to stay on their toes.

Night Never Ends kept me guessing until the end. I’d recommend it to anyone who is a big fan of noir mysteries.

Filed Under: Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Castle by the Sea by JG Faherty

May 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment

CASTLE
Castle by the Sea by JG Faherty
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal
Length: Short Story (90 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

How did they get here? Will they ever get out?

Jason and Erika are having a wonderful time at the Halloween carnival…until their swan boat in the Tunnel of Love capsizes amid heavy waves and blaring, maniacal laughter. When they come to they are no longer in a carnival in Ohio, but standing at the edge of a sea in a raging storm. In the distance, atop a high, barren hill, looms an enormous castle.

Instead of answers, Jason and Erika find only more impossibilities within the stone walls. The lavish rooms are lit only by torches and fireplaces, the decorations and furniture are a century out of date, and the mysterious host claims to not own one of those newfangled telephone inventions. Outside, in the storm and the dense mist, lurk strange, threatening figures. Inside, another couple seeking refuge think it must all be a nightmare. Perhaps it is. Or perhaps it’s something much, much worse.

All Erika and Jason wanted was to eat sugary carnival food and steal kisses from each other in the Tunnel of Love. Unfortunately not every date necessarily goes as planned.

The fast-paced plot begins immediately in this story with a series of inexplicable events. It was interesting to meet the main characters and almost immediately see them plunged into such dangerous circumstances. My curiosity about what would happen to them next only grew deeper as their predicament became even more dire.

I would have liked to learn more about Jason and Erika’s personalities. So much time was spent describing what happened to them that I never really got to know them as individuals. It would have been helpful to see them express their strengths and weaknesses, especially when the plot takes sharp turns and plops them into situations they could have never anticipated. There were many opportunities to showcase their unique perspectives that weren’t taken advantage of during the course of this tale.

The descriptive passages in this novella painted crystal clear images in my mind of what the castle looks like. All of the senses are included in the descriptions, which makes certain scenes even more horrifying than they might have been otherwise. I was impressed with how quickly Mr. Faherty introduced creepy new settings to the audience without slowing down the plot at all. This was my first introduction to his work, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

Castle by the Sea is a good choice for anyone in the mood for an old-fashioned fright fest. There are plenty of terrifying things hidden among these pages!

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Bootleg Cove by Devin Govaere

May 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment

COVE
Bootleg Cove by Devin Govaere
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Historical
Length: Short Story (85 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Who knows the secret of Bootleg Cove?

Young widow Willie Douglas recently moved to remote, isolated Bootleg Cove on the Chesapeake Bay with her four-year-old son. Her plan—to renovate and re-open an abandoned restaurant. Almost as soon as she arrived, a handyman showed up out of the blue, offering to help. Then Amanda and Sam, two apparently orphaned teenagers, came to her door in need of help and a place to stay.

But it’s not just the sweltering heat that’s wearing on Willie’s already fragile emotions. Her mysterious handyman seems to know more than he’s willing to say, Amanda and Sam are acting very strangely indeed, and Willie’s beginning to realize that all three of her houseguests have more history with Bootleg Cove than she could ever have imagined. Willie is seeing too many things that she either can’t explain or refuses to believe. But the most shocking revelation about Bootleg Cove is still to come…

Everyone needs a second chance sometimes. Little does Willie know just where hers might lead her, though.

Willie’s many strengths and weaknesses are slowly revealed as she adjusts to her new life in Bootleg Cove. She is a fascinating protagonist whose choices amused, perplexed, intrigued, and occasionally irritated me. Seeing how she changes as the plot progresses was one of my favorite parts of this story as it was written so believably. The amount of character development is typically what I’d hope to see in a full-length novel. Packing it into such a short amount of space isn’t easy, yet Ms. Govaere makes it look effortless.

One subplot is given a disproportionate amount of time to build up tension in the first few chapters. The premise of it is quite scary. Based on how much energy certain characters exert dancing around the issue, I expected it to dominate many more scenes than it actually did. It would have been helpful to know a little bit more about the rules governing this issue in this universe so that I could have more easily understood what the author was trying to communicate with her audience.

This novella is full of twists that I never saw coming. I was so intrigued by all of the unanswered questions in the beginning of it that I simultaneously wished it would never end and couldn’t wait to read more. If this is any indication of Ms. Govaere’s storytelling abilities, I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

Bootleg Cove is home to nearly as many secrets as it is to human occupants. For this reason it’s a great choice for anyone in the mood for something eerie that requires a little effort to untangle.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Blood Red Roses by Russell James

May 1, 2014 By Leave a Comment

RED
Blood Red Roses by Russell James
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Historical
Length: Short Story (97 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The spirits of the dead cry for justice.

In the waning days of the Civil War, orphaned teen Jebediah Abernathy has been indentured to one of the most notorious plantations in Mississippi, Beechwood. Ramses, the sadistic overseer, rules completely, unchecked by owners driven mad by the loss of their only son. Cruelty and torture are commonplace. And slave boys are mysteriously vanishing. But Jebediah is not completely alone. The ghost of his father and an escaped slave sorceress will lead him to the horrific truth about the disappearances—a knowledge that will probably cost him his life.

Even the worst streak of bad luck has to end eventually, right?

Jebediah hasn’t had an easy childhood by any stretch of the imagination. His response to all of the traumatic things that have happened to him made me empathize with him early on, but what happens next made me take a long, hard look at the times in my life when I’ve acted just like him. One of the reasons why I’m such a huge fan of science fiction and horror is that both genres are quite good at bringing attention to topics that aren’t always easy to discuss. I wasn’t expecting to experience as much introspection as I did while I read this novella, but doing so made me wish for a sequel.

It would have been nice to see more character development occur during the course of the plot. A lot of time was spent describing the appearances and demeanours of all of the individuals Jebediah meets, but only a limited amount of space was set aside to show how they changed as a result of what happens at Beechwood. Had this not been the case, this story would have easily earned a much higher rating.

The horror genre is strongly represented in this tale. What made the scary scenes even more interesting, though, was how much time Mr. James spends foreshadowing them. This was a great choice for this particular story as it gave me the opportunity to acclimate to the culture these characters were living in before the plot thickened.

I’d recommend Blood Red Roses to anyone looking for something dark yet intelligent. It kept me on my toes from beginning to end!

 

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish

April 30, 2014 By Leave a Comment

MANO
Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (92 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Have you ever been so scared your soul left your body?

All her life, Lesley Carpenter has been haunted by a gruesome nursery rhyme—“The Scottish Bride”—sung to her by her great grandmother. To find out more about its origins, Lesley visits the mysterious Isobel Warrender, the current hereditary owner of Linden Manor, a grand house with centuries of murky history surrounding it.

But her visit transforms into a nightmare when Lesley sees the ghost of the Scottish bride herself, a sight that, according to the rhyme, means certain death. The secrets of the house slowly reveal themselves to Lesley, terrible secrets of murder, evil and a curse that soaks the very earth on which Linden Manor now stands. But Linden Manor has saved its most chilling secret for last.

Some people claim that every nursery rhyme contains a kernel of truth. If this is true, Lesley is in grave danger, and she has no way of knowing it. Will she unravel the real story behind “The Scottish Bride” in time?

A memorable ghost story needs two things: a chilling backstory and a terminally isolated setting. Luckily Linden Manor fulfills both requirements so well that I didn’t want to stop reading. The creepy house Lesley visits while searching for the truth behind her favorite childhood nursery rhyme made me shudder. Sometimes beautiful locations hide ugly secrets, and the tension between these two realities is expressed wonderfully in the descriptions of the estate.

I figured out certain plot twists well in advance of when they actually occurred. All of them worked well within the plot, but given how well-written this story is I would have liked to see a few more liberties taken with certain tropes. Had it been a little more difficult to predict them this book would have easily earned a much higher rating.

With that being said, uncovering the hints about what was really going on was exciting. Only an attentive reader will pick up on the more subtle ones, and I was impressed by how much work was put into striking a balance between keeping this reader on her toes and explaining what was happening when the plot thickens. This is a strongly paced tale that I didn’t want to put down, and I’m really looking forward to reading more from Ms. Cavendish.

Linden Manor is deliciously spooky. Paranormal activity isn’t always harmless, and this novella is a great choice for anyone in the mood to explore just how dangerous it can be to wander onto the wrong property.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Horse of Wind and Shadows by L.B. Shire

April 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HORSE
Horse of Wind and Shadows by L.B. Shire
Publisher: Lycaon Press
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Contemporary, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (154 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Evil lurks in the waters off the Oregon coast. A lone girl, a magnificent horse, zombies… Can hope prevail with each hoof beat in the sand?

All Taryn wanted was to have a horse again.

When she spotted the black steed running through the ocean waves, she knew there must be a way to capture the feral horse. Her best friend, Flyn, said it wasn’t possible. Not one to turn away from a challenge, will she risk friendships and love to make her dream come true?

Flyn has been Taryn’s self-proclaimed protector since they were kids. Thrust into a world of unpredictability, he tries his best to keep the strong-willed girl out of trouble. Taryn stumbles upon a horse and decides she wants to make it her own against his growing concerns. Will he be able to keep Taryn safe, or will she be lost to him forever?

Is there any point in wishing for impractical things when there’s no guarantee you’ll live to see tomorrow? Of course Taryn knows how dangerous it is to grow up in a world full of zombies, but she can’t help but to dream of what it would feel like to ride a horse again.

Taryn is one of the most interesting protagonists I’ve met so far this year. Her strengths and flaws reveal themselves early on in her adventures, and she definitely possesses quite a few of each. Sometimes her unrelenting stubbornness made me wish I could climb into the scene and persuade her to listen to other points of view, but her empathy and curiosity kept me rooting for her until the conclusion.

I did notice some grammatical errors in the text as I was reading. There were also a few instances in which the characters’ syntax was unusual. It was never quite clear to me if the author was writing a new type of dialect that was created by the large number of orphans in the plot whose education has been sparse to non-existent or if these oddly written sentences would have disappeared with another round of editing.

Strong, even pacing drew me back into the story. There is little room for sentimentality or nostalgia in this world because the characters are forced to spend so much of their time gathering supplies and outrunning the dead. This realistic look at what it would take to keep a small community functioning under such dangerous conditions when a large percentage of their members are young children and teenagers piqued my interest almost as much as the dilemmas Taryn and her makeshift family face.

The paranormal elements of this tale captured my attention immediately. It’s fairly rare for a zombie novel to include the types of phenomenon that the author inserts into the text, so I was curious to see how everything would tie together. I would have liked to see more time spent developing this subplot. It’s a unique twist, yet the amount of space it was given wasn’t quite enough to explain all of the questions I had in the beginning.

It took me a while to determine the most appropriate age recommendation. Taryn is a few months shy of 16 when the story begins, but her emotional response to her circumstances and her obsession with the horse make her come across as someone who is a few years younger than her chronological age. There is a genuinely innocent and naive side to this character that is often at odds with her surroundings, and it is because of these traits that this story is suitable for high school students of any age.

I’d recommend Horse of Wind and Shadows to anyone who would like to shift effortlessly between genres. This novel is equal parts young adult and science fiction with just enough horror thrown in to remind the reader that there are always zombies lurking beyond the perimeter.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Night Man Cometh by Tony-Paul de Vissage

April 15, 2014 By 2 Comments

COMETH
The Night Man Cometh by Tony-Paul de Vissage
Publisher: Class Act Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Action/Adventure, Historical, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (376 pages)
Heat Level: Hot
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In 1249, Damien La Croix willingly choses Undeath rather than perish of the Plague. Once risen as a vampire, he takes his betrothed into the dark with him, but something goes wrong and Antoinette perishes. Thus, Damien begins a solitary walk down the corridors of time in search of Antoinette’s replacement.

Beginning with Konstancza in 15th century Romania where Damien and his garde de nuit serve Voivoide Vlad Drakula, his search extends into the far future to a fateful meeting in a snow-filled Chicago. Until then, Damien meets, loves, and loses each person he thinks may be the one to replace his Antoinette—Kate in Colonial America, who avenges herself against her rapist but prefers to hang rather than become an Undead; Bess, a 21st century Goth, wanting both an Undead lover and a living one and dying for the wrong choice; Michel, a concentration camp guard where Damien and his kind are imprisoned in the human answer to the Vampire Problem; Alyss – descendant of his beloved Konstancza –lost to a rival vampire’s seduction.

All could be his but all perish, for when the Night Man Cometh, can Death be behind…?

Two questions have been on Damian’s mind since his transformation: will I ever find a second soulmate, and is it really possible to change? Only time will tell if he figures out the answer to either of them.

Damian wasn’t exactly a saint during his short first life, and his thirst for violence only becomes more unquenchable once he begins his Undead one. His severe lack of empathy and self-awareness brings depth to his personality even if certain horrid choices make it difficult to find many positive things to say about him early on. What I found most interesting about Damian’s character development, though, was how slowly it takes place. Centuries can pass between the first glimmer of change and the next step in Damian’s evolution, but because those moments are given so much time to take hold in his mind they always felt genuine to this reader.

I would have liked to see more time spent exploring the personalities and interests of Damian’s potential life partners. Some of them are developed well enough for me to understand his attraction to them, but others were given very little time to express their unique qualities. Even love at first sight eventually needs something to back up that first flush of emotion, and this novel would have easily earned a much higher rating had I better understood why he chose some of his paramours.

From the opening scene Mr. de Vissage kept my interest piqued with strong, even pacing. By covering Damian’s journey through such an incredibly long period of time the author is able to slowly build a complex supernatural society that would have been hard to flesh out in such detail in a shorter story. I found certain subplots even more captivating than the focus of Damian’s mission because of how expertly the author weaves everything together from one millennia to the next.

As someone who has never had any exposure to the French language, it was sometimes difficult for me to determine the meanings of French words and phrases that show up routinely in the first few sections of this novel. Some of them were easy to figure out because their English equivalents were so similar to them, but certain words remained a mystery to me until the end. While I understand why the author wanted Damian to retain this part of his heritage, it would have been helpful to either have had a glossary of the terms at the beginning of the book or more context clues about their meanings embedded in the text near them.

By far my favourite part of this book involves how effortlessly the author brings back the traditional approach to vampire mythology. Damian and his associates are sexually alluring to humans, but they are also extremely dangerous, unpredictable creatures. The horror elements of this tale are ubiquitous and include the darkest themes of that genre.

I would especially recommend The Night Man Cometh to anyone who is a fan of Dracula. Even with its flaws, this is a noteworthy example of what vampire fiction can be.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

A Clockwork Army by Quinn Langston

April 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment

ARMY
A Clockwork Army by Quinn Langston
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Historical
Length: Short Story (82 pages)
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“An army of automatons controlled by a vampire! ”

Colonel Julian Hawthorne has set in motion a maniacal plan to rule the world with a clockwork army of human automatons. And as a vampire, he has the wealth and all the time in the world to achieve his mad goal.

Lord Sebastian Hawthorne is equally determined to stop his brother in his tracks. Sebastian has never forgiven Julian for making him a vampire. But unlike Julian, Sebastian sees humans as more than cattle to be dominated and bled dry. With the help of Theodosia Ambrose, clockwork expert, he vows to thwart his brother s plans at any cost. Even his own immortal life.

Being a vampire doesn’t mean Sebastian can do anything he wants to do. Unfortunately his brother hasn’t figured that out yet, and unless something happens soon Julian might not get another chance to learn that lesson.

One of my favorite things about vampire literature is figuring out what rules govern them in each universe. Every author chooses a unique set of abilities and limitations for their vampires, and this book’s interpretation of it snagged my attention immediately. It was very helpful to know what to expect from them so early on in the plot as some of the author’s rules are quite different from other vampire stories I’ve read.

I would have liked to see more time spent developing the personalities of the main characters. There were a few times in which certain individuals make choices that seem out of character for them based what I learned about them earlier. With more information I would have had an easier time determining if these decisions were meant to illuminate parts of their personalities that had previously been unexamined or if they were actually inconsistencies. I had some trouble connecting to the characters as they were written due to this confusion.

The horror genre is strongly represented in this book, and some of the most frightening scenes are fairly graphic. They work well within the plot, though, and even manage to tie together some of the most easily recognizable tropes from science fiction, horror, and steampunk. What surprised me the most was where Ms. Langston deviates from what I expected to happen. Her creative approach to all three genres made my first introduction to her work memorable, and I’m looking forward to reading more from her soon.

A Clockwork Army is a good introduction to steampunk. I would especially recommend this novella to anyone who is curious about this sub-genre but has yet to give it a try!

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

After Life Lessons by Laila Blake & L.C. Spoering

April 4, 2014 By 2 Comments

LESSONS
After Life Lessons by Laila Blake & L.C. Spoering
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (226 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Hulking shadows emerge out of the chaotic flurries of the blizzard. Something is dying, and so they come, like vultures.

After months of struggling south to escape the zombie-infested remains of New York, a snowstorm traps 23-year old artist, Emily, and her son in an abandoned gas station. Starving and desperate, they encounter Aaron, an Army medic on a mission of his own, who offers them a ride to ease the journey.

The road is a long and dangerous place to travel, and every day brings a new threat. But fear and adrenaline also drive the two closer together; they find laughter and a budding attraction that starts to thaw at their numb and deadened feelings. And that’s when the pain really starts to hit, when places long thought lost prickle back to life. Eventually, they will have to fight not just for survival, but for a future together, or their broken world will swallow them whole.

Few things are in shorter supply in a post-zombie world than trust. Giving it to the wrong person could have dire repercussions, after all, and few people are in a position to take that chance. Unfortunately Emily doesn’t have many options left.

Post-apocalyptic fiction works best when the reader is occasionally thrown a curve ball, and this story is no exception to that rule. The even pacing and the inclusion of a few surprising twists to some tropes that are common in this genre made me wish I could read the sequel immediately. I was especially mesmerized by how quickly Emily switches between protecting her son from the horrors of their predicament and scolding him for the types of shenanigans that all children get up to when left to their own devices. Including these experiences in the same scenes helped me get to know these characters very quickly and made the climax even more compelling.

Trying to survive in a world full of zombies is difficult enough for adults, but it becomes even more challenging when there’s a small child to protect. These factors on their own provide more than enough fodder for advancing the plot, so I was a little thrown off by why the possibility of a romantic relationship between Emily and Aaron is brought up so often. Given that this book is the first in a series and that both characters are teetering on the edge of survival when they first meet, I think it would have made more sense for this particular subplot to be introduced in a sequel instead. This novel is full of heart-stopping moments as is. It would have easily earned a much higher rating had more time been spent on the main plot.

With that being said, both Emily and Aaron have extremely well fleshed out personalities and backstories that make me wish for a prequel. Wondering what would happen to them next lead me to reading it from cover to cover over the course of a few days, and my curiosity only grew more insatiable as I realized how effortlessly they work as a team. Their strengths and weaknesses are well matched. They genuinely seem to enjoy one another’s company as soon as their friendship begins.

After Life Lessons is a promising beginning to an exciting new series. This is a great choice for anyone who loves zombie or post-apocalyptic fiction.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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