Rot & Ruin | Jonathan Maberry | Review

Rot & Ruin | Jonathan Maberry | Review

• Wednesday, 25 September 2013

“Often it was the most unlikely people who found within themselves a spark of something greater. It was probably always there, but most people are never tested, and they go through their whole lives without ever knowing that when things are at their worst, they are at their best.” - Jonathan Maberry, Rot & Ruin

Yes! I finally have another zombie review for you! It's been too long since I last reviewed a zombie novel, because we all know that it's my favorite genre (okay, maybe you didn't know that, but now you know). And do you want to know what the best thing is? It's a review of a really good zombie novel! I guess that kind of spoiled the surprise, but oh well, I guess the five stars at the bottom of this post are pretty revealing as well...

Rot & Ruin is the first book in the series about Benny Imura by Jonathan Maberry. The story is set around 15 years after the zombie apocalypse in a small town in central California. There isn't a lot of people left in the world and most of those people live in small towns behind fences and high walls. When Benny Imura turns 15 he's required to get a job so he can earn his rations of food and necessities. After a few failed attempts on different jobs Benny gets asked by his older brother if he wants to join the family business. Benny thinks that all his brothers job is about is hunting down and killing zombies. But when Benny gets to tag along one of his brothers trip out to the world on the other side of the fences, the rot and ruin, he realizes that there's so much more to his brother and the job he calls the family business.

Like I've already admitted, I truly enjoyed this book! Rot & Ruin consists of everything that makes a good zombie novel! It's fast paced, exciting and filled with action. But it also touches important issues about humanity and about how people face extreme situations. I also really enjoyed the characters in this books. I think the main character Benny Imura is a really good example of good character development. The other characters are also well-written. They're different, interesting and have a lot of depth to them and they're never predictable or too stereotypical. I also like Jonathan Maberry's writing-style. He doesn't try too hard, but he never gets sloppy. To be honest, I don't have anything negative to say about Rot & Ruin. It's a well-written young adult book filled with interesting characters. It also have an interesting story-line and good pacing. It's a book that keep me up all night so I could read just one more chapter...

If you are a fan of zombie fiction and you haven't read this book yet I recommend that you pick it up right at this moment! Because I'm pretty sure you're not going to be disappointed! And if you're not into zombie fiction, why not give it a try? There's actually a chance that you might like it as well! So, it's not a surprise to anyone that I give Rot & Ruin 5/5 stars!

This post was written by regular reviewer Niina, get to know her here.