I just finished a novel entitled "Mad World: Epidemic" written by Samaire Provots. I have to say that I think this may have actually been the first zombie book that I've ever read. I'm generally not a big fan of zombies, but I do enjoy the occasional zombie film. Although the book could still use some editing (I ran across a few spelling/grammar errors and a couple of places where the story is slightly out of sync but nothing that can't be overlooked), I have to commend this new author on her ability to really bring the story together by touching on several emotional responses from the readers. Even though the book seems to be aimed at a younger generation than myself, I was still easily able to relate to the characters and to sympathize with their plight.
"Mad Wold: Epidemic" opens with an explanation as to what has caused the zombie outbreak by having the main character, Alyssa, speak in a narrative sense. Standford university has accidentally unleashed a synthetic version of the of the bacteria responsible for the Black Plague. The disease is sweeping across California, and as Alyssa informs us, eventually across the whole world. Those who are infected become, for all intents and purposes, zombies. Once infected, a person goes through a spell of normalcy followed by a high fever, delirium and convulsions while their skin takes on a gray hue and their eyes become bloodshot. At this point the infected person looses their sense of self and become enraged monsters, fast, strong and with a hunger for human flesh. They also appear to loose some level of intelligence, speech and the ability to walk straight. A shot gun shot to the head, or being beheaded seems to be the only thing that will stop them completely. As the disease progresses, the zombies become more aggressive, their skin continues to darken until black and their eyes take on a milky color.
The story is centered around a group of high school students; Alyssa, Jacob, DeAnder, Conner, Emily and Caitlin/Catilyn who were on an out of town field trip to New York City when they learned that there was some serious trouble going on back home, trouble enough that areas of California were being evacuated.Concerned for their families, the group of students and their acting coach rushed to return home. Soon after arriving in California they learn just what this microbe that the news spoke of is doing to people when they come face to face with the infected. Tragically, one of the student's mother has been infected and she in turn infects Coach Turner, the student's chaperone on this trip.
As they travel in their rush to get home, more tragedy strikes and more people are lost to the infection. The students take in a pregnant woman who was in desperate need of a ride, a professor named Mike, a receptionist named Ellie and a little girl named Risa.
Perhaps the saddest part is when Holly is found to be infected. While trying to escape a panicked crowd of people, Holly sustains an open wound on her arm. Awhile later, while running for her life, Holly is tackled by a zombie, landing face down on her pregnant abdomen. When the zombie is shot, it's blood splatters all over Holly, including on to her open wound. It would seem though, that both Holly and the baby are fine as quite some time passes with absolutely no sign of infection. Eventually, though, Holly begins to take on a gray tint as she beings having contractions. The others are forced to restrain her wrists and her head as she fights to give birth while being over taken by the disease.
Alyssa is portrayed as being very emotionally mature for her age as she steps in to play a mother like role towards Risa, and later for Holly's baby boy, Luke. She starts the story having a crush, as a lot of girls do, on Jacob. Throughout the story the two of them develop an incredibly chaste, but romantic relationship without ever directly verbally expressing their desires for one another to each other. Their unfolding relationship seemed very fairytale-esque to me, lacking a sense of realism and because of this I had a little trouble buying into it, but nonetheless was pleased to see that the two characters were falling in love with each other.
The volume ends with Alyssa describing the trouble that most of them had in tracking down where exactly their families had been evacuated too, and even if they were still alive as many of the evacuation transports were overrun during the process. Luke, Holly's baby, is still in their care as Alyssa promised to Holly, but it would seem he hasn't escaped the infection after all.
A second volume, "Mad World: Sanctuary" is available as well.
All in all, I found the book to be worth taking the time to read. It's an interesting spin on the zombie genre and has some truly heart-wrenching moments. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the zombie genre and looking for a light read, and I intend to read the second volume as well.
"Mad Wold: Epidemic" opens with an explanation as to what has caused the zombie outbreak by having the main character, Alyssa, speak in a narrative sense. Standford university has accidentally unleashed a synthetic version of the of the bacteria responsible for the Black Plague. The disease is sweeping across California, and as Alyssa informs us, eventually across the whole world. Those who are infected become, for all intents and purposes, zombies. Once infected, a person goes through a spell of normalcy followed by a high fever, delirium and convulsions while their skin takes on a gray hue and their eyes become bloodshot. At this point the infected person looses their sense of self and become enraged monsters, fast, strong and with a hunger for human flesh. They also appear to loose some level of intelligence, speech and the ability to walk straight. A shot gun shot to the head, or being beheaded seems to be the only thing that will stop them completely. As the disease progresses, the zombies become more aggressive, their skin continues to darken until black and their eyes take on a milky color.
The story is centered around a group of high school students; Alyssa, Jacob, DeAnder, Conner, Emily and Caitlin/Catilyn who were on an out of town field trip to New York City when they learned that there was some serious trouble going on back home, trouble enough that areas of California were being evacuated.Concerned for their families, the group of students and their acting coach rushed to return home. Soon after arriving in California they learn just what this microbe that the news spoke of is doing to people when they come face to face with the infected. Tragically, one of the student's mother has been infected and she in turn infects Coach Turner, the student's chaperone on this trip.
As they travel in their rush to get home, more tragedy strikes and more people are lost to the infection. The students take in a pregnant woman who was in desperate need of a ride, a professor named Mike, a receptionist named Ellie and a little girl named Risa.
Perhaps the saddest part is when Holly is found to be infected. While trying to escape a panicked crowd of people, Holly sustains an open wound on her arm. Awhile later, while running for her life, Holly is tackled by a zombie, landing face down on her pregnant abdomen. When the zombie is shot, it's blood splatters all over Holly, including on to her open wound. It would seem though, that both Holly and the baby are fine as quite some time passes with absolutely no sign of infection. Eventually, though, Holly begins to take on a gray tint as she beings having contractions. The others are forced to restrain her wrists and her head as she fights to give birth while being over taken by the disease.
Alyssa is portrayed as being very emotionally mature for her age as she steps in to play a mother like role towards Risa, and later for Holly's baby boy, Luke. She starts the story having a crush, as a lot of girls do, on Jacob. Throughout the story the two of them develop an incredibly chaste, but romantic relationship without ever directly verbally expressing their desires for one another to each other. Their unfolding relationship seemed very fairytale-esque to me, lacking a sense of realism and because of this I had a little trouble buying into it, but nonetheless was pleased to see that the two characters were falling in love with each other.
The volume ends with Alyssa describing the trouble that most of them had in tracking down where exactly their families had been evacuated too, and even if they were still alive as many of the evacuation transports were overrun during the process. Luke, Holly's baby, is still in their care as Alyssa promised to Holly, but it would seem he hasn't escaped the infection after all.
A second volume, "Mad World: Sanctuary" is available as well.
All in all, I found the book to be worth taking the time to read. It's an interesting spin on the zombie genre and has some truly heart-wrenching moments. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the zombie genre and looking for a light read, and I intend to read the second volume as well.
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