Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Blog Tour Review: Eden by Tony Monchinski

Series: Eden #1
Publisher: Gallery Books/Permuted Press
Date: December 6, 2011 (2008)
Format: paperback
Acquired: from Gallery and Pocket Books Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog Tours
Read: for review (disclaimer: I received my copy of this book in return for an honest review.)
Pages: 307
Reading time: one week

From GoodReads: Seemingly overnight the world transforms into a barren wasteland ravaged by plague and overrun by hordes of flesh-eating zombies. A small band of desperate men and women stand their ground in a fortified compound in what had been Queens, New York. They've named their sanctuary Eden. Harris--the unusual honest man in this dead world--races against time to solve a murder while maintaining his own humanity. Because the danger posed by the dead and diseased mass clawing at Eden's walls pales in comparison to the deceit and treachery Harris faces within.


My review: In some ways I enjoyed this book more than I expected and in other ways I did not. I found that I don't like the gore in your typical zombie novel. People getting their guts ripped out, being dismembered, or otherwise being ingested by the living dead is just not for me. Also, I expected a bit more social commentary or something rather than just an all-action story. There was some of this, but it remained relatively hidden. Some more came out at the end, which, as with so many series, is what actually compels me to find the next book. I did enjoy the characterizations. They were complex - some were never even fully explained - and well-developed. I found Harris' characterization as a tough survivor but still committed to living well and pursuing lasting relationships refreshing from many other similar novels, too. Though I was at times a bit confused with the nonlinear storyline, flashing between characters, events, and dates every chapter, I thought it added more depth to the development of the overall plot. I'm definitely looking forward to finding out more about this zombie apocalypse and its survivors in the sequel, Crusade.

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