These are the second and the third installment, and a novella of the Benny Imura series. 14 years have passed since Benny and his older brother Tom found refuge in Mountainside, a village which is protected by a chain link fence from the outside world. Outside of this fence awaits them nothing other than the zombs which roam the Earth since the apocalypse, driven by nothing more than their insatiable hunger for human flesh and blood.

However, while his brother trains him beyond the fence, to become a zombie hunter as well, Benny learns pretty quickly that they aren’t the terrible monsters he always believed them to be. Benny didn't realize the whole truth about his brother’s work until he started to train with him. Tom gets hired by some residents of Mountainside to kill their loved ones with dignity, something Benny didn't know. Tom’s clients usually find it difficult to live with the notion that their loved ones have become vicious zombs, with no memory of their earthly life. Through his training with his brother, Tom and Benny unexpectedly welds them together even closer. Benny realizes quickly that some of the bounty hunters quite often have less humanity than the zombies themselves and could easily be the greater threat. Tom trains Benny and his friends to get “warrior smart” in order to survive this harsh world with their cruelties and difficulties. Together they encounter one adventure after the other in order to find a haven.

I have only recently discovered my passion for zombie stories; although I often get extremely cross as they too often end in cliffhangers. Baaaaah! However, the reason why I quite like this series is that Jonathan Maberry managed to create an engaging and believable world which he describes and builds remarkably detailed in the first book Rot and Ruin. It’s not just about zombie hunts and killing, but about growing up in a world which is about to fall. The stories are about the right to live, the treatment of the dead and the living together in communities. What do you do if there aren’t any real laws to follow and you have to deal with people who act like they are God himself and think they can put their welfare over the welfare of all others? All in all, this is a good series which is fun to read as the focus is not just on moaning, drooling and bloodthirsty zombies but also on emotions, solidarity and on how to create a new future. Definitely a series I can recommend to any zombie fan. ( )

Just what I needed to tie myself over to the next release! :)

Read for BoutofBooks 5.0
Overall Rating: 4.25
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.50

*counting down to Flesh and Bone*

This is an exclusive e-short story set in the land of the Rot & Ruin, one of my favorite series! The world that Jonathan Maberry has created is fascinating, and I love his characters! I can't wait for the next book to come out! ( )