Tagged: jonathon maberry

V-Wars by Jonathon Maberry

V-Wars by Jonathon Maberry(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

A sweeping, threaded narrative of the global phenomenon known as the Vampire Wars! Mankind is silently infected by a millennia-old bacteria unknowingly exhumed by a scientific expedition in Antarctica. Now, in some rare cases, a person’s so-called “junk DNA” becomes activated, and depending on their racial and ethnic heritage they begin to manifest one of the many diverse forms of the “others” that are the true basis for the legends of supernatural creatures. These aren’t your usual vampires and werewolves – it goes much deeper than that. Conceived by Jonathan Maberry, V Wars features stories from various “frontlines” as reported by such contributors as Nancy Holder, Yvonne Navarro, James A. Moore, Gregory Frost, John Everson, Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Scott Nicholson (as well as Maberry himself, of course). The result is a compelling series of tales that create a unique chronicle of mankind’s response to this sudden, hidden threat to humanity.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

As much as I hate to compare the two books, there really is only one way to describe V-Wars: a poorly done vampire version of World War Z.

At first I absolutely loved the idea of Jonathon Maberry compiling stories from other authors and weaving them together to create a narrative of a vampire outbreak.  I mean, it’s Jonathon Maberry!  He did zombies so well in Dust & Decay that I was sure V-Wars was going to be a hit.  What could possibly go wrong?

Well, the main thing that frustrated me was not so much the premise but the fact that I kept asking myself while reading: Could there possibly be a more complicated way to tell this story?!  We actually follow the stories of quite a few characters but the table of contents seems to have been drawn up by a child picking story names randomly out of a hat.  The vampire virus came out of Antarctica from a scientific expedition but we only actually meet the people who started the outbreak at the end of the novel.  There is neither rhyme nor reason to the chronology or when a new character would pop up to tell their story.  Or their stories would end randomly and we never heard from them again.

This lack of a logical timeline certainly affected my enjoyment of the story.  Sure, some of the characters were compelling, but others were just plain boring.  Besides, it’s hard to actually connect with characters when they randomly disappear, are forgotten, or barely get any page time at all.  Michael Fayne would have been interesting if his story was told in a more linear fashion and I suppose Ruksana was compelling, but again there’s the seemingly random order of the stories messing everything up.  This book is only 384 pages and yet I felt like I was reading a 1000+ page book where the novelist has decided to include the viewpoints of a cast of characters worthy of George R. R. Martin.

Due to the illogical ordering, I really had a hard time getting into V-Wars.  Some stories were fast-paced and others were unbearably dull.  It was sort of like getting an old car to start on a cold morning: just when you think you’re ready to go it dies on you.  There is no real climax, no peak of the vampire war that makes you think humanity is doomed.  Instead, the ending is ambiguous with Luther Swann basically saying that there are more vampires out there not declaring themselves and that humanity is probably in trouble if they keep persecuting them.

Overall, as much as I hate to say it, V-Wars was a flop for me.  I wouldn’t recommend it; you’re better off reading World War Z, which is at least told in a logical order.

I give this book 1.5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot & Ruin by Jonathon Maberry(Cover picture courtesy of Fic Talk.)

Benny Imura couldn’t hold a job, so he took to killing.

In the zombie-infested world Benny has grown up in, teenagers must work once they turn fifteen—or they’ll lose their food rations.  Benny isn’t interested in taking on the family business, but he reluctantly agrees to train as a zombie killer with his boring big brother, Tom.  He expects a dull job, whacking zombies for cash.  What he discovers is a vocation that will teach him what it really means to be human.

As his worldview is challenged again and again by the lessons he learns from Tom, Benny is forced to confront another horrifying reality: Sometimes the most terrible monsters are human.

Critically acclaimed author Jonathon Maberry crafts a terrifying future vision of a zombie apocalypse, brought to life through the rich emotional struggles of a teenager trying to find his place in a tumultuous new world.

At first, it seemed like Rot & Ruin was going to be a lot like The Return Man.  It was in some ways, but Jonathan Maberry focused more on the human aspect and how people would deal with the dead suddenly rising rather than a huge conspiracy for a cure.  I smell conspiracy in the future books, but Rot & Ruin was a surprisingly human take on a zombie apocalypse.

For the first half of the book I wanted to punch Benny for calling his brother Tom a coward and hating him.  It was such a relief when Tom took on Benny as a reluctant apprentice and brought him out into the Rot & Ruin beyond the safe fence of the community.  The wastelands beyond the community are an interesting take on what would happen to humanity in the event of a zombie apocalypse.  Benny meets people who believe zombies are divine and people who treat them sadistically and has to reconcile his burning hatred for zombies.  It’s an interesting character arc that I really can’t complain about.

The plot took a couple of interesting twists, but one thing I didn’t like was the Deus ex Machina at the end.  Yes, it was nice because the character in question was the best character of the novel, but I would have liked something a little less cliché.  Either way, it was still great to see Benny’s relationship with Tom improve and for him to realize his growing feelings for Nix, his best friend.

Overall, Rot & Ruin was a great book that had a fresh perspective on how people would deal with a zombie apocalypse.  I can’t wait to read the sequel: Dust & Decay.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble