Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi

(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Can true love survive the end of the world?

Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice–between her family–and Chris Parker, the boy she’d given her heart. Now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he’s the only thing on her mind.

All Chris “Chase” Parker wanted was to take Peyton away and keep her safe from harm. But he waited for hours in the rain on judgment day and she never showed–breaking his heart without ever telling him why.

Now the two of them have been thrown together once again, reluctant chaperones to a group of orphan children in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead still walk…and feed. As they begin their pilgramage [sic] to the last human outpost on Earth, can they find a way to let go of old hurts and find the love they lost–all while attempting to save what’s left of the human race?

(Book blurb courtesy of Mari Mancusi’s website.)

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

For all of you zombie lovers out there, be warned: this is more of a romance novel with zombies than a zombie novel with romance.  Like Feed, it focuses on how people are affected after a zombie apocalypse.  It doesn’t really get into the nitty-gritty of how the virus works (much to my dismay), but it does give a nice explanation, unlike in The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which doesn’t give any explanation at all.

The story switches between Peyton’s and Chris’ points of view to keep up the suspense, and I think this works well.  Both characters are well-developed and you can really feel the raw pain they experience when they see each other again.  Chris’ addiction to painkillers heightens the suspense even more and I love how he is ready to quit because of Peyton.  The only thing that didn’t sit well with me was how long it took from exposure to death and re-animation in this book.  In Tomorrow Land, it can take up to 2 weeks before you actually turn!  Since most common viruses take 4-7 days to incubate, that seems a little ridiculous to me.

The plot moves along at a fairly fast rate, in spite of all of the backstory scenes about how the outbreak began and Peyton and Chris’ respective choices.  Personally, the ending seemed much too rushed, especially because of the big twist the plot took.  Otherwise, Mari Mancusi has penned a nice romance with zombies thrown in for fun.  If you love naturally developing romances, you will love this book.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Amazon (Kindle)*    Barnes and Noble (Nook)*

*If you want the paperback edition, it is called Razor Girl and is only available through used book sellers.

Latest YA News

Well, I was right!  Some ambitious director has picked up the rights to Conn Iggulden’s Emperor series.  According to Wikipedia, it is to be directed by Burr Steers and it will be a trilogy.  The first film will attempt to combine Emperor: The Gates of Rome and Emperor: The Death of Kings.  This actually makes sense because the first book is very slow and could easily be condensed and added to the second book.  Apparently this has been news since May 20, 2010, but I just found out about it and I wanted to spread the word.  So, Conn Iggulden fans, you’re in luck!  The movie will apparently be called Emperor: Young Caesar, which is a title so horrible it makes me want to gag.  Could it be more predictable?  Oh well, with the name “Caesar” in the title, it will draw a larger crowd.

Blood of Eden by Julie Kagwa was just released on April 24 as well.  So if you love Julie Kagawa, or real blood-sucking, human-eating, stone-cold killing machines that don’t sparkle, check it out.  I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to get my hands on it as soon as humanly possible.  For more information, check out the official site here.

 

 

Kristin Cashore is an amazing writer and the third book in her Seven Kingdoms series is coming out on May 1 of this year!  I mentioned this before, but after it got an excellent review from a reviewer who managed to obtain an ARC, I am even more anxious to read it.

The Horus Road by Pauline Gedge

(Cover picture courtesy of mcnallyrobinson.com)

Using subtle means of political power and economic control, a foreign power known as the “Rulers of the Upland” has taken over Egypt to plunder its riches and eradicate its religion and culture.  In The Oasis, the stunning second volume of Pauline Gedge’s Lords of the Two Lands trilogy, Kamose, the son of Seqenenra, continued his father’s fight for the freedom of Egypt and his family.

In this riveting final volume of the trilogy, Ahmose, the brother of Kamose, vows to continue the struggle that has been so catastrophic for his family.  He knows that the time has come to lay siege to the Setiu capital, but he realizes that military might alone will not be enough to breach the city’s walls.  He will need no less than a miracle from Amun.  And he cannot imagine how devious Apepa will be in his attempt to rob the Tao family of its chance for total victory.

Okay, we all know that Ahmose ends up liberating Egypt from the Hyksos.  The appealing part of The Horus Road is the journey to victory, not so much the victory itself.  Will Ahmose be able to continue on and finish what Seqenenra and Kamose died for?  Of course he will, but nothing will ever be the same again in the Tao family.

Ahmose is a three dimensional character, but after reading The Oasis, which is in Kamose’s perspective, he seems pale in comparison to his brother.  Yet, throughout the novel, Ahmose steps into the large footprints left by his father and brother and eventually outshines both of them.  Ahmose is a great character, but Pauline Gedge has not neglected secondary characters like the resourceful Ahmose-Nefertari or the tragic Ramose.  She only gives us hints at the great woman Ahmose-Nefertari would become, but it is enough to make her steal every scene that she’s in.

Since the end of the war is drawing near, the plot moves along at a fantastic pace that makes you never want to put this book down.  Cities burn, kings run from danger and betrayal happens on both sides…what more could you ask for in the conclusion to this stunning trilogy?  The ending is not a perfectly happy one, but it is satisfying and the characters stay true to themselves.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble

My Interview with Andrew Levkoff

Andrew Levkoff is the self-published author of one of my favourite historical novels, The Other Alexander.  It’s a greatly underrated novel and this interview definitely sheds some light on why Mr. Levkoff decided to pick such an unusual figure in Roman history to write about.  Today he graciously agreed to do an interview with me, so if you love hearing about Roman history, self publishing and tips for aspiring authors, please read on!

Update:  Mr. Levkoff has just informed me that he won gold in historical fiction category of the eLit Awards.  For anyone who wishes to see the results, here is the link: eLit Awards 2011 (PDF)

1.  Why did you choose to focus The Bow of Heaven on Marcus Licinius Crassus?  Out of all the figures in Roman history, why him?
I think Crassus may have gotten a bad rap. Rome hated nothing more than a loser, and in the eyes of historians like Plutarch and Cassius Dio, he was right up there at the top. Crassus lost the standards of his seven legions to the enemy. It took Octavian (Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus) 27 years to negotiate their return, and the day they were returned to Rome there was a celebration as great as if Caesar had earned a triumph. Continue reading →