Autumn

October 15, 2010

When a fast-moving virus decimates the population, the few survivors struggle to make lives for themselves, even as some of the dead come back as mindless zombies.

The virus spread at an incredible speed, leaving almost everyone dead, seemingly in minutes. Those few unaffected by it were left with nothing but questions. What caused the virus? Did it spread worldwide? And what to do now that almost everyone is dead? In a smallish English city, a tiny group of survivors finds one another and holes up at a community center, but just when they're starting to settle in, something mind-boggling happens—a large number of the dead slowly get up and start shuffling around. One survivor, Michael Collins, senses danger and decides that it is no longer safe in the city. He suggests that the group head for the relative safety that isolation in the country would provide. Most of the group decides to stay at the community center, but two others, Emma Mitchell and Carl Henshawe, join him, finally settling in at a remote farmhouse. They barricade themselves inside, mostly out of revulsion for the disgusting, but seemingly harmless, shuffling corpses. Before long, though, they notice a change, as the bodies seem to become increasingly aware of their surroundings, and more aggressive. Soon, isolated from a world that is mostly dead and surrounded by rotting, potentially dangerous corpses, the survivors begin to wonder whether there is any point in staying alive. The book trades the usual relentless drive of typical zombie horror for a slow, almost stately buildup. Unfortunately, the pace is far too slow, especially since the reader knows exactly where the story is going early on. Even though none of the characters utter the word "zombie" (which is odd, considering), it seems likely from the start that at some point the seemingly harmless re-animated corpses will turn on the survivors in relentless waves. The fact that it takes so long to get to the good stuff only makes the plot drag more.

Standard zombie fare from Moody (Dog Blood, 2010), slowed down to a lifeless crawl.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2010

In under 24 hours, a contagion kills 99 percent of the human race. The immune few survivors only have a few days to pull together before the dead begin to rise again, at first just wandering catatonically, then gradually developing volition, but never aggression. The corpses present a danger because of their sheer numbers, and they are attracted to the slightest noise. This marks the first print publication of the novel; it's been available free online since 2001 and has a cult following. BZG The word zombie never appears in the story. [Library marketing; this is the first of a five-book series that will be republished by Thomas Dunne Books.--Ed.]

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2010
Originally self-published and offered as a free download, Moodys sluggish apocalyptic survival story follows three characters as they deal with the aftereffects of a virus that kills most of the population, then turns them into zombies. When the dead first rise, they are harmless and unresponsive, but eventually they regain their most basic senses and turn violent. Most survivors, having become accustomed to the undead being rather benign, are unprepared for this change and perish quickly (though regrettably off-page), but Michael, Carl, and Emma, barricaded in an isolated farmhouse, remain securefor a little while. While the staged progression of the virus makes for an interesting premise, the execution is lacking, with excruciatingly slow pacing, repetitive dialogue, and characters as dull and aimless as the dead. While the story picks up around the 200-page mark, concluding with an exciting escape scene that leaves two of the characters fates undecided, zombie fans may want to give this first in the Autumn series a pass and read Moodys superior Hater (2009) instead.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)