The First Days

Starred review from May 16, 2011
"This world is fragile." This truth lies at the core of Frater's intensely compelling first novel. When Jenni wakes up one morning and discovers her husband devouring their baby, she flees into a world suddenly populated by zombies. She is rescued by Katie, a lawyer haunted by her abandonment of her now-undead wife. The two traumatized women escape the city and discover unsuspected reserves of strength as they meet other survivors, some waiting for the government to save them and others trying to support one another through the chaos. Katie and Jenni join a group in a fortified site and are faced with the enormous task of rebuilding the world. This outstanding first effort, the first book in a trilogy, will appeal greatly to zombie fans, but the undead are merely the catalyst for a far more disquieting tale of societal collapse.

September 15, 2011

At first, Jenni assumes her abusive husband is being his usual sadistic self. It's not until he begins devouring their three-year-old son that she realizes something is terribly wrong. Soon enough her entire family is both reanimated and ravenous, and Jenni flees. She's rescued by Katie, a passerby in a pickup truck, and the two women join forces to embark on a Thelma and Louise-style odyssey into Texas hill country. Together they slice a swath through hordes of fleet-footed zombies to seek safety with other survivors in a small fortified town. In the sequel, the two find nothing is easy in this violent new civilization. The survivors labor to expand and fortify their territory as the world disintegrates around them, but these days the danger is greater than ever as the women and their men face off with human outlaws, a mysterious vigilante, and the ever-present zombies. Meanwhile, power struggles and tensions among members of the community threaten to erupt and destroy the safe haven they have built.

Frater gained a significant Internet following when she published this zombie trilogy (the conclusion, Siege, is scheduled for May 2012) as an online serial, but her work is less effective as novels. Many of the characters are flat, the dialog is often trite, and, at times, the writing is reminiscent of a PG-rated romance, a style that blends poorly with zombie fiction. On the flip side, the author has fashioned some great action sequences featuring a pair of tough but sexy female protagonists who divide their time between kicking zombie butt and making out with their respective beaux. Good for fans of the undead who like lots of hugs and kisses during their zombie apocalypse.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.