Rot & Ruin

Finally got around to reading this and I'm sitting in my car on my lunch break only to turn the page and discover a page had been torn out. Everything else was great though.

OK, "Zombie Apocalypse meets Catcher in the Rye" may seem like a ridiculous pairing, but in Jonathan Maberry's Rot and Ruin, it just works. This zombie Sci-Fi thriller meets coming-of-age tale is quite simply the best YA zombie story I have ever read! In fact, it might just be one of the best zombie stories, YA or adult fiction, I have ever read!Benny Imura was just a toddler when his brother, Tom, took him and ran away from their home on the First Night. Benny has never forgiven his brother for running away and not saving his mother from their father who had already become one of the monsters. Even though Tom has since become a bounty hunter who ventures into the Rot and Ruin to kill zombies for money, Benny still thinks Tom is a coward.Together they live in Mountainside, a small fenced town that works together to survive the zombie apocalypse that started 14 years ago. Benny has just turned 15 and all 15 year olds must find a job or their food rations will be cut in half. Benny and his friend Chong start looking for jobs, but can't find anything that isn't disgusting, terrifying, or simply too much effort than they are willing to give. Chong gets a job as a lookout on the fence tower, but Benny's imperfect eyesight keeps him looking. Finally, without any other options, he must resign himself to apprentice with his brother, and nothing could annoy him more.When Tom agrees to take Benny into the Ruin and show him what he does, Benny has no idea what he is in for. Benny hates the zoms and has long since idolized the ruthless bounty hunters like Charlie Pink-Eye and Motorcity Hammer. Once in the Ruin, however, he sees Tom's side of the world. While the zoms are certainly to be feared, they aren't to be disrespected. Tom teaches Benny that the zoms were once people, and his job is very different than the other bounty hunters. Instead of bringing back limbless torsos for money like the other hunters, Tom goes on specific missions for family members to give them closure and "quiet" their loved ones. When Benny accompanies him on a quieting, it becomes clear Tom is anything but a coward. When they come upon a group of bounty hunters "having fun" with a bunch of zoms, Benny truly understands Tom's job finally- it isn't about killing monsters, it is about ending someone's suffering.Things begin to go awry in the superstitious town of Mountainside when the newest Zombie Trading Cards are released. In addition to Benny getting the new hunter card- Tom- he also gets the Lost Girl card. The Lost Girl is a myth of a feral girl who survives in the ruin. She is stunning and Benny instantly feels protective of her. When he begins to investigate the card, however, he finds his brother may be the best source of information about the Lost Girl. Unfortunately, Charlie Pinkeye is also interested, and not for humanitarian reasons. He has much more disturbing reasons for wanting to find the Lost Girl, and when he attacks Benny's friend Nix and her mother, Benny and Tom must go into the Ruin to save Nix before Charlie can put her into the Zombie Games- a twisted gladiator-esque challenge where the hunters pit children against zombies.This book was simply fantastic. It really showed the superstitious nature of the survivors in the small town. Once they had shielded themselves from the zombies, they weren't willing to even consider what happened outside the fences. Like the other townsfolk, Benny only sees the zombies for what they currently are- flesh munching, mindless monsters. Tom sees what they were- people like you and me. It shows the humanity within a pretty scary genre.The writing is not too mature or too immature. It would be appropriate for stronger junior high readers all the way through high school readers. There isn't an abundance of violence, even though the story centers around zombies and bounty hunters. This book is a great story for the students who are interested in some action but really like a character driven story, as Benny and Tom are the true focus of this incredible book. All I can say is even if you are not a zombie enthusiast, you should give this book a chance- it will really blow your preconceived notions out of the water!

Benny Imura and his brother don’t get along. He blames his brother Tom for the events of First Night when their parents died during the zombie uprising. Even though Tom’s supposedly a badass zombie hunter, Benny hasn’t seen any evidence of this and insists Tom’s a coward. Instead he hangs out with his friends a listens to tales from much cooler zombie hunters who help keep his small town safe. But when he starts asking questions about a young girl supposedly living in the wild, things go a little crazy. Now Benny and his brother are on a desperate mission to save their friends and they have no choice but to trust each other.Guys, I love me a zombie book. Some of my favorite books ever are zombie books. There’s just something about the way they bring up questions about what makes someone human and what makes someone a monster that I find hugely compelling and this book was no different. It doesn’t help that it feels a lot like an episode of Supernatural either. Maberry creates a desolate wasteland in which America has succumbed to the zombie apocalypse and it’s such a haunting setting for the story and an apt metaphor for life. Survivors have created small towns to live in, away from the rest of the world which has been dubbed The Rot and Ruin. These settlement camps are actually tight knit communities of people trying to move on with their life, but having no idea how to do so. Most of the time, people live and die in these small spaces without ever trying to find something better out there and it’s heartbreaking, but also very real. Because who wants to tempt fate when a zombie horde could come along? People have a hard enough time breaking out of their comfort zones and trying to do something scary without a bunch of flesh eating monsters to worry about.This book hits you heard with FAMILY FEELS. Tom Imura is one of the best characters I’ve come across in a while. He’s such an interesting mix of grace, honor, and obligation. He genuinely loves his little brother and wants to help build a world for him that will actually mean something in the end, that can offer him something more than just waiting to die. He serves as a great mentor and is a fully fleshed out almost main character. He’s the yin to Benny’s yang and it’s a truly wonderful and interesting dichotomy that’s explored between the brothers. Benny is a good protagonist in his own right and we spend most of the time in his head and you can actually feel and see him growing as a person as his journey into the zombie wasteland continues. He learns a lot about himself, his brother, and what it means to be a human being in a world of the dead. It brings up complex moral dilemmas in a very organic, beautiful way. There are times it does’t even feel like a young adult novel to me and instead reads like a haunting treatise on the human condition and the choices we make in order to live.The pace is also pretty action packed and there were moments where I found myself holding my breath wondering what was going to happen next. The heart of this book, really, is the family aspect and the bond between brothers as they learn things about each other they didn’t know before. It’s of note that Benny and Tom don’t really know each other well at all in the beginning of this book even though they’re the only family they have left and they live in such a confined world and it really speaks to Maberry’s credit as a storyteller that their relationship progression was so rewarding and finely revealed. There is a bit of romance in the book as well, as Benny’s longtime friend Nix is a secondary character with a crush that becomes pretty complicated, but it’s by no means a focal point of the story. So if you like your YA novels with a little more emphasis on love of the romantic persuasion, you might be a bit disappointed. However, I’m sure this aspect is going to come into play in a much bigger way later in the series. All in all, I really enjoyed the book and have already Kindled the second installment.

Finally finished this book! (August 2022) It's the first book in a 5 book series. Dystopian by nature, set 14 years after a zombie apocalypse started. 458 pages and small font 😤 lots to get through but I finished the book in 8 days. I did like the book, but I'm debating if I want to continue on the journey with Benny Imura or not. I have two giant stacks of unread books to get through so I'm not trying to buy four new books 😂 will revisit after I clear a good chunk of books out. ----> It's been a good 6 months and I'm still leaning towards not continuing the series. Maybe it's due to the main character being so young.

This is an incredibly well-written and thought-provoking novel, even though it's a fun, fiction book geared towards those who are interested in all things to do with the zombie apocalypse. However, even though I normally don't go in for things that are zombie-themed, I loved this novel so much that I gave it to my boyfriend for a birthday present, because he IS into all things zombie apocalypse-related.This novel takes place in the post-zom (as they're called in this novel) apocalypse time, when there is a fence around the town they live in and few dare to venture outside of it, and those who do are bounty hunters. Bounty hunters in this age, however, are assigned to offing zoms. Most bounty hunters go at it with little care as to whom they're offing, but Tom Imura, Benny's older brother, is different. He offs zoms who were once friends and family to those who hire him, with compassion and a sense of grace, versus the senseless and disgustingly violent hacking of the other bounty hunters. He respects the bodies of the souls that once lived in the zoms and un-animates them bearing that in mind.Then comes the story of the Lost Girl. She lives in the wilderness, having grown up there, supporting herself, alone, and can barely speak. She is an anomaly, and there are people who want her. Benny wants to protect her, but the truth is that she doesn't need the protecting. She can take care of herself.All of these factors play into this tale of the post-zom apocalypse and make for an incredible story that I am happy to read over and over again. I'm not one who usually goes for violence, but there is more to this story than the violence that makes it very, very worth reading.I would recommend this to all readers, but especially teenage guys and anyone with a sense of adventure or fascination in zombies. I wholeheartedly recommend this. Even if you don't THINK you'll like this book, you'll probably like this book. It's that good of a story.5/5 and two thumbs up! Well done, Jonathan Maberry.And the good news is that there are already more books in the series! :D

I read a few pages. I hated it. I mean really hated it.I bought this book without knowing too much about it (I tend to like reading books knowing as little as possible about them beforehand, something that I accept can backfire), along with it's sequel. It was very quickly apparent that this book was written for teenagers, or, at the very least, removing anything too gory, violent or sexual so as not to be an adults only book.I was very disappointed. But then I kept reading. And reading and reading and reading. 20% in, and I couldn't put it down. I finished it in three days, which is pretty good, considering I quite often only read after getting into bed.Yes, the 'action' is very tame, but it's well written. It's one of those books where your mind fills in the blanks. You definitely find yourself cheering on the heroes and wanting the bad guys to get what's coming to them.Also, the book is set well into a zombie infestation. Some of the characters have only ever known this world, which makes a refreshing change from 'Oh my god, there's a zombie outbreak, everyone run!". It definitely makes it more interesting, and presents a different kind of story within the genre.

I loved this book so much. For fans of the walking dead than rot and ruin is an absolute must because it is very much walking dead only from a teenagers angle. The basic concept is pretty much like all zombie stories the world has ended and for some unknown reason (as yet because there are another three books in the series at the moment) the dead have risen leaving humanity struggling to survive. However what makes this series different than other zombie books is that the zombies aren't the only monsters in town there's also human nature to worry about. Mayberry also keeps up the suspense if what else is outside the town of mountainside and doesn't give you any real clues so when certain events take place they can take you be surprise. Overall this is an awesome zombie apocalypse story and I am off to start the second book enjoy.

I've been reading a lot of zombie novels since getting my kindle because they are cheap as chips, the trouble is that the majority are not worth the 99p I paid for them. So, was it worth paying "proper" book prices for these - hell yeah. They are well written and like the Amazon blurb suggests in the Walking Dead style in as much as they are about the story and not the zombies. The villains are dark, but there is also an element of darkness to the heroes and also in walking dead style, anyone could possibly die, so keeping the element of surprise. I'd recommend that you try the 1st one, it's only money after all!

I read the preview of this when it first came out - and I liked it, but I just never got round to reading it for one reason or another.Then the price dropped which I have to admit was the reason behind me getting this now. I'm glad I did. This book is brilliant.Right from the first page, the story had me hooked on the characters - good and bad, and the plot was just perfect. We see a slightly different take on the zombie idea here, I'm guessing to keep it nicer for young adults.I liked this one so much, that I've gone straight in to the second book ( Dust & Decay ) and will most likely go for more Maberry books when that's done.I can't recommend this enough - it really is great. Go now, read this. Dust & Decay