Showing posts with label zombies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zombies. Show all posts

Monday, 18 February 2013

Days of Love and Blood - R.S Carter

Days of Love and Blood
Description
A post-apocalyptic zombie book for women.

Without the zombies.

Worse than zombies.
The Demon Virus spreads worldwide in a matter of days leaving nothing but a few uninfected people in its path along with disease-riddled survivors who possess homicidal tendencies.

Carson drives across the country, back to her parents’ farm, with her son Ronan to begin a new life in a post-apocalyptic world. There she discovers more uninfected people like herself and attempts to build new relationships after the devastating loss of her husband.

Two men distract Carson from her grief, each possessing different characteristics that she found, loved and needed in her husband. Cooper has a bad attitude but gives Carson the space she needs with his self-sufficient, independent ways. Ben panders after her but exhibits a kindness she appreciates. Neither of them embody all of which she lost in her husband’s death.

The need for human interaction intertwines with the daily struggle of tribulation, remorse and adjustment, revolving around the constant battles between the uninfected and the last remaining homicidal maniacs.Days of Love and Blood is a story which examines the bonds created between people in times of change with an unexpected shocking end that will have you questioning your own threshold for pain.



My Opinion
I wasn't sure to expect from this book as I'm not really too keen on zombies, however the fact that this is a zombie book aimed at women intrigued me into how the author could differ the plot and adapt it to suit the audience. I must admit that R.S Carter did surprise me with this novel and it definitely achieved what it stated.

I liked how the book wasn't focused on the zombie apocalypse but rather it was in the background and more of the driving force for Carson's actions. I've read a few zombie books that go into huge amounts of detail about how they were created and about a small group trying to survive. Although this book was about surviving the story was based more around Carson's desire to protect her son rather than the zombies. Carter gave enough information for the reader to understand what had happened to the human race but it wasn't the main focus and overpowering. As well as this Carson's emotions where developed incredibly well throughout.


I liked the way every chapter started with a flashback of Carson's previous life with her deceased husband. It gave extra insight into the story and helped engage the reader even more. At times though a few did confuse me. Some seemed slightly random and didn't give as much detail as I would have liked so I could make sense out of what was happening.

This book keeps you on your toes with many twists, especially at the end. I didn't think the story would take the path it did and I'm really not sure what to make of the last few chapters. The book had hinted at things all the way through but the ending did become darker than the rest of the book and although I normally like dark novels it became a bit to graphic for my tastes as I wasn't too keen on the subject matter. As well as this the ending was slightly predictable as I find the same kind of things happen in the end of zombie novels, however it did tie everything up and didn't feel rushed so left the reader with a sense of resolve.

Overall this succeeded in being a zombie book for women. It was nice to read a book from this genre where the zombies weren't the main focus and the characters were developed well. I wasn't too keen on the last few chapters but that purely down to personal tastes in subject and would recommend this book as it is an interesting read. I would not recommend it to a younger audience though due to the language and some content.




Wednesday, 31 October 2012

My Swordhand is Singing – Marcus Sedgwick


My Swordhand is Singing (My Swordhand is Singing, #1)Description
In a bitter winter, Tomas and his son, Peter, settle in a small village as woodcutters. Tomas digs a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so that they have their own little island kingdom. Peter doesn't understand why his father has done this, or why his father carries a long, battered box, whose mysterious contents he is forbidden to know.
But Tomas is a man with a past--a past that is tracking him with deadly intent. As surely as the snow falls softly in the forest of a hundred thousand silver birch trees, father and son must face a soulless enemy and a terrifying destiny.

 

My Opinion
OK, so because it is Halloween I have decided to re-read one of my favourite horror books. I still remember the scared feelings I had as I lay in bed after finishing this book for the first time. Reading it at 2am with just a fire light was definitely not the best idea... I lay awake for hours after the last few pages but even though I was scaring myself with my over active imagination I just couldn't stop reading. I loved the title and this is originally what drew me to the book as I really enjoy gothic/horror books.

This was the first book of Sedgwick's I ever read and since reading this book I have read many other books he has released. His writing is truly amazing! Sedgwick takes old legends, myths and period of times and twists them into a dark interesting, horror story.

The plot of this novel was great! It was dark, different and shocking with all it's twists and turns.
The character's were interesting and engaging and I found myself being drawn deeper and deeper into the world Sedgwick created. The bit that effected me most was towards the ending but by that point I was finding it impossible to stop. As well as this, the short chapters kept me turning pages just to find out what happened next. The books was incredibly atmospheric and I loved the darker version of a vampire/zombie story.

Even though this is like the fifteenth time I have read this book it still scares me every time. I don't know if that is just because I'm spooked easily but it is probably down to my over active imagination that gets lost in the believable worlds created by Sedgwick. I have definitely learnt my lesson though after the first time and now only read his work during daylight.

I can not recommend this book highly enough. Sedgwick's novels are some of the best I have read and his writing is great! If you want something that you can lose yourself in to get scared on Halloween this book would be great!  

Other great reads by Marcus Sedgwick that I have loved!

The Book of Dead Days (Book of Dead Days, #1)   The Dark Flight Down (Book of Dead Days, #2)  The Foreshadowing  Blood Red, Snow White The Kiss of Death (My Swordhand is Singing, #2)  White Crow


You might also like

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...