23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A hit for zombie fiction!, October 3, 2006
This review is from: Monster Nation: A Zombie Novel (Paperback)
I found Monster Island first and really enjoyed the dark desolate overtones that novel put out. So reading the next book in the series was a must.
While Monster Island takes place after the world has been overrun, this novel takes place before and during. The book starts with a bang and just keeps on going at a pretty good pace. There's not too much talking nor is there excessive action. It's a well balanced novel in my opinion.
The author does put his own spin on the rise of the zombies which jives with his first novel. I thought it worked out pretty well given that every zombie novel wants to always deal with "why did this happen?"
I would definitely recommend this novel. And you don't have to start with Monster Island either.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as Monster Island, January 20, 2007
This review is from: Monster Nation: A Zombie Novel (Paperback)
Like some of the other reviewers I really enjoyed Monster Island. (If you live in New York City it is interesting to read about the city post-zombification!) I was disappointed with Monster Nation.
The whole idea of the Nilla character being able to become invisible at will was never explained at all and just seemed at odds with the rest of the story. Without giving too much away, the ending was pretty weak and seemed to have no basis in reality. Fine if the whole book was a great big fantasy but most of the time Wellington bases the action very firmly in reality. Some of the characters were well written but most were two-dimensional and didn't really ring true.
This is probably worth reading only if you are interested in learning more about the world Wellington is trying to create. Hopefully the third installment will be better.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good continuation of the story, October 4, 2006
This review is from: Monster Nation: A Zombie Novel (Paperback)
I read Monster Island and this is a good side by side story along with that. It is a flashback to the beginning of things, providing a clearer idea of why the undead have started walking and a little more detail on our ancient scottish undead chap that was in the first novel.
Unlike the first book, this one really cannot stand on its own as I am sure the series of events will be completed in Monster Planet, the third and final (I assume) installment in this series.
Mr. Wellington does a good job of creating a realm where the supernatural is the cause of the dead rising as opposed to a virus or a more scientific reasoning. We are slowly given an idea of how this threat developed and where it came from. Even thought it came from human actions, ancient gods are behind the desire to see the human race wiped clean off the planets surface.
This book is even more focused on a specific undead character than Zombie Island-Nilla, who chose her own name after becoming undead because she cannot remember her name, nor anything of her own past before being bitten by a zombie herself and dying. She continued to take in oxygen while dying and thus her brain did not deteriorate. The story pretty much follows her storyline as well as Clark Bannerman, a Captain with the National Guard who is forced to become the lead in the military battle against the undead in the western states. He pursues Nilla after realizing that she is the only undead person that can still speak. He knows that she is a key to resolving this issue, even though he does not know why.
Overall, the story flows quite well and is definitely entertaining. I liked how the author put a small blurb on nearly every page that blasts out a news report/personal commentary that interupts the ongoing story with information on what is occuring to people all over the country. Pleas for help, reports of mysterious killings, etc.
I feel the author did a better job of explaining the undead relationship with animals-how they become undead, etc. than in the first book. It seemed then that it was just a minor point. It is not fleshed out completely here, but seems much more natural as a part of the story.
Given that this series of books takes a supernatural slant, I am much more accepting of the ancient scottish zombie here than I was in the first book. I was a little taken aback by Nilla's "special ability" which seems out of place and makes little to no sense-how does she have that particular talent and why? Perhaps it will be further explained in the final book.
Overall, the details of this book made the me understand the first book even more and appreciate it better now that things seem to be coming together more clearly. I look forward to reading the third book and seeing everything resolved (or at least resolved...for now).
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