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View our feature on James Knapp’s State of Decay.
Just because you're dead doesn't mean you're useless...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
State of Okay.,
By Leah (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: State of Decay (REVIVORS) (Mass Market Paperback)
In my quest for zombie fiction, I was recommended State of Decay by James Knapp. Let me say this upfront: State of Decay is not a zombie book. It uses the concept of reanimation in a modern, technologically-oriented way to explore unsettling questions about identity: what makes us who we are? Is it the delicate spark of life that sustains our bodies that makes us human? Are we our memories? And what if we have reason to doubt those memories?
Science fiction has rehashed these ideas for decades, most memorably for me in films like Moon, The Matrix, Vanilla Sky, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as well as in books like Permutation City by Greg Egan, or numerous works by Philip K. Dick such as We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, which was the basis for the film Total Recall. PREMISE Knapp's foray into this realm is not as sophisticated as the aforementioned works. He deals with rudimentary concepts of memory-as-self, but uses a clever plot device to expose the fragility of the human mind. This stuff is headier than terms like "zombie" can account for, so Knapp calls his reanimated undead "revivors." Revivors are people who are brought back to (computer-assisted) life after death, to serve as soldiers and domestic peacekeepers. In exchange for this, the revivor enjoys elevated citizenship while he is still a warm-blooded human: access to better jobs, social prestige, higher quality of life. State of Decay begins when FBI Agent Nico Wachalowski busts up a ring of revivor traffickers who are illicitly reanimating bodies for use as mindless sex slaves, and to other exploitative ends. Only it seems the revivors he's found--along with a cache of weapons--may have some more nefarious purpose. On the other side of town, Detective Faye Dasalia is investigating a series of homicides, while telepath Zoe Ott sees visions of the dead--or soon-to-be-dead. These narrative threads are gradually drawn together to unveil disturbing connections and culminate in an explosive revelation. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES Knapp has constructed a solid foundation for his revivors and their place in society. So it's puzzling that he then decided to toss in a trite and contrived Psychic Powers (TM) arc on top of it. As the book draws to a close, it becomes clear how the psychic aspect fits in to the greater narrative, and this is thankfully satisfying and important to the underlying conflict--but the psychic powers are never explained, despite plot indications that they should be better understood. The psychic POV character, Zoe, is sympathetic and believable, but gives merely cursory reference to her past. Knapp has left room for himself to explore this in the implied sequel, but I felt it should have been addressed more thoroughly in the first book. Aside from plot issues, the action is rapid and engaging, and the prose, if simple, is lucid. Characterization is where Knapp stumbles. Psychic and alcoholic loser Zoe is his strongest character: flawed, unrepentant, emotional, sympathetic. She is the beating heart that pumps blood through the story. But other characters display markedly less dimensionality, particularly in the weak and needless subplot consisting of a cliché-ridden bad-girl female boxer and the mysterious youth who bails her out of jail. Knapp could have dropped this entire thread, cardboard cutout characters and all, to general improvement. While there are some tidy plot twists, they are too clearly telegraphed and predictable. To Knapp's credit, even though you'll guess where the plot is going long before it gets there, he keeps the journey lively with relentless action. But he has a tendency, most noticeable in the middle third of the book, to resort to dialogue to move the exposition-heavy action forward--a common problem with genre fiction. TOO MANY DIRECTIONS, GOING NOWHERE The main problem with State of Decay is that the book can't decide if it's a whodunnit, an FBI investigative thriller, a psychic drama, or (insert genre cliché here)--nor can it decide on being a cohesive synthesis of its parts. FBI Agent Nico's thread is the most prominent, incorporating elements of the whodunnit and psychic subplots. But those subplots in turn suffer from lack of attention and development, particularly the serial killer plot. Much ado is made about Detective Dasalia's gradual breakdown as she investigates the murders, but it resolves in an unsatisfying way: she's just another plot device. Because her character was so one-dimensional and event-driven, I wished there had been fewer POV chapters from her, so that I wouldn't feel cheated that I didn't care about her when I obviously was meant to. STATE OF OKAY James Knapp's State of Decay is a rapid-fire sci-fi thriller with a clever premise, undermined by thin characterization and predictability. It poses Big Questions about the self and the relationship between memory and identity, but doesn't pursue them seriously. The book is at its best when it makes us care about the marginalized losers of society: washed-up alcoholic psychics and exploited undead ex-humans alike.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great sci-fi action thriller that women will love,
This review is from: State of Decay (REVIVORS) (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm a woman who enjoys science fiction and action as much as any man. However, for me to really, really like a sci-fi movie or book, it has to have as good a story as it does special effects. I loved the movie "Aliens". I love to see a "kick-butt" female lead that isn't waiting for some macho male to come save her. I loved James Knapp's sci-fi action thriller book "State of Decay" and so did my "non-sci-fi-loving" mom. In "State of Decay" there are several strong women characters, all very different, that drive the story, and all are tied together via the main character Nico (who is a man, but what the heck). One woman character, named Cal, really kicks-butt. She's my favorite character. Another woman character, named Zoe, is emotionally disturbed and socially incompetent, but she has powerful psychic abilities that is key to the story. The third major woman character is Faye, who is a smart, workaholic police detective who has no time for family or friends (usually a man plays this character role). While there is some violence and gore, it is not that bad, especially not by today's action movie standards. James has a clear to-the-point writing style which I like, and the story's plot is multi-layered and smart. "State of Decay" is the first novel of the series, so the book's ending does not completely wrap everything up, although it is not a cliff hanger ending either. The second book in the series is "The Silent Army" and the third book is "Element Zero". All books are out and available in book stores or online. This is a great summer read for those who want a little sci-fi action in their lives. This book would also make a great movie.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant, intense, action-packed sci-fi novel. Ignore the cheesy cover!,
By
This review is from: State of Decay (REVIVORS) (Mass Market Paperback)
I came into State of Decay with fairly low expectations, due to its cheesy, generic-looking cover, the silly tag line ("Don't pity them, they're already dead") and the lack of any raving quotes from critics or fellow authors.
What I got was something miles beyond anything I've read recently in the sci-fi/urban fantasy genres. I was completely blown away. This book is brilliant. I would say it's more comparable to Philip K. Dick than anything else, and most certainly does not qualify as "zombie fiction," as the review on Amazon says. It is full of action and proceeds at a break-neck pace, but at the same time manages to achieve levels of complexity and intelligence rarely seen in a genre novel nowadays. It also features some truly creepy moments. But the strongest element of the book, for me, was the mystey. The book is almost like a puzzle - the narration rotates between 4 characters, and and information is given in such a way that you'll want to go back and re-read some parts to fully appreciate all the references. With all the mysteries, one can at first get a bit overwhelmed. But fear not - everything ties together beautifully by the end, and once you finish the book, you'll be itching for the next one in the series. I am surprised and disappointed at how poorly it's being marketed. It needs a new, more distinct cover, as well as a bunch of blurbs. I hope that it won't deter readers from picking up a copy, and that the book receives the attention it deserves. It is one of the best, most engrossing novels I read recently, and I can't recommend it enough.
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