On My Wishlist 6

*insert usual rambling about OMW being hosted by Book Chick City etc...*

So, in memory of the zombie/ apocalypse that never happened, I thought I’d theme this weeks wishlist around zombies/apocalypses just for the fun of it. Here you go.

Book review: The Dead by Charlie Higson

Title: The Dead

Author: Charlie Higson

Length:

Published: 16^th September 2010

Publisher: Puffin

Warnings: Violence and strong language

Summary: A terrible disease is striking everyone over the age of fourteen. Death walks the streets. Nowhere is safe. Maxie, Blue and the rest of the Holloway crew aren't the only kids trying to escape the ferocious adults who prey on them. Jack and Ed are best friends, but their battle to stay alive tests their friendship to the limit as they go on the run with a mismatched group of other kids, nerds, fighters, misfits. And one adult. Greg, a butcher, who claims he's immune to the disease. They must work together if they want to make it in this terrifying new world. But as a fresh disaster threatens to overwhelm London, they realize they won’t all survive.

Review: It seems that Charlie Higson is back with his zombie wannabes. I thought I would read this for a laugh, expecting it to be in the same category as “The Enemy” (you read, you think “how nice”, you put it down, you make tea, you drink tea, you come back, you repeat steps until the end of the book, you forget). I was sort of wrong. It was more engaging and was set at a better time to join the apocalypse (near the beginning). The characters were better and I thought that most of them had some depth but I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Kwanele as he was a comical character but he was more background character than a supporting character – he just exists. Charlie Higson has definately improved since "The Enemy" and I would like to congratulate him.

Hey Mr. Higson. Congrats! Sort of...

Now that that's over and done with I would like to point out that the blurb is rubbish. Greg never said he was immune. He said that he didn’t know and he didn’t care.

Rating: 3 A bit like rooibos tea. An imposter but bought by many people.

Book review: The Enemy by Charlie Higson

Title: The Enemy

Author: Charlie Higson

Length: 384 pages

Published: 1st September 2009

Publisher: Pengiun UK

Warnings: Violence and strong language

Summary from goodreads: They'll chase you. They'll rip you open. They'll feed on you...When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician - every adult - fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive. Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through t

he city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait. But can they make it there - alive?

Review: I found this book rather dull for a horror book. I don’t really know why… There was everything on my horror checklist:

Horror Checklist

· Lots of gore

· Action

· Unpredictable deaths

· Unpredictable appearances of attacker(s)

· Vivid description

· Insight of people feeling panic

· Insight of attacker(s)

LIST NOT IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

And lots of other people loved it… Oh well! I think that it mainly is because that “The Enemy” is not a zombie apocalypse story. Zombies are supposed to be undead, raised by someone with magic and then tied to that person to do their bidding. I do however think that the disease type zombies are acceptable in most zombie stories as many of them are set in the 21^st century where magic no longer exists. But in “The Enemy” the “zombies” haven’t actually died which is sort of is a bit… *Tries to think of suitable word for it that isn’t classed under profanity*… *Fails and sighs*… The narrative style of this book was probably the best to describe a “zombie” apocalypse. The multiple narrators are useful, especially when they may die. I loved the fact that we could get the view point of one of the “zombies”, as it gave you a better understanding of what the Holloway crew were up against – people with limited thinking skills suffering from schizophrenia. The best part about this book is that lots of people die. It doesn't usually happen in YA horror; the characters miraculously pull through, now armed with a new magical power.

Rating: 2 Green tea in hot water

*TRANSLATION: not quite right*