Review: Dust and Decay (Benny Imura #2) by Jonathan Maberry

Source: Received an ARC from Simon and Schuster Canada for an honest review.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: Already Released.
Number of Pages: 352 (Hardcover)

(Goodreads Link.)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot and Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them. 

Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot and Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland –where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

In the great Rot and Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything…and not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will make it out alive.

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I've already reviewed Rot and Ruin, and I loved it...I also loved Dust and Decay! I know I've said it before, but I will say it again....I...LOVE...ZOMBIES! They are fabulous (okay, not in the traditional sense, but I think they rock haha), and I love reading about them, especially when it's not all about the gore. I don't mind gore, but I'm not a fan of a book only being about gore. Jonathan Maberry's Benny Imura series is a good mix of gore and other stuff. Other stuff being like feelings, and talking, and all those good 'ol bookish things. Okay, I'm being extremely general on purpose, but I'm trying to not spill any spoilers for Rot and Ruin in case you haven't read that one yet. Some will be unavoidable, like the ones that are already given away in the Goodreads blurb though, so if I spoil stuff that the blurb already spoils...I'm sorry, but this is a review for a sequel. lol

I'm gonna start off with the action. The action was even more intense in Dust and Decay, than it was in Rot and Ruin...which is saying something because that one was pretty intense and action-packed, too! Benny's stronger...and more buff, which yes, he does mention, since the last book, and he's also grown up a lot. Mostly because he's had to. He went through so much in Rot and Ruin, as did Nix and Tom. They've been through tonnes, so it isn't a surprise that they've decided to try to leave Mountainside. You'll have to read Dust and Decay to see how that turns out for them because my lips are sealed. :P

Oh Tom...I confessed that I love Tom in my Rot and Ruin review, but I will say it again, he is a sexy dude! I think it's because he's so fierce, but he doesn't even want to be doing what he does. He's noble, and he's a great role model for Benny. Plus, he can cook...I can't cook that well, or rather, I don't try to cook most of the time...I might be able to if I tried, but I know he can, and I like that. Anyway, I'm gonna stop gushing, and move back into the review. (Yup, I just dedicated a nice little chunk to Mr. Imura, but he's so worth it. ;D )

This one made me sad, it made me happy, and it made me laugh. I totally cried, but I won't tell you why, when, or how many times (it was more than once though). I'm not a fan of crying, although you might have noticed that I do it a lot when I read, but it's one of the ways that I judge how much I like books. If I cry over something, I can tell I'm invested in the story, and that I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I don't cry if I don't like a book, so crying for me is like a seal of approval. It means I care (and that the book is either sad or happy), and the fact that Jonathan Maberry has managed to make me care about his characters and their story so much, in a zombie book I might add, makes me smile every time...even if I might not be happy about why I was crying.

Dust and Decay is a fantastic sequel. It has double the action, definitely double the zombies---they were EVERY WHERE in this one, and it's one massively awesome zombie-tastic ride! If you haven't started this series yet, and you like zombies...or you want to try a zombies series, I definitely recommend that you go out and get yourself a copy of Rot and Ruin...and once you devour that, a copy of Dust and Decay, or both at once, whatever you fancy. :)

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur

Review: Rot and Ruin (Benny Imura #1) by Jonathan Maberry

Source: My own personal copy.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: Already Released.
Number of Pages: 458 (Hardcover)

(Goodreads Link.)

Blurb from Goodreads:

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human.

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My name is Ambur, and I have a confession to make. I love zombies. I love the movies, the costume make up, the moaning, the sluggish walks, and...yes, sometimes I even love the gore. Oh, and I can't forget the fact that I love the books.

I believe my love of zombies started when I first watched Dawn of the Dead, the remake of course because it had just come out on DVD and my mom bought it. We all watched it, and from that moment on I've been hooked. I rewatched Dawn of the Dead, and when it came out Land of the Dead, too, and I even remember a friend and I practicing the "zombie dance" that they had as a special feature on the Land of the Dead DVD. So, why am I telling you all this? I'll telling you all of this so you know that I like zombies, and so that if you, too, like zombies, know that you are not alone...also it's a great segue into my review. :P

Rot and Ruin isn't your typical zombie book. For starters, the narrator isn't an adult, he's a teenage boy, born into a world where zombies exist, and the world we're used to is only a memory. Zombies outnumber the living by vast numbers, and there are even mentions of the authorities dropping atomic weaponry to try and get rid of the zoms, but of course, that only made everything worse.

Benny Imura's parents both died on First Night (the night that the dead started to come back as zoms), and all he has left is his big brother, Tom. To say that Benny and Tom's relationship is tense at the beginning of this book is a serious understatement. Benny basically hates his brother, and it takes a while for him to even want to get to know his brother, but as the story progresses, so does their relationship. I loved their relationship. It was tense, it was tumultuous, but most of all, it was real. What teenage boy is going to want to listen to his brother, even if his parents are dead? None, it's just the way teenagers are wired. They don't listen to people who aren't "adults" and for some reason, siblings just don't count. :P

I'm gonna make another confession, while Benny was the main character, I have a serious soft spot for Tom, and I'm definitely harboring a not-so-secret crush on him...and that samurai sword. *sigh* haha Okay, so yes, Tom Imura, very very tough. ;) haha I also really liked Benny's friends. Jonathan Maberry wrote an amazing cast of characters into this story. From the bounty hunters, Charlie Pink-eye and the Road-City Hammer, to Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny's friends. They all had amazing stories, as everyone who remembers First Night also has. Another awesome touch that I loved was that my hardcover copy of the book has pictures of the "Zombie Cards" inside of it on the inside of the cover. It was an awesome touch, and I loved that it helped me give the characters with the cards a face. I love picturing characters in my head,  but I'm never one to turn down a hint at what the author thinks they look like. :D

Along with fantastic characters, the action in this book is incredible, which I guess is to be expected, since it is a zombie book. From the zombies, to the training scenes, to Benny's attempts at finding a job, the descriptions are vivid, yet not overly descriptive, and they leave you with a clear image in your head. At the same time, they also aren't descriptive enough to leave you feeling nauseous when it comes to the parts with the zombies and the gore.

As I've already confessed my love for zombies, and I've doted on this book in my review, I'm going to make it clear. I loved this book, and it's definitely one of my favourite zombie books so far. Jonathan Maberry writes an awesome zombie story, and I'm looking forward to reading more of his stories. :)

How do you feel about zombies?
Yuck? / Woot! Woot! Zombies? / Meh?
Do you like to read zombie books, and does this sound like one you'd like?

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur