Dust & Decay (Rot & Ruin, #2)

by Jonathan Maberry

[Angie]

Dust & Decay is one of those sequels that's good and entertaining, but ultimately doesn't go anywhere. Benny, Tom, Nix, and Lilah are preparing to leave Mountainside and track down that jet they saw. They have their route planned out and supplies packed. Then Tom decides to invite Chong and Morgie for a little camping trip. Morgie smartly stays behind, but Chong's crush on Lilah propels him forward and causes most of the group's problems.

Dust & Decay is full of all kinds of excitement and tension and thought provoking bits. It was just dragged down a bit by some irritating stuff, but first the good. Of course, there are zoms galore as our team heads to Yosemite. But not all of the zoms are the slow shambling things normally seen out in the Ruin. There's also the matter of them flocking into groups of thousands and heading in a common direction. What in the world is going on?! And there's more talk of the Children of Lazurus which I continue to find fascinating, if not a little disturbing. Preacher Jack was a great addition to the cast, even if I hated him. I loved to hate him. He's creepy and possibly insane.

I also liked the entries from Nix's journal that were included. They're only in the first half or so of the book, since she kind of gets too busy to take any more notes at that time. But what is there is quite interesting. She talks a lot about what is known about zoms and the questions she and everyone has about them. There's also the recipe for cadaverine! However, as much as I like these tid bits, I don't think they added much to Dust & Decay other than extra pages.

Now for the stuff that annoyed me about Dust & Decay. Mostly it was Chong. He is the cause for all of the problems. If he hadn't come along, or at least if he had simply listened to Tom, they could have made it to their destination earlier. Sure, extra drama and danger is more fun, but not when it's caused by stupidity. Seriously, Chong is an idiot. I did love how Tom and Lilah didn't coddle him and go through the "Oh, it's not your fault! Anything could have gone wrong" spiel, because really, it was all his fault! This was approximately 300 pages that, while interesting, could have been avoided and focused on something that actually drives the plot forward. The ending would still have taken place, but then more could have happened afterward instead.

I did still enjoy Dust & Decay, but the characters end in the same place where they started. There is something awful and sad that I was not expecting, but that doesn't make up for the Chong fiasco. In fact, I really hate Chong and hopes Lilah "quiets" him in the next book, since what happened is entirely his fault. I would have been much more affected by this terrible event if it hadn't been dampened by annoyance.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.