The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell

The Reapers are the Angels (The Reapers Novels)

by Alden Bell

God is a slick god. Temple knows. She knows because of all the crackerjack miracles still to be seen on this ruined globe . . .

Older than her years and completely alone, Temple is just trying to live one day at a time in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead roam endlessly, and the remnant of mankind who have survived, at times, seem to retain little humanity themselves.

This is the world she was born into. Temple has known nothing else. Her journey takes her to far-flung places, to people struggling to maintain some semblance of civilization - and to those who have created a new world order for themselves.

When she comes across the helpless Maury, she attempts to set one thing right, if she can just get him back to his family in Texas then maybe it will bring redemption for some of the terrible things she's done in her past. Because Temple has had to fight to survive, has done things that she's not proud of and, along the road, she's made enemies.

Now one vengeful man is determined that, in a world gone mad, killing her is the one thing that makes sense . . .

Reviewed by Angie on

2 of 5 stars

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It took me a few chapters to settle into The Reapers are the Angels because of the writing style. There are no quotation marks for dialogue, which made it sometimes confusing to know when someone started speaking. However, Temple, our main character, has a very distinctive, Southern voice, so she was relatively easy to pick out but not as clear on her meaning. I found it very hard to relate to her and to care about what happened to her. I was more intrigued by the world than I was in her, but it was enough to keep me reading.

I'm not sure how things got to where they are, but the world (at least the US from what we witness) is overrun with zombies aka meatskins aka slugs. Temple has been living on a small island for a few years, but at the beginning of the novel she realizes it's time to go. She ends up at a relatively safe place, a community of people held up in office buildings, but she makes enemies with the wrong man and is forced to leave. From that point on she's on the run, since that man, Moses Todd, is out to get her. During her journey she meets up with some very interesting characters and even picks up a traveling companion. Moses is never far behind though.

Even though Temple is on the run, I never felt a sense of urgency. The narrative was very detached and it seemed as though Temple didn't even care that a man who wants her dead is following her across the country. It was almost like the events were happening separate from her rather than to her, another reason why I just didn't care where she ends up.

There are some very disturbing scenes throughout the book and there is a lot of gore. Temple is good with a knife and takes down many meatskins, and a few...I'm not even sure what they are, mutant humans, I suppose. We're not spared any of the carnage. I kept reading in hopes of learning more about how the zombies got there, but we're basically told it's been that way all of Temple's life, and that's that. Overall, this book just was not for me.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

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  • Started reading
  • 11 September, 2012: Finished reading
  • 11 September, 2012: Reviewed