Dust & Decay (Rot & Ruin, #2)

by Jonathan Maberry

[inlibrisveritas]

It’s been so long since I’ve read Rot & Ruin that I nearly forgot about the series, that is until the new book came out and my boyfriend suddenly asked for book recommendations. I immediately threw out Rot & Ruin, because zombies are an easy interest to him and I knew it was well written. To my surprise he finished it in a few days and was ready for more…which he hinted at by buying me a copy. I’m incredibly happy he brought my attention back to it and got me to read this one.

Dust & Decay picks up six months after Benny, Tom, and Nix went through hell out in the Rot & Ruin, and they are ready to pick up and leave. It takes a lot for a person to make the decision to face the wilds instead of staying in the town they have called home for most of their lives (Tom excluded). So that’s just what they aim to do, however it would seem that things are not quite over and their trip takes a hugely unexpected delay where things go from bad to worse. I forgot just how blunt this series is and Maberry is extremely good at pulling in the reality of the situation, giving you the details without pulling any punches. He shows the amount of emotion that goes into dealing with the horrors of zombies and other people who might have shady intentions.

Benny has done some major growing up thanks to the event of the first book, and he’s still growing in Dust & Decay. He’s just getting use to Nix being something more than just a friend, and she’s getting use to the idea that Benny might be what she needs. It’s not perfect and they are not above seeing the flaws. Tom remains a bad ass with a great heart and a ton of smarts, who is more than willing to put his life on the line for anyone he allows into his small circle. We also get to see more of Lilah, who is still kind of creepy in her solid determination but is slowly grasping the humanity that she had lost in her loneliness. I think I enjoyed her story-arc the most because it shows a person dealing with past demons and struggling to move beyond it while growing as a person. There is a lot of pure human emotion within these pages, as well as a lot of action and heart-racing moments.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series, especially now that I have a ready buddy for them.