Mort Vivant (Surviving the Evacuation, #14)

by Frank Tayell

[Quirky Cat]

Mort Vivant is the fourteenth book in the Surviving the Evacuation series by Frank Tayell. It’s hard to believe that it has been that many books (actually more, between the spinoff series and the fact that at least two other novels in this series have been released by now). But it’s true.
This world has been the most detailed zombie apocalypse series I have ever read. While it is fourteen books (and counting) the amount of time that has passed has actually been relatively small. I just love how in depth this world has become.
Also, in case you were curious about the name for this novel, and how it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the titles? Think about it, this is the first (and possibly only) novel where the entire thing was mostly set in France. I actually love that he did that (the name that is, though setting it in France was nice as well).


Warnings: This is a zombie series, so you can expect the usual levels of gore and danger that come with that. It’s also worth noting that the humans in this series can be the real monsters. In this novel there is a case of torture that goes on. So consider yourselves warned.
Mort Vivant was a novel that I wish I had read sooner, because I loved every minute of it. This novel is everything I had hoped it would be, and then some. And trust me, considering how long I’ve been reading this series, I can honestly tell you that my expectations were pretty high.
I basically had to wait an entire book to get to this one and find out what had happened to Bill and his team, and thankfully I was not disappointed. This was one of the more intense novels, or at least it felt like it while I was reading.
I loved everything new that was in this novel. France was not a location touched upon beforehand, so we learned a lot about what was happening in the world because of this. For example, I finally got to see the rooftop city I had been hoping for all this time. I won’t say more than that about it though.
Of course, we were given another prime example of why humans can be horrible even in situations like these. Actually, I think that Frank Tayell has made it clear that he believes a disaster like this would bring out the worst in people. And as much as I’d like to argue that point, I really can’t.
But thankfully it also brings the best out in people, as evidenced by the main set of characters in this series. Bill is one of my favorite characters, and he’s grown so much during the course of everything. I’m truly thrilled to have finally learned what happened on his side of things.
Of course I should mention that Chester and Sorcha also played relatively major roles in this novel as well. Chester is possibly my second favorite character in the series, so naturally I was delighted by that combination. Though the delight was somewhat dulled by Sorcha presence. It was refreshing to get to see her as something other than a great big boogeyman at least.
I know that there’s at least one more novel out right now (Where There’s Hope), and I feel like I saw the news that there was one more after it. Or at least, I really hope that’s the case. Not sure I’m ready to say goodbye to this series just yet.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks