We've Gotta Get out of This Place - The Animals

Dust & Decay
Benny Imura, Book 2

Author: Jonathan Maberry
Pages: 519
ARC Acquired from: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

Brief Summary:
Benny Imura and his friends are ready to leave Mountainside and venture in search of the jet. One more zom outbreak in town is enough to push them over the edge and make them depart a couple of days early. They plan to spend a couple of nights in safe havens before they really start venturing. Well, safe is a relative term in the Rot and Ruin. Turns out they have enemies wanting to exact revenge on them for destroying Gameland. Can they survive?

Review:
I liked Rot & Ruin. It was a solid read, if nothing completely exceptional. If you liked it, I can pretty much guarantee that you're going to like Dust & Decay. The formula is similar, just as full of action, zoms and danger. Actually, I think I liked this one a bit better, with one exception, although I can't say whether that's because I knew what to expect or because it was higher quality.

So I might as well begin here with the one thing I could not get over and did not like, even though I did try to come to terms with it: they get attacked by a rhino. My first reaction was approximately, "lol whut?" because, well, rhinos don't generally chill out west. Then I thought about zoos and how they wouldn't be manned anymore, so animals might just roam, which did turn out to be the explanation. I also briefly wondered if rhinos can survive here what with not being native and perhaps not used to rough winters, but gave up since I don't know much about rhinos. Anyway, explained or not, I really don't know why the rhino attack happened. I mean, it was a disheartening thing to have happen on their quest, but couldn't it have been a less ridiculous animal, like a big ass boar, which is what I expected?

Rhinoceros aside, I really liked the pacing of this book (except for the little snippets of Nix's notebook, which made her seem like an airhead and not like the badass we all know she is). It kept the action coming and blended in some interesting ideas and thoughtful moments well. For example, I really loved the Greenman's (please tell me this is a reference to It's Always Sunny...) observation that the earth was actually recovering because of the zoms. Oh, and the scene where a horse and zombie did a little do-si-do with the horse just staying out of reach.

Unfortunately, I am totally ready to read the next alliteratively titled book in the series right now, but I'm guessing it won't be published for another year at least. Sigh. It promises to be even better, because I really want to know what's happening in other parts of the country. How cool if different places reacted in different ways!

"We gotta get out of this place
If its the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
'Cause girl, there's a better life
For me and you "