They said the world would end in 2012.
They never said it would end like this.
Dakota Travis and his neighbor Steve Earnest have been hiding out in a fortified apartment in the month following the zombie apocalypse, but when a rogue gang uproots them and chance brings one of its members into their midst, there is little the two of them can do but run.
They find sanctuary in a converted asylum with members of the United States Army, and while things seem to be safer than before, an underlying strain of tension begins to rule their lives as Sergeant Armstrong, leader of the small military troop, begins to succumb to insanity, while Dakota slowly and slowly begins to find himself becoming attracted to one of the sergeant’s men, a sin that not only transcends traditional military policy, but the moral boundaries of happiness after tragedy terrible enough to destroy the entire world.
In a world of the undead, the fierce, the savage and the unthinkable, who can hope to survive one final sunrise?
A virus that (I believe) started in New York has now infected those farther west. Dakota and his best friend Steve are holed up in Steve’s apartment and are trying to survive. When a gang of misfits start to take over the building they realize they have to leave and find another place to live. They manage to get to another town and find a place where some military men and some civilians have been living.
Dakota is attracted to Corporal Jamie Marks almost immediately even though he knows it can’t go anywhere. When Jamie eventually kisses him he’s thrilled as he thought Jamie was straight. The pair become closer and closer and when things start to go wrong they stick together to survive.
The book followed Dakota and Steve, and their relationship as friends, as they traveled to several different places. First to a few towns over and then from South Dakota to Idaho in order to set up a living. The story tells us of their trials and tribulations as well as the people they meet along the way.
For the most part I liked the characters in the book – as this was a character driven book that was pretty important! lol There were quite a few characters, however, that were introduced and not all of them made it through the whole book. We got to know the stories of different characters in a different way – some being revealed early on and other very near the end of the book. Unfortunately the stories that were delayed put me at a disadvantage when it came to getting to relate with the characters. For instance Desmond was a 17 year old that came into the story rather early but I didn’t hear about his story until almost the end of the book. Ian was another – we got to know a little bit about him early on but then didn’t find out about his bipolar disorder until almost the end of the book. These weren’t bad things but little instances that I found odd. The relationship between Dakota and Jamie was fast but considering the intensity of their situation I didn’t feel that it was too fast. Being the romantic I am I wish there had been romance involved but since they were trying to stay alive I wasn’t too upset. :0)
The story is about survival during a zombie apocalypse but also about second chances for some of the characters. The hope and belief that these people would survive it all kept them going which may be overly optimistic but they had to think positively in order to get through each day. The sense of making the best of a horrid situation and eventually becoming like family was central to the story and it was a good one. While I didn’t always like all of the characters the writing had me appreciating the situation and pulling for everyone.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
