In the heart of America, in the world’s most secure prison, something horrible is growing in the dark. A wave of cannibalism and fear is sweeping across the heartland, spreading carnage and infection in its wake. Captain Bannerman Clark of the National Guard has been tasked with an impossible mission: discover what is happening — and then stop it before it annihilates Los Angeles. In California, he discovers a woman trapped in a hospital overrun with violent madmen. She may hold the secret to the Epidemic but she has lost everything — even her name.
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In the second book of Wellington's Monster trilogy he gives us a lot to chew on.
Similar to Gary, the thinking zombie from Monster Island, Nilla finds herself waking up in an oxygen bar with the mask still on her face. She doesn't know who or where she is when she discovers she's dead. She chooses her name from a cookie packet someone gave to her when she met Mael, also known from the first book, for the first time. He tries to persuade her to help him to end mankind but Nilla's human consciousness is resisting. During the book she struggles to define herself as what she is and what her cause might be. All the time she is followed by Mael who desperately tries to keep her away from a certain point in the east Mountains. Resisting Mael she finds her way and meets the source to blame for killing the human race and learns there is no stopping.
The difference between Nilla and Gary is, that Nilla feels her hatred against the humans because they are trying to kill her but she also feels for them most of the time.
The book has another "hero" as well. Captain Bannerman Clark who in the end leads the only functioning facility save from the undead. Thanks to Mael this has an end and he has to flea together with his old friend Vikram and Nilla. Unfortunately the helicopter crashes and the author never tells us if Bannerman survived the attack of his now zombie friend Vikram.
The book is supposed to happen shortly before Gray and Mael meet in book one and few readers might think the timeline is a bit off. I like to remind those, that our main character from book one came via ship from Somalia to New York and we don't know how long Gary hit until he decided to become a zombie himself.
The book itself ends with Nilla deciding to walk towards New York.
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Overall I enjoyed reading the book but feel a bit sad to not know if Bannerman was able to defend himself from Vikram and with an open ending for Nilla I sure hope I'll meet her again in the third book "Monster Nation". I think the book showed us much more substance than the first one. Enjoyable and more thoughtful, even as a horror novel.
The whole book is chapterwise readable. Follow the button.
Rating:
Visit David Wellington.
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Running Press; 1 edition (September 27, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1560258667
ISBN-13: 978-1560258667
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