Reconstruction Era Zombies

 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies

World War Z

Honestly, I've never really been a fan of zombie tales. It's usually all about slaying zombies and being rescued from imminent danger. And are shambling decaying bodies really going to be the end of society? However, I stumbled upon Dread Nation by Justina Ireland and I feel like it gave me a whole new look at the genre.

The day that the dead rose up was the day they were slain at Gettysburg during the Civil War. No one knows why. But they spread quickly across the nation and the conflict between North and South was overshadowed by the conflict between the living and the dead. Just one infected person can lead to the overthrow of a whole city. So the rich, white plantation owners do what they always do best and take advantage of their status at the expense of the marginalized. Native American and Black people are only seen as fodder fit to fight zombies and young adults are sent to schools primarily to teach them to protect the Whites. 

Jane McKeene has been trained to be an attendant for some rich, young lady once she finishes her time at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore. Her only desire is to return home and find her family once her training is over. But Jane can't resist a mystery and helping out when families start to go missing--is it the dead? Or something even more sinister?

I love the characters of this book. Jane is a strong independent young woman who has very different ideas from those that were popular during the Reconstruction Era. She's clever and it keeps her alive. We also get to know Katherine Deveraux, another young lady from the school, whose skin is light enough that she can pass as white when she needs to. And even though she and Jane despise each other, they make a pretty good team. Maybe they can manage to survive the zombie apocalypse without killing each other.

I also felt like the mythology behind the zombie plague is pretty well thought out and doesn't necessarily stick with the usual brain-eating zombies (a la iZombie). The mythology seems to go even further in the second book when they continue the search for a possible vaccine against zombieism. 

The writing of this novel is fantastic. At one point when I was reading the final battle scene of the first novel, I swear that I got chills. It was so descriptive and I instantly wanted to see it as a final battle scene in a movie.

Deathless Divide is the second book. And while I believe Ireland meant to leave it as a duology, I would be MORE than happy if she decided to write another book that continued to chronicle the adventures of Katherine and Jane. 

I would recommend this for action lovers, zombie aficionados, and those who enjoy a well-written YA novel. You can purchase a copy here...and make sure you get the sequel too!