Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

I got an e-galley of Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry last month and just got to read it a few days ago.  I loved Rot & Ruin- my first ever zombie book- so I was excited to get the opportunity to read the sequel early!

Here is the Goodreads blurb:

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them.

Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland –where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything…and not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will make it out alive.

This book was EPIC.  It did not suffer from a second book slump at all.  I loved that you got to see more of Tom- even separate from Benny- which was great.  I love Tom Imura.  I do.  He is such a great guy and a great character.  He was 21 when he saved his brother and lost his parents to the horror of First Night.  Tom raised Benny on his own even knowing that Benny hated him.  Tom is just a really GOOD guy and Dust & Decay is like a homage to his awesomeness.  We meet all these super new characters like all of Tom's friends and fellow closure specialists and bounty hunters.  They all seem to have their own Zombie cards but their real stories are better than their legends.  It was neat to see Lilah trying to figure out her new life as part of Chong and Benny's group.  She has to deal with some emotions that are pretty forgien to her.  Chong has to push himself and become the man that he didn't know he could be.  In the end there is a battle larger and more insane than the one that killed Charlie Pink Eye and the Motor City Hammer.  I cried at the end.  I really did.  it was an emotional book and I just can not wait for the next one!!  I really hope that Benny and his friends find what they are looking for.  

Dust and Decay gets 4 Fairies for the greatness of Tom Imura and for the kick butt heroes of this book.

I would suggest this one for readers over 13 due to violence and deep moral discussions on the reality that zombies were people too.  There are a handful of kisses doled out in the book but nothing graphic.  Dust and Decay comes out in the US on August 30th.  You can pre-order it now on any of your favorite book seller's sites or from your local independent bookstore.  

You can find out more about Jonathan Maberry by following him on Twitter or by checking out his website.  I hope you'll add Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay to your Goodreads!