I should start by saying that I am very much over the zombie craze. I have been for awhile. Zombies have never been my favorite horror fixture, and the theme has been done to death over the past few years. (Pun intended). So, honestly, I am not sure what made me pick up this book. I am just exceedingly glad that I did.
The book begins in a warped sort of academic/residential setting for young children. We are not told exactly why these young students are housed in cells instead of dormitories or rooms, nor why their daily routine includes all four limbs and head being strapped into a wheelchair before class. Throughout the book the author employs such vague and perplexing situations, revealing one puzzle piece from the left upperhand corner, two from the lower right, one from the middle, and so on, compelling the reader forward to figure out just what in hell is going on.
We eventually learn that a pandemic has struck, wiping out a large portion of society, and creating a subspecies of "Hungries." I feel I can tell you that without giving anything away, since the global disease model is fairly standard zombie fare. I won't elaborate any further, however. The less said on plotline, the better. Carey maintains a level of suspense not only about events and back story, but also with the characters. From one chapter to the next, you will not know who is good or bad, who is pulling the strings, and who is being manipulated or to what end.
The book is also emotionally absorbing. We are not given stale archetypes of heroic scientists, fearless warriors, and mindless droning cannibals. (Ok, there might be a few of the latter. But just a few. There is much more to Carey's Hungries than one might think.)
I hope I have intrigued you enough to have a look at this book. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment