quackers reviewed on 12/10/2010 + 45 more book reviews

I really enjoyed the thoughtfulness of this zombie novel along with the action and survival aspects of it.

I noticed that several reviewers commented that Paffenroth put too much Christian theology in his book. There were several references to the bible but I felt there were just as many references to classical literature (ex.: Dante's Inferno, Shakespeare). Some people will recognize some admittedly odd parallels and symbolism but I think other people probably won't notice these parts as anything special. So, if you haven't read it, don't be afraid that the book will be preachy--the biblical references seemed literary and, while God is often mentioned, the tone is philosophical not preaching. IMO this is realistic--if there were a zombipocalypse, many people would naturally question the existence of God in the face of such horrors. But if you are such a devout atheist that the thought of other people believing in God irritates you, then I would say that you may want to pass on this book.

It may be the contemplative tone of the book that disappoints some readers who expected the book to be all adrenalin, horror and gore, but I appreciate that part most. Dying to Live has all the skull-crunching, limb-severing mayhem that I love. What is different about this book is that, after a character narrowly misses being bitten and takes off a zombie's head with a baseball bat, sometimes he thinks about the people they were before they became a zombie and what happened to them rather than immediately charging off to kill the next one. So instead he takes the time to say "I'm sorry this happened to you." Also, characters in the book, when they aren't struggling to stay alive, try to make sense out of what it all means. For me this rings true because I would probably think the same way in that situation

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details