by Jonathan Maberry
Hardcover, 1st Edition, 469 pages
Published September 11th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
ISBN 1442439890 (ISBN13: 9781442439894)


Blurb

Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. They are hunted by fierce animals escaped from zoos and circuses. They must raid zombie-infested towns for food and medical supplies. They discover the very real truth in the old saying: In the Rot & Ruin…everything wants to kill you.

The Good

  1. The zealots.  It seems like most apocalyptic theories in the news today are accompanied by at least one group of extreme religious zealots that take things a step further—oftentimes a little too far. Adding this element to the Rot and Ruin made the book feel more realistic and honest.

  2. The plot.  I love the plots of these books. There is so much going on and everything feels so chaotic, but that is exactly how the reader would feel if thrown into a forest filled with murderers and zombies. I never felt bored, although at times the pace drug a bit.

  3. The grief.  If you’ve read previous books in this series, you know that the characters have experienced great losses. This third installment of Rot and Ruin gives an honest portrait of the grief they feel and demonstrates very well the different ways people deal with trauma.

  4. The villains.  The villains didn’t feel like traditional YA villains. The way Maberry presents them, you can tell they’re just people who aren’t quite right in the head but in their heart really feel like they are doing the right thing. Nothing about what Saint John does is malicious—he is just trying to serve his God and do his bidding. In his eyes, HE is the hero.


The Bad

  1. The writing.  The writing felt somehow less polished in this book than in previous Rot and Ruin books. It felt like this was less of a problem toward the end of the book, but I shouldn’t have to read 350 pages to get to a well-constructed paragraph.

  2. Wild zombie pigs…really?  Without going into too much spoiler detail, I understand the value these mutated animals added to the overall plot, it just felt completely ridiculous when it was introduced.


Favorite Quote

Joe gave him a small, sad smile. “No matter how long the night is, the sun always comes up.”


Overall Rating

I did not like this book as well as the first two, but that is not to say it was bad, and I will definitely purchase the next (and last) book in the series when it comes out.