darkfictionreviews

What makes this book a fun read is just that: It’s fun. It’s also full of action. Steve Hockensmith says in the first paragraph of the afterward: “What you hold in your hands is an adrenaline-fueled sprint through an obstacle course of horrors, and if you weren’t totally spent by the time you reached the last page of the story, you have stronger nerves than I.”

I cannot agree more.

I finished reading The Hungry a few days ago or more, but I had to wait to write my opinions of this story. At first I was a little disappointed, because the story is an expanded version of a short story found in Harry Shannon’s marvelous collection “A Host of Shadows”, so it felt like I was reading familiar material. Yet, once we got past the original short story, things blew up.

Literally.

And it never stopped.

The Hungry is like a punch in the face. It’s as though Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead got married and had a baby and named it 28 Days Later. The story, in fact, was one of the most fun zombie stories I have ever read. I do not say this lightly.

Does it Involve a bad ass woman wearing a wedding dress as the cover suggests? Why, yes it does! Not only that, it is very interesting and somewhat comical as to why this woman, the story's protagonist, is wearing a wedding dress, and why she continues to have to wear the thing. Not only is the action jaw-dropping and terribly fun to read, the banter between characters makes this crazy ride even more fun.

This is my third book that I've read by Harry Shannon, and I am quickly becoming a fan. If this book is any indication of Steve Booth’s writing as well, I can’t wait to see what he can do on his own.

So, really, just get this book and read it. If you like fun and fast and action-packed, you will not be disappointed!