Review: Special Dead

Special Dead by Patrick Freivald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy (zombies)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Recommended for: fans of darker urban fantasy, those searching for something a little different in the zombie genre, those who enjoyed the first book.
Trigger Warnings: murder, violence, ruthless and sociopathic behavior, assault, religious zealotry

My Thoughts: The first book in this series seemed a fairly main-stream young-adult urban fantasy, until the last few pages, which left me gasping like a fish out of water. So I was very excited to learn that a sequel was in the works.

Like the first one, this one has a twist ending I absolutely did not see coming that knocked me flat. Not as innocuous as the first one, this story is quite dark as those who survived Prompocalypse try to deal with their new (un)lives as the walking dead. The reactions of the world are fairly typical: frothing, spitting fundamentalists that want all the zombies sent to hell where they belong, and a strange death-worshiping cult that is enthralled with the whole idea of surviving beyond death.

This story is, in short, not for the faint of heart, but I really enjoyed it. I think those who like darker urban fantasy, those who are looking for something a little different in the zombie genre, and especially those who enjoyed the first book will want to read this one. It was only just released a couple days ago, so go check it out if this sounds like you.

Series Information: Twice Shy series
Book 1: Twice Shy, read and reviewed 10/19-20/2012, review linked here where formatting allowed.
Book 2: Special Dead

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer's program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Shackled to her desk, Ani Romero has a hard time concentrating on her studies. One of eight zombie survivors of the Prompocalypse, she's back at school, but this time it's no secret. Locked in their room, flamethrower-toting soldiers watching their every move, they're tasked with homework and classes during the week, and macabre experiments on the weekend.

When the courts rule they're not human, only an appeal keeps them alive long enough to discover a cure. College applications and SATs pale under the threat of incineration, and desperation turns them into lab rats... ...but the scientists helping them have ulterior motives, and the promised cure destroys more than the virus.

Surviving high school has never been so hard.



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