Book Review: The Walking Dead: Road to Woodbury

I have officially completed my first book of my 24 book goal for the year. At this pace it will be a snap.  I don't know much about writing book reviews, and I rarely read them.  I will take a shot though.

The Walking Dead: Road to Woodbury By: Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga

This is the second book in a spinoff novel series of the Walking Dead graphic novel.  It tells the story of one woman's journey through the post-zombie apocalypse world from a rag tag camp of survivors to the walled town of Woodbury. Her whole life, Lily Caul, has struggled with fear.  She never had guts to do the things she wanted for herself, so gripping it caused her to run out on the pressures of an important job interview. This presents a myriad of challenges for a person surrounded daily by flesh eating zombies.

The exciting visual imageary of the zombie attacks and the terrifying since of impending doom keeps the reader turning the pages.  Including, a heart-pounding zombie attack where Lily is oh-so-close to playing the heroine of four little girls.  The encounter includes a huge hoard of zombies, a circus tent and quick thinking. (Later on we get the delightful visual of the Zombies who once belonged to that circus tent.)  Mixed with the action, this is truly a novel about the growth of Lilly; from a scared ineffectual girl to a tough cookie, although never completely leaving the fear behind.  It tells of the struggles of developing new relationships in the ruins (Do I really care about this person or just see them as my protector?) and of the maintenance of old friendships (at what point are you only hanging on because they are all that is left of your "normal" life?).  It also explores fear.  What fear means to Lilly, what it means in relationships and what it means for a group of survivors trying to create a society.   We see how fear can make it impossible to really trust anyone.  It can make a person acquiese to nearly any situation.  This novel reintroduces us to an old Walking Dead comic book character who we see in a mind-blowing new light. Teaching us, in a very concrete way, how fear can control us.

If you love the Walking Dead Comic book, read this book.  If you have never read the Walking Dead Comic, but you like the idea of seeing human behavior in extreme situations you will love this book. Or if you just like a good creepy crawly thriller give it a shot. Don't let fear stop you!