Book Review: Frail

By Sandy Amazeen Sep 22, 2011, 1:47 GMT

Being human is a disadvantage in post-apocalyptic America... Now that the Feeding Plague has swept through human and zombie societies, it seems like everyone is an "ex" these days. Ex-human. Ex- zombie. Except for Amy, that is. She\'s the only human survivor from her town-a frail. And if the feral dogs, the flesh-eating exes, and the elements don\'t get her, she just may discover how this all began. Because ...more

Zombies had been around for ages but in limited, easily controlled numbers, then gradually more and more dead were crawling out of their graves as zombies. As zombie numbers increased, communities began installing fences, warning systems and safe houses to protect their human inhabitants. These measures failed miserably in the face of a mutating virus effecting both humans and zombies. Those few humans and zombies that survived the devastating effects of the plague emerged as entirely different creatures; stronger, impossibly fast healing, cunning and always hungry. The handful of humans who didn’t catch the virus were called frails and treated as little more then pets or slaves.

Into this hellish landscape Amy, the only human survivor of her town sets off in search of others. Pursued by large feral dogs that may or may not be figments of her imagination, Amy has reason to doubt her sanity. Befriended on the road by ex-human, Lisa the two are picked up and put to work in a compound that offers a thin margin of safety. In the process of escaping the community Lisa, Amy and new ally Stephen are sold out and become part of a gruesome experiment at the hands of a deranged child. The answers they all seek are literally buried in the sands of Paradise City but with the rules of life and death turned inside out, there may be no place to hide, no way to survive intact.

Turner has expanded on her version of zombies introduced in Dust and created a post apocalyptic world where there are worse fates then death. With strong character development, a variety of twists and surprises and a compelling storyline, this inventive recreation of zombie mythology will appeal to even to most jaded horror fan. Readers new to Turner’s work don’t need to start with Dust to dive right in to this book though it is likely they will be seeking the title out later just to see what they missed.