Book Review: Ashes Arc

Hardcover, 480 pages

Expected publication: September 6th 2011 by EgmontUSA

It is very hard these days to write a truly unique story. Especially a YA one. Yet this is exactly what the author has done.

Zombie novels and movies have been around forever. From Night of the Living Dead to World War Z, it feels like the same old recycled story line over and over again.

However, Ilsa Bick has created a new strain of the classic undead, created from a pulse that sweeps the planet (not a new medical miracle cure – that is way over done) that claimed billions of lives, and Changed countless others.

While Ashes is primarily a horror novel, it also weirdly an uplifting one. The author brings forth the worst aspects of humanity, but also let’s the best of it shine through too. Heroic acts and selfless people redeem the human race, keeping them away from the dangerous knife-edge we balance on that separates us from wild animals.

We are carried through the story by Alex, a young girl who has been dealt a multitude of hardships, but has not lost her fighting spirit. Alex is a remarkable character who manages to take survival to a whole new level, without resorting to barbaric acts.

While Ashes is full of fear and terrifying zombies, it also breathes hope. I found myself racing through the pages, eager to learn more and see where we would next be taken. Any reader will adore this book, and be left hungry for more.