Blurb:
Waking up in a military complex, months after zombies attacked school, B has no memory of the last few months. Life in the UK has turned tough since the outbreak, and B is woven into life- and battle- in the new military regime quickly.
But as B learns more about the zombies held in the complex and the scientists keeping them captive, unease settles in. Why exactly was B saved? And is there anyone left in the world to trust?
Review:
I devoured both Zom-B and Zom-B: Underground in less than a day each. When I finished Zom-B, I was so happy that I was able to go to my library and take out the next three books in the series. I think I am planning on reading the series back to back, one novel after the other. The books are so action paced and relatively short that I hope I can finish them all in a matter of days.
Zom-B: Underground kicks off with B in a whole new environment with a new bunch of characters. She is now a zombie, or revitalised as the new characters refer to it as, but she also is able to communicate and think independently. This novel throws a lot of obstacles B's way which she has to deal with. I think we definitely see her grow a little as a character as she stops trying to put up a front to impress people and tries her best to be less racist and bullying.
We also see a lot of moral conflicts cross B's paths which also reflect on her character. I was really shocked to find out B was actually a girl named Becky at the end of Zom-B and I was glad that Darren Shan did not make Becky overly girly or have a change of character once it was revealed to readers.
The novel introduces us to some new characters too called the Zom Head gang. These are other teenagers being held in the same compound as B by scientist's and soldiers. These people are also revitalised's and, like Becky, can talk and think independently. One of the things I disliked about the book was the introduction of these new characters. For some reason, from the beginning of the novel I just felt very distant from them. I never felt myself connect or want to know more about them in the slightest. My least favourite of the new characters was Rage, as his name suggests he is not very nice. Where as the one I liked most was Mark as I felt he had something interesting that the others didn't have.
I found it interesting reading about the compound itself and all its routine with the Zom Heads. Sometimes I felt it could be very boring though. In the first novel Zom-B, there was a lot of time where you were reading about B's everyday life but it was not boring, where as in Zom-B: Underground I felt that after a while of nothing really happening it did get a little boring. I was really intrigued as a character from the first novel made an appearance.
The plot of this was good but not as good as Zom-B. I liked the book as how it showed us B's progression and character development, I felt the way the plot wove around this was really well done.The pacing of the action of the book was good but not great. I felt the beginning and the end of the book were really good but I felt the middle dragged a little for me. The plot of this book told us a lot more about the zombies and the characters than the previous one. I also liked the introduction of "The Clown", who I hope will become a big part of the series. I would also like to see the "Owl " man from Book 1 make a return.
Overall, Darren Shan has struck gold with this series. It is scary, without being too scary, and is a perfect read for Halloween. The series has a lot of deeper messages that I think older readers will definitely pick up on.
Rating:
Four Stars
* * * *
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