Book Review: Infection: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse

I read Infection: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse by Sean Schubert and although this book had some problems getting started, once we hit a good stride, the story was enjoyable and fun.

I do want to just get it out there – the beginning of this book was lacking. It was very clear that Schubert wrote an amazing and action packed tale of survival and hope but was really stuck on how to get started. He made two things very clear in the first of the three sections of the book: 1) the outbreak happens as Anchorage is just waking up for the day and 2) that society falls apart.

The only problem with these two items is that it is very difficult to believe the timeline that Schubert is putting together as these events happen within a few hours of the first day.

To begin, the first victim dies in a hospital and turns right at dawn and the city is unaware of the chaos unfurling at the hospital. Almost as the hospital is being overrun, the people are panicking and trying to evacuate the city. These two instances work great but then he jumps back to a city in slumber and describes again the ignorance of those early risers as the drive into an avalanche of hungry monsters.  How can the highway be packed with refugees when most of your citizens are just starting to get up and out? To quote Dave, “It creates a cognitive dissonance.”

Before noon on day one, the phones are out, all of the police and firefighters are dead or turned and the city is a ghost town but the power is still working and the TV is still broadcasting regularly scheduled programs. I felt that every possibility was addressed but this entire section felt rushed and out of order. To be honest, Schubert almost lost me.

Now that I got that off my chest, let’s talk about the good stuff and there is a bit of good stuff. The story follows two groups – a small group of survivors from the hospital and the other is a patchwork group of survivors picked up along the way. While the patchwork group rocks it out by hunkering down and waiting out the outbreak, with the hospital group, Schubert explores the dangers humans present to each other.  This group consists of Dr. Caldwell, an ER doctor, Police Officer Ivanoff, an ultraconservative Christian and Emma, an admin from the hospital. As Ivanoff loses touch with reality, he presents a danger that Schubert almost lets boil over but keeps at a steady simmer keeping you always on edge and waiting for him to explode.  Predictably, the two groups do finally connect and are forced to move on but the book has fun getting through to the end.

So now let’s talk zombies. These are the fast kind. An infected person can take hours to die but, once gone, they take just minutes to reanimate. The quick turnaround keeps them supple at first but, as the days pass, the decay starts to slow them down. I really like this take on zombies because it seems most realistic. I am personally terrified of fast zombies because I know that I am so toast when they come. Schubert also uses his characters to discuss theories about changes in undead senses and possible communication.

As the first of a trilogy, there is a cliff hanger ending and open ended plot points and, although it had a rocky start and some predictable points, I did enjoy this book.  I definitely look forward to reading the next installment as it becomes available.

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Infection: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse is published by Permuted Press