Autumn, and thus my favourite season, is now in full swing, Halloween is approaching fast and to honour this, for the whole of October this blog will deal with the spookier elements of fiction. Justina Irelands Dread Nation, one of my most expected books of next year, is a fitting start for this.
Honestly, I surprised myself by going for this book, because, full disclosure, my relationship with Horror and Horror elements is…complicated. While I enjoy spooky things, I am also stuck with a vivid imagination, so at night every slight creak in the house sounds like the serial killer from the first Scream Movie is waiting to strike. And of all the things Horror can throw at me, Zombies are my worst fear. So why the hell am I excitedly waiting for a book that is set in a world full of Zombies?
The Cover
Yes, I am a sucker for beautiful covers. There are a lot of books that caught my attention sorely for their covers (ok, most of them also head a great plot, but this was the second thing I saw. Without the cover I wouldn’t have given them a chance. Case in Point: Captive prince by C.S. Pacat), and in this case I took one look at the Cover and was completely lost.
Look at this, it´s gorgeous and powerful, and 
everything I can hope for in a cover. Also it has the tag line of “Rise up”, which is absolutely brilliant for a Zombie book. So I resigned myself to my fate and informed myself a little bit more about this book.
The Story
The book takes place shortly after the civil war, were the dead suddenly started to raise and walk from their resting places on the battlefields. The heroine Jane, an African-American girl, is training to become an Attendant, somebody who protects the well to do from the Zombies. Because of course they won´t do the fighting themselves, no, they force others to do it (and with this being the civil war era, we all know who those others are. Not white.) But Jane has a different live in mind, even as she gets drawn into a conspiracy, disappearing families and suddenly the raising dead are the least of her problems.
World building
This was the thing that sealed the deal for me, the fact that this book sees to promise a creative historical world building. I love stories that promise this, and this one seems to use the Zombies for setting this whole world up, creating a society around and with them, while still dealing with the real live problems (racism) that are important to this day.
Looking Forward
Zombies are my worst fear, but this book promises a rich and creatively build world, with an interesting heroine trying to carve her own path in a world which doesn´t want her to. A short story set in this universe is also set to be in the Three sides of a Heart short story collection edited by Natalie C. Parker coming out this December, so firstly I´m waiting even more impatiently for this collection, and then for the book itself.
And now please excuse me, it´s in the middle of the night and I just heard something move inside my house…
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