Thunder and Ashes Review

Book Details

Title: Thunder and Ashes
Author: Z.A. Recht
Genre: Apocalyptic Fiction
Page Count: 304
Publishing Info: Permuted Press, November 2010

My Review
Why I read it: Received review copy from Gallery Pocket Books 
The Plot: This is the second book in the Morningstar Strain trilogy.  I haven't read the first one, but I didn't feel lost at all.  This book follows a couple different groups of people as they're making their way to a research facility to hopefully find a vaccine for the zombie virus that is taking over the world.  The story is very fast-paced with tons of action and fighting scenes.  It seems like the author knew his stuff when it comes to guns and military lingo. 
The Characters: There were a whole lot of characters here, and I would say the plot/action drove the story a lot more than the characters, so there wasn't very much character development.  I did like Krueger, the sharpshooter of the group.  There weren't really any unlikable characters (except for the bad guys, which is obvious), but that could also be because of lack of character development.
The Setting: This was a pretty good dystopian type world, and I definitely felt the bleakness of it.  It's not someplace I'd like to visit, that's for sure.  If zombies ever do come, I'd almost rather be one of the first to go. 
Recommended for: I think fans of zombies would definitely go for this one.  I also kept thinking this would be one I might even be able to get my non-reader husband to read.  I think it will definitely appeal to male readers, and those who like their stories action oriented.
Final Thoughts: I'm glad I read this, and I was very sad to discover that the author has died.  I'm planning to go back and read the first book, and I read that there is a ghost writer working with what notes were left for the third book, so we'll see how that works out.  I really enjoyed this one, and was very pleasantly surprised.
Grade: B
Cover Thoughts: My cover was the one on the right, and while they're very similar, I like the look of the one on the left better.  They go well with the story, and are suitably scary.