Zom-B City - Darren Shan

Pages: 213
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 14^th March 2013
Edition: UK hardback, review copy

Other Titles in this Series: Zom-B, Zom-B Underground

B Smith thought escaping from the underground prison was a step towards salvation, but life above ground is another kind of hell. How will B survive in this city of the dead?

As the clown nimbly waltzes down the steps from the terrace to the square, I get a clearer look at him. The flesh of a severed face hangs from each shoulder of his jacket. Lengths of human guts are wrapped around his arms, and severed ears are pinned to his trouser legs...the flesh around his eyes has been cut away and filled in with soot. Two v-shaped channels run from just under either eye, down his upper lip, and the bone underneath had been painted pink. A human eye had been stuck onto the end of his nose and little red stars are dotted around it...these people have seen a lot since the world went to hell, but nothing like this. Mr Dowling belongs to another dimension entirely, one even crazier and more twisted than this...

The third instalment of Darren Shan’s Zom-B series is just as fast-paced and action-packed as the first two books. I’m really loving this series!

The idea of a long series of short books in a serial isn’t something you come across very often and I’m loving how the story is building on each book as it goes along. Before the story of Zom-B City started, Darren Shan including a short, concise summary of the previous two books which was really helpful. I’m glad it was done that way and not through exposition – that’s something that can annoy me if it’s not done properly. It launched the next stage of B’s adventures perfectly for me.

I really enjoyed getting the chance to see how the appearance of the zombies had affected the outside world as B had been underground since the early days of the epidemic. London as a dead city was a little unimaginable to me until it was evoked as brilliantly in Zom-B City. It was the still turning London Eye that got me the most; I can imagine it so clearly and it’s such an unsettling image that it gave me a little shiver.

Speaking of unsettling: Mr Dowling. He is one creepy-ass clown! The squeaks and squeals in how he speaks, his...interesting use of human entrails as fashion accessories and vicious acts, he’s definitely one of the creepiest characters I’ve come across in a long time. Ergh! And yet I’m still looking forward to him popping up again in future books. He’s definitely going to cause poor B a lot of trouble.

I thoroughly enjoyed Zom-B City and I’m very much looking forward to reading  Zom-B Angels!

For my 2013 British Books Challenge

Thanks to S&S for providing me with a review copy.

Sophie