Unfed – Kirsty
McKay
Pages:
307
Publisher:
Chicken House
Release
Date: 2nd
August 2012
Edition:
UK paperback,
review copy
Other
Titles by this Author: Undead
They’re back...and this time
they’re hungry.
The good news: Bobby survived her
unreal school trip. The bad news: her best bud Smitty is missing. There are
undead everywhere and they’re getting hungrier...
It’s a no brainer. Somehow she
must find some living friends – and the antidote – before everyone’s toast.
Undead
was one of my
favourite books from last year so I was really looking forward to the same
non-stop action, humour and brilliant characterisation in Unfed. I wasn’t at all disappointed.
There’s an element Unfed that I enjoyed in Undead, loved in the beginning of this
and then by the end I was in awe of it: Kirsty McKay’s skill in
characterisation. Bobby, Smitty, Alice, Pete and Russ are all so themselves. Each has such a distinct
voice that I could tell who was speaking before I was even told and they all
had such real idiosyncrasies that they leaped off of the page as fully formed
people. A development in Bobby’s character that I wasn’t completely expecting
was her connection to the missing Smitty when she got into dangerous situations
throughout the novel; it was surprising, but it really worked.
Although there was a distinct
lack of Smitty in Unfed, when he was
there, I fell in love with him again. Even though he is undoubtedly a nutjob...
He had the most madcap, and strangely effective, plans and I loved the way he
dealt with newcomer Russ and the tension between him and Bobby. Speaking of
Russ, I just couldn’t make my mind up about him. I wanted to trust him, I really
did, but he was just so sure of everything. He did surprise me though; that was
a twist I definitely wasn’t expecting.
The amazing characters are
supported by writing that sparkles with wit, comedy and some seriously tense
situations involving decaying Undead. It has life and personality that comes
through firmly and strongly in a novel so fast-paced that I couldn’t imagine myself
being able keeping up such a style throughout.
Unfed
goes back to
traditional zombies with a modern cause: a drug that causes people to turn into
brain-hungry, slobbering shells of humans with missing limbs and slabs of
missing flesh. Brilliantly. There’s a nice dose of the gross and vom-inducing
as Bobby and the others are chased through Scotland.
I thoroughly enjoyed Unfed and I really hope there will be
another instalment of Bobby’s adventures.
A big thank you to Chicken
House for providing me with a review copy.
Sophie
I love the sound of these books - combining zombies and humour just sounds brilliant! Thank you for the great review.
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