Generation Z by Peter Meredith | Book Review

Generation Z by Peter Meredith
Published by Self Published on January 23 2018
Genres: Horror, Zombies, Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian
Pages: 334
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased Book
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It's been twelve years since the undead hordes swept over the earth forcing mankind to the brink of extinction. We now live like rats, scavenging in the ruins of our fallen civilization as the dead hunt us night and day.There is little left to scavenge, however. Grocery stores were emptied ages ago, gas tanks have long been dry and bullets are so precious that a man is lucky to have two to his name. Still, we survive. But for how much longer? Instinct and love have combined to turn Darwin's theory on its head. The strongest didn't survive in this world. They were the first to die, leaving behind a generation of orphans.It's a generation that's never had a full belly. It's a generation that has no idea what an Xbox did, or what algebra is for. It's a generation of children who never laugh out loud, and who have learned to cry softly because the dead are always near and the dead are always so very, very hungry.

Generation Z is a post-apocalyptic Zombie novel that didn’t hit home with me.  It could have been something entirely different if the first half of the novel wasn’t being written solely for the second half.  The cover instantly grabbed me, and it looked like it was right down my alley.  Just from reading the first chapter I could tell that this series was a spin off from a much larger world and it did feel like I was missing out on a lot of the backstory and the world building in general. 

Generation Z did the zombie interpretation fantastically.  The imagery and the fear were palpable, and I did find myself lost in the moment, wondering how I would fare in such a catastrophic situation.  The idea that the apocalyptic event was making zombies larger and humans smaller by means of malnutrition was definitely a food for thought plot line.  Just for one second, imagine a zombie that has the capability of growing to around nine feet?  The idea of zombies running amok in our cities and towns are frightening enough, but to have them tower over us with their hideous forms and the threat of being turned.  It was a truly frightening perspective.

Generation Z is centered around Jenn Lockhart who is fifteen and is living in a community known as “The Coven.”  It is harsh, unforgiving and brutal.  She lost her parents when she was six years old and has been treated abysmally by those that have set up the coven.  It is a gated community that can keep the dead out, they have access to warm baths and medicine (a luxury in this new world) but all is not well.  Jenn is seen as a risk to their community, they believe her to be cursed.  She is obsessed with signs in any form but especially the night sky, this is what gives her strength and gets her through each day.  For someone that is viewed as bad luck she has more balls than the entire community and has regularly proven herself fighting zombies especially one named fondly as “Frank,” short for Frankenstein. 

With journeys to meet traders to try and satisfy their community’s needs, they travel across the harbour to Alcatraz.  Things don’t quite go to plan, there is a zombie horde lying in wait to attack and one of the residents end up being scratched by them.  Initially all seems well but the potential of what could happen never leaves the back of their minds.  The patient deteriorates and they realise they don’t have enough antibiotics.  Jenn joins a group of residents who are attempting to leave again to either hunt down more antibiotics or find the lady doctor that has been whispered about existing.   Jenn has never known a doctor but she isn’t about to sit back and let all the boys have all the fun now, is she? 

ABOUT PETER MEREDITH

Peter Meredith, the author of forty novels,

was born in Alaska and raised in New York City.

Along with his beautiful wife, two children and

grandson, he now makes his home in Colorado. 

Over his lifetime he’s been a paratrooper in the

82nd Airborne Division, an emergency room nurse, a restaurant manager, a realtor, and a business owner. During the Great Recession, when his LED lighting business died a slow death he took up writing. His first novel: The Horror of the Shade was completed in 2011 when he was forty-three years old. 
 

FAVORITE NOVELS:

The Hobbit, Salem’s Lot, and The Princess Bride

FAVORITE MOVIES:

Star Wars, Indian Jones, Austin Powers, and Saving Private Ryan

FAVORITE SHOWS:

The Big Bang Theory, Last Man Standing, and Friends

FAVORITE FOOD:

Pizza and anything my wife cooks

FAVORITE COCKTAILS:

Whiskey sour and Vodka/Red Bull

Website