In Vacation by Matthew J. Costello we have an interesting look at society after a ‘zombie outbreak’ has decimated much of the world. First off it’s not a traditional zombie outbreak. The world is hit by a plague that has killed off crops and a large portion of animals. Eventually this plague has also spread into some portions of humanity turning people into what are referred to as “Can Heads.” It’s actually an infection though the ‘can heads’ act as your typical zombie so as always it’s close enough for us!
The story itself starts out with a bang as we see the main character thrown into a situation where he has to fight for his survival. After that though it does slow down a bit as we have character development that some may find slow after the initial Can Head encounter though I felt provided the right amount of dialog and ‘waiting’ to fit our character’s personality as he has to be talked into what his family is about to do.
So what is his family about to do? Well first off in the story we focus on Jack Murphy, a NYPD cop who was wounded while on the job at keeping his area of the city can head free. While society is much more cut off than it once was there are many areas, New York included, that are still full of safe zones. Unbeknownst to much of the populace though is another safe zone, this one for the more well off. It’s an area that allows families to enjoy a weekend or more, if they can afford it, in an outdoor camp ground that has been deemed as purely safe known as Paterville.
Jack on his own wouldn’t be able to afford to take his wife and two children to this magical wonderland to relax. Even if he could he is far too driven of a man to let himself relax in a day and age where the can heads are spreading like wild fire. This isn’t time to imagine an easy life or play make believe in having one.
Jack’s boss though? He disagrees and forces Jack to take his family for a well deserved leave of absence since if he doesn’t get rest he won’t be operating at 110%. Jack is finally convinced to take the trip and after making sure his car is fully outfitted with the latest in custom defense gear.
They make their way through to the wilderness and finally reach paradise. Paradise though is of course not what it seems. There is an obvious secret at the heart of this little perfect vacation spot and Jack can’t let his police instincts drop to find out what it is. It’s a game of cat and mouse as the people who run Paterville want to offer Jack a job to run security while at the same time try to keep him in the dark on what’s really going on.
A great read and perfectly timed to get through if you need something to read on your own vacation!
Available at Amazon.
