PLOT

In the near future, the planet has gone to shit. The sky is polluted, the water is undrinkable, and crime is rampant (almost like living in New Jersey). Mankind has taken to looking for alternative fuels and foodstuffs in the ocean depths. When a distressed Russian sub sends an SOS, a motley crew of submariners are recruited for a rescue mission. Spies, industrial intrigue, and sabotage ensue…and that’s before they reach the Russian Sub, where all sorts of nastiness await them. Zombies on a sub. ‘Nuff said…

REVIEW

Z-Boat, the debut novel from Suzanne Robb, is a truly unique and daringly original entry into the Zombie Lit canon, and I won’t even say it with any hyperbole. Take equal parts Cold War-esque spy drama, toss in some Techno-thriller, and splash in some high-octane Zombie action and hit Frappe. As a fan of each of those genres individually, having them all rolled up in one literary burrito for me to enjoy was awesome.

One of the main things that Z-BOAT has going for it is the convincing Dystopian world that sets up the action. America’s influence has waned. The Environment has been raped and pillaged. Given the state of today’s world affairs, it’s entirely plausible to see how scouring the ocean for life-sustaining materials would be seen as the next big thing. This setting is probably the scariest part of the story, and that is before the action moves underwater (Yes, I’m severely claustrophobic. Sue me). Then it gets full-on creepy-as-hell. It’s in this setting that the action really takes off

Every character is believably reflective of this ruined environment. The characters, each with unknown motives, play off each other nicely. There is good and tangible suspense generated as the characters interact with each other. It’s reminiscent of the TV show Firefly. A big thunderous thumbs-up here, yet at the same time, I would have liked to have gotten more of the back stories. Ms. Robb has her foot planted firmly on the accelerator, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for development.

A brief side note… It takes a bit of writerly chutzpah to craft a zombie story where the zombies don’t even show up until the third act, but Suzanne pulls it off nicely by building up the tension and never letting the story veer off track. Tension is the name of the game here, and Ms. Robb has lain on several nice thick coats of it. You know this is ultimately a zombie book, and when the zombies do hit, they hit hard and fast. So, even though the reader does have to wait around a bit for the zombie action, it’s worth the wait.

Any downside to this fantastic voyage? Well, to be fair, I had the ending pegged about halfway through. I won’t go into spoiler mode, but it seemed to have taken the easy way out. This is simply my personal view. Read it for yourself. You might feel differently. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a different sort of zombie tale.

Available on Amazon.