Mad Swine by Steven Pajak takes a different look at the zombie genre by using established science ala the H1N1 Swine Flu issue and using that as the main plot device. As the story opens, we’re following along with Matt as he takes his two young children to school then on to work. It’s the average, normal day until the fire alarm goes off forcing an evacuation that soon changes the lives of everyone.
Whether this fire alarm was intentional or not, that’s not the point. What is the point is that in the midst of the organized chaos as each office section is attempting to reach their rally point, the Mad Swine infected people are mingling amongst them in a feeding frenzy.
Matt, realizing that the defecation has not only hit the rotary oscillator but is beginning to smother it, gets in his car and hauls ass to this children’s school. In those few short minutes, all hell is breaking loose and the traffic soon degenerates into creep and beep. Matt, however, unlike other characters in other books which shall remain unnamed, has a Go-Bag in the trunk of his car and wonder of all wonders, an actual firearm which he has no problem loading and carrying. Using the aforementioned weapon, he removes a few hostiles on his way to the school but arrives to an empty building. The only person left is the parish priest. Matt discovers that all is not what is seems at the school and has to deal with the loss of family members. This is one of the turning points for his character within the story, one of many.
Adapting to the changed environment, he makes his way towards his suburban housing development using any means and methods at this disposal, encountering survivors, hostiles and other problems along the way.
Arriving at the gates to a development that he has to pass through to get to his home, he encounters a non-infected problem. Before the problem can increase to something more than a few shouts and shots, the voice of reason steps up in the form of Phil, a man who recognizes Matt as being from the local area and not a looter. There are a few tense moments but the issue is resolved and Matt makes his way to his home where his wife Alyssa and brother Brian are waiting.
All is not good on the home front as Alyssa has been scratched by one of the infected. What makes this an interesting plot point is in most cases, infection is only transferred by contact with bodily fluids or a bite. By using a scratch as a method of infection that makes this entire outbreak all the more dangerous and opens up all kinds of other related problems.
Matt and Brian, after facing the issue of Alyssa being infected, take inventory of their arms room. This was a small issue for me at this point as in most novels in this genre; there are always problems with getting what you need. In this case, the only thing the boys are lacking is enough ammunition for all their toys.
Moving the plot along, neighbor Bob, a former police officer approaches the brothers with the idea to form a neighborhood watch but one that is way more effective than a couple of people looking out the window when a car passes by. It’s at this point that the reader finds out that Matt is a former military officer and his brother Brian a sergeant. There’s never any real detail into what branch they might have been in, whether it was the same branch or different, that’s not an important part of the plot. Events transpire and Matt, Bob and Brian form a militia with other members of the neighborhood, Brian taking on the training aspect, Bob forming up the rest of the patrols and members and Matt working on the admin and logistics. This all starts to work out until the time they exit their area for a supply run and events turn south. Forced to pass through the other development to get to the main road, this same development that almost lit up Matt with massive weapons fire when he tried to enter, now wants half of all the supplies they may gather before allowing them entry.
By this time, you’re probably wondering where the infected come into play with all this. Mad Swine, at least the first book, has limited contact with the infected and focuses more on the human dynamic and interaction when some people realize that the rules and laws don’t apply to them anymore. Mad Swine: The Beginning is more of an introduction to the characters and events that I have to presume would continue in the rest of the series.
Steven Pajak paints a bleak picture of what life could be like in the first few weeks and months of an outbreak. With the infected outside the walls of their gated community, the real monsters are the people right next door. The duality of this novel is refreshing to read as it’s not all that often that an author will delve into the nature of the beast, the fall of man and the ‘Us’ versus ‘Them’ issues. In this case it’s the haves and the have nots.
Mad Swine: The Beginning is well worth the read. It hits human nature at its lowest point. Think this couldn’t happen? Just look at the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake where armed gangs were killing people for food, stacking dead bodies to form roadblocks and hijacking relief convoys.
Now take that information and apply it to this novel adding in the threat of infected wandering around wanting to take a bite out of your ass and you have a real winner in this genre that will make you want to sleep with the lights on, doors locked and weapons ready.
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