REVIEW: Dying To Live: Last Rites by: Kim Paffenroth
PLOT
Two couples, one alive and one undead, make their way through the zombie-filled wasteland that was once America. When one of them becomes sick, they are forced to take refuge in a town that seems too good to be true, but soon tests each of them in ways they aren’t expecting. This is most definitely not your normal, run of the mill zombie story…
REVIEW
Right off the bat, I’d like to apologize to all involved. DYING TO LIVE: LAST RITES is the first novel from Kim Paffenroth I have read. I don’t know what has taken me so long to discover this delightful writer, but knowing what I know now, this is a problem that will soon be rectified. Ok, having gotten that off my chest, I cannot stress how much I enjoyed this book. D2L: Last Rites is the third novel in a trilogy (The first two being Dying to Live and Dying to Live: Life Sentence). Although it isn’t necessary to have read the first two novels to enjoy the third one (hence my mea culpa above), it may serve to help just in case.
The story centers around two couples: Rachel and Will, who are alive, and Lucy and Truman, are are undead. Joined together by circumstance, their relationship is the emotional heart and core of the story. One of the book’s big strengths is Paffenroth’s ability to make these undead truly sympathetic characters. These undead aren’t your typical shambling, ravenous corpses. Paffenroth has created truly sentient undead. Calling them zombies is actually more of a disservice. These characters can reason, can feel empathy and ultimately have more humanity in them than their human counterparts. Lucy, the female, is one of the stronger characters I’ve come across in some time. She knows exactly what she is, yet strives to become something more. I think it says a lot that I found myself wanting to hang out with the undead more than the living characters. The character arcs were satisfying and by the end, I found myself squarely on the side of the downtrodden undead.
Paffenroth also scores in the details in the ruined world he has created. The scenery just jumps off the page, immersing the reader in his apocalyptic vision. From the opening pages, straight through to the discovery of the town and the evil that it hides, all the way to its poetically shattering ending, getting lost in Paffenroth’s world is definitely something worth your time
D2L:Last Rites is a thinking man’s zombie thriller. Don’t go into it expecting a lot of zombie mayhem. These aren’t your mother’s zombies. There is surprisingly little gore. There is a little action but that’s more towards the end of the book, but this isn’t really what the book is about. This is a character study first and foremost and a meditation on the evils that men do. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
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