Xombies: Apocalypticon
Walter Greatshell
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Buy *Xombies: Apocalypticon* by Walter Greatshell

Xombies: Apocalypticon
Walter Greatshell
Ace
Paperback
320 pages
February 2010
rated 4 of 5 possible stars

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Reading Walter Greatshell's Xombies: Apocalypse Blues isn't absolutely necessary before diving into its sequel, Xombies: Apocalypticon, but it is recommended due to the complex plot. The first chapter describes the apocalypse from the point of view of a group of prisoners who witnessed it and were fortunate enough to escape it for a while.

A virus called Agent X turned fully half the world's population into inhuman blue-skinned killing machines. The virus seemed to spread worldwide and infected everyone almost simultaneously. Women were the first to be affected, then they turned on the men and infected them. The only places left unaffected initially were the ones without women, such as prisons housing only males. Each chapter opens with an excerpt from the Maenad Project explaining some aspect of the Xombie apocalypse and peoples' actions both during and following it. 

Most of this book's point-of-view characters are familiar as secondary characters from the first: men and boys aboard a hijacked nuclear submarine. Some are former military officers trying to maintain order; some are civilians. They have just fled a place a sanctuary for rich people and are now simply trying survive.

Commander Coombs does his best to keep the civilians and military personnel working together, but food and medical supplies are dwindling. Dr. Langhorne works to manufacture a cure for the Xombies, but so far she has only managed to make them docile. She is convinced that the man who created the Agent X virus, Dr. Miska, will have a complete cure, so the submarine is headed to Miska's Providence laboratory.

As they near the town, Coombs sends out a party of their “tame” Xombies to find the laboratory and a group of boys to scrounge any food. Sal DeLuca is the leader of the 40 boys considered to be expendable and therefore sent to scavenge the town. They just hope to make it back alive. While the two groups roam Providence, a group of the former military officers plan leadership changes aboard the submarine.

The fast-paced plot features a submarine mutiny, boys fleeing Xombies, and gory fight scenes (not to mention gory Xombies), laced through with dark humor and pop-culture references. All of the characters struggle to survive as best they can, yet even in the Xombie post-apocalypse, there remains room for things like loyalty and human decency.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Mervi Hamalainen, 2010

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