Pros: Much more is revealed
Cons: Couldn’t understand some character actions at all
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
The Becoming: Revelations
Our heroes have settled into a place in South Carolina. Things are still far from easy–Remy hasn’t coped with the loss of Ethan, and Cade’s injury isn’t healing quickly or easily. Brandt finds himself in charge–not a position he’s used to. Then someone from Atlanta kidnaps Cade in order to lure Brandt. Cade knows she’s going to have to save herself, even though Brandt will certainly come after her. She won’t be used to bring him to heel.
The head bad guy in this story, Alicia, is a comic-book villain, who only acquires a little bit of depth toward the end of the book. She also does some weird things that aren’t logical at all, seemingly just to allow the author to bring other characters together and move the plot forward. (Sorry I’m being vague; even though one of the major surprises is given to the audience almost immediately–which means usually I wouldn’t consider it a spoiler–I’m loath to give it away ahead of time in this case.)
Our group makes some new friends who have insight into the plague, and even a temporary treatment. They’re looking for a cure, but they might need Brandt in order to find it.
There are some nice choices the author made that undercut some tropes that threatened to take over. Instead of having someone do an infodump that, frankly, we don’t need, we get a much more reasonable:
“[P]lease don’t ask me to explain it. I’m a cop, not a pharmacist.”
There are some genuine hard choices to be made, and the book did a good job of holding my attention. It had danger, uncertainty, tension, and pretty good pacing as well. It isn’t my favorite zombie book, but I enjoyed it, and I’m glad I read these first three books in the series.
Leave a Reply