Thunder and Ashes by Z. A. Recht - BOOK REVIEW

Title:  Thunder and Ashes
Author: Z. A. Recht
Publisher:  Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster
Publish Date:  November 23, 2010
Paperback, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1439198837
ISBN-13: 9781439198834

Description:

A lot can change in three months: wars can be decided, nations can be forged...or entire species can be brought to the brink of annihilation. The Morningstar Virus, an incredibly virulent disease, has swept the face of the planet, infecting billions. Its hosts rampage, attacking anything that remains uninfected. Even death can’t stop the virus—its victims as cannibalistic shamblers. Scattered across the world, embattled groups have persevered. For some, surviving is the pinnacle of achievement. Others hoard goods and weapons. And still others leverage power over the remnants of humanity in the form of a mysterious cure for Morningstar. Francis Sherman and Anna Demilio want only a vaccine—but to find it, they must cross a countryside in ruins, dodging not only the infected, but also the lawless living. The bulk of the storm has passed over the world, leaving echoing thunder and softly drifting ashes. But for the survivors, the peril remains, and the search for a cure is just beginning....

My Take:  Three bands of survivors, all working their way to the same place - a research facility in Omaha, Nebraska where a vaccine for the Morningstar virus can possibly be developed.

The first group are former soldiers from the U.S.S. Ramage: Krueger, Keaton, Thomas, Wilson, Brewster and former General Sherman.  Also with them are Mbutu, Ron, Katie, Rebecca (a nurse), Jack and Mitsui (both former general contractors with the latter speaking Japanese only), and Denton, a photographer.

The second group consists of Anna Demilio, a doctor from USAMRIID, who may prove to be the key to uncovering a vaccine for Morningstar, Julie Ortiz, the anchorwoman who Anna leaked the story to in hopes of containing the virus before it became a pandemic, and Gregory Mason, formerly of the NSA, all wanted for murder and treason by the U.S. Army.  Mason helped Julie and Anna escape when they were being held captive by his former peers.  They are joined on their journey by Trev, a former mental patient with exceedingly clear mental facilities, and HIS companions, Matt and Junko, former students.

The third group enters the trek much later in the book.  These are the remaining sailors from the USS Ramage, joined by a civilian named Hal who had been given the boot from his retirement island in the Pacific by the natives when he insisted that the inhabitants should extend hospitality to the crew of the Ramage.  Having found no safe port, with dwindling food and fuel supplies, and with the U.S. military apparently scattered into the wind, they decide to meet up with Sherman, their former general.

This is the second in the Morningstar trilogy, and, thankfully, you did not have to read the first to become immersed in it's sequel.

For the more squeamish, there is not a lot of gore (although people and zombies DO die along the way).

Very well-written, and not just about the zombies, there is a good story in these pages, with characters you'll come to care about, good dialogue, and plenty of action.  Surprisingly, most of the danger in this book comes not from the sprinters (living people who were infected by the virus and "turned") or the shamblers (people infected by the virus who subsequently died and were reborn as zombies), but from the uninfected.  There are bandits, and raiders, and a rogue faction of the U.S. military that our survivors have to deal with along the way. 

This is enough to make me want to go back and purchase the first in the series, "Plague of the Dead".

QUOTES:

"Right," Krueger said, scoffing.  "When was the last time we met someone new who didn't try to eat us, huh?"

Beneath the truck, Brewster grimaced and rolled his eyes.  "Leave it to Krueger to go all primadonna in the middle of a firefight."

"What I'm saying is that most of the smart people are dead and you're still alive.  Whether or not you have a degree, that makes you one of the world's best engineers," Anna said, nodding once and tapping the screen of her PDA to bring up another page of data.  "Just a matter of the process of elimination."
Julie, still leaning back with her eyes closed, shrugged at the thought.  "Never did think of it like that.  I guess that makes me prime material for this year's Pulitzer Prize for broadcast journalism."

Book Rating:  4.0 out of 5 stars

On researching the author and the book, I found that Z. A. Recht died last year at the tender age of 26,  At the time of his death, he was working on the third and final installment of the series, "Survivors", which was going through edits.  It is being completed by a ghostwriter, although I was not able to locate a release date.

I found this link to related short stories as penned by Z and friends as well as this< tribute to "Z", which I thought was well-written and interesting.

BUY THE BOOK:  At Amazon, through the publisher website, and at other on-and-off-line booksellers.

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this title to facilitate my review from the publisher.  No other compensation was received, and I am not required to post a positive review.