Angels (Zom-B, 4)

Another fast-paced segment in the Zom-B series. Darren Shan doesn't let down his readers in this one. Well written, the story moves the main character B along on her unusual journey as a zombie. Can't wait for the next one. Oh yeah, I'm old and I loved it. Didn't put it down from the first page to the last. Daughter is a teen and she loved it. Of course we own a copy of all Shan's works. He consistently hits home runs with his ability to write for the teen market.

Perfect.

My teenage granddaughter loves the series

This is definately the best of this series so far. I not big on the religious aspect of it but it makes sense. God, the devil, and zombies. What a combo. Can't wait to read what comes next.

Becky, or B, Smith is a zombie who has somehow managed to fight off turning into a zombie, despite being dead, and having had her heart ripped from her chest. B stumbles upon the Angels, revitalized zombies, and a mysterious Doctor who is intrigued by B and welcomes her openly into their sanctuary. When he tells her life expectancy isn’t a few years as she thought, but instead several thousand, B is beside herself with relief knowing her death isn’t around the corner, but then frightened as thousands of years is a very long time. This book was almost too quick of a read, under two hundred pages, and I am left wondering if these Zom-B books shouldn’t be combined instead of drawn out as they are. With that said, this book has it all: gore, fighting for your life, suspense, deceit, and shady characters that remind you that in uncertain times, nobody can be trusted. Nobody.

“We zombies are all freaks of nature, each a walking medical marvel, but one tends to forget that. This is a reminder of our ability to defy established laws. You are a remarkable individual, Becky Smith, and you should be proud of a great wound which you bear.”

Younger aged fans of the Walking Dead will find these books addicting, and I could see a Young Adult TV spin-off coming from these. While I highly recommend this book, I suggest starting with book one so the story will make more sense by the time you get to this one, book four.

*This book was provided in exchange for an honest review*
*This review can be found at Musing with Crayolakym*
*You can view the original review at San Francisco Book Review*

My son has read every series by Darren Shan and has loved them all. He loves this series just as much as Cirque de Freak, his only complaint is they are too short. He longs for more. Good for kids 11 years or older, some content is for a more mature reader.

I read the series up to this book, I got about 3/4s of the way through this one. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed with how this series turned out. I was a HUGE fan of Cirque Du Freak, the Saga of Larten Crepsley, and the Demonata series. All were amazing. The Zom-B series however, is just not nearly as good. It's an interesting idea, but Darren Shan made to many similarities between Cirque Du Freak and this book, and it started to get highly religious. The first few books in this series were pretty good and I thought it had a lot of potential, but as more was revealed about the zombies/revitalizeds, it became clear how unoriginal it was.

Fair Warning: Mild Spoilers Below
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So, to elaborate, Zom-B just got boring, because as we learned more about the revitalizeds, all I could think of was "Wow. I swear I've read this before". The "Surprises" are just rewashes from Cirque Du Freak. The revitalizeds can live for hundreds of years, they have to fight a major war that determines the outcome of humanity, but must fight it with "honor" by not using guns and only hand to hand combat, they use their nails as knives/weapons, sharpen their teeth, have heightened strength and senses... and on and on. All the same as the vampires in Cirque Du Freak.

Disappointing, but if you haven't read the Cirque Du Freak series, this one probably won't be so bad. However, I recommend that if you haven't read that series, to read that one first. If I had to choose between them, with no prior knowledge of what they were about, Cirque Du Freak is the way to go. (Not only because it's an amazing series, but also you get to read the Saga of Larten Crepsley afterwords, which is also a great prequel to Cirque.)

received quickly & in good shape. My daughter likes the Darren Shan series. The books were as I expected at a good price

My teenage son digs Darren Shan. He reads everything by him. This series is clever. These books are very short. Quick reads.