Zombiestan

Zombiestan
by Mainak Dhar
narrated by John Lee
Ⓟ 2012, Tantor Audio
6.00 hours

Zombiestan is a bildungsroman that takes place in the zombiefied country of India in a post-911 world. Mayukh was a seventeen-year old gamer without much responsibility and few concerns when, far away in Afghanistan, bio-hazmat materials that were being delivered to the Taliban were ignited by drone-delivered bombs. The chemical reaction created an infectious compound that found its first victims and carriers with the Taliban members who followed up at the site to see if there was anything to recover. Moving on from the site, these would-be terrorists ended up spreading the contagion as they boarded planes. The rate of the infection spread exponentially and manifested itself in necrotizing humans, rendering them virtually invincible and, transmitting Taliban sympathies into the memories of the newly dead. As the contagion swept into India and black-turbaned Taliban zombies posed an increasing threat to societal structures and personal safety, Mayukh was goaded into action. In a trek towards safety, Mayukh gets a hyper-accelerated lesson in growing up.

Mayukh is not alone as he makes his journey: There is a U.S. Navy SEAL, an older woman with a dual identity as a professor and a romance novelist, a teen-aged girl and, the girl's little brother who may hold the secret to an antidote. All the characters in Zombiestan have an arc of development as each rises to the occasion of the crises they find themselves in. While the temptation always lurks to take the easy way out, this cast of characters, individually and together, clings to their of sense of what is right. One of the great things about Zombiestan is that, unlike many zombie-apocalyptic novels, this one keeps hope alive in the story: There are survivors; There are people who help; There is the idea of a future. The story faces forward even while conditions worsen.

Zombiestan is a fun novel, full of action and a unique take on zombies. The writing is a bit rough, with a number of repetitive descriptions and cliches; but the plot never stalls and scenes are strongly depicted. Mainuk Dhar may have taken the concept of zombies a bit far afield in depicting them with  rapidly evolving sentience, organizational and strategic skills and an ability to learn and adapt; on the other hand, Dhar's terrorist zombies make an obvious political statement if you want to go there.

John Lee, the British-American narrator who won an Audie for his reading of White Tiger (by Aravind Adiga), brings his Indian accent back for Zombiestan. John Lee has a highly enunciated style of delivery and brings well-delineated characters into play. His Americans pretty much all sound like cowboys; but since the Americans in Zombiestan are all U.S. military personnel, it works :-)


See Also:

• The Reapers are the Angels (by Alden Bell; narrated by Tai Sammons) - Audiobook Review
• "Countdown" (Prequel short story to Patient Zero; by Jonathan Maberry; narrated by Ray Porter) - Audiobook Review
  
• Patient Zero (First in the Joe Ledger series) by Jonathan Maberry; narrated by Ray Porter) - Audiobook Review
  
• "Zero Tolerance" (Sequel short story to Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry; narrated by Ray Porter) - Audiobook Review
• We're Alive: A Story of Survival, The First Season (by Kc Wayland; performed by a full cast) - Audiobook review

• The Walking Dead: Volume 1, Days Gone Bye (by Robert Kirkman et al) - Graphic Novel review
  
• The Walking Dead: Volume 2, Miles Behind Us (by Robert Kirkman et al) - Graphic Novel review
  
• The Walking Dead: Volume 3, Safety Behind Bars (by Robert Kirkman et al) - Graphic Novel review

• Zombie in Love (by Kelly diPucchio; illustrated by Scott Campbell) - Print review

Other Stuff: Zombiestan (by Mainak Dhar; narrated by John Lee) is a part of the

• The 2012 Audio Book Challenge hosted by @teresasreading at Teresa's Reading Corner:

I received a MP3-CD edition of Zombiestan (by Mainak Dhar; narrated by John Lee) under reviewer auspices from Tantor Audio. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.