Immune to the zombie virus that’s been plaguing Redwood Grove, Ashley Parker has been dubbed a ‘wild card’ along with her fellow immune team mates. However, when things go awry and containment seems futile as the contaminant spreads throughout the nation, Ashley and her team have to get to San Francisco in order to try and put an end to the outbreak. With hidden agendas and secrets piling on, death becomes inevitable. The question remains though, will they be able to get there in one piece and come up with a cure or will they be devoured by hungry zombies eagerly awaiting them?

Plague Nation is the long-awaited sequel to Plague Town by Dana Fredsti, and boy was it worth the wait! Starting off slower than anticipated, the book quickly picks up pace halfway through and a nail-biting experience begins as Ashley Parker kicks some major zombie ass. Sexy, flirty, fun and gory all blend together to make for a fantastic joyride that brings to mind a whole new genre, which I’ll cleverly call “Chick-Gore”. Yes, zombie-mayhem and undead fun can be girly, if you know how to blend these elements together and fortunately Dana Fredsti has a keen grasp on the subject.

I hounded the poor woman for months trying to find out when the next book will come out – straight after I finished Plague Town – which probably left Dana Fredsti frustrated. Then, when the release date finally came, I had to wait – because things take their sweet time to arrive on this side of the world – and when I finally got the book yesterday I was so excited I literally did a happy dance. Screw the rest of my review pile (not really), Plague Nation was a long-awaited book which I have been patiently waiting on for too long. So I delved straight into reading it and to my dismay, finished it too soon. However, when you find a trilogy that’s worthy of the pouting and a solemn “when’s the next book coming out?”, I think it says a lot about whether it’s a good read or not. To make myself perfectly clear though, Plague Nation was a good read and it set up the plot for the third (hopefully not final) book, Plague World. If you don’t believe me though, just think about a smart-ass Buffy The Vampire Slayer taking out zombies instead of vampires, with huge ass guns and sheer survival tactics, whilst under the orders of a super-secret government organisation that specialises in keeping the undead kind-of-deader-than-usual.

I found a few editing oopsies, a spelling mistake or two (nothing to write home about really), but all in all I can’t complain. Plague Nation was a pretty awesome sequel and I personally can’t wait for the third book. Titan Books have a real winner with these books and if they know what’s good for them, they’ll run this series à la Trueblood series or The Vampire Diaries, because it will totally sell.

(Originally posted on www.killeraphrodite.com ) ( )

3.5 stars


This one went right along the lines of the first book as in pretty good, but not particularly memorable. Didn't suck, though, and I'm always happy when that's the case.


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Ashley Parker is a wild card, immune to the zombie plague and forced to join a paramilitary organization to combat the zombies. After an ambush, San Francisco has been completely overtaken by zombies, so her and her fellow wild cards travel to San Diego to find a cure and end the zombie plague. A wrench gets thrown in their plans when a mysterious organization tries to weaponize the zombie virus and then it becomes airborne. No one can control how it spreads any longer and physical contact isn't needed. Ashley and her team are the only people who can really help save the world. Let's hope they can survive long enough to fight against the coming zombie hordes.

Ashley Parker is once again a wonderful heroine. She's strong, but still sympathetic and emotional, and she's grown a lot since the last book. Although still fun, the whole novel takes on a darker tone. There are less references (OMG that Great Race reference!) and jokes than the previous books and some truly sobering and tearjerking events happen. I like that the tone isn't completely lighthearted because it would feel jarring to go from something depressing to silly jokes right after. Ashley has to deal with very harsh truths. Even though she's superhuman, she can't save everyone. Sometimes people are going to die on her watch and she will be powerless to stop it. A lot of the things she goes through is reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I love! She has to deal with all this supernatural stuff and still maintain fairly normal platonic and romantic relationships within that crazy world.

Plague Nation doesn't suffer from second book syndrome. It's just as captivating and action-packed as the first book. The plot twists and turns so I don't know what to expect next. Intermixed with Ashley's story, little vignettes describe how the zombie plague is advancing in different parts of the US and how a Typhoid Mario spreads the disease through sleeping with people. The new creepy organization that wants the zombie plague to spread is very human and terrifying. It makes me wonder how a person could want that for the world, especially when it puts them at great risk as well.

Plague Nation is almost as good as Plague Town. The only negative thing is that the book meanders until the halfway and then picks up momentum. Dana Fredsti takes some risks and reminds us that not every character is safe. I really want to read Plague World now, but it's not out until April 8th, 2014! Ugh, why must I wait so long? Highly recommended! ( )

The Good: Love. Love. Love. So much love for both Ashley Parker and Dana Fredsti. I love the way Ashley talks and thinks. Just love being in her head. I love how she interacts with the other characters and that the romantic aspects of the book are realistic to the situation instead of mushy. There were laughs and there was heartache, and everything was littered with zombie mayhem. This series is definitely a favorite of mine.

The Bad: Nothing. It was absolutely perfect. I wanted to lose myself in this novel forever. ( )