The Dead by Charlie Higson
The Dead takes place a year before the events in The Enemy, the first novel in Charlie Higson’s post-apocalyptic children-against-zombie-adults series. The illness that infects everyone over sixteen has just begun to destroy the minds and bodies of all the adults, making them attack and eat children. Jack and Ed are defending themselves and their group from the adults at their elite British school not far from London. It quickly becomes clear that they are overwhelmed by the sickos, and that they need to leave the school. Help comes in the form of a healthy adult, Greg, a former butcher turned bus driver, who will take the group of children and teens by bus to the outskirts of London.
It quickly becomes clear that Greg is infected, and the group is forced to fight their way to the Imperial War Museum in London, where another faction of children are living, led by a war aficionado named Jordan Hordern. But the problems haven’t slowed down yet; a fire drives the gang from the Imperial War Museum to the Thames, where the group separates, with some heading out to Buckingham Palace (readers of The Enemy will recognize David King from the first novel), and others heading to the Tower of London. It is here that the storyline from The Enemy collides with The Dead, and readers can look forward to a sequel.
The Enemy novels have a high body count, with lots of gore and violence, and it probably doesn’t do to get too attached to any particular characters, because Mr. Higson doesn’t have any qualms about killing off main characters. The Dead is an exciting addition to a fast-paced, action-packed post-apocalyptic YA series.
Grade: A
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Tags: Charlie Higson, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, The Dead, The Enemy, thriller, zombies
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