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Steven Konkoly

The Reawakening Expands and Reimagines the Genre

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2012

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I always start my zombie novel reviews with a disclaimer. I selectively dabble in the genre, reading stories suggested by my editor, Felicia A. Sullivan, who has read every book in the genre (and has had a hand in editing a vast majority of them). I'll admit from the start that I'm not a major fan of the mindless gore fest, and Felicia passes on recommendations with that consideration in mind. It was with great pleasure that I could return the favor and send something in her direction. I have read Joseph Souza's works in the past and know him from the local Maine writing scene. His detective fiction and crime stories have won awards and earned him New England acclaim. For several years, his work and writing advice has captivated my interest and kept me on the writing path. Several months ago, when he gave me his first draft of The Reawakening...out of nowhere, I was simply blown away. From the very beginning of the story, I sensed that I was in store for something sinisterly different. I hesitate to use the word refreshing for this genre. What an understatement. His story unfolded into the most unique interpretation of undead "literature" that I have ever encountered. The Reawakening carefully preserves many of the traditional elements of the zombie genre, while building a new, deviously intelligent post-apocalyptic platform. Putting Joe and Felicia together on this project was a hardcore win for the genre.

The story starts on a small farm in northern Maine, visited by novelist Thomas Swiftley and his troubled daughter, Dar. Swiftley's brother (Rick) owns the farm, having suddenly traded his fast tracked career as a bio-genetics engineer, for the slower paced, self-sustainable lifestyle provided by the Maine countryside. Thomas couldn't have picked a worse time to visit. The animals on the farm start acting strangely, aggressively attacking each other. Suspecting a widespread illness among his own stock of cows and pigs, Rick euthanizes the animals he raised from birth. After finishing the solemn task, everyone is stunned when they start to come back to life, one by one. Peaceful and loving for a few seconds, they quickly transform into murderous creatures with one goal. To kill and eat. The horror intensifies as they soon discover that the disease has consumed the surrounding town, and that the peaceful moment before the madness is not isolated to animals.

Souza's descriptions are vivid, breathing life (or in many cases death) into each scene, without overdoing it. I always carried a solid picture of the setting and the action in my mind. Character development is strong, especially during the Long Winter, where the action slows and one of their biggest challenges emerges. The farm's survivors emerge from the winter transformed. Some stronger, some weaker, some just different altogether. The reader will experience these transformations in perfectly balanced detail through Souza's writing. I particularly enjoyed the scientist's mental journey and the emergence of the group's leader. As the snow thaws, nail biting, gory action washes over the newly transformed group and forces them to make agonizing decisions that propel the trilogy forward at rocket speed.

Another aspect that strongly sets this book apart, is the scientific platform of Souza's story. Rick Swiftely's farm isn't exactly what it seems. I won't take it much further than that. I will say that Thomas's brother has some interesting theories about the undead, which he can prove. Souza takes multiple scientific principles and wraps them neatly in one of the most fascinating explanations of undead physiology that I have come across to this point. What causes The Reawakening and rejuvenation of brain activity? What kind of brain activity? What effect does this brain activity have on the surrounding environment and other undead? Muscle activity? Souza really tackles these questions and breaks new ground in a way that doesn't diminish the raw terror and visceral reaction to the constant threat of being consumed by the undead.

Overall, this is a tense, intelligently engaging story from start to finish. As a trilogy, I can't wait for the sequel. I'm utterly intrigued by the future development of a post-apocalyptic world that goes far beyond the zombies that are mindlessly gnawing away at all life on earth.

apocalyptic fiction

Mutant Zombie Apocalypse!

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2012

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The Reawakening puts a brand new slant on the zombie apocalypse. Joseph Souza's mutant monsters, which come to be known by a name which Amazon does not approve, are different from traditional zombies in that they often take on features of the infected animals that bite them. Not only that, in the moments preceding their "reawakening" these creatures have some type of unearthly insight into the true nature of reality. I think that mutant zombie is an appropriate name for these reawakened creatures as it becomes apparent that their origin involves some type of genetic experimentation that has gone horribly wrong. Shortly after Thom and his daughter Dar arrive on a trip to visit Thom's brother in rural Maine, animals and people begin to act very strangely and become increasingly violent. Apparently this abhorrent behavior is caused by some type of new disease that turns the infected into violent maniacs. Worse than that, the diseased are somehow able to reanimate after death and turn into monsters that are driven to consume human flesh. Under constant threat of attack from these reawakened creatures, Thom, his daughter and a small group of survivors are forced to spend a nightmarish winter barricaded in a fortified cabin that is surrounded by an improvised perimeter wall made up of snow, ice and rotting mutant zombies.

Faced with their own destruction and the insanity of their disgusting new world, the survivors have some "reawakenings" of their own. Like some other post-apocalyptic, kick ass female characters, Thom's daughter Dar discovers her true purpose through the traumatic, violent events in the early stages of the apocalypse. In the spirit of Stephen King's Cell ( is something in the water up that way? ), Joseph Souza reinvents the traditional zombie and creates an entirely new mutant freak. He deserves a great deal of credit for venturing out in his own direction instead of recycling the standard zombie concept. While it may upset some zombie purists (if there is such a thing?), I think most fans of zombie fiction will find The Reawakening to be a bold, surprisingly refreshing and thoroughly entertaining story.

Top reviews from other countries

Lou lou

Dissapointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2013

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I tried to like The Reawakening, and read all the way to the end (although I did start skimming after half way).
It starts off OK, the characters seeming normal and likeable enough. Unfortunately things start to go down hill pretty quickly, I personally didn't mind the animal Zombies too much, although I can imagine a lot of people would be turned off by this.

The first warning signs, for me, came when Thom and Dar go into town and encounter a gang of 'thugs' who have already beaten or shot (I don't remember which) a man. Rather than high-tail it out of the place, as I would imagine 99% of the population would, Thom leaves his teenage DAUGHTER in the car, and approaches the men. You can probably guess what happens next. Added to this the fact that Thom pretty much lets it happen, and in a couple of pages you are already shaking your head at the characters decision making capabilities and have taken an instant dislike to the main character for being both gutless and really stupid.

There are lots of other problems, the main one for me being that just before half way in the book, things start to slow down hugely. There seems to be a massive amount of time spent in the house, where very little happens (hence the skimming), save for a couple of excursions outside, and some tedious experiments on a 'Zombie'.

A lot of reviewers have mentioned how unlike-able the characters are, and I've got to agree, Dar is unrealistic, annoying and very hard to like or care about, the two Brothers, although starting off well, soon become annoying as well, continually sniping at each other.

Finally, there is the constant re-going over of scenes and thoughts. I lost count of the amount of times Rick explained, or banged on about how he foresaw the end of the world, also Thom must have said about 20 times how he reluctantly agreed that his Brother was right to relocate to a Farm in the middle of nowhere. It was all very strange, as if different parts of the book had been written at different times, and then all just thrown in, without the book being proof read, or edited at all.

For me, it was a shame, as I did like the start well enough, and the plot was a little different from a lot of Zombie books.
2 stars, although to be honest, 2 out of 10 would be more accurate.

Luckily, I only paid 79p for this book, although to be honest I wouldn't recommend if it was free.

MrMagpie

Sorry, But No.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2014

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It was repetitve, the characters were unrelateable and wooden, and the dialogue was plain dull. The themes were clichéd and although the story initially had promise, in the end it just seemed contrived and not intriguing enough to make up for the lack of a strong character base. The only good points are the descriptions paint vivid imagery and are actually quite good.

I've never wanted a whole bunch of people to be eaten by zombies so much, and the disappointment when they aren't is too much to take.

Lisa Richardson

An original zombie tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2012

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The Reawkening is a fast paced, gory, inventive and intriguing zombie tale with an orginal twist, and characters that are believable and fallible. When a strange virus infects animals as well as humans, the lives of Thom and his daughter Dar unravel pretty quickly, and they are plunged into a world of survival. This is a really enjoyable and chilling read, and if the apocalypse ever happens, I hope I get Dar on my team.

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