Rot & Ruin

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Brian Hutchison

Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jonathan Maberry’s Rot & Ruin is his debut work for young readers. Fifteen-year-old Benny Imura lives in a world infested with zombies where, when a kid turns 15, he must get a job to continue receiving food rations. Benny has no interest in the family business of zombie killing, but figures he doesn’t have much of a choice. He’s tried out a bunch of other jobs, and hasn’t found anything he likes. But as Benny starts training with his brother, he learns things about being human that he never expected.

©2010 Jonathan Maberry (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Liked it, going for next in series!

This was an interesting new take on the ZA! We have all read a myriad of books that tell the ZA story from the beginning. This was refreshing because it tells the story about life 15 years after the upheaval. The author coaxes you into understanding a whole new viewpoint. Amazing! Beware it does start off slow, but hang in there it is worth the ride, your credit and your NEXT credit in my opinion!

Loved it!

I loved this story. The author and narrator made me love and hate the characters too!

Bounty hunting zombie killers= unique listen

Let me just state that if I turned into a zombie and ended up spending my zom-days lumbering around my job site, I would be one disappointed soul. Wait, do zombies even have souls? My overall impression of Jonathan Maberry’s Rot and Ruin? Humans are far scarier than any zombie could ever be and Tom Imura is HOTT!!!
Okay, so even in my limited experience with zombie lit, I think that this book offered something different. At the beginning of the book, Benny Imura is young, naïve, immature and doesn’t look past the surface level of anyone or anything in his small circle of existence. Tom Imura, Benny’s older brother, is patient, compassionate, and a skilled fighter, but a man who sees himself as less than perfect. It is my personal opinion that Tom is far harder on himself than Benny could ever be. Benny dislikes his brother based on an obscure recollection he has as a very small child of Tom running away, small Benny clutched in his arms, their parents victims to the “disease.” Benny spends the first 15 years of his life believing Tom is a coward, until the time comes for Benny to join the family business, killing zombies, bounty hunter style. Benny is interested in learning to kill zombies, even if he is not too keen on working for his brother, Tom. However, according to his school teacher, “learning to kill is the sort of thing you should learn from your folks.” So, with decent jobs scarce and the impending threat of losing half his food ration, Benny goes to work for his brother, Tom. It is there, out in the great rot and ruin, that Benny learns about who his brother really is.
Throughout the story, Benny changes a lot. He sees less black and white and recognizes more gray in the world around him. He is more skeptical of people and places and no longer accepts everything at face value. In the great rot and ruin, Benny learns that there are 2 types of danger, - the unthinking incessant zombies and the deliberate malice of fellow bounty hunters, Charlie Mathias and the Motor City Hammer. By the end of the novel, Benny looks at a person’s motives in order to draw conclusions rather than just his/her words. Benny also develops a relationship with childhood girl friend,Nix. Despite Benny’s vow to never fall for a girl he was already friends with, he finds himself crushing on her pretty hard core. The relationship between Nix and Benny develops slowly and is realized by a sweet, gentle yet, standard issue YA kiss. While the kiss maybe formulaic in terms of plot, Benny’s feelings for Nix are not.
“Nix, I know you’re hurt. I wish I could fix it, I swear to God. I wish I could make it all different, make what happened not true…If you need to lash out at me, say anything, throw me off this tower, if it will help even a little, then do it. I don’t care what happens to me anymore, I got what I wanted. I got you back safe… the monsters didn’t get you.”
Beside the many awesome quote-ables, the main strength of this novel is the exciting plot. I liked that in this particular novel, the world had turned to zombies some decade prior and the characters were living in a post-apocalyptic zombie North America. Despite its many info-dumps (usually via Tom Imura), the story telling was supreme, ending the book with an obvious sequel. While not the best choice for a romance, the writing was seamless and potent.
“The truth is the truth. What changes is what we know about it and what we’re willing to believe.” Tom Imura.

amazing.

I loved the story, although sad. i also loved the narrator's voices for each character.

Starts SLOW.....

Starts slow but worth it if you hang with it. Zombie story with empathy - strange!

movie?

this book needs a movie all three do I would pay alot of money to see that

Great zombie adventure

Found this book at a goodwill for .99 cents. I had low expectations for this book, but I’m a huge zombie nerd to I have it a shot. Great story and the audio made it even more gripping. Sometimes life throws you into the fire and you have to grow up and this book captures that concept perfectly!!

wow!

This was an incredible story. im looking forward to the next installment. I can't wait!

Rot & Ruin

Pretty good story. Not gory or scary like the title lead me to believe. I gave it three stars because I liked it but it was not one of those books that I just could not put down. It merits a read and would be a good book for young adult boys. Kind of a coming of age, brotherly relationship kind of story.

Amazing book

This book was awesome, you could totally feel the emotions in a real form, especially between Tom and Benny! You won't regret reading this.