"The Dead and the Gone" Review

Book 11 of 20 for the Dystopian Challenge

This is a companion book to Life as We Knew It, the post-apocalyptic natural-disaster book that I remember now as being ultimately disappointing in its over-protection of the characters. After all, if you have a world gone completely awry, there are a lot worse things that would realistically happen than the book dared to illustrate. It was too clean.

I understood that this book would be considerably darker, with more deaths and not quite as happy of an ending.

Sort of. It was certainly darker, but it was still far too optimistic.

Instead of taking place in a suburb, we witness the events from the same disaster as they unfold in New York City. Utter chaos, right? As in, those who survive have the most locks on their doors, the most ammunition, and the biggest stockpile of food, right? And everyone else is fair game for the scores of crazy and immoral people that would flourish in the mobocracy, right?

Ah, but we have schools providing lunches and transportation everywhere and weekly food distribution points. We have safe places to travel to, and extremely resourceful friends who are willing to help even though they gain absolutely nothing from their efforts. Too much protection.

What I imagine having happened is that the author began writing this series, it went well at first, and then she realized that if it played out in a realistic manner, it would have been a lot shorter. There's no way these kids could have survived for as long as they did in their circumstances. So she added safeguards and plenty of them.

What I like about dystopian fiction is the study of what people do in difficult circumstances. It's very simple. If you don't let your characters struggle, then there's not enough tension.

Also, the author seems to have a beef with religion. I don't mind a difference of opinion, but there are no normal religious people in her books. They're all over-the-top freaks about it, and it's wearying. All faith is both blind and unrewarded.

I am not certain I will continue with this series. If the author gains a little more courage and lets her characters actually face their obstacles, I will consider it.