Review: Devil's Wake by S. Barnes & T. Due

Title: Devil’s Wake 

Authors: Steven Barnes, 

         Tananarive Due

Genre: Apocalyptic, 

          Post-apocalyptic, Zombies

Publisher:
         Atria Books

Release Date: 

         July 31st 2011

Format: Paperback, 288 pages

Source: Publisher

I always thought that I didn’t like books about zombies or any other type of monsters that want to kill you or bite you. And maybe that’s the reason why I have avoided those types of books, even though sometimes I have felt curious about them. Just once, I decided to read one, (Young Adult book) and the only thing I can recall is how disappointed I was. And then, I saw Devil’s Wake and I wanted to read it. Just like an experiment. I didn’t know if I was going to hate it or love it. The only reason why I decided to try it is because I liked the name, the cover and because it looked like an interesting and different read. And let me tell you… you can’t imagine how happy I am right now… because I’m totally in love with this book.

Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due… where have you been all this time?

Devil’s Wake is about a world that is becoming something else. A world where people are turning into “Freaks” who want to kill and bite the rest of the humans. Kendra is a young girl who finds herself in a world where she can’t trust anyone.  All her family is gone, and she is headed to “Devil’s Wake”, a place, where she might find some relatives and some security. In her dangerous journey, she will meet other kids that are in a similar situation.

When I started reading this book, I must admit I didn’t like it too much. The story starts in the same day when everything or almost everything is happening, and it was a little bit difficult for me to get used to what I was reading, and to be able to understand it clearly. But after a few pages, everything starts to make sense, and then I realized that I really liked the way it started, because there were no long introductions or boring passages, on the contrary, the book maintains the reader on the edge of their seats.

The story is amazing, breathtaking, heartbreaking and incredibly realistic. I was able to see the changes with my own eyes, and I could understand the fear and the sadness people felt. The characters are amazing. All of them have their own stories and they are credible. Not all of them are good, or bad, they just behave like real people behave in that type of situation or similar. They not always make the right decisions and of course, you can feel their fears and how their dreams are mostly gone.

Devil’s Wake was a great surprise for me. I never thought I would like a book like this one, but I did. It was a marvelous read, very enjoyable, and the best of all, it wasn't as descriptive as I feared it would be.  Like I said at the top of the review, this is my first time reading something like this, but I’m sure it won’t be the last one. Now I’m looking for something similar while I wait for the next book of the series.

This book deserves five stars… and it’s a favorite.

 

Tananarive Due is an award-winning Essence bestselling author of Blood Colony, Good House, and Joplin’s Ghost. She lives in Smyrna, Georgia.

Steven Barnes is an award-winning author of twenty-three novels, including the New York Times bestseller Star Wars: The Cestus Deception. He lives in Smyrna, Georgia.