Generation Dead (Generation Dead, #1) by Daniel Waters

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It is almost a 'typical' teenage drama. Much of the story revolves around life in high school. There is bullying, discrimination and the love triangle involving the nice athletic guy, the elegant goth girl and of course the mysterious dead guy. The dialog is a bit awkward. The story is full of mixed moral messages. Some are contradictory. The author portrays the act of 'stereotyping' in a negative light. Pete is a deranged bully who acts irrationally. He constantly assigns labels to people which are often derogatory. Pete commonly refers to Karen, who is a zombie girl with a flair for fashion, as a 'slut'. Yet the characters, the author himself has created, are all very stereotypical.

The cover was questionable. The cover art is great, but this book might have a wider appeal with a more asexual look. With the Twilight frenzy, I can see where it might be marketed as more of a girl book, but the author is male and the story focuses equally on the female and male characters (and football).

The lack of explanations and details was disappointing. Do the zombies age? This question should have at least come up. It is possible this was undetermined, since teens returning from the dead was a recent occurrence. Do the zombies require nourishment? These zombies are not on the 'brain' diet. There is a revelation towards the end of the story, as to why some zombies develop better than others. Do all their... parts work ? Can they have little 'living impaired' children ? Some further details regarding their 'organs' (not the reproductive ones) are finally revealed on page 326. It appears the author likes to dole important bits of info out in tidbits. I typically prefer basic background info up-front and rely on events to keep me engrossed in the story. It is also possible I 'missed' some important details. So far the government doesn't show much interest in the 'living impaired', which seems unrealistic. They would be asking questions, for military knowledge if nothing else... The Hunter Foundation is eventually introduced. It remains somewhat mysterious throughout the story. It seems to be doing some research and testing, but thus far is a very small operation.

I almost stopped reading at page 199. I have a bad habit of trying to finish books that frustrate me. By the time I am half-way through, I am manically flipping the pages with my fingers while contemplating how much agony remains. I eventually get agitated enough to toss the book aside and start fresh with a new novel. This book is somewhat long, considering the actual 'content'. It drags on. I decided to read the reviews on this site and after I peeked at the spoilers, I decided to finish reading.

It isn't a 'bad' book. I wouldn't recommend it to my adult friends (If I had any :) ). It felt very 'young adult'. There are a few alcoholic drinks mentioned. They are mostly consumed by the 'bad' or 'troubled' kids or in the presence of a parent. Parents can be assured there is nothing too racy to be read here. I read the back cover of the next book in the series, Kiss of Life. It reveals the publishing house is affiliated with 'Disney', which might explain the extreme age appropriateness.

I admit, after finishing the book, I am curious as to what happens next.





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