WARNING – Do not eat while reading this book!I have mixed feelings about The Reapers are the Angels. On one hand, I found it had a very different literary style to what I have grown used to. It drove me absolutely bonkers at first. Where were the quotation marks? On the other hand, once the story picked up, it was compelling enough to keep me reading. That said the first 100 pages were slow going for me. The lack of quotation marks was distracting – I had to reread several passages. But I stuck with it, and I am glad I did.This is a dark world overrun by zombies, or slugs and meatskins as the main character liked to call them. It is also a dangerous world and the main character Temple has been alone for a while. When a zombie washes ashore on her island, she kills what’s left of him, packs up her stuff in a cooler, and swims to the mainland. This is one plucky heroine, extremely smart and resourceful. She also has some amazing survival skills for a young woman. A few things bothered me about this book. We never really learn why the zombies came about. Perhaps this is because the story is told from the point of Temple and she can’t remember a world without zombies. I was also surprised that despite the lack of resources, there seemed to be an ample supply of electricity and an almost unlimited supply of gasoline and snacks at service stations along the route that Temple drove. I also found it astounding that in this world there was some sort of order among the survivors, especially since I was expecting anarchy.I did like the scene where Temple rescued Maury for a parade of zombies. This seemed to be a first for Temple, looking out for others rather than just for herself. I also loved the scene where Temple and Maury get on the train and head west. That, for me, represented a tiny bit of hope that their condition would improve. If there is anything that a post-apocalyptic novel needs, it would be some sort of hope for the future. This book has that spark of hope.The ending really got to me. I was so angry by the end of the book. You can’t do this to me, leave me like this. Even though this wasn’t my favorite book, I’d recommend The Reapers Are The Angels to people who like dark, post-apocalyptic zombie books. I’d be interested in reading more books by this author too. Zombie week continues as Regina and I discuss this book on Badass Book Reviews. Check it out!
