Lost World by Kate L. Mary is the fourth book in the Broken World series. Aside from Ryan Casey’s Dead Days, this is the only zombie series I have been eager to continue reading. I am still working my way through Casey’s first season of Dead Days, but something about Mary’s Broken World series keeps reeling me back in each time I get an ARC from her!
Description:
Lost World, the fourth book in the Broken World series, continues following a group of survivors after a super-virus has destroyed the world and the dead have come back to claim it as their own…
With their shelter destroyed and their sense of security shattered, Vivian, Axl and the group set off in search of a safe place. But the group’s morale is at an all-time low, and they now know it’s not just the dead they have to fear. Weeks of wandering brings sickness, death and loss to the survivors, and Vivian soon finds herself losing hope of ever discovering a safe place to live. To make matters worse, two members of the group go missing, leaving the others to wonder not only what happened to them, but if they will ever see their friends alive again.
After what happened in Vegas, Hadley feels like a stranger in her own body. When she and Jon get separated from the rest of the group, she finds herself confronted not only with the scars left behind by her ordeal, but facing the possibility of a new beginning with Jon at her side.
In a twist of fate, Vivian and Axl stumble upon a place that could be the group’s salvation, only to have hope slip through their fingers once again when they are met with the most devastating blow yet…
From the description, fans of this series expect that it will be a page turner, and Mary doesn’t disappoint!
Entertainment: 4/5
By this point in the series there should be no mistaking the fact that I like Kate L. Mary as an author. Although this is true, I continue reading her series because even after book four she can keep her readers guessing. The only reason why I didn’t rate this a perfect 5 is because some of the foreshadowing was a bit too telling, which ruined some of the shock of certain events. That isn’t to say that there aren’t surprising developments, there certainly are. Not to mention the fact that once I picked the book up I found it very difficult to put down. With that being said, since there was an element of predictability to some events (again, not all), I assigned a slightly lower rating. The book alternates fairly between violence and gore and tricking the reader into becoming emotionally invested by sharing a detailed account of character experiences, which makes it fun for the gore hound who will tolerate violence in their narrative as well as for the one who prefers romance with blood and guts on the side.
Scene Description & Character Description: 5/5 & 5/5
There is no part of the book when I don’t feel as though I’m physically there. When Vivian (or any other narrators) took over telling the story, the reader is suddenly immersed not only in Mary’s imaginary dystopian version of our world – but they are immersed in the character’s consciousness. Every thought, every feeling, every inclination is beautifully relayed. In addition, there is a certain level of realism because the description is so thorough. The reader knows how much light there is, what the air smells like, what the temperature is… All of these details may seem foolish to outline on paper, but when reading they make for an incredibly convincing experience.
Originality: 5/5
Mary has long detoured from the general path of zombie and dystopian fiction. Now in addition to simply battling the elements and surviving when faced with a zombie hoard, her rag tag band of survivors must live together in some semblance of harmony. With Mary’s emotionally charged writing style, this can make for some very intense situations. At times it can get a little soap opera-y, what with Vivian’s conflict with her mother looming overhead, but overall it’s great fun!
Overall: 5/5
I’ve said it several times, but I truly enjoy the Broken World series. Kate L. Mary has a way of humanizing all of her characters and making them easy to relate to. That means that it’s thrilling when her characters succeed and is absolutely crushing when they fail! (Or worse. Mary is not afraid to kill her characters off.) You can find Lost World by Kate L. Mary on Amazon (it just came out this week!) If you haven’t started the series yet, you can find each of the books in the series on Amazon as well, including audiobooks: ( Broken World, Shattered World, Mad World) or exclusively audiobook versions from Tantor: ( Broken World, Shattered World, & Mad World – Lost World to be released in this format shortly.)
