Review: Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague

Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague by Michell Plested
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

REVIEW:

I was very excited to receive Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague by Michell Plested because I have come to enjoy some zombie books, my husband and I are scout leaders, and my son is a Boy Scout after 4.5 years of Cub Scouts. We are a scouting family and I appreciate a book related to something we love to spend our family time together participating in.

First off, as a graphic designer and illustrator with major interest in book cover design, I cringe when I look at the cover. It truly hurts me to see a good book look so unprofessional because of cover art and typography. If the book had not been about scouts I would never have read it, and definitely would not buy it because sadly an unprofessional looking cover many times also means unprofessional writing. I was pleasantly surprised about the writing though.

The actual story was far better than I expected based on the cover. I enjoyed the fact that someone put so much time into a story that honors the dedication of volunteers and scouts. I liked the basic idea of the boys camping, but then coming back to the disaster of a zombie infested real world. After some campo its with our own scouts I can see how that might play out. I also love that the story began as campfire stories told by a leader. I know some boys that would love that. I did find it different that they didn't see more indication of disaster - zombies as they traveled along the way back into civilization. I enjoyed the story, loved the references to real scouting principles, and I love that there is no vulgarity, etc. The book is perfectly acceptable for my son and his scout friends to read.

To me the story ended a little awkwardly, and all volunteer names starting with "scouter" got too repetitive, but I agree with the need to possibly address the boys as "scout" so the reader knows whether it is an adult or a scout who is being addressed. That is a bit repetitive too though ... I don't know about that, but it's definitely something to think about.

Great job of coming up with a story that is interesting for both adults and children. I think with a little help this book could really make a splash with the scouting community. Please get help with that cover. I passed up the book several times because of it as many others will. Books really are initially judged by their cover.

I received Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague by Michell Plested free of charge, in order to provide an honest review.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Being a Scout is more than just helping old ladies cross the road. Scouts have a responsibility to their communities and the greater world around them. Part of that responsibility is training and being prepared for disasters. When a Scout troop comes home from a weekend of survival training in the deep woods, they find that nothing about the world they left is the same. Shambling hordes of undead wander the countryside killing anything that lives. Can the Scouts survive the trip home and is there even a home to return to? It will take all of their training and smarts to overcome this disaster.

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