Review: The Last Bastion of the Living - Rhiannon Frater

The Last Bastion of the Living
Rhiannon Frater
4.0/5.0

Ok.  So I really don't know what it is with me and zombie books lately.  Somehow I keep volunteering to read stories about zombies even though they leave me utterly terrified.  I'm really starting to think there might be something wrong with me.  HOWEVER, you aren't here to read about my issues, you're here to see what I thought of the book?  Right?  I thought so.

I really enjoyed The Last Bastion.  I think Rhiannon Frater did a phenomenal job of coming up with an interesting take on zombies.  I thought it was pretty unique (granted, my experience in zombie novels is fairly limited, but *I* thought it was different).  I absolutely loved and appreciated the whole idea of virus mutation creating different types of zombies, some of which were far more terrifying than others.

I also really loved the whole set up of humanity being in a crisis. All that is left of the human race is trapped within the walls of a dying city that is quickly running out of food and resources.  Their only hope lies in one last military push in a last ditch effort to destroy the Infiri Scourge (zombies).  To do so they have to become the one thing they hate most.  It was very intense to say the least.

Frater doesn't stop there though.  In addition to all the craziness going on with the zombies and the city dying, she throws in some political craziness too.  You spend the entire book trying to figure out what is truth, what is a lie, and what the deal is with the political figures in this book.

It was all quite stressful.  Which is why I loved it.

Well, that and the characters.  I absolutely adored Maria.  She is one of those smart, strong, badass book women that I can't help but adore.  However, just because she was a badass didn't mean that she didn't care deeply for those she loved.  I actually kind of appreciated that Frater wrote in the whole concept of wanting a family, and marriage, etc.  I thought it was kind of cool to have it in a story like this.  It's not usually something books in this genre have.  Additionally, the cover model for this book was the perfect representation of Maria.

I really loved the Maria's little group of Infiri Boon as well, especially Denman.  There was just something about him that I couldn't help but adore. 

I couldn't really connect with Dwayne.  I mean, I liked him well enough, and I don't think he's a *bad* guy, I just didn't love him.  Not sure why, just didn't.  I'm thinking it may have something to do with the age difference or that I came in questioning his intentions.  He definitely proves himself by the end of the book, but i dunno, like I said, I just don't *love* him.

Overall, it's a GREAT book, and I highly, highly recommend it.  I loved it, flesh-munching zombie gore and all.