REVIEW : Play Dead by Ryan Brown

 

I'm absolutely thrilled with the variety of Zombie novels available today! It's fun to see what genre will next be zombiefied!  So when I saw Play Dead I giggled happily and snapped it up. The book centers around Cole Logan. Cole is a sad country western song brought to life. He lives in a trailer, has a mom who spends most of her time drunk and sleeping with seedy men, and despite his football skills he is a bit of an outcast at school.

The one thing that makes sense in Cole's life is football. He is the Quarterback that might possibly go down in history for bringing the Killington High jackrabbits to their very first winning season, and state championship.

 Three days before the big game however things begin to go horribly wrong. The number one team, the Badgers aren't willing to risk losing to their rival town. The recently steroid enhanced Badgers decide to scare Cole off by attacking him and cutting off  two of his fingers. All that does is make Cole more determined to win.  The coaches however are not fully convinced. After the school consents to go to the final game they decide that it isn't safe to have Cole play. As the team bus lumbers to their game the desperate Badgers come up with a desperate plan to insure they forfeit, a plan that leads to the death of the entire team.

Cole turns to the mysterious Black Mona for advice and ultimately revenge. Now the team has arisen from the dead, but they aren't the same. They have odd behaviors and even odder food cravings. Cole fights to keep them on track, for this final game will not only settle the score but decide the fates of every team members souls.

I really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of bits that made me laugh out loud. Brown definitely has familiarity with football and Texan personalities. I would have enjoyed a little more Zombie action but the football theme was very well realised.

I also enjoyed the character of Savannah, the coach's daughter and reporter for the school newspaper. Savannah and Cole seem worlds apart but throughout the story they really bond together. Lots of fun twists and a nice conclusion. A fun read.