And the Blood Ran Black - Nathan E. Harvey

                And the Blood Ran Black uses the same storyline formula as so many of today’s zombie genre books do. A group of humans are on the run from zombies that seem to have taken over the world. The difference with this book is that the writing is really good and the characters’ relationships are probably the strongest element of the whole story. The book opens with an action packed sequence that is worthy of any movie and it keeps the reading turning the pages. The main characters, John and Moto, are brothers who are soldiers fighting for the United States and stationed in Puerto Rico. The author gives a lengthy yet interesting explanation as to how and why the war with China got its start. It’s somewhat scary because, aside from the zombies, everything else could conceivably happen. The character development in this book is some of the best I have ever read. The core relationship, that of the two brothers, is realistic and, ultimately, heart-breaking. The author manages to make the reader feel what the characters are feeling, so near the end of the book I was sniffling just a bit. There are a lot of characters which, in some books, can be confusing but not in this one. They are slowly introduced and developed throughout. That is, if they survive long enough. There’s also some romance, about as much as can be expected when the characters are spending every second looking over their shoulder for zombies. The author infuses some humor into the story which helped to lighten the mood in a fairly dark book. The ending was surprising for me but left the story open for (hopefully) a sequel. The title of the book is what first drew my attention but the cover is quite eye catching as well. The digital version of the book formatted to my ereader very well and the editing was excellent. This is a typical zombie book that is well worth reading.