Dying to Live: Life Sentence [Paperback]

After the author's impressive debut novel, DYING TO LIVE, I couldn't wait to get my hands on its sequel (but was prevented from getting to it sooner due to my ever expanding TBR pile).

LIFE SENTENCE picks up 12 years after the events of DTL. This time our survivors have cleared and fenced themselves into a large area just outside of a major city. The groups' spiritual leader, Milton, continues to use his supernatural gift to horde the undead into holding bins; the aggressive ones go to one area, the seemingly less aggressive to another. When Milton's protégé, Will, notices two zombies in the latter area behaving almost like "normal" humans, he soon befriends them.

Most of the novel is told from one of the intelligent zombies' viewpoint (we discover his name is Wade Truman, a former college professor who is slowly trying to remember his past life, and whose notes we're now reading). He meets an undead woman named Lucy, and together they spend their days and nights writing, reading, and playing the violin (but trust me . . . this isn't funny or cheesy in the least; Paffenroth truly develops his zombies as much as his human characters).

The second storyline the novel follows is Zoey, a teenage outcast who agrees to take her "vows" to the community. She's as deadly with a gun as she is with her wit, and eventually Will and her situations meet for a finale that's exciting, scary, and best of all, a HUGE cut above your standard zombie fare.

Paffenroth continues to explore zombies from a philosophical angle, this time bringing out the humanity of his two intelligent monsters: neither of them want to eat the living, despite it being a newfound instinct. The self-control displayed by Wade could have been a quick rip-off of "Bub" from Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD, but being this is a novel, we get to see what's going on inside this unique zombies' mind, and its more caring and understanding than most of the human survivors. (Speaking of DAY, there's one group of sleaze balls who try to ruin the party before human and zombie team up to stop them; their leader's name is Rhodes, which I'm sure is in tribute to Romero).

My only gripe is I wanted to see more of the work done by Milton, who was the driving force behind the first novel. Hopefully, if Paffenroth returns with another DYING TO LIVE, he'll go there.

Any horror fan will enjoy LIFE SENTENCE, especially those with a thing for zombies. The author's unique perspective on a post-apocalyptic, undead world puts this--like its predecessor--in its own league.

This is a really good book but only if you take it on its own merits and you are not expecting a typical zombie book. This book does not contain the gore, violence or aspects of survival typical to most books in this genre. Some people have left negative reviews, I think because they had expected that. While I can understand why those reviewers had done so, I think its more fair to consider the book on its own terms because the author has done an excellent job.

The previous book was really good and unique in how it explored the philosophical aspects of a "zombie apocalypse." After reading this second book, I can see how its true to the first and a logical extension. Its not the traditional survivors killing zombies in order to survive; its more of an contemplation of the meaning of survival, life and how death is now an integral aspect of life. The survivors have learned to accept this post-apocalyptic world full of zombies in a way not explored in any other book. Zombies are rounded up and placed in quarantined areas rather than being destroyed because the living survivors have chosen to show respect for the dead since they were once among the living and the separation between "life & death" has taken a whole new meaning in this world.

This book takes place twelve years after the outbreak and the group of survivors believe they are the only ones left. The story is told in journal form by two characters; one a 12 year old girl Zoey whose coming of age, and Truman, a zombie who becomes self-aware. Normally, I don't like stories written from the zombie's perspective but it's done really well here. I found myself quickly drawn in by this character as he discovers himself and the world around him. Both Zoey and Truman recount their story as they struggle to understand their role in their perspective worlds as well as understanding the meaning of other's actions.

The book and the concepts explored were interesting... other reviews have covered those better than I can here. While I enjoyed the book and appreciated the tone of humanity in this group of survivors, it did seem idealized and more optimistic of human nature. I'm not so sure we would be this reflective and thoughtful in real life. However, this society is a reflection of Milton's influence; and one can argue that a society, that is seemingly counter-intuitive to expected norms, can really exist if shaped by an egnimatic leader. In this case, Milton's influence represents the best in humanity and he was successful in shaping a society that reflects those values. For that reason, I had chosen to suspend my expectations and enjoyed this book on it's own terms.

While this book was not what I had expected or hoped for when getting it, I enjoyed it on its own terms. You can tell by reading this book that the author must be a really nice guy and introspective. He seems to see the best in people and a society. An there's nothing wrong with that since "realism" or cynicism is the far easier route to portray. I think that's a big reason I enjoyed this book.

This is a sequel to Paffenroth's 2007 novel DYING TO LIVE. I haven't read that book but had no trouble getting into LIFE SENTENCE, as its subject matter was familiar to me from the films that inspired it. The author has written a book on the cinema of George Romero (2006's GOSPEL OF THE LIVING DEAD) and clearly knows the territory inside and out.
Yet Paffenroth has used his Romero-filched elements in thoughtful and literate fashion. There is the requisite gore, of course, and quite a few nerdy movie references (including a store named Argento and a play on the classic ALIENS line about "real monsters") but the book's true aims are strictly of the philosophical variety.
The setting is a world where the living dead rule and a band of non-zombified people subside in an abandoned museum. The two main characters are Zoey, a pre-teen coming to terms with life in this nightmare world, and Truman, an "evolved" zombie who was once a university professor. In his current state Truman's memories are all-but nonexistent, forcing him to relearn everything; as his curiosity about himself and the world around him grows, Truman finds himself rejecting the anti-social activities of his fellow deaders. Along the way he connects with a fellow zombie named Lucy, and love (of a sort) blossoms.
In the meantime Zoey is maturing into a full-fledged zombie killer, having undergone an intricate initiation ceremony. She and Truman mirror each other in their inquisitiveness about the world around them, and before long Zoey, Truman and Lucy will meet...with unexpected results. The conclusion is (in keeping with the novel's overall tone) thoughtful and contemplative, playing down the expected mayhem in favor of a deeply felt, hard-won humanity.
From a writing standpoint the novel is impeccable. The apocalyptic milieu is convincingly evoked with oft-disturbing realism, and the central characters are strong and three-dimensional. I don't believe (as a back cover blurb states) the book will entirely satisfy gore fans, but it is ideal for readers wanting more from their zombie fiction than flesh ripping and intestine pulling.

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