Descent by Jay Bonansinga

reviewed by Gerti

I love the television series “The Walking Dead” on AMC, but I don’t like reading graphic novels, so Jay Bonansinga’s book “Descent” is a wonderful way to check in on my favorite characters and settings, as well as see some great “what happens next” action about a place the television show left behind.

In “The Walking Dead” series, the town of Woodbury has been destroyed after a character named “The Governor” messed with and captured several members of Rick Grimes group. Rick is the protagonist of the TV series, and has gathered around him a group of like-minded individuals since the zombie apocalypse. But he is very protective of “his people,” and has to rescue them when they are captured, no matter the consequences. Lucky for Rick, his group is very skilled at extraction and weapon use, so the citizens of this small Georgia town are no match for him. The town’s defenses are breached, which is bad news as it allows zombies, an ever-present enemy in the story, to enter the town at will.

This book begins after the Governor has left Woodbury, and the town and its citizens left to their fates. A woman named Lilly Caul has become the de facto new leader. She is trying to run things differently than the Governor, but fate is against her. Zombies are no longer wandering around one by one, which makes them easy to destroy, but in something called a superherd, and one of those is headed straight for her town. Fortunately, a new family has arrived in the haven that is Woodbury, and one of its members will do any to save her children, even if it means sacrificing herself to do it. First crisis averted!

An even greater threat, however, comes from a young boy whom the Woodbury survivors saved from starvation outside its walls. He convinces the group that his church group is surrounded in a nearby town, and that they must save them. Thanks to the discovery of an underground network of tunnels, remnants from the Underground Railroad days in the South, the group is able to free the other humans, led by a charismatic preacher named Jeremiah. Over time, Lilly willingly hands the reins of power over to him so she can concentrate on her romantic needs, totally unaware that the religious group in fact has made a suicide pact and they are just waiting for the right time to take the townsfolk with them.

The book is a terrific read. I loved meeting the new characters, and Lilly is a great, if flawed, protagonist. I often wondered with the TV series why Rick’s band didn’t come back to Woodbury once their prison shelter was destroyed, but I am glad that some author realized the town was still viable as a haven from “the biters.” Bonansinga writes in a clear, yet exciting way, and I felt swept along with the action. His characters are also clearly drawn and different enough that I felt they were real people. Bravo to Bonansinga for creating a believable group of human survivors and putting them in dramatic new situations! Can’t wait to read more by this author.