How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant
My rating: 5/5 cats
wow, a lot of people did not like this one.
me, i cannot get enough of this world, and i am thrilled that she keeps on writing within it. i have always loved mahir most of all, so this was a very special treat for me.
also, i love reading about australia; how badass its people, how adorable its fauna.
Video footage of zombie kangaroos laying siege to Sydney was one of the last things to escape Australia during that first long, brutal summer of the Rising. Then the networks went down, and there were other things for people to worry about. Unbelievable as it sounds today, there was a time when the rest of the world genuinely expected the entire continent to be lost.
There was one thing that no one considered, however: Australia was populated by Australians. When the rest of us were trying to adapt to a world that suddenly seemed bent on eradicating the human race, the Australians had been dealing with a hostile environment for centuries. They looked upon our zombie apocalypse, and they were not impressed.
apparently, people who actually live in australia are not super in love with the way this story portrays their land and people, and with the reputation they have in the eyes of americans. and this boggles my mind, because as far as reputations go, i would so much rather be known as “the country that is eminently capable and independent and freaking amazingly badass with its survival skills and enviably sophisticated YA lit market and endemic cute-animal population” than “that fat lazy country that ruins everything with its litter and litigiousness and shoot ’em ups.” as far as stereotypes go, at least it is formidable.
but i get it—no one wants to be pigeonholed. but is it okay if i still respect your ability to not melt in your appallingly hot climate and envy you your wombats, as curmudgeonly as they are? because i am in awe.
and in case you glossed this in your reading of this review so far, this book has ZOMBIE KANGAROOS.
zombie. kangaroos.
and also zombie wombats.
which, how you are a writer, and you miss the opportunity to create the word “zombats” is beyond me. seriously.
also, about a million references/spoilers for the books before it, so it is definitely not a standalone.
i thought this was a great story, and one that managed to explore the aftermath of the rising in a way that seemed fresh and interesting, not just “one more story to toss on the heap cuz people will keep buying them.” it furthers the plot in that it touches upon possibilities of a cure with scientific observations that were mentioned in earlier books, but were a bit more pronounced here, with the discoveries in the kangaroo population.
and i still love mahir’s unflappable demeanor and wit, which is apparently also grating to actual english folk. but come on, this is funny!
The trouble with running through a dark forest in the middle of the night while being pursued by a mob of zombie kangaroos is all the damn trees.
no?? not even a giggle??
bah! go on with you.
i will continue to read and love these stories as long as she keeps writing them, because i am unbearably loyal. which is also why i’m not going anywhere, so if anyone is interested in making goodreads fun again and not the ghost town it has become, let’s fucking make it happen already.
read my book reviews on goodreads
