(A copy of this book was provided by Titan Books for review.)

Ashley Parker is an ordinary woman, just trying to get by. Like so many of us. However, unlucky many it turns out she is also a “Wild Card”. When the zombie apocalypse happens she is one of the few people in the world immune to the virus. Plague Nation is the middle part of this trilogy and over the course of three novels readers will fall in love with Ashley and tremble alongside her every step.

Plague Nation lives up to its name and begins to show the world wide effects of Dana Fredsti’s version of a zombie apocalypse.  As shown in book one, this story has its own rules.  One of the biggest twists is that these outbreaks have been taking place throughout history.  Along with that twist comes a series of revelations which build up in this book.  While Ashley is discovering the previously unknown world of zombies, she is also discovering the level above that which worked to keep the secret.  Its a conspiracy that only gets bigger and is sure to become an even larger threat in the third novel.

Ashley throws many pop culture comments out there but even better are the ones Dana has weaved into the book.  It is a very dark book for our lead and her friends.  Plus there is the promise of the next novel being bigger and also the last part of this series.  Which makes this the Empire Strikes Back of the Ashley Parker series.  I felt that way going in and it gave the novel a higher level of enjoyment.  That flashlight under the blankets reading something your parents wouldn’t approve of but you love the shit out of it level of enjoyment.

The two novels so far scream for a visual representation — comics or movies or television.  Dana writes some gory zombies scenes and some incredible characteristics for the Wild Cards.  Its no more super hero than Buffy is a super hero.  Ashley is more an example of the absolute possible pinnacle for humans and doesn’t cross that line.  She may have certain gifts over the normal and probably bitten rest of us but it never goes too far.  I know its a strange thing to say about a zombie book, but Fredsti never writes her characters too unbelievable.

I’m thrilled to see Ashley continue to be a strong woman.  The things Dana does with the “romance” (to not give anything away) were well appreciated by myself and my wife, two readers who have seen far too many strong female characters get taken down and never built back up.  I wont run down other writers but there is nothing worse than writing lead women as victims and thankfully Dana never writes Ashley as anything other than awesome.