title: The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses
author: Ty Drago
genre: fantasy/science fiction/independent reader
source: sent for review by Sourcebooks
published: April, 2011
pages: 465
first line: On a sunny Wednesday morning in October, a day that would mark the end of one life and the beginning of another, I found out my grouchy next door neighbor was the walking dead.
rated: 4 out of 5 stars
About:
When twelve year old Will Ritter is wakes up one morning just like any other day, and starts to get ready for school, he notices that his neighbor is one of the undead. Unable to believe his eyes, Will takes the school bus and once he arrives in his Math class, he realizes his teacher is also a walking, talking corpse.
Will thinks he's just going crazy when he starts seeing several more undead adults at school, all of whom look like they want to attack him.
A fellow classmate named Helene, Will's crush, starts squirting the corpses with a water gun and runs out of the school with Will, promising to explain everything to him later. She takes him to a special, secret hideout where there are several other kids. These kids call themselves the 'Undertakers'.
Will soon finds out he is a 'Seer', a person who can see these walking corpses for what they really are. These are not zombies, they are corpses who are smarter and quicker than zombies. These corpses have been possessed by aliens and live among us wearing 'masks' that only Seers can detect. For the most part, only kids can 'See' them. Their sight usually takes place around puberty, which is why Will started to see them now.
Since Will is a Seer, his life is in danger. He can no longer go back home, since the corpses will harm his family to get to him.
Will learns some things about his father, a cop who passed away a few years ago, and who was connected with this band of kids. As the story flows, Will meets the rest of the Undertakers, gets lessons in combat and makes strong friendships.
With the threat of the Corpses ever present, Will and the Undertakers need to
decide if they are going to take a stand against the undead or if they should continue hiding out, while their own army continues to grow.
My thoughts:
When I first saw the cover on The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses, I thought this book was about zombies. It's not. It's about corpses that have been possessed by aliens, and are living and walking among us. They seem like your average, every day citizens, and only kids with a special sight can see them for what they really are.
This book was FUN from page one. It was a great read, with likeable characters that you root for. At 465 pages, it's a fast paced book and I finished it just a few sittings. Will's a great hero, you like him from page one. Throughout the story he misses his mom and often thinks about her. The supporting characters within the book seemed believable, and the author captures the children's voices very well. The kids are all resourceful and smart, working together as a team. There were a few funny parts here and there and some very cool fight scenes.
The story takes twists and turns that keep the reader interested, I didn't find any dry spells. There's a surprise in the ending that I didn't see coming. Author Ty Drago keeps the ending open for the next book in the series, which I want to read.
I can see this one being made into an animated film. It's geared towards independent readers ages 10 and up. This is a fun read for independent readers as well as adults.
about the author:
Ty Drago is an author, husband, father, and a born Quaker who has lived in New Jersey almost his entire life. He is the editor/publisher of Allegory, an online magazine of science fiction, fantasy and horror. He has also had short fiction published in Space and Time Magazine and Fortress Publishing's YESTERDAY I WILL anthology. Many years ago, Ty attended a book signing by Isaac Asimov. When Dr. Asimov learned that Drago was a struggling young SF writer, he penned the following: “To Ty: Please keep trying. Isaac Asimov.” And he did.
The Undertakers have their own website.
Special thanks to Beena over @ Sourcebooks.
