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Revived by Ernesto Pavan - Book Review

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Synopsis
For deadpan snark queen Violet Sharpe, death is not the end.

If you think life sucks, wait until after you're dead. After finding out she's contracted porthmeos, a nasty parasite, Violet is faced with a choice: either meet her end before her thirtieth birthday, or become one of the Revived, which is the politically correct word for... well, a zombie.

But the challenges of her new un-life are way worse than she thought. As part of a new minority, she faces discrimination and hatred, not to mention a laundry list of physical limitations and the looming ghost of depression. Can she meet these challenges with her usual strength and dark humor? Or is being Revived a fate worse than death?

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My Review
Revived is a fun, sort of snarky horror story that takes traditional zombie lore and throws it out the window.

In the story, we have our main character named Violet, or Vi for short. The cover has a nice little nod to that, which I found endearing. Poor Vi has been diagnosed with Thanatos Perpatematos, which is the medical way of saying she's going to turn into a zombie. Vi has two options: die or become one of the Revived.

Yes, you read that right. The Revived are people who have been reanimated and are now living amongst society as zombies. They wear makeup and perfume to try and blend in, eat Mockmeat, and try not to ruin their insanely fragile bodies. So, like little vegan children who enjoy playing with mommy's pretty things. Or something like that.

Vi chooses the latter, unable to give up on life just yet. But learning to live as one of the undead proves to be a lot more difficult and depressing than she expected it to be. It isn't until she meets a group of Revived men that she starts to realize that maybe, just maybe, everything will be all right.

I don't want to give too much away, as I really do think the book is worth reading. Plus, no one really likes spoilers or reviews that give away the entire plot. So with that having been said, let me give a general review of what I thought overall.

Character-wise, Vi is a likeable person. She's a bit of a smart-ass, and occasionally her temper does get the best of her. But all in all, she's a fun character. I really enjoyed the story because of her. There is one character who gets introduced, but then nothing really happens with her. I was a little disappointed, because she seemed like she could have had potential to be more important to the story. I suppose, though, she was important in her own way. And as for the other characters who get introduced later on, I found them all to have their own special quirks. Every single person in the story gives you a reason to either love them or hate them.

Plot-wise, the story moved along nicely. There were a few moments I found a little slow, but not to a horrible degree. The ending wasn't one I was expecting, but it was nice to see something in that vein, especially since this is a zombie story.

I did notice a few mistakes in the story (like I not being capitalized, and a couple of things in parentheses that I couldn't tell if they should have been there or not), but nothing so bad that it detracted from reading the story and enjoying it.

Overall, Revived is kinda like one of those campy B-movies you'd see as a made-for-TV sort of thing. It's fun, it's silly, it's got heart. There's sarcasm, sadness, and even some stoicism (if that's the word I want... and I think it is).

If you're looking for something different and not-so-traditional in the zombie/horror genre, look no further than Revived. I give it four (undead) thumbs up. 

Author Bio
I am a crazy Italian with a twisted mind and I spend most of my time on a keyboard, conjuring up quirky worlds and characters.

When I’m not otherwise occupied, I pursue a bunch of nerdy hobbies. I love board games, especially euro-style strategic games. I have a weak spot for online games, at which I mightily suck. And, of course, I love reading. My favorite authors are (in no particular order) Brandons Sanderson, Jim Butcer, Brian Keene and Hugh Howey, all of whom I consider literary masters.

I share a house in Italy with my two dogs and a wife who, thankfully, loves board games and reading as much as I do. We also have an invisible pet called Insanity that we love very much.

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