The Altered - Zombies with a Conscience.
It started with a blackout. Then another. Then came the zombies. And Griffin King is caught in a nightmare. A nightmare that culminates with the loss of his family and him becoming one of the undead. Thankfully, a solution was ready for the event, effectively wiping out the virus before an apocalypse could reach catastrophic levels. It wiped out the entire population of zombie flesh eaters. All except a random few. A random few that Griffin now belongs to – The Altered. Waking up in a facility that attempts to rehabilitate and reintroduce the Altered into society, Griffin wonders if he will be able to make it in the post-virus world, if there will be room for the Altered in that world.
The Altered by Maria DeVivo gives an interesting look at the zombie genre. It isn’t a world ravaged with the shambling undead. Sure, there was pandemonium, but the response was quick. What The Altered really looks at is the process of the change. What the infected goes through when they change from human to flesh seeking monster. Is there any cognition? Remorse? Control? DeVivo takes the reader through an incredible mix of emotions as we follow Griffin through his normal life as a teenager, the responsibility of taking care of his family through terrifying uncertainty, and the insanity of becoming an Altered. DeVivo also does a fantastic job of working the tension and suspense of the uncertainty with Griffin and his rehabilitation. Will he relapse and tear through the Center, rending the doctors and nurses into fleshy, bloody meals? Or will he be able to control his more primal needs and successfully reenter society; a society that may not look at his “kind” favorably? What awaits Griffin and the other Altered outside the facility?
The Altered is a fun read that doesn’t follow the necessary “rules” of zombie fiction. The story alternates from the “before time” to the present near flawlessly and does not pull the reader from the story. DeVivo creates and develops characters that readers can get behind, despise, and pity. The attention to detail DeVivo gives to the setting drops readers right into the environment and allows readers to take the journey next to Griffin. If the zombie genre is your thing, you will be pleased with The Altered.
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