Dearly, Departed(Dearly 1)Author: Lia HabelPublisher: Random House, 2011
Love can never die. Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.
But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.
But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.
My Review:
The year is 2195 and the world has changed drastically. The poles have frozen forcing people to migrate to the Equator, pushing the previous occupants left and right to make space. The new territories call themselves the New Victorians, and follow all the old Victorian customs and manners if with a little more advanced technology. There are those who oppose them, The Punks who don’t believe in the Victorian social hierarchy and protest against continuing to live with advanced technology. But the climate change is not the only catastrophe to happen. A deadly disease has appeared, one that reanimates dead bodies!
Dearly, Departed sets off with a powerful beginning, full of horror, mystery, and desperation. And though it slows a bit after that, the fun begins again when the Z corps enter the picture and all hell breaks loose when the biggest national secrets is revealed. The story features many points of view (maybe too many), and some of them I found myself skimming along just to get to the ‘good’ characters—Nora, Bram and Pamela.
Nora Dearly is one tough New Victorian young woman. She has the unlady like habit of watching warfare news and enjoying thoroughly enjoying target shooting class. I liked how she went through the whole ordeal of accepting the zombies, and how through her we also get to care for them. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m in love with Captain Abraham Griswold! He is a great leader, very caring and protective of Nora, and so very unfortunately undead. But he makes the undead look gooood. Pamela Roe is another favorite character. I really liked how she grew through the story. In the face of a zombie invasion she was able to gather courage, put on a pair of pants (gasp) and turn into a fierce leader.
I couldn’t put down this book from the minute I started reading. It has so many themes that at first I doubted the author’s ability to meld them together well, but I was so very delightfully proven wrong. So hold on to your seats, because Dearly, Departed will take you on an action packed ride full of steampunk tech goodness, Victorian customs silliness, zombie humor (who knew zombies could be so funny), and even zombie romance. I’m very excited for this new series and you can be sure I’ll be waiting eagerly for Dearly Beloved, to see how the living will coexist with the undead.
*I received this book via Netgalley from the publisher*
Favorite Quotes:
“As much as I agree with you, Chas,” I said, “at this point it’d be insubordination.”
Chas ran a finger teasingly along the neckline of her T-shirt. “Ooh, long word. Say it again. I don’t know what it means, but it sounds so dirty.”
~
I walked to the table and picked it up, doing as he asked. And then it struck me that I was setting a so-called zombie’s alarm clock for him, and I swear I heard something snap in my ears. I started laughing uproariously.
I heard the monster’s bemused voice outside, asking me if I was alright, but that just made it funnier.
~
“Now, you remember what I taught you during our lesson yesterday, Miss Dearly,” I said, mimicking Doc Sam’s professorial voice.
“Yes, professor,” she sand back, making her girly voice even girlier. “Aim for the cranium and slice it clean off, revealing and destroying the brain—for severing the head alone will do no good.”
