I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
What a great follow on book from the original novella Germination. Contamination is a full length book and certainly packed a punch. Ms Thornton has written a fantastic continuation of the Feast Of Weeds series. This book is written from Corinna’s point of view and we follow her story involving a group of different characters than those in the first book.
The opening of the story sets the scene of the relationship between Corinna, her boyfriend Dylan and her best friend Jane, and we are quickly thrown into the chaos when strange zombie like people start attacking them. With the help of Stan, their neighbour, they make a mad dash to escape and pick up Maibe, a young girl, along the way. But it’s difficult for them to know who is human and who is not, and who they can trust amongst themselves. A tragic incident sees the group of survivors split up and after more hardship and horror for Corinna, she tries to make it to a meeting point which has been broadcast on the emergency signal. But when she arrives there, things are not all that they seem and more tragedy and horror awaits her.
I found the main character of the story, Corinna, to be a strong female lead, and there is a hint of her background to suggest how she came to be this way. I really liked Corinna and could easily connect with her on many levels. I could empathise with her in her difficult situations and the tough decisions she had to make throughout the story. I’m not sure how I feel about her boyfriend Dylan, most of the time I felt she was better off without him, but perhaps he showed some truth at the end of the book. And I felt Corinna’s best friend Jane was never acting in her best interest and had her own ulterior motives for what she did and didn’t do.
The inclusion of the runaway characters from the first book Germination was a great link in, and provided some information as to what they’re doing now.
Contamination provides more details about the virus, what it is, where it came from, and its purported cure, and also shows just how widespread the plague is. It also shows how those humans who have not been subjected to the mysterious virus are dealing with the situation and how they are handling the infected.
Once again, Ms Thornton has written a great story which is action packed and will have you reading this book at every opportunity. With interesting characters, a plot full of twists, great dialogue, and plenty of action, mystery, and suspense, you won’t be able to put this book down.
I really enjoyed reading Contamination and liked it better than the first book. Perhaps this is because it is a longer book and provides more details about the apocalyptic event as well as containing characters that are fully developed. I am really looking forward to reading book 3 Infestation when it comes out later this year.
I highly recommend this book to those who enjoyed Germination as well as anyone who likes fast paced apocalyptic stories and stories about plagues and viruses gone wild.