Three for the Road: Stories from Dread Nation

Dread Nation

by Justina Ireland

Three short stories all set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Dread Nation.

Dread South, Dread Quarter, and Letters from Home

Genres: Horror, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Zombies, Young Adult, Fiction, Short Stories

38 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 20, 2020

About the author

Justina Ireland is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books including Dread Nation and its sequel Deathless Divide, the middle-grade novel Ophie's Ghosts, which won the Scott O'Dell award for historical fiction, and a number of Star Wars books including Flight of the Falcon: Lando’s Luck, Spark of the Resistance, A Test of Courage, Out of the Shadows, and Mission to Disaster. She is a former editor in chief of FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, for which she won a World Fantasy Award. She holds a BA in History from Georgia Southern and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University.

Reviews

[Ashley Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

*Baby's first KU*

Dread South was my favorite of the stories. Dread Quarter was also memorable. Seeing Sue again in Letters from Home was an excellent bonus but the story needed a proofreader.

I missed this world <333

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really lovely to be in this world again! Thoroughly enjoyed all of these tales.

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have enjoyed these vignettes better if some of the other books I have read recently hadn't whacked me over the head with the same poignant messages.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series Info/Source: This is a companion novel to the Dread Nation duology. It features three stories set in that world. I borrowed this through Kindle Unlimited.

Story (4/5): The first story here is “Dread South” and shows how Juliet got her assignment as an attendant. I enjoyed this story, although it felt unfinished. The second story is “Dread Quarter” and this shows how Katherine left the French Quarter. I also enjoyed reading this background on Katherine but it again felt a bit unfinished, I wish it had been a bit longer and taken us closer to when Katherine ended up at Miss Preston’s. The third story was “Letters From Home” which details the events that caused Sue and the other girls to leave Miss Preston’s. This did a nice job of filling in some events that went unexplained in the original duology.

This was a very quick read, took maybe 30 min to read all three stories. I am glad I read it because I loved revisiting the world. However, I would not recommend reading this unless you have read the original duology because I think you’ll be pretty confused about what is going on.

Characters (4/5): It was great fun to revisit some of my favorite characters from the original series and get a bit more background on them. The Dread Nation duology really has very strong characters and I love any excuse to spend more time with them.

Setting (5/5): I absolutely love this alternative historical world and again, loved getting the chance to revisit it. The world building in the Dread Nation series is amazing.

Writing Style (4/5): These are all very well written, if a bit incomplete feeling. Ireland has excellent pacing, description, and characterization in her stories and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I am glad I read this, it gives some nice additional background on some of the characters from the Dread Nation series. I would definitely recommend picking this up if you are a big fan of the series. Not sure if it is worth buying but it is definitely worth the read if you have Kindle Unlimited. I would not recommend this you haven’t read the rest of the series. I guess the first story stands alone okay and gives a bit more background than the others in this book, so if you just want a taste of Ireland’s writing style it might be worth getting for that.

[Cristi Smith-Jones]

I think I will always be happy to step back into an alternate history of Justina Ireland's making. In Three for the Road, we get to revisit some familiar faces - Louisa as she meets Juliet, both of whom we met in Deathless Divide; some of Ms. Katherine Devereaux's backstory in New Orleans; and a POV from Sue (who we met as Big Sue early on in the series) during the events of Dread Nation.

My only complaint? I want more! ♥️

[⌞giselle⌝ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the Dread Nation world is truly one of my favorites. these short stories delivered! brutal, gory, but with affective points on gender, sexuality & race. Justina Ireland, THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE! 😩 I'm fr sad that this is the last thing I can read from this universe. I NEED MORE !!

[The Geeky Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories, but man... they certainly reminded me why I rarely read short stories. I no more find myself fully invested in what's going on, than the story ends. So I'm always left wanting more, more, more.

sigh

It was fun to immerse myself in the world of Dread Nation once again, but also quite bittersweet as (according to the author's website) there are currently no plans for continuing the story. (Insert extremely sad face here!) I hope that will change one day, because I'd love to find out what happens beyond Deathless Divide!

Highly recommended to fans of the Dread Nation duology, as well as people who enjoy a good zombie apocalypse book. The story are far too brief for my liking, but they are very enjoyable to read!

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm quite a fan of the Dread Nation duology so, naturally, I was very much looking forward to reading this short story collection. It took me longer than I'd like to finally pick it up, but this was very much worth the wait!

Dread South

This is the story of Louisa, a white girl who longs for something more than what her mother has planned for her, and Juliet, a black "attendant" who is hired to defend Louisa from the undead. This isn't a perfectly wholesome story - Louisa, despite her feelings for Juliet, holds many offensive beliefs that she's just beginning to challenge. But this story has a wonderfully hopeful ending.

Dread Quarter

Here, we get a prequel story focused on 14-year-old Katherine Deveraux. She's eager to escape the life she's always known, but her set plans don't go as swimmingly as she'd hoped. However, a Haitian girl named Camille might be able to show Katherine that she still has a chance at a decent future.

Letters From Home

Like the previous story, this one is about a pre-existing character from the series: Big Sue. This one takes place during a zombie attack at Miss Preston's school, with Sue leading the charge to protect her fellow warrior girls. I've always liked Sue, so this glimpse into her mind was a great read.

4/5 stars. If you haven't read Dread Nation yet, it's well worth checking out!

[Stacey Labissiere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed each of these stories, but I did myself dirty because short stories always leave me wanting more.

I hope that Dread Nation's world gets expanded for other characters. I would love more and more information on this world. Have they ever found a cure for the Shamblers? I hope those answers get answered in a full-length book

[Nastacia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.6 Stars

Three short stories from the world of the undead. These stories were just as captivating as the Dread Nation books. The South is gonna South in these antebellum stories, but for the most part, the obvious protagonist prevails, even though these short stories were left open-ended.

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories add some neat detail to the world of Dread Nation but they're nothing spectacular.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine little snippets but were they needed? No.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun

This is a wonderful companion read to the series. I'd read it after Dread Nation and before Deathless Divide. This functions as back stories for strong secondary characters.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three short stories set in the Dread Nation universe

3.5 stars Definitely don't start reading with these - without the background of at least the first novel, these wouldn't resonate. A fun revisit of the world but I'd like more meat to them.

[Julie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dread South Ever since the dead began to rise from the earth, during the Battle of Gettysburg, life in the South has been less than pleasant, but it goes on. At seventeen, Louisa Aiken knows it is her duty to marry, but she doesn’t want just anyone, and finds her mother’s suggestions somewhat questionable. But she is attracted to the good-looking Everett Hayes. And, if she isn’t mistaken, he is attracted to her himself. But the shambler situation is getting worse. What’s a girl to do?

Everyone knows that the girls trained at the Schools for Colored Girls have the knowledge and the training to deal with the undead, which is why people buy them as attendants. Hire them, that is. So when Everett offers to purchase such protection for Louisa, she is flattered, of course. Which is how she meets Juliet. And suddenly, nothing is the same….

Dread Quarter The people of the French Quarter consider themselves safe from the chaos taking place outside their secure walls. But Katherine Deveraux knows nothing of life outside the Quarter, so of course it’s what she wishes, more than anything. Maman has plans for her, plans that involve going to the Full Moon Ball and finding a rich white man to protect her and her family. Such men like to have wives in New Orleans to keep them busy whilst they are there on business. That is how Maman met her first and second protectors, at the ball. But Fate has other plans for Katherine, and her pretty features have just caused her to be kidnapped, and this is not quite how she wanted to leave the French Quarter….

Letters from Home Although Sue can’t read herself, she does appreciate the value in a letter. She swiped this one from Miss Preston’s desk for reasons not entirely clear to her, but its mere presence is comforting to her. Jane McKeene used to read to her, but she’s gone now, and Katharine Deveraux along with her. They’re working at the Mayor’s house and she misses them. The sounding of the alarm bells indicate the presence of shamblers at the school. Miss Preston attempts to lead Sue and the other girls to safety. But it isn’t going to be that easy, and suddenly heading to Baltimore doesn’t seem like a great idea either. What are they to do?

This is a trio of short stories all from the world of Dread Nation. I would definitely read those two books first before reading this one. The stories add depth to some of the characters, and fill in some back story. I enjoyed each and every one of them. They are a must read for anyone who loves Justina Ireland’s worldbuilding and Dread Nation. I sincerely hope there will be a Dread Nation 3, and more of these not-to-be-missed side stories.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure how it’s possible that I could read both of the Dread Nation novels as Kindle books and not have Amazon try to sell me this one when it was published in 2020. I stumbled across this short collection accidentally while I was processing some books in Calibre. Seriously, Amazon, I’m an easy mark. Your algorithm blew it.

Now, the stories.

I enjoyed these but it’s been a long enough time since I read the original two, that until I got most of the way through the first story that I realized I was reading some history of one of the main characters. These are definitely written for folks already in the Dread Nation universe. I’m not sure they’d make much sense to the uninitiated.

Dread South explores Jane’s first job as a companion from the point of view of the young woman she is hired to protect. I’ll let it suffice to say the end surprised me in a good way.

Dread Quarter tells the story of Katherine’s escape from the safe and sealed French Quarter. The end left me wondering if leaving the Quarter was something Katherine ever would have really wanted if left to her own devices. I learned some history from this story. I had no idea taking pseudo second wives was generally socially accepted at that time.

Letters from Home is a story from the center of the Dread Nation duology, telling the story of the fall of Miss Preston’s Academy and the escape of Sue and the students. Not everyone makes it.

Together the stories are a quick read, but they feel unfinished. I guess the first story is the most finished, but the other two could be significantly longer, possibly novellas themselves. That said, I think it is the nature of the short story to leave the reader wanting more, feeling unfinished.

I like this universe, and I enjoyed these stories. The three out of five is not so much about the stories or the writing but instead about the lack of more, the unfinished feeling of two of the three stories.

[Courtnee Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not Quite What I Expected

In Three For The Road, we get three stories from characters that appear in Justina Ireland's Dread Nation and Deathless Divide that are about moments that basically changed their lives. Louisa’s life dramatically changes when she gets an Attendant, Katherine’s dash for freedom leads her to the Leveaus, and Sue has to take the lead when Miss Preston’s falls to shamblers.

While I really appreciate the insight into Katherine’s life, I really thought that we’d get the Fort Riley story, or even some the info about Red Jack’s wife and child. I almost didn’t recognize Louisa as a character until Juliet came into the picture.

To be quite honest, these short stories don't go deep enough. We don't actually get any part of Kate's time with the Leveaus, and we sure don't get Sue journey from Baltimore to being reunited with Jane. Lord knows what all happened to Loisa on the way to California.

Still, I thought the writing was good and I really appreciated learning more about Kate and Big Sue. However, now I just want to read more. Ireland’s characters are just too interesting.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drei Kurzgeschichten, die einzelne Figuren aus den Dread Nation-Büchern genauer beleuchten. Man erfährt Hintergründe und Vorgeschichten, womit Irelands Welt und ihre Charaktere an Tiefe gewinnen. Leider, leider ist diese Sammlung viel zu kurz und die Freude rasch vorbei. Aber trotzdem ist es schön, dass die Geschichten gesammelt wurden.

Die Lektüre der Kurzgeschichten ist kein Must. Für Fans der Duologie jedoch ein krönender Abschluss. Wer sich für die Reihe interessiert, aber noch unsicher ist, hat hier die Möglichkeit, sich kurz einen Überblick über Irelands Erzählstil, die Charaktere und den Handlungsraum zu verschaffen.

Ich fand es schön, noch einmal zu den geliebten Charakteren zurückzukehren und sie auch ein wenig besser kennenzulernen.

[Eden Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novella(?). It had queer characters which weren’t one dimensional and explored heteronormativity and it’s limitations for women. It also payed attention to the roles and dimensions of power in relationships that are extorted sometimes due to their subconscious. The book also discussed how racism is not only chattel slavery, and that how racist systems and attitudes have not gone away, but rather have simply changed. The book also criticized the upper class and how they tend to take advantage of their power and privilege to manipulate others. I really liked how each story explored a pivotal time/event that happened and that helps explain and fill in a few of the gaps that were in the last book.

[ania | hellishreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the worldbuilding and characters from when I read Dread Nation and Deathless Divide, and I knew as soon as I got a kindle I absolutely had to get this collection of three short stories taking place in the same world. It was really nice seeing some of the familiar characters from the two books again and while I loved stepping back into that same world, I do wish there had been more. But I think that's only natural wanting more when it's from an author that not only can write interesting characters but who is also able to engage readers so well.

I definitely feel like I have to re-read the books soon!

[Karl Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Threee short stories in the Dread Nation Universe. Post zombie apocalypse, post Civil War USA. Love this universe. Well written and rich with detail. Lots of parallels with the Newsflesh universe. Humans to establish a new-nomral with the existance of zomibe hordes; trying to live behind walls and trying to prevent zombies for getting into human enclaves, but with a lot less success due to lack of technology. Also, we see powerful factions attempting to harness zombies for their own diabolical needs. I hope the author writes mor in this univierse.

[Mariam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the stories, but they were too short and I'd be fine without reading them. I liked the first story the most, but it was way too short. All of these felt unfinished, this could have been at least 100 pages long, but 38 pages for 3 stories are way too short and meaningless.

This is why my rating is so low. Justina Ireland is a great writer so this was kind of disappointing for me. I didn't understand the point of Katherine's and Sue's short stories. It's not like I'll remember them. I know that I don't like books with zombies now so I won't be reading more zombie books in the future.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three for the Road by Justina Ireland was a collection of three short stories from the world of Dread Nation. These stories were great! I loved reading background on other characters. The second story explains how Katherine ended up at Miss Preston's and why she hates the nickname Kate. I really enjoyed reading these and now I kinda want to reread the other two books and hopefully there will be more.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could have read these where they fit into the duology so that I could better match the characters in these novellas into where we meet up with them. Each of the three stories was a nice succinct addition to the books. Personally the last story about Sue and the Miss Preston Girls' escape toward the west is my favorite of the three.

[Gerri Leen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this world so much. This is just a short sojourn into it so if you're new to Justina Ireland, read Dread Nation and Deathless Divide first. I live in hope that someday there will be new books set in this universe but in the meantime I look forward to her newest novel due out this fall and catching up on some of her older works.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three short stories accompanying the dread nation duology. Dread south and dread quarter are both prequel stories, each following a character from the series at a point in their life before the main duology. Letters from home tells what became of miss Preston’s after Jane and Katherine left. All good stories and I was glad to get a little more of this world

[Franca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks for these short stories

I have read Dread Nation and found it fascinating! I wanted more stories of Zombie Civil War Era and your books have delivered! Thanks so much !

[Sarah Baenen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These compelling narratives are full of action and interesting characters.

[Hadar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had hard time connecting the first story to the main story but all the other brought a little more about each character and I liked it

[Donna Sipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great backstory for Katherine and some folks you'll meet in the second book. Now I wish that I had read it between Dread Nation and Deathless Divide.