Saturday, May 8, 2010

The forest of hands and teeth - Carrie Ryan

**

Genre : Fantasy, Young Adults

Series : The Forest of hands and teeth

American publisher : Delacorte Press : 9,99$

English publisher : Gollancz : 6,99£

In Mary's world, there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.
And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.
Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

What I think

I liked the book, but I was disappointed. I think there's a lack of originality. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is kind of a mix between I am legend and The Village. The Village because, everyone is in a village surrounded by a forest, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, inhabited not by imaginary monsters, but by real zombies. The Village is ruled by the Sisterhood who knows everything, and guarded by The Guardians. Mary grew up with the fear of the Unconsacrated. But when her dad becomes one and her mom follows him, her brother turns her back on her, and gives her to the Sisterhood. But there, she discovers some things, like there is an outside. And when the zombies breach into the village she and her friends run outside to try and find another village or maybe the ocean.

I am legend, because, the zombietude is some kind of disease that contaminated the entire world, leaving alive only a few survivors like Mary. Everyone in the village believes they're the only one left on the planet. And they're trying to keep humanity alive.

I think this book could have been a lot better if there was not this lack of originality. The subject of zombies is not enough developed. But maybe it will be in the next book. Mary is a tough girl, and that's a good point in the book, but sometimes I just wanted to smack her.

The love story, yes there is one, turns not very well, but that's great, because for once, it's not all is well that ends well.

The zombies are hilarious. Well they're zombies, with limbs hanging and flesh decomposing and all that, but the image is to recurrent and it makes the style too ponderous.

There is a sequel,
The dead-tossed waves, but right now, I don't know if I will read it.

Now I'm going to perfect my zombie knowledge, with some movies a friend gave me, like
28 days later and 28 weeks later, and Shaun of the dead, Dawn of the dead, Zombieland, and Dead snow.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I was wondering if you accept books for review consideration.