Michael W. Garza's Tribes of Decay was published by Severed Press in January 2016.
Information about Michael W. Garza:
Michael W. Garza often finds himself wondering where his inspiration will come from next and in what form his imagination will bring it to life. The outcomes regularly surprise him and it's always his ambition to amaze those curious enough to follow him and take in those results. He encourages readers to peek at his latest work as well as the material he's published in the past. He sincerely hopes that everyone will find something that astonishes, surprises, or simply scares the heck out of you.
Click here to visit his official website.
Information about Tribes of Decay:
Our world decayed and a new world arose from the ashes of the old.
The remains of the human race cling to life decades after a decimating global plague. The infected hunt the living as the dead roam abandoned streets craving the taste of flesh. Mia and Rowan hoped to carve out a life for themselves in an apocalyptic wasteland, but fate had other plans. They’re forced to leave behind the relative safety of their home after a chance encounter challenges everything they’ve ever known.
Evolution always finds a way...
A REVIEW OF MICHAEL W. GARZA'S TRIBES OF DECAY
Before I begin to review this novel, I'll say a few words about my feelings towards zombie fiction.
As many readers may have noticed, zombie fiction has become increasingly popular during the recent years and many zombie novels and stories have been written by different authors. I haven't personally read many zombie novels, because I feel the same way about them as I feel about urban fantasy novels. Some of them are fun entertainment, but most of them are simply not worth reading, because the authors tend to recycle familiar plot elements without any kind of originality or style. Fortunately, Michael W. Garza is an author who writes good and entertaining zombie fiction that's worth reading. I enjoy his fiction, because he understands how to write stories.
Michael W. Garza's Tribes of Decay is a fine start to The Decaying World series. It's a good and entertaining novel to readers who enjoy reading zombie novels. It's a fun read if you're familiar with the zombie genre, but it will also please newcomers to the genre.
I've noticed that writing survival horror stories is a bit tricky. Some authors succeed in it while others fail at it almost miserably because of their lack of self restraint when writing about characters and what happens to them. Fortunately, Michael W. Garza succeeds in writing about how the characters fight for survival in a harsh and unforgiving world.
Here's information about the story:
- In the beginning, Darian and Rowan, who are cousins and belong to the Cheyenne Tribe, are hunting and wandering outdoors. They see a horde of the infected and seek shelter. Soon Rowan sees how the infected grab hold of Darian.
- Mia is in love with Rowan. She is aware that the leaders of the tribe will soon gather and discuss who among the young men will join them as full members. She hopes that Rowan will be selected, because they could finally be married.
- When Rowan arrives without Darian, Mia's father (Arkin) is angry and the council members hurt Rowan. When Rowan recovers, he knows that Arkin will never let him marry Mia.
- Rowan tells the coucil members that the infected are gathering. Nothing like that has ever happened before.
- Soon Rowan and Mia's lives change...
The worldbuilding is simple, but very effective. This novel is set in a future world where people have suffered a global plague and the dead crave for human flesh. The world has changed in many ways, because only remnants remain of the old world. The world has become a primitive place and people have to hunt for food.
The characterisation is good. I was pleasantly surprised when I read about the characters, because they were real people with real problems. The author has created interesting main characters and he makes you care about them. He also writes well about the secondary characters.
The relationship with Rowan and Mia is an important part of the story. You can feel how much they care about each other and to what lengths they're willing to go to be each other, because there's real love and affection between them. This kind of descriptions about love and affection can only be found in the best zombie novels, because good novels almost always have emotional depth in them so that the readers have something to relate to.
The tension between Rowan and Mia's father, Arkin, feels realistic and dramatic. When Rowan returns without Darian, tension rises and Arkin fully shows his contempt of Rowan. He blames Rowan for what has happened and wants him to stay away from his daughter.
The author writes convincingly about what Rowan and Darian experience at the beginning of the novel and what happens to them, because they've known each other for years and enjoy each other's company. It was interesting for me to read about their doings and how Darian met his fate.
The atmosphere is intense and mysterious. It was interesting to read about what the infected were doing, because they seemed to act in a new and unexpected way.
Michael W. Garza's Tribes of Decay is an entertaining and well written zombie novel. Whether you're a newcomer to zombie stories or an experienced reader, you'll find something to enjoy in this novel. It's a gem among zombie novels and should not be missed by fans of the genre.
Intriguing and well written postapocalyptic entertainment to fans of zombie stories!