Michael W. Garza's Season of Decay was published by Severed Press in September 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 Season of Decay:
Our world decayed and a new world arose from the ashes of the old.
The Canaan tribe formed from the ruins of their oppressors, struggling to build a new world for themselves, challenged by the rise of a threat within and a familiar foe at their doorstep.
Mia's position among the tribe has put her at odds with Rowan and their former way of life. Rowan is determined to strike out on his own, but his loyalty to Mia has become a constant battle. The lives of all the members of the Canaan tribe hang in the balance as the council struggles with a path forward. A horde of the dead push toward Canaan driven by the infected, and Mia must choose between the people she loves and the tribe she has sworn to protect.
A REVIEW OF MICHAEL W. GARZA'S SEASON OF DECAY
Michael W. Garza's Season of Decay is the second novel in the The Decaying World Saga. It is an excellent and well written sequel to Tribes of Decay. It continues the story of Canaan, Mia and Rowan in a thrilling way.
I don't normally read zombie and survival horror fiction, because I've had the displeasure of reading too many badly written novels and stories that recycle the same plot twists over and over again without any kind of style or substance, but I find this novel and its predecessor exceptionally interesting and entertaining. I admire the author for trying to create something new and taking a look at post-apocalyptic world from a slightly different point of view.
What Michael W. Garza has accomplished in this series feels amazing, because not many authors are capable of writing sufficiently original zombie fiction. His vision of a post-apocalyptic world feels fresh and exciting, and what's best, his story lacks all the annoying fluff and unnecessary filler material that many stories suffer from.
I consider The Decaying World Saga to be one of the best and most entertaining achievements in modern zombie fiction. It is a well written account of survival in a hostile and unforgiving world where the living have to fight for their lives in order to survive.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- The detonation of the defense system that has surrounded the walls of Canaan has done considerable damage to the connection tunnels among its six underground hives. The survivors have managed to connect four of the hives, but two remain beyond reach. They fear what will happen to them when the spring comes, because they have no power.
- Duncan and Limmy are trying to find a way to hive five where the generators are located. They manage to dig a hole and decide to investigate the opening. Soon they're surrounded by the dead and Limmy vanishes. Duncan tries to escape, but meets his fate in the hands of a man who seems to be decaying.
- Mia is frustrated, because she feels that she has become a sleep-deprived administrator of the Canaan tribe. She's aware of the fact that the survival of the tribe is at stake. She hears that a horde of the walking dead is moving towards the tribe and will soon reach it. She knows that Canaan can't be secured without power and they may have to leave.
- Rowan is outside of Canaan with Mia's brother, Jonah, and a group of young people who call themselves Knights of Rowan. He feels a bit aggravated by Mia's place among the new tribe. He has spent time working through the land that surrounds Canaan. Soon he and the boys find themselves fighting against the dead...
This is all I'll write about the story, because I don't want to reveal too much information about it (I'll only mention that the story is good and worth reading, because it's more intelligent than other stories).
I like Michael W. Garza's worldbuilding, because it is simple yet effective. He easily creates a vision of a world that has changed a lot and where certain areas are filled with the dead and the infected. His descriptions of Canaan, its surrounding areas and its residents are genuinely interesting.
The descriptions of the dead and the infected are thrilling. I think that everyone who has ever read zombie stories or seen zombie films will be pleased with these descriptions, because they're faithful to the genre and also have a bit originality in them.
The characterisation works well, which is nice, because this kind of novels must have good characterisation in order to hook the readers. The author writes fascinatingly about the characters and their lives, because he pays attention to their problems and decisions. The characters' lives are not easy and the author doesn't hide the fact they have to be prepared for anything and they may have to do difficult decisions.
Mia and Rowan are well-created and realistic characters. I enjoyed reading about them and their relationship, because the author has succeeded in making them as realistic as possible. It's easy to care about both of them, because they haven't been cut out of the cookie cutter mold, but have feelings and problems of their own that make them interesting characters. I also enjoyed reading about Jonah (Mia's brother) and Asher, because the author wrote well about them and their doings.
In this novel, the characters find themselves in a difficult and challenging situation, because a horde of the dead is steadily approaching Canaan. They have to be willing to do painful decisions and adapt to changes in order to survive or they'll perish. In my opinion, the author writes well about how the characters feel about the threatening situation and what they do about it.
Season of Decay has plenty of emotional depth that is lacking from many zombie novels. I consider emotional depth to be an integral part of this kind of fiction, because it adds quite a lot of depth to the story and allows the author to explore difficult themes and issues.
The author creates an intense and intriguing atmosphere with ease and manages to captivate readers by various happenings. It's great that he doesn't have to resort to using cheap tricks to thrill his readers, but has a sense of style and knows how to captivate readers.
I give this novel strong four stars on the scale from one to five stars, because I enjoyed reading it and found it fascinating. I look forward to reading what the author writes next, because he has a talent for writing this kind of fiction.
Michael W. Garza's Season of Decay is an interesting, intelligent and entertaining novel that offers readers a bit different kind of a vision of a post-apocalyptic world where life is harsh. If you're in need of a new zombie novel to read, Season of Decay is an excellent choice, because it's one of the most entertaining modern zombie novels.
My final words are:
Michael W. Garza's Season of Decay is good, interesting and well written zombie fiction! If you enjoy reading zombie fiction, please take a look at it.