Review: Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan, Young Adult Zombie Novel
PJV Quickie: Part vampire, part zombie, James Phelan’s young adult zombie novel CHASERS was a tough read for me. The book was compelling and the concept was original, just the implementation had me scratching my head at points.
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Author: James Phelan
Type: Young Adult Zombie Novel
Published: October 30th 2012 by K-Teen
Source: Publisher
Goodreads Purchase Author
Review:
The novel starts with four teenagers on a subway in New York city. The teenagers are members of a UN Youth Ambassador camp and from all parts of the world. Jesse is the main character, a young boy from Australia, he is accompanies by Dave, Mini and Anna. An explosion rocks their subway car and no one but them survive, they crawl out into the streets of New York to find the city ravaged and the only survivors very thirsty…so thirsty they are attacking the living. The four teens take shelter in a skyscraper and are relatively comfortable until they decide to venture outside.
This was a very slow read for me, boring at times to the point of having me skim quite a bit. Then the ending just sped up to the point of whiplash. It was disconcerting. On top of this, Phelan implemented the quote-free format, popularized by Cormac McCarthy (“No Country for Old Men”) which is supposed to relieve the reader of clutter, but instead, for me, makes things confusing. I like my dialogue delineated, I guess it’s the OCD coming out. I understood once the novel concluded why he used this technique, but because I failed to recognize the clues, it went right over my head and I trudged through the novel until the very end.
I believe that this novel was written completely around the surprise ending. There was little to it but that final reveal. Jesse was a closed off character, insecure at times and confused most of the time. I can only describe my experience with reading this as okay. I’m unsure if I will read on in this series.
The novel was also very reminiscent of the classic “I am Legend” , but not quite on par with that novel as far as technique. My overall feeling is that this book was a great concept and interesting idea, but the pacing was just way off.
Recommendations:
Recommended for Young Adult paranormal fans and end-of-the-world lovers. The book is suitable for younger teens and I place this on a 13+ mom approved rating. If you like authors like Moira Young you might enjoy Phelan.
Similar Young Adult Paranormal Novels & 3 Star Ratings:
- Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
- Rot & Ruin (Benny Imura (Rot and Ruin)) by Jonathan Maberry
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I agree with pretty much everything you said. I’m still going to read the next in the series though, lol.
I think this might be a pass. I’m sort of getting sick of zombies so unless it’s stellar I’ve got other things to read.
This book is in my review pile but I keep pushing it back. For some reason I just never feel like reading it. I feel like that’s only going to continue now after reading your review
I have this on my kindle, it almost sound like something my son would like. He’s 12 and into anything zombies. Posters, games, books. Boy’s… Thanks for sharing your thoughts.