Review - Ravenous Decay by Rebecca Morsman

Ravenous Decay by Rebecca Morsman


Paperback, 292 pages
Published March 15th 2011 by CreateSpace (first published March 8th 2011)
ISBN 1453782990 (ISBN13: 9781453782996)
Source: Provided by Black Zombie Publishing in exchange for an honest review
Purchase from Amazon here


Goodreads "In the first book of the Ravenous Decay series: Twenty-eight year old, sarcastic, irreverent, habitually alone, Claire is embarking on a comfort zone destroying move. She has accepted a live-in horse training job at a compound-like ranch in central Oklahoma. 


Six weeks into her life upheaval, a devastating tragedy is discovered at the neighboring farm. The attempted rescue of a man turns violent when he viciously attacks his saviors. An event that originally seemed to be isolated foul play is soon realized to be a horrifying virus, spread by bodily fluids from the infected undead - whether the undead be human or canine.
This thrilling, grass roots, zombie tale will keep you reading through the night and begging for the second book."


Judging from the intensely creepy cover and the 'blood' spattered bookmark that came along with it, I was sure that massive amounts of terror and gore were going to ensue in Ravenous Decay. I wasn't wrong. Everything about it drew me in. As an animal lover, the entire premise of this story taking place on a horse ranch had me nervous. I'm one of those crazy people who gets upset when an animal gets hurt or killed, even in fiction, so I knew I was definitely in for it. Rebecca Morsman did a fantastic job at creating a chilling tale that I could hardly put down.

The research that went into this book was evident and amazing. I've read quite a few zombie books lately that are just so fluffy and off target. Zombies aren't cute. Zombies don't have a conscience. Zombies are meant to be mindless undead that will rip your face off and eat it. As strange as it may sound, I really appreciated being able to see the work that went into this story so clearly that I could visualize every gory detail in my head and feel the terror the characters were experiencing. There were a few times where I had to stop reading and let out a "good Lord!" or "NOT THE DOGS!" as the chaos broke out. I had nightmares of zombie puppies for days which is cool and horrifying all at the same time.

Here's where Ravenous Decay differs from a lot zombie books out right now, aside from the violence. There was definite chemistry between Claire and ranch owner, Micah (who reminds me of someone I know...), but it didn't take precedence in the story. It didn't turn into a full on romance novel, but at the end, I was still emotionally involved enough to choke up a little. It was PERFECT. The same goes for the 'family' dynamic with the other characters living at the ranch. We got to know them well enough to understand the bond they had together without a ton of back story on each person. Clearly not a time-waster, Morsman's transition from peaceful living to insanity is like a punch to the face, and I mean that in a good way.

This book is for fans of George Romero (Dawn of the Dead, The Crazies, etc) and 28 Days Later (one of my personal favorites). I suggest that you stop what you're doing, buy this book and leave your night light on. Really. You're going to need it.