Desolation discussion

This is a buddy read discussion of Desolation, through part 2.

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This Buddy Read is sponsored by members of the Zombies! group. If you're interested in zombies, come join us there:

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/909

This buddy read has been broken up into 3 parts:

Part one: Infernal (chapters 1-9, 58 pages).
Part two: Necrosis (chapters 10-19, 92 pages).
Part three: The Hiving of Refuge (chapters 20-31, 70 pages).

The reading schedule:

Part one: Read November 1st, discuss starting on November 2nd.
Part two: Read November 3rd, discuss starting on November 4th.
Part three: Read November 5th discuss starting on November 6th.

Links to discussion topics:

Through part one
Through part two
Through part three

This is where we will be posting our comments on the second assignment pages 59-151

Actually, 1-151, since you could refer back to something in part 1. So it may contain spoilers for both part 1 and part 2.

Halfway through this reading section, and I am so ready to type my thoughts on Asher's continuing habit of waking up naked in strange places.

And of course, the necromancers. Hurry up, November 4!

I've finished reading this section.
There sure are a lot of gay male survivors; Asher, Connor, Anderson (at least Bi ), Cleave (who names their kid Cleave?), Poe.
The zombie apocalypse doesn't look good for the straight men as they seem to become zombie food.
So much for repopulation.
So the lady on the cover is Ulga Sinclair. Makes me wonder why her? Any ideas? (Page 71)
Asher sure has a large amount of angst going on through out this book so far. I hope that tames down.

Part two has those back stories missing from part 1. I think it has helped add fluffing to the characters.

I still can't say I enjoy the character of Asher, but I can see where he is coming from.
I have decided that I like Cleave. He seems to be the voice of reason.
I highlighted on quote from the this section,
"What is the point of struggling to survive if what remains of our humanity is darker than the monsters we struggle against?" I stare back at him, and Pie breaks his gaze first. "I refuse to live a life without feeling. That isn't a life at all." Page 98
Now that's a great mindset too bad Asher fails to stay in that mindset as the chapter progresses.
But it is that mindset that I look for in all my zombie, dystopian and apocalypse books.
The lack of that mind set is a big part of why books like Tankbread fail with me.

I did notice a couple of times that in the middle of an action scene Asher's monolog disrupted the events happening so much that I was pulled out of the scene.

Like when they go to rescue the hitchhikers (chapter 13) around page 83-86.
It was brutally painful for me to read that. I kept saying, "shut up and heal her or not!"
Now I do tend to ramble myself, but that scene was all over the place.

The explanation of "witches" vs "necromancers" is the reverse of all the paranormal fantasy books that I've read before. With witches being more evil than necromancers.
But since this is a zombies book rather than a paranormal "magic" book it seems a fitting twist, don't you think?

Overall I feel this section worked nicely at building up the story. :-)

Tammy K. wrote: "I've finished reading this section.
There sure are a lot of gay male survivors; Asher, Connor, Anderson (at least Bi ), Cleave (who names their kid Cleave?), Poe.
The zombie apocalypse doesn't lo..."

What the bleepity bleep bleep you doin, girl? I thought you were gonna stick to schedule! Now I'm woefully behind :-( Don't leave me guys!!! (And you KNOW I'm just teasing you, Tammy...so far, you guys' funny comments are the only thing keeping my head from popping off in rage!!! I've had a bad day, and this BOTM thing has FIRMLY got my goat, just in case you couldn't tell ;-) )

Necromancy is on my mind this beautiful morning as I sip my coffee and wait for the sun to shine on the Swamp Fest.

The zombie plague is caused by the virus, as people keep stating over and over again. Asher is immune to the virus, having been munched on by his family and not turned. He's sick for days, by doesn't turn. Does this turn him into to necromancer? Apparently not - Ulga's interrogation of him reveals his 'necrotic' gifts early in life: seeing ghosts, mental persuasion, healing sick animals.

So necros have been around, but zombies not? When Ulga is controlling a huge group of zombies at Refuge, she tells Asher that she's been doing this "for ages." Mind-control, zombie-control, or both? Am I barking up the wrong tree here, or should I just shut up and finish the book? The necromancers are perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of this story.

Asher's preserving electricity to the library by turning the lights out when he leaves. ;) Good thing the lights are still on - gotta keep those computers running in Refuge. I wonder about the plumbing.

(As a side note - and I am in NO WAY a prepper - I think one of the most realistic portrayals I've read so far about daily human struggles in a post-zombpoc world was Mountain Man. That guy struggled every for personal basics, like toilet paper.)

Teresa wrote: " What the bleepity bleep bleep you doin, girl? I thought you were gonna stick to schedule! Now I'm woefully behind :-( Don't leave me guys!!! (And you KNOW I'm just teasing you, ..."
Yes, I surprised myself even by pushing onto the next section. I haven't read the final section yet though.
I'm going to spend the day basking in my "gifted" book.

Netanella wrote: "Asher is immune to the virus, having been munched on by his family and not turned. He's sick for days, by doesn't turn. Does this turn him into to necromancer? Apparently not - Ulga's interrogation of him reveals his 'necrotic' gifts early in life: seeing ghosts, mental persuasion, healing sick animals. ..."

I have found Asher refusal to accept his natural immunity puzzling.
He seems to accept his "gifts" with less difficulty.

OK it's November 4th.

I'm going to go out with my sister to the second hand stores. It's something we do instead of sitting down, drinking coffee and talking about family stuff. We grab a latte, go browsing for good deals at the Goodwill and complain or rather discuss the kids/grandkids.

But before I go I thought to see how is talking here about Part 2 Necrosis
merriam-webster dictionary defines Necrosis as having originated from Late Latin, from Greek nekrōsis, from nekroun to make dead, from nekros dead body First Known Use: 1665
Definition of NECROSIS

: death of living tissue; specifically : death of a portion of tissue differentially affected by local injury (as loss of blood supply, corrosion, burning, or the local lesion of a disease)

How do you think that word/definition fits this part of the book?

Okay...I'm not looking; I'm not looking; I'm not looking...I spent SOOO much time yesterday trying to 'fix' our little group that I didn't read AT ALL, and now I'm behind. I am gonna start reading like NOW and pop back in later, but I WOULD like to have a little 'regulars' meeting somewhere, somehow. I just voiced my opinions on COMPLETELY cancelling the BOTM, so that our merry band of dedicated readers can just do buddy reads together, and have the pleasure of choosing our own books, rather than having books chosen FOR us. I would go so far as to beg Randy to boycott his 'free thread' for ONE WEEK, just to see how many people left the group. Jesus, no one even THANKS Randy for his work!!!! They just pop up to grab what they want...not cool. Even one of our mods PLAINLY states that she 'only hung around' for the free book thread! Really???? That's shameful, IMO. I think it would be cool if we started our own group, honestly. But suffice it to say, I am DONE with the BOTMs. They'll see, come Savage Days time who was right about lack of participation. And if Shana is rude or can't be objective towards me, then I will ditch that one (I would STILL let the group know, for some dumb reason; after all no one ever notified us when they ditched the read), and just read it alone. I'm sorry to bring the 'drama' here, but I feel 'safe' talking to y'all. I don't want the BOTM to die, but I prefer reading books with you guys, that we actually want to read. I'm sorry about all the drama yesterday; it appears as though we were about to boil over anyway, because as soon as I spoke up, all hell broke loose! CRAZY!!! WAAAAAYYY too much drama for a friggin book read! If you plan on participating, nominate & vote; if you DON'T wanna participate, stay away! How damn simple is that???? Oh well...my point is, I think I would like to solely do buddy reads with you guys, here in this thread, as often as possible. You guys are the only 'friends' I have on the Zombies! page anyway. So whaddaya guys think? Wanna fly solo, and just use the buddy reads request thread to figure out what to read next? Let me know, Fabulous Four! (the dirty dozen can have the Zombies! page ;-) ) Oh, and I'll be baaaccck (that's supposed to sound all ominous and creepy lol) later for discussion! Happy reading, guys!

I am starting to think you two have bailed.

I think the naming of this section fit perfectly.
The 'final' death of Connor will hopefully give Asher some relief from his angst?
I am not sure what to make of the relationship between Cleave and Asher. The events going on between them are harmless enough but Asher is totally freaking out.
I do think Asher is naked a lot but that just makes me chuckle.

I have noticed that one of the original buddy reads buddy did not make it to the first page. Meh
Hopefully, I will see at least some of you on the other pages?

It was very difficult for me to wait and wait this reading discussion time to begin.
But Since the day is over and I have to work tomorrow, I am moving on to the final section now.

I'm sorry, Tammy! I slept til 2 pm my time! Then, I fell asleep AGAIN, and just now woke up...I have like 50 pages left, then reading through all the comments to respond. Oh, and, for the record, I typed up a nice long post last nite to 'finish off' section one (i.e., your post about what the most memorable parts were, etc.), and I lost it, and it was like 5A.M. so I just gave up. Be sure- after all the fuss I made, I'm the LAST that would ditch a read!!! LOL...I'll have this thread filled tomorrow, or possibly even throughout the night! Don't worry your pretty head, I'll be posting my feelings. I always do, and am not even CLOSE to stopping now!!! ;-)

Whew!
No worries about the time you post. I have a secondary project that I will be slowly working on throughout the evening. I'll be sure to check back later. :)

Right now, I'm very, very intrigued by Ulga and the necromancer aspect. I find it both interesting and creeeepy. I was also shocked to both find out that A. Cleave is gay (not sure why, I guess that just makes the chemistry between Cleave and Asher that much more tangible), and B. that it had only been 2 months since the zom-pocalypse started. Also, Cleave said he was only in his first year of college, so he must be very young, too. I think that will seriously impact my reading of this story (how young the main characters seem to be). Also, I feel bad saying this, because Asher WAS completely drained of energy, but I giggled when he passed out! I thought of Jenni lol. And now, I'm gonna make some cocoa and finish this section up! My idea of heaven- a good book, a soft, fluffy blanket, my little best friend and fur baby, Raffie dog, and some hot chocolate with marshmallows!!! Perfect for a chilly, drizzly night like tonite!

Hello Buddy Readers,

I've finished the second section and have started the third, but not finished it yet. So my postings will go here.

"Necrosis" is an apt name for this section, which is generally about Asher's acceptance of his dark gifts of necromancy and his training under the tutelage of Ugla...oops, I meant Ulga. Freudian slip, that, I'm sure.

I'm not sure still how I feel about Asher - for a young guy with newly discovered awesome powers, living in a zombified world, he just spends way too much time obsessing over boys. Conner, Anderson, Cleave, then Poe. I was actually a little peeved during this section, when the author seemingly blew through the writing of a potentially great scene - the discovery and takedown of the zombie nest of the young girl necromancer - and resolved the whole scene in a few passages. Yet, Asher's angst over his dead lover and guilt over his attraction to other people - this takes pages and pages of descriptive text.

Yup, I think I'm a little over Asher's Angst.

Netanella wrote: "... I was actually a little peeved during this section, when the author seemingly blew through the writing of a potentially great scene - the discovery and takedown of the zombie nest of the young girl necromancer - and resolved the whole scene in a few passages. Yet, Asher's angst over his dead lover and guilt over his attraction to other people - this takes pages and pages of descriptive text. ..."

I second that! Definitely skimmed some of the zombie action that I would have liked to see.
There are two plot lines going on here.
1.) The supernatural, necromancer, zombie butt-kicking, solve the mystery of the virus/powers.
2.) And the teenage gay romance.

The two plots seem to be stumbling over and crashing into each other.

What's really intriguing me about this section (and I hope we get some answers in the last section), is the grimoire, the book of necromantic spells, that Asher is given in this section. So of course, the first thing I remember is Ash from "Evil Dead" and his own wrestling with the Necronomicon in that iconic film.

And then I got Asher. Who doesn't really know what to do with the book but throw it at his boyfriend, and then get into a lovers' spat. *sigh*

I forgot to mention - Mary is back! Awesome! (I hope this is in the second section, not the third.) Hopefully there will be more about her character in the third section - I'm sure she's going to turn into a surrogate mother for Asher that will act as a foil to the other strong female in Asher's life, the hag Ulga. (All we need now is the maiden, and we have the female trinity.)

Alright, guys! I know I'm arriving WAAAYYY late to the party, but DAMN this book is interesting!!!I promise to myself NEVER to spend an entire day ranting on Goodreads ever again; I could have spent more time reading! Now, having just finished this section, and then spending time reading over all the responses, I see we have a LOT of stuff for me to respond to and ponder upon tomorrow! Evil Dead, Grimoires, Necrosis, Ugla (!), I'm getting lost in it, but in a GOOD way. Kinda like when Alice falls down the hole. Confusing, but COMPLETELY mesmerizing! I'm in the zone of this book in a major way, so I am going to curl back up with my blanket and puppy and hot cocoa while the better half snores softly beside me, and will be back with crazy necromancer vengeance tomorrow morn/afternoon. Don't be surprised if I finish up and post on the last thread, too...I'm still doing the BOTM & the first chunk is due the 6th. I wanna have my initial thoughts about Desolation up before I start the second story in Undead L.A., that way I can answer the first set of BOTM questions the morning of the 6th, and spend the rest of the day simultaneously finishing Kraken (yup, STILL reading it, Netanella) and clicking back and forth between Desolation's discussion and BOTMs discussion. But MAN OH MAN, my head is reeling with possibilities about the end of this one. And you guys' responses are super thought provoking! I'll be responding in the A.M. Until then, goodnight, sweet buddies of mine!
~Teresa~

I did like the second part of the book. But for the action, learning about Asher's necromancer powers, the missions to save people, etc. But let's get over the gay angst and subplot. Every time it gets interesting, or looks like it's going to get interesting, Asher goes off into his angsty dream world.

And apparently, Asher is the most powerful Necromancer anyone has seen?

Teresa: for a young guy with newly discovered awesome powers, living in a zombified world, he just spends way too much time obsessing over boys.

Geez. You can say that again. And running around all naked like. Are we sure his Necromancy doesn't turn people around him gay?

Netanella: I was actually a little peeved during this section, when the author seemingly blew through the writing of a potentially great scene - the discovery and takedown of the zombie nest of the young girl necromancer - and resolved the whole scene in a few passages.

That's because it's Asher time -- the boy has his hormones raging.

I loved the follow-up scene where he heals Mary though.

Tammy: The two plots (gay angst and neromancer action) seem to be stumbling over and crashing into each other.

Yes! The teenage gay romance just seems to pop up at the strangest moments.

Netanella: What's really intriguing me about this section (and I hope we get some answers in the last section), is the grimoire, the book of necromantic spells,

Especially when he thought it was drinking his blood. There have been a few good scenes with the book. I agree that I hope we see more of it, and it gets a resolution.