The sequel to the zombie novel shows the existing realities under the new world order

KT Volante’s After the World Flipped picks up right where When the World Flipped left off, with Lucy about to be attacked by LDs.

The opening scene proves that Volante knows how to pack a real punch into his story. In both of his zombie novels, there is never a dull moment. Even when his characters aren’t busy fighting zombies, they’re busy strategizing to protect themselves from the undead or other humans who would take what’s theirs.

In the first novel, readers watched as Lacey and her friends escaped from a hospital when the zombie epidemic began. We watched them reach safety, find other survivors, and establish a small community in a closed compound. However, their survival requires venturing outside their enclosure to find food, clothing and other necessities, and on one such adventure, while collecting food from a nearby garden, Lucy, one of the few children among the survivors, ends up in a situation chilling in what is about to become LD lunch.

I won’t reveal what happens in this opening scene, but I will say that adjusting to this new normal isn’t easy for any of the characters, especially the kids. Volante not only gives us endless roller coaster rides through the dangers of his zombie world; he also delves into the psyche of the characters and how they cope with his new normal. For example, he shows us how Kevin, one of the other kids, manages to find out that it’s his birthday and nobody remembers him because his parents are dead. Fortunately, Lacey and her classmates team up to come up with a plan to cheer him up.

We also witness many difficult encounters and parts between the characters. In the first novel, Lacey and her friends rescued four nuns and brought them to the compound. The nuns have their own way of doing things that is not always compatible with the way Lacey, who is the leader, does things, so they experience some conflict. However, they also respect each other for their abilities and try to work together. When the Sisters learn that some of their fellow nuns have survived in their Motherhouse and decide they want to move there, there are some touching farewell scenes and then some real surprises.

The biggest problem survivors face, other than LDs, is that as their community grows, new members aren’t always willing to play by the rules. As a result, when the leader of another complex challenges Lacey’s authority, his family is drawn closer to civil war. While the LD remain the obvious and visible enemy, Lacey now discovers that his biggest threat may be from his fellow survivors.

And yet, in the midst of all this new normal, there are happy moments of celebration and also of falling in love. Despite all the horrors, the human spirit continues, adjusting and finding a way to survive even as it is discovered that upon death, humans will now become LDs due to the virus.

To say more about After the World Flipped would be to reveal too much. Suffice it to say that if you like zombie novels, Volante’s books are worth reading. They provide a much more realistic portrayal of what life would be like for survivors than most zombie movies out there. All the thrills and chills are here, but so is a well thought out representation of real life for the average people left alive.