The Harlem Hellfighters

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bringing to light a forgotten regiment of African-American heroes, this graphic novel depicts the horror of World War I and the courage of a group of men who had every deck stacked against them.

The 396th Infantry Regiment, and all-black regiment, was sent to training and to war with one hand figuratively tied behind their backs. They were actively belittled and attacked by their own countrymen, isolated from the other American troops, and even had to resort to trickery to get the weapons they needed from the U.S. Army.

But they returned after seeing more time in the soul-shredding combat of World War I than any other unit (the machine gun was a new invention, as was mustard gas), and after receiving more decorations. They never lost a man to capture.

This black and white graphic novel briefly sketches the characters of men both real and fictional. In color the illustrations would be too gory, but the drawback is that sometimes Caanan White's realistic, detailed images are difficult to understand. There is no denying, though, the emotional power of this story of men fighting both racism and a brutal war.

Max Brooks also wrote The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. For more on the history of this remarkable regiment, check out Walter Dean Myers' and Bill Miles' The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage.

Quotable:

"The first country in the world brave enough to be built on nothing but ideals...Even if it wasn't quite ready to live up to them." - p. 221

The Robot War

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When the omnipresent robots begin slaughtering their human masters, a small group of survivors scattered across the world use their wits to fight back.

Cormac Wallace is a soldier who saw the war firsthand: from Zero Hour when smart cars began running people over in the street to the final battle to destroy Archos (Robopocalypse's Skynet). Wallace finds an archive of records made by Archos and pieces together stories of the people who ensured human victory over "Old Rob" (soldier slang for "robot"). This frame didn't always work logically, and the stories rely on a great deal of coincidence, but that didn't stop me racing through the pages.

Daniel H. Wilson is a roboticist who wrote How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion, so he's got killer robots on the brain. This solidly written novel pulls you into an iron grip and moves fast - I finished it in a day and my attention never flagged. There is a real tension as the survivors recount the eerie first days of the war, when trusted machines became the Enemy - parts of this could accurately be labeled horror.

The style and construction of the book are reminiscent of Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. (And strangely enough, Brooks wrote his own survival guide for his particular brand of apocalypse: The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. I guess great minds do think alike.)

And lest you think that Wilson is a complete anti-robot alarmist, the last section of the book has a surprise element that the robot-loving Asimov would have approved of (and in fact wrote about in the short story "Robot Dreams").

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


When Mary's questions about her place in her village threaten those in authority, she faces danger from within the fences as well as from the relentless zombies thronging outside.

Mary, Mary, Mary. Why are you so annoying? For a girl who grew up in a village surrounded by the constant threats of the Unconsecrated outside, you sure are worthless in a zombie fight. I kept asking myself "These are the ones who survived the apocalypse? Really?"

Mediocre is the most charitable adjective I can use to describe this melodramatic book, which makes me sad. The title is so captivating (seriously, what a great phrase to describe the hordes of the living dead!) that I wish the contents were less pedestrian. There are so many missed opportunities here!

First of all, the idea of a small community ruled by a Sisterhood is great (though their vows of lifelong celibacy seems foolish in a depopulated world). But the Sisterhood quickly prove to be your typical religious wackos who make for absurdly cliched villains.

Side note: Please stop making Christians your punching bag, writers. At least take the trouble to make them seem human, and give them a shred of a conscience or awareness when they violate basic religious tenets (like committing murder, for example - pretty sure that's one of the Ten no-nos). And maybe a scrap of common sense? Contrary to what some believe, having faith doesn't make you stupid, sexist, or controlling. In fact, embracing religion seems to be a pretty good way to reject despair during a zombie apocalypse. Just sayin'.

I'm not saying it's always bad to write villains who are Christians, because Christians are people too, and prone to mistakes and evil-doing. I'm not fine with terrible one-note, one-dimensional villains who are evil and stupid because they are Christians. That's bigotry. And bad writing - not sure which offends me more.

Readers, if you are looking for a more thoughtful take on post-apocalyptic religion, try A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter J. Miller, Jr. If you want a more competent group of zombie apocalypse survivors, check out Colson Whitehead's Zone One or Max Brooks's World War Z. And if you want a truly kick-ass YA heroine, please substitute a reading (or rereading!) of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.



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