I read Rot & Ruin nearly two years ago and I absolutely loved it, the only problem is that I'm terrible with reading series due to the constant influx of ARCs and shiny books that publishers are churning out. It took a while, but I've finally reunited with Benny Imura and his friends and I truly plan on bingeing the rest of this series by the end of the year. Dust & Decay is a far superior novel than it's predecessor and this time around, the pacing is much quicker. Though I lacked any recollection of what happened in book one, Dust & Decay was absolutely addicting and it was so easy to transition back into this series.
Though I love the plot and gory zombie scenes, my favorite aspect of the Rot & Ruin series is the characters. Jonathan Maberry has breathed life into all of the characters in this book and they all have extremely deep personalities that feel genuine. One of my favorite relationships in this series is the brotherly bond between Benny and his older brother, Tom. Benny and Tom have a special connection that is unrivaled by anything I've read recently and I'd love to see more books focus on the unique bond that siblings share. Tom and Benny don't always get along, but Tom still has a urgent, fatherly need to protect Benny from the world and himself. Tom loves Benny more than he will show and watching those two's snarky conversations was a delight.
There aren't nearly enough books with diverse characters and it's always special to read in which a person of color is a main character. I love how the Imuras' heritage is Asian, this is such a simple fact but the weight of it is so important given how little representation non-Caucasian characters have in YA literature. Maberry never makes it a big deal that Benny and Tom are Asian, which made the diversity of it feel even more special. It shouldn't feel abnormal when a character isn't White, the author should make it subtle and feel normal because diversity is what the world needs in literature.
Dust & Decay is yet another great novel from Jonathan Maberry and I'm extremely eager to read the following installments in the Rot & Ruin series. D&D ended on a cliffhanger, so I definitely need to get my hands on the next book as soon as possible! The only good thing about waiting so long to continue this series is that I don't have to suffer a long wait between installments and that I can read them back to back. I absolutely love this series and Dust & Decay is a zombie novel with heart that will leave readers anxious for more!
This is one of my favorite series. So glad you liked D&D!
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