Nanobots and Inmates

New York City has fallen. The bot epidemic has spread across the country. Undead roam the lands. Armed with an assortment of weapons, Jack and his crew head north into the snow-covered countryside in search of his sister, but soon find themselves in the middle of a war between the people of Cliff House and a gang of escaped inmates led by the infamous serial killer known as Cannibal.

MACHINES OF THE DEAD 2 by David Bernstein is a great follow-up, and continues to maintain the mixed theme of sci-fi and horror. Although Jack manages to escape the underground bunker, and reverse the effects of the nanobots that reanimate the dead, he faces a new challenge in the second book, in the form of a psychopath called Cannibal.

The first book ended with Jack deciding to look for his sister. In the sequel, he heads north, and finds himself in the middle of war between two compounds: the people of Cliff House, and the escaped inmates that follow Cannibal. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but one of the inmates proved to be a far more interesting adversary than Cannibal, and his fight scene with Zaun was pretty damn good.

While I loved the detail that Bernstein has put into the development of his main characters, I have to admit that I wasn't impressed with Cannibal at all. I get it: people - alive or undead, who eat human flesh, are scary, but I think Bernstein could have come up with something more original and frightening than the whole "crazy guy leading inmates & attacking the peaceful group" scenario.

Check back for my review of the final book in the trilogy.

As always,
AstraDemon