Ray Bradbury, Cormac McCarthy & George Romero walk into a bar...

THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY INFECTIVE PEOPLE by William Todd Rose swings back and forth between a present-day contagion and the future atrocities which follow. Ironically, I was reluctant to read this book because I'm not a fan of time-travel fiction. However, the idea of zombies and time travel mixed together intrigued me enough to give this book a chance. I'm so glad I didn't pass up this story -- it is amazing! Although, the zombies, known as rotters, are just mere mentions, so don't expect an undead survival tale.

There are two POVs, which switch every time a new chapter starts. The first POV is Bosely, a guy who has obviously killed someone in an attempt to prevent an apocalyptic event he has seen during his time-travel experiences. Bosely claims his consciousness is able to project forward through something called the Eye of Aeons. When he does, he takes up residence in the mind of young teen girl named Ocean.

Ocean provides the second POV, describing horrific living conditions and personalizing the hopelessness of the future. While Bosely's story recaps the events leading up to the murder, Ocean's story focuses on the new group of survivors she's joined.

What really impresses me with Rose's writing style is how the author keeps raising the level of suspense from one chapter to the next by cutting back and forth between the POVs at the most climatic moments...kind of like every chapter ending on a cliffhanger with either Bosely or Ocean, and suddenly switching to the other. This thrilling blend of sci-fi and post-apocalyptic horror will leave your mind in a twist!

As always,
AstraDaemon