Rise of the Ancients

October 15, 2024
The zombie apocalypse overwhelms all human defenses...until suddenly, it doesn't. Before pulling the rug out from under readers with a massive anticlimax, Weinberger does crank up the terror yet another notch as the one factory that manufactures the flash-freezing bombs that seem to be humanity's only effective defense against zombies is destroyed. Not that it matters all that much: The ancient entity guiding the zombie invasions of both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts can also read and control the minds of many living grown-ups. All of this means that for surviving refugees, including Regina Herrera, Joule Artis, and other young zombie fighters, no "zomb shelter" is truly safe. The author does slip in zombie jokes ("It's a lot to digest, I know") as well as a few wrinkles--notably Regina's ongoing efforts to fight, or at least conceal, her own increasing zombification as well as a revelation regarding the reason for the entire apocalypse. Still, no sooner does he paintHomo sapiens into a truly hopeless corner than the whole zombie threat is abruptly dismissed with an airy hand wave...just in time for summer's end and the first day of school. The chills, thrills, and gross bits recall those of previous episodes, but the trilogy couldn't have had a tidier wrap-up. Regina is cued Latine, and Joule has brown skin. Shambles along well enough for a while, but ends with a disappointing faceplant.(Adventure. 9-12)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.