Purge is the eighth book in the long running Zombie Apocalypse: The Chad Halverson series, and the third that I have read. Confusingly, I started with book seven; Cutthroat Express, before heading backwards to the sixth; Horde. Despite that, I have read enough of this series to recognise how thrilling it is. Purge may well be more of the same, but what glorious same it is! Unavoidable spoilers for previous entries to follow.
After his mission to find a cure for the zombie plague ends in failure, legendary CIA agent; Chad Halverson, returns, alongside Marta Costello, to the government bunker at Mount Weather, where President Mims is situated in order to report back to him. However, the previous book ended with them discovering the President had been assassinated in his office. This one starts with Secretary of State; Dean Uriah coming to the hasty conclusion that Halverson and Costello must have been the ones responsible for his assassination, due to them having failed their mission. Proclaiming himself the new President of the United States, Uriah has the two imprisoned. Halverson suspects that Uriah may have been the one behind the assassination, and with this knowledge, he soon escapes the bunker with Costello in tow. Halverson's plan is to head to the government bunker at Raven Rock and inform the speaker of the house about what has happened, as constitutionally he is next in the line of succession. Costello meanwhile tags along on the provision that on the way to Raven Rock they head into Washington D.C to check on the status of her beloved brother. Their journey is made that much harder not only by a squadron of SEALS who have been dispatched by Uriah to kill the two 'assassins', but also by the High Rolerz USA; a brutal biker gang whose leader Michael K has it in for Halverson after he killed his brother Bobby K.
Purge takes the form of a long road trip, one I wasn't prepared for. I imagined the trip to Raven Rock would be the first part of the novel, instead it is the core plot of this. On paper it doesn't really seem like much happens in this book, but I loved how simple this all was. The subplot of the presidents bunker makes another wonderful return, with the action every now and again heading back to see what the state of the stifling place is. With Mims and the previous President both being crazy in their own ways, it is no surprise that Uriah is equally crackers. Continuing the trend of the lack of air in the bunker, the subplot here mainly revolves around Uriah's solutions to the lack of oxygen. There are also subplots in the form of the SEAL team that has been dispatched, as well as one following the sole survivor of a group of self-flagellators who had been massacred by the High Rolerz who has become obsessed with hunting down Michael K and demanding an apology from him.
What I really liked about the road trip subplots was how the different characters keep going over the same route at different times to each other. It was interesting reading the different accounts of what happened, and how earlier events have affected the route for characters who later on travel down the same roads. As I have came to expect now, Purge ends on yet another ridiculous thrilling cliff-hanger that I was fully on board for.
The book is very easy to digest, this is the book version of any number of brain dead, yet very entertaining zombie films. It features lots of action, gun fights, battles with the undead, and characters restating their aims lest you forget. The zombies here are as gross as ever, I liked the inclusion of details around the various bugs and creatures that infest the undead. On more than one occasion a ghoul is described as having a moustache, before the character seeing it realises it is instead a bunch of maggots! At least one inclusion of a rat crawling out of a still walking undead's mouth. These are traditional slow walking zombies, balanced against a world where all the survivors in their own ways are at least a little bit crazy. Most humans hostile and angry to the hapless protagonists of each of the subplots. Life is cheap in this world, but it is also exciting.
I knew before reading a single word of Purge that it would be another fantastic entry in the Chad Halverson series. I don't think I would ever get bored of reading these. It might not be Shakespeare, and the story beats can be occasionally predictable (outside of the wild cliff-hangers) but these easy to read, very entertaining, and action packed pulpy novels really scratch that zombie itch. I eagerly await the next in this lovely gory and violent series.
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