Book Review: Pandora by Richard McCrohan

When a rogue comet enters the solar system, it collides with Mars, and world governments go into overtime assuring citizens that the meteor showers that will occur as Earth passes through the dust cloud will be dazzling but harmless. A few weeks later, 30 percent of Earth’s population starts getting sick. After the first round of the Pandora virus dissipates without causing too many casualties, the world’s concern dissolves along with it. But then those previously infected fall prey to a far worse strain of the apparently dormant virus.

Meanwhile in New Jersey, best friends Sean, Mike, Jack, and Brian are living the idyllic bachelor life of young, healthy twentysomethings. But as this new wave of the virus erupts into a full-scale zombie apocalypse, they find themselves thrust into a nightmare of epic proportions. Imprisoned in their home, with dwindling provisions, the friends argue over whether it’s better to stay or attempt a trip to a gated stronghold in Florida—until a momentary lapse in judgment forces their hand. The foursome must fight for their lives through a terrifying landscape of flesh-eating zombies. Yet the undead aren’t necessarily the worst of their problems…

My Review:
Comet Pandora hits Mars and explodes into dust in Earth's atmosphere, causing sickness, first in Asia and then across the world as it infects the whole atmosphere. 30% of the human population are ill with flu like symptoms but most recover. Then Pandora mutates and everyone who recovered gets sick and begin to die. But they are not going to stay dead and suddenly Pandora has caused the start of a zombie apocalypse.

The main characters in the book are four college friends who are now sharing a house together-Sean, Mike, Jack and Brian. All of them want to enjoy their lives and despite having girlfriends, none are ready to get married. They find the local hospital overrun with Pandora patients and their relatives and a medical staff struggling to cope with the dying people. The guys are about to witness the true horrors of trying to escape the hospital as the dead start coming back to life. Now their worries are over girlfriends, families and friends. I admit that I was almost put off by the MC's all being college friends and bachelors but I was relieved to discover that they are all actually nice guys and not the steriotype frat boys behaving badly. The author makes them feel real and normal, which I enjoyed.

The guys decide to try and secure their house to ride out the storm and wait to see what happens, debating whether to stay or go and if they have enough supplies. Jack's girlfriend Nicole is trying to find a way out of New Jersey and her frantic phone calls as she seeks a way out upset him. Sean is considering a trip to see his parents and check on them, while Mike is concerned about his girlfriend Sue who works at the hospital and wants to go and collect her and her friends. One of them has a brother in the military and Tommy and the remains of his unit are going to Florida to set up a base at a secure gated community. The boys are waiting for Tommy to get back in touch to update them on whether it is going to be safe to join him. 

It is the classic zombie apocalypse problem. Do we stay in the house, secure it, gather supplies and then try to wait it out and see what happens or do we pack everything up and flee the area for a dangerous road trip to a more secure place? I like both of these zombie scenarios and we do get a bit of both in this book which was good. I liked the initial panic over what was happening around them which then morphs into trying to find out from the media what is happening and track down their loved ones. I always like to see the zombie outbreak begin as that is always a tension filled rollercoaster for the MC's and I enjoy that. Then it is the wait and try not to attract the attention of zombies in the street and try to get supplies from the abandoned houses around them. Supply runs are always fun as you never know when the zombies are going to appear!

The second part is the plan to leave and get down to Florida to join Tommy, who has set up shop in the gated community with a few survivors who live there and the rest of his military unit. We follow the boys on their road trip from New Jersey and all the dangers that they face from zombies and survivors alike. We also follow Tommy's preparations as they secure the area and work out a backup plan. What they aren't expecting is what they find on one of their scouting missions and it is to have consequences for Tommy's group and for the travelling group trying to get to them. 

The book has all the elements of a typical zombie apocalypse book so the reader can happily settle into and know pretty much what to expect. That's not to say it is dull because it isn't. It just has what the traditional zombie fan wants from the book with perhaps a little less gore than some books. The characters are good and are presented as normal people who are trying to cope with a disaster and yes they do make a few stupid mistakes, but it does add to the realism of the story. I liked the characters which made me root for them throughout the book and I've already got the next book in the series which continues the story, and two others set in the same world which seem to both be stand-alone. I'll be looking forward to reading all of them soon.

Read December 2019
4 stars.