'Necromancers and dragons stand between a heroic knight and victory over the zombie outbreak chewing its way through the fantasy realm of Zombicide Black Plague.
'The Black Plague’s terrible toll never ends, unleashing a new wave of zombies with disastrous consequences. Low on hope, Knight Alaric von Mertz and his companions flee their crumbling sanctuary, and soon come under the unlikely wing of murderous pirates. There, they learn of a legendary artifact called Mournshroud that could destroy swathes of the undead, but to claim it they must defeat an evil sorceress on an isolated island. Guarded by a dragon! A knight’s honor demands he defend his kingdom, no matter the cost. Yet, as the undead hordes close in on them, a familiar evil waits in the shadows, plotting revenge on Alaric and everything he holds dear…'
Zombies are big business, they're a hugely popular monster thanks to a number of reasons. They can be relatively easy to kill, though can be made into much scarier creatures thanks to mutations, or hordes. They can stand in for real world issues and themes. There's the horror of never knowing who might become one. And there's the angst of them being former people, and the twisted scenarios where you might be fighting for your life against a former loved one. They're easy to mould and adapt into different stories, and because of that there has been a lot of zombie stories over the years; to the point where they've almost begun to get a bit boring. But one of the ways in which they can be given instant new life is to put them in places where they don't often turn up. Forget our modern world, zombies in historical, or wildly different fictional settings always feels new and interesting. And this is something that the Zombicide series is doing so well, and one of the reasons why this is such an enjoyable book.
In the previous entry in the Black Plague series we are transported to a world under siege. A cabal of necromancers have come together in a way never seen before, and are using their immense dark powers to raise the dead across the land. This black plague is turning the dead into monstrous creatures, corpses with a desire to eat and destroy the living. Worse still, some of the dead have become twisted monstrosities, such as large, hulking beasts capable of tearing through people like paper.
As the world fell we met a small group of survivors trying their best to stay alive, noble Knight Alaric von Mertz, the rogue Gaiseric, witch hunter Helchen, orc warrior Ratbag, and dwarf explosive expert Ursola. Together, the group was able to defeat one of the necromancers, and take over his fortified tower in the centre of the city, securing it to protect the survivors that had fled there. Now, Gogol, the necromancer that has been searching for revenge against Alaric, has created a new breed of undead, ones impervious to almost all attacks. Launching an assault upon the tower, Gogol's new creatures are able to breach the defences, and the survivors are forced to flee.
Leaving the city far behind them, the heroes lead the civilians to what they hope will be safety, thought Gogol's forces continue to pursue them. When all hope seems lost, salvation arrives in the form of a pirate ship, captained by the beautiful and cunning Sylvia, who claims that she and her crew are bringing survivors to a secure stronghold. With the threat of death hot on their tail the survivors are forced to go with the pirate captain; a choice that will lead them to new allies, and a dangerous new mission the likes of which they've never encountered before.
One of the things that Isle of the Undead does very quickly is set itself out as being different from the book that came before it. Whilst the first book was incredibly enjoyable, doing more of the same wouldn't have helped the sequel to stand out. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Werner isn't content to just go through the motions and have the same old story of survivors looking for a safe haven, losing it, looking for a safe have, losing it that other, more boring zombie stories have been content to do for decades (sorry The Walking Dead, but it's true). Instead, Werner decides to flip things on its head as soon as possible, introducing a frightening new form of undead, and taking away our characters sense of security.
The book doesn't spend too long with the characters on the road either. There's a few chapters of the heroes leading the survivors through the zombie infested countryside, trying to find a place where they might find a little safety, but it's a relatively small section of the book. This could have been stretched out, and could have been the focus of the novel entirely; but Werner has something much more interesting in store for the readers instead. After joining up with the pirate crew, our heroes do indeed get taken to a new safe location, one that seems to actually be able to withstand the zombie plague. Rather than making the drama about whether or not these people can be trusted, or how long the stronghold will last (other very overused tropes in the genre) our heroes get sent out on a quest to locate a powerful magical artefact that could end the undead once and for all. Yep, we get an action packed fetch-quest instead!
This change in pace is great, as it means we can ditch the civilians, and we can just focus on our heroes being competent zombie killers as they head to an island fortress to steal an artefact from an ancient sorcerer. But of course, the island has fallen to the undead too. Not only are there hosts of zombie goblins and orcs there, led by an orc necromancer, but the island is also home to a monstrous dragon. In a lot of ways this story feels like a Dungeons and Dragons quest, something that seems simple on paper, but gets more and more complex and dangerous as it goes. And if you're a fan of fantasy games like that you're going to get on really well with the story here.
The returning characters all get a lot of stuff to do as well, and whilst there are still a few characters who get a bit more of the spotlight than the others, such as Alaric, Gaiseric, and Helchen, everyone gets to do something important that helps the team survive the events of the book. Since the last book some of the characters have been through some changes too, Ursola seems to be learning to put some of her dwarvish prejudices to bed, working alongside Ratbag for example, though it's something that she's still having to work on; leading to her being the grouch of the team more often than not. Helchen has also gone through quite a journey after becoming friends with a man that her order would have persecuted, and then losing him. The loss of Hulmul at the end of the previous book seems to have had quite the effect on the witch hunter, and she's beginning to question the actions of her order. Not only that, but she's started to use magic herself; something that the old her would rather have died than do. Her journey is perhaps the most interesting in this book, and I'm super excited to see what happens with her next.
The one character who appears to have changed the most over the course of the two books, however, is Gaiseric. The thief was introduced as a very shady character, someone who was only ever out for himself, was adverse to combat if it could be avoided, and who was only working with Alaric because it was the best option open to him at the time. But by the end of Isle of the Undead he's become a whole lot more than that. There's a moment in the book where the group finds a weapon capable of killing the undead incredibly quickly, and Gaiseric tries to give it off to the other members of the group. Each of them refuses the weapon, for various reasons, leaving it to him to wield. Gaiseric tries to tell them that this is the kind of weapon that a hero should wield, and Alaric basically tells him that a hero is wielding it. It's a lovely moment where it seems like Gaiseric finally sees how much he's changed, how he's become a man who volunteers to go into danger, who has protected the innocent, and is fighting to save the world. It's a lovely moment.
Isle of the Undead isn't just a good successor to the book that came before it, but one that expands on it in new and interesting ways. The characters continue to evolve and grow, and the new heroes who join the group feel like worthy, interesting additions to the team. The story doesn't play it safe, and instead chooses to make some bold decisions that already seem to be setting up for an even more exciting third chapter. There is some great action scattered throughout the book, and some truly impressive set pieces. And there's a loss that is going to leave a huge impact upon not only the characters, but the series going forwards. C.L. Werner has done a fantastic job with the story, and I'm super excited to see what future books have in store for us.
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