Sunday 23 December 2012

Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeleline Roux

Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeleine Roux is the sequel to the excellent Allison Hewitt is Trapped. To quote the blurb on the back cover of the novel, "In the months since The Outbreak, Seattle has become a walled fortress - the Infected are kept at bay, and the survivors are trying to scrape back a life. But the city is rife with crime, religious cults and black-market dealings. And things are about to get worse.
When a group of frustrated fanatics, the "Repopulationists", destroy part of the wall, zombies start swarming the city. Sadie, devastated by the kidnapping of her young nephew, must find him and get them both out before it's too late. But the only escape is by sea, and she's seen for herself the horrible fate of those who tried that route before..."
Reading that, I thought that a lot of the novel would be taken up with Sadie's search for her nephew and her escape from Seattle but no, that part was all wrapped up in chapter two. Sadie and her nephew, Shane, do escape on a boat with a handful of other survivors. They don't get far before they beach on an a nearby island, where they spend most of the rest of the novel, surviving as best they can.
Sadie is a very different character to Allison Hewitt in that she is not so good in a fight and she has an annoying tendency to act first and think of the consequences later, usually when she realises that what she has done was monumentally stupid. Prior to the zombie apocalypse she used to be an illustrator, so I had some sympathy for her. However, there were times when I felt she needed a good slap to knock some common sense into her. For example, near the end of the novel she takes Shane and they sneak away in a little rowing boat because she was sick of the other survivors and she thought that Shane and her would be better off on their own. Silly woman! She rowed half way around the island before common sense hit her and she was forced to return to the others with her tail between her legs.
Sadie also spends a lot of the novel brooding about whether she is a good enough replacement mother for her young nephew Shane. She copes as best she can but she doesn't always deliver on her promises to him and that frustrates her and annoys Shane. Sadie is the first of the group of survivors from their boat to go off and explore the island. She promises Shane that she'll be back before sundown but when she discovers that the island is not uninhabited and that zombies dwell there it takes her a lot longer to return to Shane and the others.
Although the novel was set in a different part of America to Allison's adventures there was a nice piece of continuity between the two novels, as Sadie used to follow Allison's blog and was a big fan of her. Whenever she got stuck in a tricky situation (a common occurence!) she would often say, "I wonder what Allison would do?"
Sadie Walker is Stranded is certainly an entertaing zombie novel, but is not as good as Allison Hewitt is Trapped in my opinion. Therefore, I'd give it a 6 out of 10 rating.

This will be my last post before Christmas, so I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. Incidentally, my next post will be on Boxing Day and I'll tell you all about my best Christmas present ever! Have fun!

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for the Review Bryan, Have a great Zombie filled Christmas and look forward to Boxing Days post.

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  2. Seasons greetings. I hope you future is full of happyness, peace and proseperity. Sounds Like you already know what Santa has gotten for you so I can only assume you have been GOOD! All the best Mate.

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    1. I hope your own Christmas is full of festive cheer, Clint. I do indeed know what my BIG present is, as it arrived a while ago.

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  3. I hope you and your's have a great Xmas Bryan, from your review, it sounds like "Sadie Walker is Stranded " is not a must buy, but more of a get it if you can't get better.

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    1. Thanks for the good wishes, Joe, and may I return the compliment?

      Yes, "Sadie Walker is Stranded" is not a must buy, but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. I've read better and I've read worse.

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  4. I don't recall hearing about these books! I'll have to check out the other one at the very least.

    I like it when writers create characters that are flawed like this. Not everyone can be super competent.

    Merry Christmas Bryan!

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    1. If you like flawed characters (and to be honest, so do I), then you'll love Sadie Walker. It would pay you to read Allison Hewitt is Trapped first.

      Best wishes to you, Jon, and have a great Christmas.

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  5. Merry Christmas, Bryan! Thanks for all you do for the rest of us in the hobby.

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    1. Aw, shucks! A very merry Christmas to you too, Christopher.

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  6. Happy Holidays Bryan! I think I will try the first novel and see if I like it! Hope you have time to play and we see Team Vampifan soon in the New Year!

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    1. You should definitely read the navel about Allison before reading Sadie's story, David. I am very much looking forward to continuing the adventures of Team Vampifan.

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  7. A very merry Christmas to you, Bryan, and everyone who reads this.

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    1. Thanks, Stefan. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

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  8. Hey VtG, Thanks for posting this year. As I think I've mentioned before [ :) ], your blog is an inspiration to me (and I suspect, many others!) so make sure one of your new year resolutions is to keep it up, or I'll have to send a brute squad 'round!

    Looking forward to finding out what your best Xmas present ever is! Hope Christmas is a good one for you!

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    1. Many thanks, Colin. I have always appreciated your enthusiastic support. I know that you have had some setbacks this year so I hope that all is well with you now. I have no desire to change anything on my blog, after all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

      Take care, my friend and I wish you a happy and joyous Christmas.

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