The Road To Woodbury

This book was received for free as an advanced reading copy through GoodReads’ FirstReads giveaway.

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury is a horror novel that follows a small band of survivors in Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse as they try to find a safe haven from zombies…and other survivors.

This is a prequel, parallel, or companion novel to the main comic series, depending how you approach it. The main characters have been introduced in the comics as Woodbury residents under The Governor, but have not been deeply explored.

The first thing you notice about the novel is the sheer number of adjectives and adverbs. It’s the hallmark of newer writers and feels clunky. In the first few chapters we are treated to run-on sentences that show more initially seek to physically describe the characters. Inevitably these end with descriptions of personality. Telling, not showing, is a real issue in this novel. There are some amazing descriptions in there though, like diamonds in the rough, such as zombies crawling out of cars ‘like a malformed fetus being born.' The narration is written in third person present tense, which is a bit awkward.

The characters were hit and miss. Lilly feels a bit like a blank slate with few strong characteristics. Josh feels like a walking stereotype. Scott wasn’t really present enough to matter. Megan I felt was the most flawed, interesting, and realistic character, but unfortunately she was only used as a whore for comparison, to show how virtuous our Lilly is. Bob was also flawed, and evoked some real sympathy from me. What screen time the Governor has was well-used, exploring his sick pathology a bit. (Please note that I have only read the comics, not The Rise of the Governor novel.) At under 300 pages, the novel could have been expanded a bit to flush out the characters more.

The plot was simple but worked well for the novel. The pacing was excellent and the action well-written. The inter-character conflicts were well-presented and realistic, including Lilly’s shame about running away rather than helping Josh during a zombie skirmish. The Governor’s ascension within Woodbury is brusk and effective and pretty much word-for-word from the comic source.

There was one issue that really stuck in my craw. Throughout the novel is this, perhaps inadvertent, theme on slut-shaming. Meagan’s promiscuity is discussed as a great evil time and again. Girls are captured by groups of men and pinned down regularly. Men coerce women into prostitution. There are vague threats of sexual assault. There is violent sex. And yet, and yet the author skirts around the word ‘rape’ very carefully and purposefully, especially considering the narrator is a woman. I felt like this in general was both unrealistic---and yes, even in a zombie apocalypse novel I expect some logical responses from characters---and damaging to women. Women are treated as sex objects, vilified for voluntary sex, and forcible sex is never addressed even when it is threatened at every turn. I found that a bit insulting. Comparing this to the treatment of Andrea or Michonne from the comics heightens the difference.

That all being said, it is still a solid zombie novel and miles beyond other popular works in the genre, such as those by Brian Keene.

Note: Do not read this if you only watch the TV show. There are some reveals in this that I feel are better revealed in the comics or in video.

TL;DR: A decent zombie apocalypse novel mired in flat characters and sexism still manages to edge out other zombie novels. Great read for fans of the series. show less

In this follow-up to The Rise of the Governor we follow a rag-tag group of survivors as they go from one encampment to another. Lily and Josh have more than friendship developing, Megan and Scott will do anything to get high, and Bob is an old military medic who drinks too much. They leave a bad situation, only to find a worse situation in Woodbury with the Governor.

I can’t say this book is what I expected. The beginning was very slow. There really wasn’t much traveling or plot building. Once the characters got to Woodbury the story got much more interesting as the Governor’s world invaded the characters psyche. The story was then about the savagery of the fighting arena and how it came to be. There wasn’t really much hope in show more this book because as a prequel to the graphic novels we already know the future is grim. I struggled between 3 and 4 stars. I like The Walking Dead so much and I will inevitably read another book when it comes out, yet the story wasn’t very strong. They would have had more success if they did other backstories, like Michonne or another noteworthy character, rather than introducing characters who minimally interact with the Governor and aren’t main characters in the story line. show less

Authors Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga continue with the story of the origins of the crazed Governor, a man who has learned how to thrive in the post-apocalyptic world that now exists. While the book will only appeal to fans of the Walking Dead graphic novels and television series, the authors wisely know their audience and deliver plenty of hungry undead and chilling action.

Although the story begins with it’s focus on two new characters, Lily Caul and Josh Hamilton, once they stumble upon the walled town of Woodbury, they come under the protection of the Governor, who just recently overthrew those who were in charge and now has the power to shape Woodbury in his own ruthless manner.

I listened to an audio version of the story as show more read by Fred Berman who did a credible job with the material he was given. There isn’t much character development or delving into the whys and why-nots of various characters’ actions, this book is all about the horror of being caught between a multitude of zombies or living under the Governor’s thumb. I doubt if I would have enjoyed this story at all if I wasn’t already a fan of the Walking Dead multiverse. show less

Switching perspectives, The Road to Woodbury features the character of Lilly Caul, who makes a brief appearance in the comics and is responsible for killing Lori and Judith, before understandably flipping her shit and also killing the Governor, showing how she winds up at Woodbury. The Governor doesn't even make an appearance until almost halfway through the book, which is kind of a relief, because I'm getting rather tired of his character.

I'm torn about this book. On the one hand, I think it was written better than the first book in the series. Although the authors still overuse certain words (smoky voices, mucusy, and rheumy all come to mind), they've tamed down, to an extent, the horrible similes and metaphors that plagued the first show more book the series. And it's good to see that not everyone in Woodbury thinks that the Governor is the best thing ever; there's obvious dissension in the ranks, and Woodbury is far from idyllic.

But I still have some major problems with this book, and the series in general. I'm getting really tired of the rape and rape-y comments and situations, and I'm kind of dreading the next two books in the series, because I will be quite shocked if Kirkman will be able to leave what happened to Michonne alone. Yeah, yeah, I know it's the zombie apocalypse and society has crumbled and all of that shit, but that doesn't mean that I want to continually read about not-so-veiled threats of sexual assault. And the "needs protected because she can't make it on her own" vs "stoner whore who prostitutes herself for drugs and stuff" dichotomy in the book sucks. Can't we just have one strong female character in these books? Just one? Please?

Also, since when are the zombies actually referred to as zombies? Kirkman has made such a big deal over NOT using that word to describe the zombies in both the comics and the television show, and yet "zombies" is used liberally in the book. What.

To be honest, this book doesn't add a lot to the world, and it just feels like Kirkman is trying to cash in on the popularity of The Walking Dead at this point. show less

This story centers on the incompetent Lilly Caul and her friends as they arrive in Woodbury. The little town of survivors appears to be safe, as long as the residents follow The Governor's rules, because horrible things happen to those who don't. Among the citizens are Bob Stookey, Martinez and a version of Tyrese, all trying to keep from being killed by both walkers and The Governor.
I didn't like this one as much as the first in the series, but it's still a scary read due to the sociopath Governor.

Quick and Dirty- Woodbury, it wacko capital of the new world. The new man in charge is beyond sanity, and has so many secrets, he doesn't even know who he is at times. We get to know several of the towns residents, and really learn to hate them, (Ahem Lilly), and feel for them. The stories here are so much more than the TV show and I think so much better. Just imagine, no bad actors.
I'm off to start book 3 , part 1- Fall of the Governor

The second in this series. If not a fan of The Walking Dead, these books will probably skip a reader’s radar. If a fan these are surprisingly readable, written in present tense — something that rarely carries through a whole novel. Because of the television and the action-based plot this reads well, like watching a television show and continuing to add depth to the Governor’s background even though this books starts out with a group seemingly unrelated to those in Woodbury. This book reveals more of the town’s development and underlying subculture and discord. There were a few moments where I struggled to put the book down and I have to wonder what will happen in the next instalment.