Offworlders Review of November Seed by David Nadas
I have never been one to dig the whole zombie scene. Nothing against the sci-fi zombie genre – just not my thing. I guess I have never particularly found the undead entertaining. Zombies staggering around taking bites out of people just plain freaks me out. Thus, when I stumbled upon the “Z” word in November Seed, I thought oh no – another zombie book. Normally, alarms go off in my head and I abandon ship when the zombies start their march from the grave.
However, I did not put the book down, and I am glad I stayed the course. David Nadas’ “November Seed” proved to me that when approached from a different angle, a zombie tale can be very refreshing indeed. The book is a fun read and spins the traditional zombie tale in a rather delightful way.
The novel starts with two N.J. Fish & Wildlife biologists who stumble upon a pair of water birds known as bitterns. The birds have clamped their bills steadfast to a dock cleat. Both birds have twig-like antenna growing from their skulls. The biologists discover that the birds were contaminated by tall reeds known as phragmites. The seed from the reeds spreads the disease because the contagion integrated itself within the seed’s core. When the November seed takes to the air in its annual release of seed, the contagion begins mass producing zombies.
Instead of flipping out and eating everyone in sight, the newly zombified people, dogs, and other creatures group together in chains and point their antennas towards a particular region in space. The way this is all handled is creatively done and results in a page turner.
Great characters drive the book along and keep the plot interesting. A zombie book I actually thoroughly enjoyed. Imagine that! My only complaint, even though I enjoyed the ending, I felt that the story should have continued where it ended. Is that a complaint or a complement? When I reached the end, my finger repeatedly tapped the screen to turn the page to see what happens next, but the novella was over! I have read reviews of “November Seed” where the reader believed the book was rushed. I did not feel that the book rushed through events, but I do believe it could have been greatly expanded to the enjoyment of all.
Perhaps “November Seed” will be followed by a sequel and continue where the story ended.
For more information on November Seed visit David’s wordpress blog davidnadas.com.