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Though you wouldn't know it from the cover, Death After Life is an emotionally moving and often intelligent read. It's (no surprise here) a zombie novel, but not just any zombie novel. Using a clever twist, writer John Evans injects the plot with a virus that slows America down considerably, but doesn't completely immobilize it.

Virus Control Cops control events and people ("there is no cure," billboards constantly remind people wherever they go) and there are euthanasia centers for ill and elderly people who might ("might" is used very loosely by the doctors who work at them) be vulnerable to infection, no matter that they haven't been bitten yet.

The economy has tanked, only the rich have money (which they keep  as cash, stashed in secret locations) and citizens risk going out for drinking and dancing most every night, desperate to find pleasure in activities that used to make them feel good. People still go to the movies as well, but finding enjoyment in anything (everyday things or not) is not so easy and numbness has become a way of life. Often, it's difficult to separate the zombies from the humans.

Death After Life is definitely well-written and more than worth than 99 cents it costs to download through Amazon. The problem is how disturbing it is...not so much in the violence (though that's hard to take) but in how eerily life manages to go on as close to "business as usual" during this particular zombie apocalypse.

Somehow it all reminds me of a quote by singer Zola Jesus, who said in an interview not too long ago:

"I want to write songs about things that are important, like why we're here, what the future holds and the apocalypse. Maybe the apocalypse has already started. If you look around in America, there's a lot of sadness and a lot of suffering. Most people turn a blind eye to it. I want people to come to terms with it." -Zola Jesus