Title: Dread Nation
Series: Dread Nation #1
Author: Justina Ireland
Genre: Alternate History/Horror
Trigger Warnings: Racism (severe), starvation, blood, gore, death, death of children (mentions), violence, guns, body horror
Back Cover:
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.
Review:
I read this as an audiobook, and Bahni Turpin is fast becoming my favorite audiobook narrator. She did such a good job. A hint of a Southern accent (Jane grew up in Kentucky) that got stronger when Jane was emotional, and a very vibrant storytelling all around. I highly recommend the audiobook version of this.
The book itself is also very good. It’s an alternate history where the Civil War ended because the dead started coming back to life and the Union and Confederate soldiers had to stop fighting each other to fight zombies. It seemed a little unrealistic to me that they would train Black and Native people to do the zombie killing, since I doubted former slave owners would want to see those slaves given weapons and trained to use them, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief because I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jane kick ass. And Black people being trained in the art of killing somehow didn’t really change the extremely racist dynamic. Even though Jane – and most of the other Black characters – could have killed the white people treating them badly without breaking a sweat, she still feels the boot of racist oppression on her neck and limiting her entire life.
Whatever you think the main plot is, you’re wrong. The back cover barely even alludes to it. All Jane wants to do is finish up her mandatory zombie-killing education at Miss Preston’s and go back home to her mother on their plantation in Kentucky. But things do not go according to plan, and attempting to help a former friend find his sister, who went missing with one of the Baltimore families, lands her in more trouble than she is prepared for. Jane isn’t always great at making safe decisions, but she is good at thinking on her feet.
And, of course, there are zombies. A lot of zombies. They’re a growing threat throughout the book, giving the whole story a distinct horror edge that meshed very well with the horrors of the racist treatment of non-white folks.
This book is very, very good, especially if you like alternate history and growing existential dread. I think it ended well enough that I don’t feel a need to read a sequel, but I may pick up book two anyway, just to see what happens next.
The Dread Nation series:
- Dread Nation
- Deathless Divide
Bluejay Reads 