Despite reading horror novels for most of my life, I had never heard of Russell James before. My tastes vary all over the map, so it’s always good to bring a new name to my attention and dive right into whatever they have.

And dive I did. Though I was a bit hesitant at first at the subject matter of Q Island at first because it has been done a thousand times over (a virus that turns folks into zombie-like things, causing them to turn incredibly violent), I was actually pleasantly surprised at how James adeptly handled it.

The plot centers on an ancient virus that has been trapped in a sheet of ice for thousands of years. When it is unearthed and accidentally unleashed, it causes Long Island to be plunged into pure chaos. Those infect develop flu-like symptoms at first, before turning their veins black and causing them to go on violent rampages. Think along the lines of 28 Days Later, and you’d be mostly right.

That said, I feel like James handles the zombies, characters, and the story much better. The government quarantines the island at first, in an effort to subdue a nation-wide outbreak, so those infected, and not, are stuck. Melanie Bailey, and her autistic son Aiden, are some of the few non-infected who are trapped on the island. In fact, Aiden may even be the key to curing the virus, since he was bitten but is not displaying any symptoms. So of course, Melanie, and her friends, set out to get Aiden off the island and help stop the virus.

At the same time, Jimmy Wade has also been infected by the virus. While he still retains most of his brain, and leads a group of the infected, he is still pretty messed up in the head. When he hears of Aiden, he believes if he eats his brains, he will become immortal, and be able to rule Q Island, and possibly, the entire world.

Talk about delusions of grandeur, right? Anyway, this once small time crook launches a large-scale manhunt for Aiden, and will stop at nothing to get him…and consume his brain.

Even I have to admit, looking back at what I wrote above, it just sounds ridiculous; like a cheesy, B-movie in book form. However, it was far from it. Despite the massive amount of characters in the book, James does a masterful job of making each and every single one come alive. He weaves their individual plot lines in and out of each other quite well, making the story incredibly readable, and in a lot of cases, believable. You care for these characters, you root for them, and you cry at their loss. Despite being the villain, I found Jimmy’s story to be quite intriguing, and one of the better villainous backstories I’ve ever read.

Also, James doesn’t just treat the virus as a catalyst for the book’s action. It almost becomes a living, breathing thing, a character all to itself. It’s not just a virus; it’s a Paleovirus. It’s nasty, and the science that James explains behind it fascinated the hell out of me. He clearly did his homework, and he made it seem like it was a very plausible thing. Not only do you have to worry about being attacked by those infected, but there are plenty of other ways for you to be, long after they are gone. And while Jimmy Wade retains more smarts than the rest, the other infected are still very much aware of their actions. They can still work together, use tools, and so on, making them more lethal than your typical zombie. Kudos to James for creating such an interesting, and intricate, disease.

Like I said earlier, I was pleasantly surprised at how well written and paced this book was. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I expected, and it surprised me at almost every turn. I hated having to put it down, and eagerly anticipated jumping back into it. Not only has James written a fantastic book, but he has also earned a reader for life in me.

For more about the book, and its author, please visit Russell James’ Official Website.

Note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review