Book Review: Ronin of the Dead: Book One by Keith McIntosh

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Summary: 

Kenshiro suspected he’d been on the road now for well over a year, but he really didn’t know. It’s not like he kept track of such things anymore. When the undead first came, everybody thought it was a new strain of rabies that was sweeping across the globe. When the scientists of the world finally figured out the horrible truth, it was too late.

The undead took everything from him. His friends, his father, and the only woman he ever loved. He doesn’t know how he survived; it would have been better if he didn’t. Back then, he survived by running, but he doesn’t run from them anymore. He sticks to the small towns of middle America, because that’s where the essentials can still be found. Food, water, gas, and bullets. That’s all that matters now.

His days were filled with extreme violence, and mind-numbing solitude that he shared with the ghosts of the people he left behind. He doesn’t know how much longer he can do this. Sooner or later, something’s got to give. Until it does, Kenshiro is going to continue to make the undead pay for what they took from him.

In La Veta, Colorado, Kenshiro finds something that changes everything.
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My Review: 

​This book is a shining example of what it means to be human, and what it takes to keep it in-tact. 

We follow three characters in their very different lives two years after the zombie apocalypse. Kenshiro is wiping zombies off the map by the handful as often as he can. He's been a lone wolf, especially since his last encounter with a human. His character arc in the first book of this series is absolutely amazing, and I love hearing his thoughts and watching him process different situations and encounters, especially when he comes across Elliott.

Elliott is a special boy who has been left alone for who knows how long in his parent's house. He's wasting away, and I could feel my heart bleeding for him. I was hoping Kenshiro would come across him somehow, and soon. His chapters were my favorite. Reading everything through his optimistic, unwavering eyes made my heart swell. I love him so much. 

On the other side of the world in Manhattan, Elle is staving off boredom as she stays with her newfound family in a building they repurposed to live in. They each have their jobs, and she's doing her best to just live it out. In fact, her first chapter, she wakes up hungover and realizing how reckless she's starting to become. Watching her accomplish something she never thought she could was amazing to see, and how it effected her made the ending more triumphant. 

The description and situations in this book were beautiful and amazing. I highly recommend this for anyone and everyone. The zombies aren't just faceless creatures, but they had personalities, lives, a whole world ahead of them before the virus crept in, and you can see it in their clothing and where they've gathered. I love this book so much and I highly recommend it. Five stars. 
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