Strengths:
• Rot and Ruin Backdrop
• Deals with contemporary issues
• Amazing female heroine

Full Review
I have read every single one of the Rot and Ruin series. If you haven't read them, you'll want to check them out before picking this one up. Lost Roads (and the previous book, Broken Lands), is a sequel duology to the original series.

One of the things that I love about Jonathan Maberry's zombie books is the entire backdrop. It feels real. I like how explains the science behind the virus in a way that feels natural and engaging. This leads to a better, more engrossing story.

I also like that the zombies are definitely a danger, but they aren't the real threat in the books. This holds true in Lost Roads as well. Gutsy and her friends have to not only deal with being teenagers and making sure they don't get bitten by zombies, but they have to worry about the terrifying things that the living are trying to do as well.

Maberry does a great job of meeting contemporary issues head on in his books. Gutsy and the survivors are living in what seems like an ICE detention center near the border. Despite the entire population on the world being decimated, there is still racism and bigotry that Gutsy has to face.

Speaking of Gutsy, I thought she was super awesome. She is tough, strong-willed and protective of her friends. She also has flaws that feel realistic and round her character out. Her budding relationship with the girl next door feels real and adds tension when things go awry. I would definitely want her on my side in the zombie apocalypse.

Final Verdict
If you like well executed zombies, be sure to check this series out.

Lost Roads takes me back to my first Maberry series. Rot and Ruin started it all for me. Started me on the winding path through the worlds that all intersect with Benny and his friends at some point. So here, we go back to that world. In Broken Lands everything came together even more. Lost Roads ties up this part of the world. At least for now. I would recommend this series, and any by Maberry, to readers who want a new spin on something that may seem like it is done and done again. Zombies aren't exactly uncharted territory, but Maberry always brings more into it, more depth, more background, more diversity. His monsters are more than monsters.

I loved this new installment of the Broken Lands series (spin-off of the Rot &Ruin series). I loved all of the characters from Rot & Ruin and was glad to see them back in this new series. The new characters are well-developed and likable. The book is exciting and action-packed.

I adore this series and the complex work that Maberry has built that brings his three major series together. It is stunning which amazing character detail, action, adventure and some truly moving and thought provoking moments. I hope there are many more to come.

I’m a huge fan of Maberry’s Joe ledger-related series, which now includes the Broken lands series. I will admit, I thought this was going to be a trilogy, so I wasn’t expecting certain things to wrap up. I like Gutsy Gomez and feel she fits in well with the other characters. It was a little off putting that everyone kept telling her how amazing she was. She is, but it was a little weird for certain characters to say it over and over again. I’d highly recommend this book and all of the others in the related series and I can’t wait for more adventures from the various groups.