A spoiler-free review...ish. Spoiler-free ish, but completely honest.
Amazon lied to me, or rather the one-liner reviews on Amazon by Vogue, Guardian and Metro did. Even Joss Whedon was in on it. Here are their mini reviews:
"Original, thrilling and powerful (GUARDIAN)
Haunting, heartbreaking (VOGUE)
Vividly memorable and unexpectedly poignant (METRO)
As fresh as it is terrifying . . . It left me sighing with envious joy (Joss Whedon, screenwriter, film and television producer)"
I want to make it very clear that I really enjoyed the book. It was well written, easy to read and created a vivid mental image, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a though-provoking, profound novel about, what I assumed were, the sciencey-fiction powers of a little girl. Telekinesis, maybe or super strength. But no. What I got was another post-apocalyptic book about zombies. Melanie, the protagonist, doesn't really have any gifts so to speak that aren't directly related to her 'special condition', although I suspect the title draws reference the the myth of Pandora's Box, which is mentioned in the book.
The first few chapters led me to believe that I was indeed getting something different, something original. But then the SHTF and it quickly transforms from a well-written science fiction/thriller to a typical face-paced zombie horror. The quality of the writing doesn't change, it was still very well written and the author clearly has done some extensive research in to the cause of the majority of the population becoming crazed, running-too-fast zombies. It was the cause behind the infection which I believe the Guardian took as being original. It isn't. I don't want to divulge too much, but if you're a big player of video games (are we still calling them that?) you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when you read it. If not, look up (SPOILER!!) Nonetheless, if you're not au fait with the latest video games it does make for a fairly original and somewhat worrying cause of infection. And I suppose that's the point. For me a good zombie apocalypse has to be believable and the cause of infection here certainly is.
What would have taken this book to the next level would have been for it to have been written during the point at which the SHTF, not some 20 years after. You so very rarely read/see books/films or TV programs where it's kicking off during the thing. The exception being World War Z (book and film) -apologies if I've left any out, I'm sure there are others!
Despite it's intriguing science and eloquence, the book ends the way I expected it to. If you're expecting a miracle cure though, you'll be disappointed. Overall, it's a fantastic read and I highly recommend it, despite the book blurb being misleading.
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