Book Review – Highway Bodies by Alison Evans

Highway Bodies is the second novel from Australian author Alison Evans after their debut novel Ida, which received a mixed opinion from readers, reviewers and critics. Set to be released in the February of 2019, Highway Bodies tells the tale of three distinct groups of Melbourne teenagers as the world around them falls victim to a vicious horde of zombies. Thrust from the comforts of home, family and internet, they are forced to relocate themselves around Melbourne in order to stay alive.

Evans has crafted a satisfactory novel in Highway Bodies. The pacing, while quite slow at some points throughout the novel, had me on the edge of my seat as I read, due to the interesting and action-packed fight sequences between the zombies and the Melbourne teens. I feel as though Evans managed to convey the fear and horror that comes with a mass population of Melbourne citizens suddenly succumbing to a dangerous army of the revived dead. The novel deals with intense themes such as trust, love and sacrifice, and the divided omniscient perspective of the different characters throughout the novel really managed to keep me hooked throughout the course of the novel.

In the same vein, the novel also incorporates many characters who fit onto the LGBTQ+ spectrum with characters who are diverse in their sexuality and gender. I enjoyed this element of the novel immensely, even if–at times–the novel seems to focus too heavily on these attributes instead of contributing actual personality. As we all know, people on the LGBTQ+ spectrum are more than just their sexuality and gender, and I feel as though throughout the novel, the development of the characters was halted by sexuality and gender rather than developed by it.

While I did truly enjoy this novel, I feel as though the plot was rather lacklustre. Highway Bodies was set up to be an interesting zombie apocalypse novel, but I feel as though we have no real development of plot throughout the novel other than hunting and killing zombies. There is hardly any solidified plot backbone throughout this novel, which I think was rather disappointing considering all the elements and ideas you can import into a novel about barren wastelands and manic corpses.

All in all, I enjoyed this novel. We had interesting characters, lots of action and a nice cliffhanger. I hope Alison gets a chance to write a sequel, as I would be sure to pick it up whenever the next instalment is released to the public.

RATINGS:

Plot: 3/10
Characters: 8/10
Writing: 6.5/10

Overall: 7.5/10