Review: The Listeners by Harrison Demchick

The Listeners by Harrison Demchick
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was such a beautifully, almost poetically, written zombie apocalypse novel. Its definitely not a typical zombie story. The infected are not dead. They are sick people, who's mental state slowly degenerates. They are covered in boils and highly contagious. They are a frightening addition to the horror genre.
Daniel Raymond is 14 year old, left alone in his apartment in the middle of the quarantined borough. He thinks of his mother, his friend Katie and their lives before the outbreak. Within the walls of the quarantine, the police have become corrupt, the people dependent on them for food and protection. There are also The Listeners, a band of boys and men with an ear chopped off that seem almost a myth, but who have an agenda of their own. Then there are the infected roaming the streets. 
The story goes back and forth in time, and is sometimes interspersed with Daniel's dreams and what seem like hallucinations. It is very affective at portraying the madness and desperation within him to find answers to what is happening around him.
I realize that this review sounds a bit vague but I feel sharing even some of the plot gives away too much. You will enjoy it better if you read it without knowing what is coming next.
Source: from author for review, NetGalley
Happy Reading! _________________________________________

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