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Jonathan Maberry
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Rot & Ruin: Warrior Smart Kindle & comiXology

by Jonathan Maberry (Author), Tony Vargas (Artist), Alex Ronald (Artist) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 43 ratings
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An all-new story continuing the events from the award-winning series of novels. Meet Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong as they stay one step ahead of the zombie hordes.
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  1. Part of Series
    Rot & Ruin
  2. Print length
    120 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  5. Publisher
    IDW
  6. Publication date
    May 13, 2015
  7. Reading age
    13 - 16 years
  8. Grade level
    7 - 12
  9. File size
    473662 KB
  10. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  11. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  12. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
  13. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Teens & fans of The Walking Dead will love ROT & RUIN: WARRIOR SMART" --Amy Taylor, Librarian at Lee's Summit West High School in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

"This is the series that turned my reluctant readers into avid readers." - Frank Spinney, Lead Teacher for Stillwater Academy in Maine

"ROT & RUIN: WARRIOR SMART is a gripping read that will keep students on the edge of their seats and wanting more! I can't wait to these into the hands of my students!" --Sister Kimberly Miller, Teacher/Librarian at Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls in Philadelphia

"The stories Maberry give us in the ROT & RUIN: WARRIOR SMART are riveting, with a dark side untouched by other writers of the same ilk. How will the human race survive? What do they need to do? These are all questions Maberry asks of Benny, Nix, Chong and Lilah as they make their way across the deserted landscape of the West Coast. One of the best things about Jonathan Maberry is that his zombie world is not predictable. Yes, we have zombies, and yes, we have humans, clinging to life ever so desperately. But we have heroes in the shape of a 15 year old teenager who grew up in the shade of First Night, tested and tried on the battlefield called the living. The illustrations by Tony Vargas are more than just dramatic, they pull you into a world where you know you don't want to be but can't help staying. Maberry manages to bring humor into a world brimming with wall-to-wall violence, where there is little hope and no justice. Unpredictable and humorous, Maberry manages to connect the reader with the story in his ever-direct and creative manner." -Ann Cole, Teacher, Pennsbury School District, Fairless Hills, PA

"I am a teacher and literacy coordinator at an Elementary School. It has long been my practice to include print of all types into classroom libraries: books, comics, how-to manuals, etc. You never know what will hook a student into reading more. However, I did not encourage the inclusion of 'horror' which seemed inappropriate for their age level. The thing about the ROT & RUIN series of novels and the ROT & RUIN: WARRIOR SMART comic is...they are not horrific. They are a great example of major themes of literature: man against man, man against nature. What the kids and I have found is that they turn good and evil on its head. You would like to assume the zombies are evil and the humans are good, but that isn't a fair assumption. The very best and worst of humanity can be seen throughout the stories in unpredictable ways. Plus, students need good examples of youth who are pensive, surviving, befriending, struggling, succeeding. They have those examples in abundance in the Rot and Ruin books. Several students have agreed with me that they aren't really zombie stories...they are human stories...and that is why we feel such an emotional attachment to the characters and the episodes the experience. This series is transitional...and wins over more and more people as word of mouth gets out. I have had more parents ask to borrow the 4 books than have ever requested any other titles in my 23 years of teaching." --Sheila Owen, Teacher and Literacy Coordinator; Palm Elementary, Beaumont, California

About the Author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning suspense author, editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator, and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers. His books have been sold to more than two-dozen countries. 
Among his numerous book and comic credits are the shared world anthologies V-Wars: Shockwaves and V-Wars: Night Terrors; the X-Files short story anthologies The Truth Is Out There, Trust No One, and Secret Agendas; the V-Wars comic series; and the comic series adaptation of his zombie novel Rot & Ruin; all from IDW Publishing.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00VGOH8G8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ IDW (May 13, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 13, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 473662 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 120 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 43 ratings

About the author

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Jonathan Maberry

Jonathan Maberry

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JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times bestselling author, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 3-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, anthology editor, writing teacher, and comic book writer. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include the Joe Ledger thrillers, Kagen the Damned, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, Mars One, and many others. Several of his works are in development for film and TV. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, and others. His comics include Black Panther: DoomWar, The Punisher: Naked Kills and Bad Blood. His Rot & Ruin young adult novel was adapted into the #1 comic on Webtoon and is being developed for film by Alcon Entertainment. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
43 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Brett B
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Take on the Zombie Apocalypse
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
So much fun. Reading Dust & Decay now so I can see what Jonathan Maberry has in store for Benny, Nix, Tom & their friends.
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Robert T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
good
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Vanessa Gayle | Fangirl Faction
5.0 out of 5 stars Go get this now!
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2015
The Rot & Ruin novel series by Jonathan Maberry has been on my to-be-read list for a while. I saw this at my local public library and snatched it up. I mistakenly thought that this was a graphic novel depiction of the novels. It is not. This is actually a graphic novel continuation of the novel series. Even though I have not yet read the novels, this was easy to pick up and begin reading without having to know what happened in this novels.

I just loved this so much! It was so visually compelling. I loved the action in this. The illustrations are beautiful. I just adore the style of the illustrations and the coloring in this. The covers are all inside, and I loved the art style used for the covers as well. I like that it isn't the same style that is used for the story. It balances quite well.

The story is great! I really love the direction that Maberry went with this. Zombie stories can become predictable and I was pleasantly surprised with how the story went. Although this is a zombie story, the emphasis is on the characters and their struggle. There are obviously zombies and zombie scenes in this, but it didn't dominate the story. I think that in this way it doesn't take away from the characters' struggle. The story is compelling. I like a good story that I can imagine myself in as I am reading it through the characters' eyes. And this is one of those stories. It is well written and you become engrossed in the story as if you are living it yourself. I won't go into the specifics of the story because I think that it would spoil the ending. I definitely have to recommend this! If you love zombie stories then you will love this one. If you are a fan of The Walking Dead, then you would love this. This story is similar to The Walking Dead with its focus on the characters more so than the zombies everywhere. Many scenes and the premise of the story is pretty graphic, so I would not recommend this for a younger audience. Everyone else...go get this now!
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nick
4.0 out of 5 stars Comic book
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2017
Verified Purchase
Cool little story bridge. I thought it was a short paper back when I ordered, it turns out its a very short graphic novel. Not what I expected but it completes the R&R collection anyway.
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Bryan Variell
3.0 out of 5 stars It's ok
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
The story itself feel like the walking dead for young adults mixed with bits of the a hand maidens tale.
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AZ Cowpoke
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2018
Verified Purchase
a gift - he liked it
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David Krelfab
3.0 out of 5 stars Zombie pablum that doesn't shamble far
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2022
Maybe this might have worked as a book, but not as a graphic novel. Hey ho, more zombies and a tinpot dictator.
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Wayne A McCoy
4.0 out of 5 stars Volume 1 of the comics series, but not the beginning of the series. Not bad, but I wish the art were better.
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2015
'Rot & Ruin Vol. 1: Warrior Smart' is based on the book series by Jonathan Maberry. This story is about a group of teenagers trying to make it during the z-poc. This is part of the series, and not a retelling of the first book, so it does kind of dump you right into the action.

Benny, Chong, Lila and Nix are on the run. They are trying to track down a jet that flew overhead. They are also foraging for supplies, which is getting pretty picked over. When their scavenging takes them to an abandoned hospital, they find themselves running from zombies. They stumble across something really weird and disturbing, but before they can decide what to do about it, they have to make a break for it. This leads them to a walled farm where everything seems to be normal life. Plenty of food, and walls and traps to keep the zombies at bay. What could possibly be wrong with settling down and staying for awhile?

If you are familiar with post-apocalyptic zombie stories, you know that groups of humans living safe behind walls are almost as dangerous as the zombies are. Maybe even more dangerous. It's a good thing these kids have some mad fighting skills.

The story is pretty good. Perhaps a bit disturbing when they get to the heart of what the humans are doing, but if teens can handle a book series about zombies and zombie killing, I suppose this is just more of the same. The art was a bit uneven. Sometimes the characters looked Asian, sometimes they didn't. I don't know that it matters, but when I read a graphic novel, I like decent art. It's still a good quick ride, and I'd like to read more about these characters.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, IDW Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
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