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Zombies now walk the Earth and spread their disease to their victims, if they are unlucky enough to survive a close encounter with the undead and are not eaten alive. Strangely a new virtual system has come on the market that allows the user to role-play fantasies that would otherwise never occur and happens to coincide with the beginning of this plague. Does the new technology play a role in the creation of the zombies or is it simply a coincidence?
The Ghoul Archipelago was a strange read and very difficult to continue reading at times. Although it follows a more unique path in the science fiction / fantasy realm, it is not something for every person and often I had to take breaks reading the story because of the content. When reading a novel with zombies, a familiar genre is death and gore; however, this particular book seems to have taken it a step further. There are a lot of gruesome and macabre scenes throughout the novel and are quite explicit. As such, it is not a book for those who are not good with such topics. Also, the amount of sex and torture found in the novel makes it difficult to stomach while reading. However, if people enjoy gruesome and dark topics this may well be a book one will enjoy, otherwise I recommend not reading this book.
Outside the general sequences of events that take place in the novel, there are some grammar and spelling mistakes that subtract from the overall flow of the book. It would be a better read if these mistakes were fixed. As the story progresses, the mistakes feel more and more prominent. Also, in various places in the novel, there are times where it is not clear what or who is being discussed. This also detracts from the overall progression of the story. Finally, the different chapters and sections feel disjointed, particularly in the beginning. It gets better as the story goes on, but it feels as though the congruency was not well thought through.
Overall, I would give this book a 2 out of 4 stars. This was not a story that I would enjoy and there were several times where I had to put the book down. However, this genre may appeal to some readers and, thus, I cautiously recommend this book to those who enjoy reading such dark novels. The reason it does not receive a 3 out of 4 stars is because of the grammar mistakes and the jumpiness of the story line. If these were fixed, it would be a better read.
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