Soulless by Christopher Golden

Title: Soulless
Author: Christopher Golden
Age Group: Older Teens
# of Pages: 310
My Rating: 5/5

Phoenix Cromier's parents have been divorced ever since she was young. Her father have been dedicating all of his time to his work and communing with spirits as a medium. Now at eighteen, Phoenix barely knows her own father. To make up for it, he invites her to watch his interview live on the popular talk show Sunrise.

With two other mediums, Mr. Cromier does a mass séance so spirits can come back to give their last messages to their loved ones. That is the original plan.

Unexpectedly while trying to communicate with the other side, the mediums and two of Sunrise's hosts fall unconscious after acting weirdly. Not so long after, the dead starts to arise from their grave! All of America goes insane as zombies are popping up everywhere! Over time, they get smarter and more cunning. They have come back to their family and friends, only to eat them up! Will this horrific Apocalypse ever end? Or will the entire world no longer be as it used to? See everything unfolds behind the eyes of several people, including a lesbian popstar, a runaway gang member, and two college rivals.

I read this novel in the span of two days. I stayed up until 1 AM to complete it. It's just that good. The story jumps from perspectives of different American citizens, which I did not like at first. Eventually I got accustomed to it but still wished that it stayed between three to four people instead of branching out to the peers of the core characters. It's quite thrilling because you feel like you are the character as you read it. You can experience the pain and the fear if you place yourself into their shoes. When people are on the verge of death, their civilized self strips away and the animal fighting to survive comes to surface. The reality is scary.

The setting takes place in modern day and I like how Mr. Golden referred to Hurricane Katrina to make it seem more realistic. There are times where I wish that this does happen. Horrible, I know, but to have something that you only see in movies come to life can be terrifying but exciting at the same.

(Spoilers in this paragraph). I was quite mad when my favourite character died. Well, it was more of his background that attracted me to him instead of personality. Jack used to be in a gang called the Smoke Dragons and is Korean. The author describes him as a pretty boy. And nothing gets me going more than a handsome Korean man. I'm a Korean drama fanatic. You can see me on the other side of the screen squealling like mad when a hot actor appears. I was so happy when I found out that Jack is a good-looking Asian. I have never, ever, seen that in a novel. So when he died, I was devastated. I was hoping he could be reunited with his family and change his life around. Sadly that'll never happen. Does anyone here like a character in a book purely because of what they are? Not because of their actions or personality?

I don't recommend this novel to those who hates horror. I'm sure you will not be interested if you don't like this kind of theme. But definitely go for it if you have been itching for something to scare you at night. Or purely want some action.