We open up on a party, alcohol everywhere and sweating bodies bumpin’. (For real though, the heat here in Arizona is insane. Everyone makes fun of us for it here in the States, but I literally stepped outside the other day and thought, “Oh wow, it’s so nice out! Must be cooling down, finally” before looking at my Weather App and realizing it was 101° Fahrenheit outside. – Just throwin’ it out there..)

Wendy immediately let’s us know her opinions on the party being thrown. And that opinion is that it sucks. Shitty seltzer, shitty exes, shitty weather, and a shitty-ass bug—one that admittedly does a pretty good job at foreshadowing TBH.

We are introduced to Beau and Sunshine, two of my favorite characters, which ceases my eye-rolling and gets me interested in what everyone’s story is. Soon thereafter, an introduction to Leah, Sam, and Aurelia (another favorite of mine) is given alongside some necessary context for the icy conversations they had regarding the LGBTQ+ Heath Center that is opening up. But before we can move along, Wendy has a breakdown in a bathroom—the first of many throughout this book.

She admits that her relationship with Leah has been over for 6 months. Not only has it been over for 6 months, but the use of the word “nuked” was used, which immediately set off my red flag alarm. No one moans over a breakup after that long unless they are guilty of something, and that certainly seemed to be the case there. Wendy’s inner monologue and general portrayal often feels like a stereotype of a lovesick, indecisive bisexual, detracting from what could have been a more nuanced and relatable character. While her development by the end of the book is commendable, the journey there is littered with eye-roll-worthy moments that test the reader’s patience.

For example: Wendy’s character is, unfortunately and without a fucking doubt, the weakest link. Her constant obsession with her ex and her inability to focus on the more pressing issue of, oh I don’t know, surviving a zombie apocalypse, quickly became frustrating and repeatedly pulled me out of the story. On more than one occasion I found myself groaning aloud before complaining to my wife about the truly idiotic choices she made.

On the other hand, side characters like Sunshine and Aurelia shine bright. They add much-needed color and personality to the story—not to mention some extremely useful survival skills. It’s these characters that give The Z Word its heart, transforming the narrative into more than just a zombie tale.

The skills they bring to the table are invaluable to the groups survival. Though Sunshine isn’t fully involved until the latter half of the book, Aurelia is in the deep-end with Wendy as soon as the drag show at Hellrazers starts popping off. Her ability to compartmentalize emotions to further her chances of survival is not only commendable, but familiar, without coming off as robotic. She may be shaking and on the verge of tears at times, but she will be damned if she lets herself get killed.

Ever the double-edged sword though, other side characters end up being part of the problem with The Z Word. Characters, like Leah and Logan felt underdeveloped, leaving me wanting more interaction and deeper relationships. Leah was a stone-cold bitch from my perspective. Just the biggest fucking red-flag you’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s due to my experience with people like Leah, but I saw her BS from a mile away, so I couldn’t bring myself to care when she started softening up. (Though I will say Wendy did stop whining as much when she and Leah were on more friendly terms)

Logan, on the other hand, was a delight. I truly felt it was a shame that he wasn’t given a bit more to work with in The Z Word. It’s true he did get to perform for us, and took out a number of zombies, but I wanted more from him and more for him. The combination of these characters and their quirky antics means the “found family” theme is present but lacks the emotional punch needed to fully invest in these connections. I had strong favorites fairly quickly, and it showed.

However, characters were not the shining star for this book. There were two unique choices that I found incredibly compelling—the semi-coherent awareness the recently turned had in the presence of their loved ones and the chapters written from the perspective of the recently deceased.

It was startling at first, since Sam was our first true exposure to this interesting twist in writing (Mike was kind of number 1, but he wasn’t truly dead/infected yet). Sam was bleeding out, and like any other human bleeding out, she was not all-there in the head. So when Aurelia is found on the sidewalk instead of in the car watching over Sam, Wendy rightfully checks through the window to see if Sam really had turned. And let me say, she was a little convincing at first. Obviously, I won’t fall for that shit since I know what this book is about, but I can see why Wendy was immediately questioning why Aurelia was so upset. Sam was talking. Sam was making sense-ish. Sam was concerned about Aurelia.. For a second. And then, a switch flips, and there’s the monster we’ve been waiting for. Manic, wide-eyed, and violent.

I don’t blame Wendy for calling 9-1-1 to try and get her some help. I know better, but I don’t blame her. I do, however, blame the shitty fucking cops who shot Sam. Rationally, I know they can’t do anything about Sam. All they can do is put her down so she doesn’t hurt anyone else. Call it a necessary evil if you want, I don’t care. What I do care about is that Aurelia, her wife, had to witness it. I do care about their attitude and inability to de-escalate the situation when Aurelia is rightfully distraught over it. “Cruel apathy” was the phrase Wendy used to describe how the female police officer spoke to Aurelia, and she was right. Fuck. Them.

Eventually, readers are given the truth about what’s happening via Leah. And when I say via Leah, I mean she says the words that every other zombie-horror character wishes they could say, “..I just gave myself the antidote”. She gave herself.. The antidote? Holy shit. Somehow her red flag is not large enough, somehow she needs one 10-times bigger, because this bitch has the antidote. She knew what caused the zombification of her community, she knew who caused it, and worse, she had the antidote because she was in on it.

This was a twist I did not expect. I pegged Seabrook as the culprit, for sure, but Leah? Leah fucking the lady in charge of the Seabrook sponsorship? Naw, that was unexpected for sure. And I’ll hand it to Seabrook, it was a good plan. Incite violence, make themselves out to be the savior of the gays when they swoop in with the Health Center, give the Homophobic politicians ammo to shut down Pride parades everywhere, AND they still make a profit? Shitty, but solid plan.

But by the time we get to the big fight, the fireworks, the flaming bodies, and the death of Leah via an explosion at the brewery, it’s all old news. I want to know how we’re wrapping this up. How are we getting back at Seabrook? Well, we don’t. We get a time-skip, and absolutely no repercussions for the company that pushed a small town in Arizona into an overbaked apocalyptic wasteland (a wasteland that still has pizza thanks to Sunshine). And worse, we get a casual “Let’s do this” as our parting words from Wendy, as the remaining group heads off to kill another zombie lurking outside Beau’s house, their new base.

But I am a forgiving reader, and I still had a lot of fun reading this book, although that ending was atrocious. To me, it felt like Lindsay King-Miller had some other chores to do around the house so she left us with what I’m sure was supposed to be an intriguing “See they have it together, because they are together!”—but that just doesn’t cut it for me. Had it been more well rounded, it may have deserved that extra half-star, but as is, it was a fun ride that I will not likely read again.

Nonetheless, I do recommend this book for readers interested in seeing the chaotic, queer side of the apocalypse! Tell us what you thought about The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller down below in the comments! Was Wendy as annoying as I thought she was? Did you peg Leah’s red flag as quickly as I did? We want to know! See you all next time 💖