I have seen the book, DEARLY, DEPARTED Lia Habel
mentioned all over the social networks. I was curious about
all the hype was about. After reading the back cover I was a
little shocked and worried. A futuristic, steampunk, young-
adult, romance with zombies! I couldn't start to fathom how
all those elements could be placed in a single story,
especially one being talked about as much as this novel
seems to be. I am happy to say that this book meets all the
hype and delivers to the highest level.
Firstly, I love the world and overall conflict created. The
book is set in 2195 and the world has changed greatly from
how we know it today. After a major natural disaster and
many wars, all governments ended up collapsing. The
survivors decided to base a new government on the Victorian
society including the class system, morals, and edict. Of
course, there was a group of individuals who thought the
survivors should learn from history and not make the same
mistakes as their predecessors all over again. Arguing leads
to fighting and eventually separation into two different
cultures known as the Victorians and the Punks. The reader
learns more about the Victorian way of life since the main
character has grown up in the city of New Victoria. Habel
does not glorify the Victorian way of life. She throws all
the unflattering issues in with the romantic notions many
readers have about the days of Lords and Ladies. As a whole,
the history is rich and creates a wonderful platform for a
distopian world.
The character development is another jewel within this
novel. Our main character, Nora Dearly, has a lot on her
mind for a well bred lady of only seventeen. Her interests
and hobbies are not one would call lady-like and she must
hide who she truly is from society. After an event that
changes everything she knows and believes, Nora steps up to
being an adult and shows great maturity in her actions. Even
though she is scared half to death most of the time. The
transformation is not instant, but is written with a grace
that lets the reader follow Nora's train of thought. You can
see yourself in her shoes coming to grip with the new
reality.
The story line is creative and excellently written. At no
time did I feel the story was dragging due to explanation of
the world or situation. The flow continued to be fast passed
from start to finish. The action sequences were described in
such a fashion that I felt I was within the story with the
characters and trust me when I say that in some instances, I
did not want to be in the characters shoes.
I can only give my highest praises to this wonderful debut
novel. Habel has hit it out of the park. She has blended a
number of genres into one captivating story that will have
you begging for more.
Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow
pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the
undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in
the arms of a dashing zombie?
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech
nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an
antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far
more interested in military history and her country’s
political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls.
But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the
mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing
spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune, and now
plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate
could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an
army of walking corpses.
But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from
her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning
down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad
commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal disease that
raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal
circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young
soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But
as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit,
luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his
mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of
trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning
back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win,
separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then,
beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.
In Dearly, Departed, steampunk meets romance meets walking-
dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-
roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre
comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.
I love this whole concept! What a fun book this will be to read. It's now at the top of my Wish List. Thanks for the wonderful review and synopsis. (Connie Fischer 7:58pm November 15, 2011)
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