Let’s get it straight from the start; this is not a book about zombies. I say this to clear up any possible misunderstandings caused by a 20-page introductory chapter that is pure zombie. This generation’s version of, “then he woke up and it was all a dream.” Misleading introduction is a source of many bad reviews. So, be warned.

And this book is more complex than a standard zombie gore-fest. It’s a Dystopian Virtual Reality story from the unusual point of view of the programmers, who realize the danger of their product to the human race and try belatedly to put the genie back in the bottle.

It’s a good topic for a novelette, handled deftly except for some flaws in the writing that a good edit would fix.

The long sequence of backstory in Chapter 5 is a risk. The author is counting on the connection we have developed with the main character to keep us involved and it works, but it’s a close call.

There is the usual evidence of poor editing: misuse of “lay” and “laid.” And I hate to be picky, but if you’re sitting with your back to the sunset, it’s rather hard to be wakened the next morning by sunlight pouring in through the same window.

On the plus side, it’s a tidy, almost-straightforward plot. There is no room in a book this size for more than a couple of important characters, and both of them are portrayed in sympathetic three dimensions.

The social and physical setting is sketched in neatly without wasting words, using off-hand comments and short vignettes that stimulate our imaginations.

A tidy little novelette. If you don’t mind a few rough spots, you’ll enjoy it.

Four stars