publisher: Del Rey
date of publication: October 18, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 470
source: purchased
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N
From Goodreads:
Love can never die.
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 virus 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, 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.
What I Thought
From the moment I first read the description of Dearly, Departed, I was taken over by an immense feeling of curiosity. There are so many elements that I enjoy bound all together in one book, which made me wonder exactly how Lia Habel was going to make it all work together. Lo and behold, not only does she make it work, but she does so with much humor and finesse. Not only that, Ms. Habel has taken the narrative style above and beyond the typical two or three narrators one usually sees and has provided us with the perspectives of five different characters, which gives the book so many dimensions and allows the reader more of a glimpse into this strange new world. Dearly, Departed lived up to my expectations and took me by surprise all at once, which is no small feat for one book. It isn't every day that one comes across steampunk-zombie-historical-yet-futuristic romance. Put simply, I am astounded, intrigued, and very, very happy.
The society and setting in which Dearly, Departed takes place is a novel take on Victorian, steampunk, and futuristic elements. The New Victorians confused me, at first, as I didn't see the steampunk elements within their society. While they dress and behave in the manner of Victorians, they are very much reliant upon modern technology, meaning everything is digital and computerized. It wasn't until I started learning more about their sworn enemies, the Punks, that I understood. "Punks" is short for "steampunks," which is apparent based on their use of steam power and clockwork. Once this was understood, the world encompassed in this book made much more sense and I was able to appreciate the ways in which the characters behave all the more.
Nora Dearly, the heroine of our story, at first appears to be the epitome of a well-bred Victorian young lady. However, there is more to her than that. Underneath it all, she is a free spirit who wishes for more independence and adventure than she sees in her straight-laced life. Her friend, Pamela, is closer to what is expected of Nora, though she, too, has dreams and a desire for more, though she doesn't know exactly what that more is. These two girls made for fantastic narrators and left me unsure as to who I preferred more when it came to taking matters into their own hands. Both are enjoyable to read about and are lent great narrative voices. They each have their own distinctive tone and way of thinking, making telling the two apart very easy. As for Bram, our zombie captain, I was very much surprised. I wasn't exactly sure what I should expect from him, but he turned out to be a wonderfully engaging character. While he is the most well-preserved of the zombie troop, it is apparent that he is dead. There is no escaping that fact due to the descriptions of his skin, eyes, and gait. I was a little unsure of what I thought of his relationship with Nora, at first, but he presents himself so well that it's very hard not to root for him in the end. This is all due to the superb writing of Lia Habel, who turned a normally menacing being into a more humanized version that evokes sympathy and warmth.
If you are looking for a new approach to zombie novels, you will be hard-pressed finding something better than Dearly, Departed. The writing that can be found in this book is descriptive, evocative, and, overall, a breath of fresh air. There is a certain tongue-in-cheek level of quirkiness mixed with an intriguing sweetness that I couldn't help but fall for. I think you will, too.
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