Plague by Michael Grant
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

By the beginning of the fourth book of Michael Grant’s FAYZ series, the situation is grim: deadly epidemics sweep the population, young children resort to cannibalism to survive, an invincible sadistic demon prowls the streets, mutant insects lay eggs inside humans so their larvae can gnaw their way free upon birth…If this description of events makes this book sound over-the-top gruesome, that’s because it is. Grant forgoes any semblance of a plot in favor of graphic death after graphic death, introducing scores of characters whose sole purpose is to be eaten or burnt or flayed or stabbed, and he often undercuts the horror of his plot by going too far with his ideas. Sure, wasps with bulletproof carapaces that can gnaw through stone are scary enough, but making them the size of minivans and perching undead whip-wielding demons on their shoulders is such absurd overkill as to make them seem ridiculous, not frightening. I could go on about the story’s repetitiveness, its clichéd characters, its depressing love interest, or its awful attempts at humor, but I’ll have to be content with warning potential readers that the FAYZ takes a serious turn for the worse at this point in the series. – Andrew R. ’17

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