Review – Exit Kingdom (Reapers, Book 2) by Alden Bell (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Horror
Length: 306 pages
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: September 13th 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0230766747
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd Book in the Reaper series
Source: Swapped through Paperbackswap.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

“In a world where the undead outnumber the living, Moses Todd roams the post-apocalyptic plains of America. His reprobate brother, Abraham — his only companion — has known little else. Together, they journey because they have to; because they have nowhere to go, and no one to answer to other than themselves.

Traveling the bloody wastelands of this ruined world, Moses is looking for a kernel of truth, and a reason to keep going. And a chance encounter presents him with the Vestal Amata, a beguiling and mysterious woman who may hold the key to salvation. But he is not the only one seeking the Vestal. For the Vestal has a gift: a gift that might help save what is left of humanity. And it may take everything he has to free her from the clutches of those who most desire her.”

I absolutely adored The Reapers and the Angels and was incredibly excited to see that Alden Bell had come out with a second book to follow up on that one. This book is set in the same world as The Reapers and the Angels and does have some crossover with that book; however it stands alone fine and follows a different main character than the first book. I breezed right through this book and loved every minute of it.

I love the writing style of Bell’s books; they are beautifully written, very engaging and thought-provoking. I love how Bell gives such prose and beauty to such a dark and desperate world.

Where Temple (from the first book) found amazing beauty in incredibly bleak landscapes, the main character in this book, Moses, is different. Moses is incredibly loyal to his misfit brother and has a strict code of honor that he follows. He is a breath of fresh air in a world that’s gone desperate. However, by his own admission he can be incredibly violent too and is very good at surviving. He often talks about how he fits in better in this bleak world of survival than he ever did in the pre-apocalyptic America.

As with the first book, this book focuses less on the rampaging zombies and more on how humans themselves have become monstrous. Moses (much like Temple) has an almost sympathy for the poor walking dead; the walking dead are just animals without any ulterior motives.

This book is defined by wonderful descriptions and thought-provoking passages while still being fast-paced and action packed. There really isn’t much of a point to the story other than to wander along beside Moses and his brother and see this crazy post-apocalyptic world through their eyes…and I loved every minute of it.

Overall this was an amazing follow up to The Reapers are the Angels. I absolutely loved the writing style, the characters, and the beauty and honor seeded among all the post-apocalyptic bleakness. I would recommend both of Bell’s Reapers books to everyone; they are just amazing in how they describe a world gone mad.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge