This is the third volume of The Walking Dead comics and continues the story from the point that was reached in the second volume. While I won’t write any spoilers for this volume in this review, if you’ve not read either of the last two, I’d not read this because there may be spoilers for the past volumes.

The story starts with the group finding an abandoned prison and deciding that it would be a good place for them to stay because a secure building like that will be hard for zombies to penetrate. So, that must mean it will just be smooth sailing for Rick and the gang from now on then?

No. Not at all. Even though the first two volumes both had very grim and dark storylines (after all, they are set in a very graphic and violent zombie apocalypse) this takes it just that little bit further. What’s more is that this volume is the first to really bring up any real degree of moral ambiguity. Once certain things have happened you’re likely to have a different perception of certain characters. Personally, I think the main characters made a lot of wrong decisions, but you may well feel differently! It’s always interesting to be able to apply a critical moral eye to a story. I guess a small downside is that none of the characters seem to share my point of view.

Speaking of characters, there are some new people introduced when the group arrive at the prison. Unsurprisingly enough, there are some prisoners in the prison and they bring an interesting new dynamic to things and make for some tension.

So, on the whole, this volume was better than the last (which, in turn, was better than the one that came before it) so I have high hopes for the later volumes. The sex and violence is brought up another notch for Volume 3, which might be off-putting for some, but it never really felt gratuitous to me. Plus, there were some unexpected character appearances which made me quite happy, which adds to my overall enjoyment.

Rating: 9.1/10

Buy it here.

(Don’t miss today’s Finger Puppet Show!)

When people think of a comedy sci-fi novel, they almost certainly think of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and for good reason: this is a very good book! Having said that, I think that it is a bit of an injustice to think of it like that, mostly because I feel like the whole genre of comedy is unfairly considered as somehow lesser or worthless, two things which I would never describe The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as.

The story follows the adventures of a rather unfortunate man named Arthur Dent and his unusual friend Ford Prefect. Arthur starts his day by finding that his home is due to be demolished in order to make way for a new highway and ,of course, he is rather upset about this and does all he can to stop it from happening. After this, he gets some even worse news: that the world is going to end before the day is over.

I shan’t say any more about the plot as it’s probably best to experience this novel with as little foreknowledge of the plot as possible. What I will say is that this book makes for a very pleasant read, from start to finish there’s a mixture of everyday life with things that are completely fantastical and it makes for a lovely blend. What I also like is that there are a lot of aspects to the novel which are completely absurd, but they are taken completely seriously; this, along with numerous anecdotes about the larger universe that this story takes place in, really helps you to appreciate the world that Douglas Adams has created.

So this is a book that I recommend very highly. I guess the only real downside to it is that it’s ending is a bit underwhelming and just seems to be setting up the sequel. Other than that, this is an excellently structured novel, full of small references that may seem odd at first but later lead to very satisfactory pay offs and other clever things like that.

Rating: 9.2/10

Buy it here.