This review was originally posted to my blog - Bookish as a part of the MEN in YA event 
 Dust&Decay is the second novel in Jonathan Maberry's Benny Imura Series, and - as crazy as it sounds - I loved it even more than the first one (Rot&Ruin). Why would it sound crazy? It's not unheard of that sometimes people find the second novel in the series better than the first one, right? Well, have you read my review of Rot&Ruin?! I went totally crazy, gushing and raving about this book! I thought it was absolutely top-notch and the series couldn't possibly get any better. Boy, was I wrong! 
 "Walls, towns, rules, and day-to-day life doesn't make us civilized ... That's organization and ritual. Civilization lives in our hearts and heads or it doesn't exist at all." 
 Dust & Decay picks up six months after the horrifying and gut-wrenching events in Rot&Ruin. A lot - if not everything - has changed. We have some great, new characters, but we've also lost some of the old ones. Our zombie-hunting team is now back inside the fence-protected city and they're training hard. Tom is teaching Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong all the essential survival skills, as well as how to fight and protect themselves from zombie (and human) attacks. They might be back, but after everything that happened - everything they went trough - this place no longer feels like home. They know they need to leave. Soon. The plan is simple: go as far East as possible, in hope of finding the jet they all saw flying over their heads months ago. Sounds easy, but let's not forget, nothing is ever easy in the post-apocalyptic world of Rot & Ruin. Everything that could go wrong, will go wrong. So grab a cup of coffee, have a box of tissues handy and prepare yourself for yet another heart-stopping thrill ride. And believe me, it will be intense. 
 "...but it was death that changed. People are still people. Some good, some bad. Death changed, and we don't know what death really means anymore. Maybe that was the point. Maybe this is an object lesson about the arrogance of our assumptions. Hard to say. But the world? She didn't change. She healed. We stopped hurting her and she began to heal. You can see it all around. The whole world is a forest now. The air is fresher. More trees, more oxygen." 
 Wow. Just wow. No amount of rave reviews can do this book justice. It's a journey you ought to take; an unforgettable, soul-enriching experience. Jonathan Maberry did it again, he created yet another magnificent story. The depth and significance of it, the profound message it carries, the complexity of the world-and-character-building - it's simply breathtaking. 
 I loved the idea of zombies not being the main threat, not the most dangerous creatures out there. Just like Rot&Ruin, Dust&Decay raises some hugely important questions. It's one of those books that make you ponder many significant issues and reach your own conclusions. It's a delicious food for thought. And a chilling one at that! 
 If you haven't yet read Rot&Ruin and Dust&Decay, do yourself a favor and pick it up! Seriously. Like. Right. Now. You really won't regret it. Even if you hate zombies - or maybe ESPECIALLY if you do - give this book a try, you won't be disappointed.