** spoiler alert ** 
 I really, really wanted to like this book more than I did, but the way it was written had me rolling my eyes every five minutes. Mira Grant could use a lesson or two in the way human beings actually talk. The dialogue was almost never believable, and even when it was believable, it was full of a dry, dismissive sort of humor that rubbed me the wrong way. I kept thinking, don't these people take anything seriously? And why do they all think they're better than everyone else? It seemed like the wrong tone for the seriousness of the political and social environment - not that it should be entirely serious, but there's other types of humor than the flippant, sarcastic type she used here. And a really effective drinking game could revolve around anytime a character says, "Got it." (You'd be trashed by the end of the first chapter, though.) 
 The politicians were another eye-roller for me. First we have Ryman, the hero who believes all the same things as our protagonists and (believe it or not) has a soft spot for them, and then we have Tate, the Texan who wants to institute extreme security measures and spends pretty much all of his page time glaring at Georgia and Shaun. Then--SPOILER ALERT--it turns out Tate is the one orchestrating all the murders. Whoever would have thought it, when he was so busy glaring at all the good people! Honestly, I was sincerely disappointed by that particular turn because I was surprised and intrigued by Buffy's involvement. If Tate hadn't been the bad guy, I think I would have liked this book at least one more star. 
 But in this case, the story saved the writing, to some extent. I was drawn into the plot and found myself wanting to read on, despite the ridiculous dialogue and stereotyped characters. The world itself is fascinating, although I found it harder and harder to imagine a world with zombies as the novel went on (which probably says more about me than the book). The way these people dealt with the infected and all the sterilizing and security measures were done really well. That is the only reason I finished this book.