Deathless Divide (Dread Nation #2)

Anyone fool enough to find themselves on a wanted poster should pray they meet the devil instead of his erstwhile bride. Deathless Divide, Justine Ireland

With Dread Nation, Ireland introduced readers to two fantastic and fantastically different young women who started this journey as enemies. With Deathless Divide, readers are given what weve been hoping for from the start an unbreakable friendship bordering on sisterhood. Once you parse out the zombies and the blood and the gore and all the other good stuff, thats what lies at the heart of this series an incredible female friendship. This series offers nothing in the way of sunshine and rainbows, certainly no happy endings, but the relationship between Jane and Kate gives a much-needed bright spot in an otherwise dark and dismal tale.

I absolutely adored Dread Nation, but dare I say I loved Deathless Divide even more? Yes, I dare say it. Told between both Katheriness and Janes points of view, I loved that we were inside both of their heads in this book. Both women were on their own for much of the story and while I knew they were incredibly strong as a team, this book showed just how strong each of them were as individuals. Their respective journeys and their respective end goals in this book were quite different than one anothers and while Katherine had an easier go of it, Janes road takes her to some dark and heartbreaking places.

As with its predecessor, Deathless Divide once again takes the reins and puts black voices in charge of the narrative of this particular time period. And again, while the story is fiction, much of the events surrounding the treatment of black people by whites could be pulled directly from history. Dread Nation isnt just a zombie tale, its also an exploration of history and along with the focus on strong friendships, thats my favorite aspect of this duology.

Im certainly sad to see this series end, though Im thrilled to have discovered a new favorite author. Ireland hooked me with these books and Ill definitely be adding her to my auto-buy list.

I enjoyed Ireland’s _Dread Nation_, and given its cliff-hanger ending, I had to finish the broader story arc. Ireland does a marvelous job of connecting biting (pardon the pun) social commentary with historical fiction. If you haven’t read _Dread Nation_ first, you really must for events and characters in _Deathless Divide_ to make sense.

The story begins with a prologue to _Dread Nation_, before picking up where it left off: Jane and Katherine are separated, one living abroad in the dangerous west, the other a more settled existence in Nicodemus. Neither are particularly happy with their situations – the politics of race remain a crucial subtext. Once our two heroines are reunited, they both seek refuge on the Pacific coast – but as with elsewhere in the United States, prejudice is always bubbling beneath the surface, the dead a constant threat no matter one’s skin color.

The growth of the characters and their perspectives and viewpoints (here we get to see Katherine as well as Jane’s perspective on events) was particularly well done, and kept the narrative moving at a brisk pace. That there is neither respite nor relief from the dangers of the “unsettled dead” point to the broader truths we as a nation continue to wrestle with.

While Ireland is primarily writing for a YA audience, I found the themes, style and issues to be suitable for a wider audience. Both a fun read, it also provides a lot of fodder for thought. Recommended.

Deathless Divide does an excellent job of continuing where Dread Nation left off. My only gripe is that despite all of the excellent world building, we don’t spend much time in San Francisco and examine the interesting dynamics that are hinted at. I think it would have been neat to see Kathrine utilize her savvy to navigate the complex hierarchy there. Still, this would have changed the story, and I very much like the direction Justina Ireland takes the characters. The themes of the consequences of revenge, and single-minded determination give the story more depth than a typical zombie plot. I also especially appreciate how these themes play into the dynamic between Jane and Katherine, and the strain that it puts on their relationship. Also, the addition of a first person perspective for Katherine was fantastic choice. Getting to know her internal thoughts and insecurities helps give the character more depth than we received in Jane’s perceptions of her in the first novel. At times I found myself enjoying Katherine more as a character than even Jane. Book two delivers marvelously on everything set up in the first, and comes to a satisfying conclusion that can stand on its own, or leave room for more adventures. Even if we don’t get to see more of Jane and Katherine (though I would love to see where their adventures take them), I’d still love to see Justina Ireland do more with this beautiful and sinister world she has made.

I love this. Both Jane and Katherine alternate chapters, telling their stories. I was so happy to see Sue (just Sue now – she no longer allows people to call her Big Sue – yay for her, not permitting people to define her by her physical characteristics) rejoin the story, too.

This takes up after the events of Dread Nation and is just as exciting a story with great characters. There is a great balance of character development and action. I enjoyed the quotes before the chapters, especially as a “tell” for the two women. Katherine’s quotes are all from Scripture while Jane favors Shakespeare. While I find Katherine easier to understand, Jane is a very special character as well. Ireland is on my “must buy” list. Too many sequels are let-downs compared to the first book. Not this. Ireland keeps the story fresh and moving forward.

This is the follow up to dread nation, set in a America after a American civil that ended with the rising of the dead now in America, north and south, decimated by the undead with settlements falling one by one to the Hordes , when a group of undead gather in a swarm, people of colour are forcibly taken to combat schools to learn how to combat the undead at least that was the state of affairs in the first book things have become ever more chaotic in the 2nd with systems breaking down even more as the undead expand into areas such as California where they hadnt previously had a foothold not to mention that even in the midst of the zombie apocalypse the biggest danger is still people being people.

Following characters from the first book graduates of miss prestons school of combat for coloured ladies this book is a continuation of the storylines from book one dont try to jump in here.

This is a darker book then the first stakes are higher and the cost of living in a world such as this takes its toll more and more things dont become completely unbearable for the reader because unlike book one Katherine is now a POV character sharing every other chapter with Jane both are likeable characters while being quite different, Jane is still personable and quite likeable even as the events of the series push her in a darker direction with events always out to break her heart while Katherine a more traditional Southern lady who is proud of her black heritage in a world that would treat her as being white if she was willing to pretend and forsake her parentage the bond between her and Jane becomes one of the strongest parts of the novel even as everyone else betrays Jane in one way or another.

Fast paced, heart breaking Characters and while obviously not a historically accurate novel in regards to there being a undead rising the author has done a lot of research in giving the book the feel of the period racism is a big part of the book but the author makes her point without being preachy the first book was impressive the 2nd is spectacular.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member