Dread Nation

I would not be a writer had I not read this book. It was the first time I saw a Black girl be the main character in a fantasy novel, and she doesn’t limit herself to playing by the rules.

Jane McKeene is a troublemaker with a smart mouth, but she’s fearless against the shamblers (zombies), resourceful, and her complicated friendship with Kate was something I loved every minute of.

In Dread Nation, zombies rise and roam the US after the Battle of Gettysburg, turning the Civil War we know on its head. In this world, Black children like the main character Jane, are forced to attend combat school so they can be used as living weapons to beat back the zombie hoards.

The book reflects the harsh and unjust realities of this time period but delivers so many twists and such a fresh voice, that it begins to feel like an entirely new world even though so much about it is familiar from history books.

Dread Nation portrays the experience of Jane, a young black woman, in an alternative history set in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, a conflict ended not by a Northern victory but by a zombie apocalypse. While slavery has ended, blacks are trained to serve as the defenders of white privilege against the undead, from Southern plantations to large cities to frontier outposts.

I came across the book after having written professionally about the American Civil War. I found the historical plausibility – admittedly in the midst of a fictional zombie plague – spectacular, with a compelling lead character… show more.

Ireland gives us a United States in which the Civil War has to be put on hold due to a zombie apocalypse.

In this America, there are schools to train certain children to be effective combatants against the undead. While there are plenty of zombies to keep the creep factor high, the plot is so compelling that you won’t remember to be scared.

Dread Nation is an alternate history in which the dead rise from the battlefields of Gettysburg. As the states struggle to deal with the undead crisis, black and native children are forced into combat schools and trained to defend wealthy white patrons. If you’re itching for a classic zombie apocalypse story with a twist, this is your book. Ireland’s writing is sharp, tight, and unflinching. This book is a fast-paced adventure full of ravenous zombie hoards and bold heroines. One thing I especially love about Dread Nation is the fight scenes which are frequent, bloody, and a whole lot of… show more.

I’m not sure I can adequately express how brilliant and original Dread Nation is. A Civil War-era alternate history about girls who battle the undead in the context of Reconstruction? I don’t even particularly like zombies, but I was completely and totally hooked. The main character is so well written and her voice is so strong and compelling that you can’t help but want to follow her anywhere. 

Dread Nation is both a reimagination of the dark days of slavery in America and a gruesomely fun zombie book. Similar to My Lady Jane, there’s a bit of magic (with the zombie situation) that adds to the pleasure of re-imagining a dark and terrible time. Readers get to dive into a new history where the main characters have more agency than they did historically—we experience formerly enslaved Black and Indigenous people who get to zombie-slaughter the bad guys! What could be more satisfying?