Instead of a novel, Wallace gives us a bunch of short stories in the vein of Dads vs the World but set in the Zombies universe. I was impressed with the quality of the stories. I don’t think it’s easy to have that flavor of incompetent wit that marked the first book and still develop serious plotlines and have the characters—especially John—grow.
John is by far the best character in these books. He is a wonderful anti-social grouch who keeps getting tricked by fate into showing he really does care. He has standards and morals and not a pragmatic bone in his body. There are several moments in this book where you will cheer for John in ways the first book in the series really didn’t lead me to expect.
Mostly, however, this book is a series about three friends who enjoy cutting on each other even in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. They have moments of great courage, but I think it’s their compassion that makes them great men—even if John wouldn’t want to admit he had any.