Title:  Spore
Series:
Author:  Tamara Jones
Genre:  Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal
Published:  June 2, 2015
Publisher:  Samhain
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Synopsis:

The dead are coming back.

Ten naked people walk from a cemetery into artist Sean Casey’s backyard: ten Spore People who used to be dead. One, Mindy, stays with Sean while trying to reclaim her life, but her ex would rather she return to her grave. Sean struggles to protect Mindy and other Spores while battling his recurring—and worsening—nightmares. Meanwhile, the media feeds a panicked frenzy that leads both the hopeful and hateful to Sean’s front door.

As the Spore fungus spreads, so does the fear. When mutilated children match Sean’s nightmares, he realizes his own worst terror may be closer than he thinks.

Read on for my thoughts on Spore.  No true spoilers, promise.

What exactly is a viable life?  If death isn’t absolute, then what is?  And what exactly is in the water down by the cemetery?

While I would classify Spore as more mystery than horror, it still is a fascinating concept. There are so many twists and turns within the story that to delve too deeply in this review could, most likely, spoil the reading experience for you.  The cover blurb above gives you the basic premise of this story, so I’m not going to go much beyond that.  You need to feel and experience Spore firsthand.

What I am willing to do is give you my feelings, my reactions to this story.  Do not give in to the impulse of believing this is a zombie novel.  It is not.  Yes, somehow the dead have been reanimated.  How is both obvious and part of the mystery.  These returning, former dead people are not out to eat anyone’s brains.  There is no rotting flesh, if anything the former dead appear to look better than they did at the time of their original death.  They are confused, scared, angry, happy to be.. alive, and clueless to know what to do with this new “life” now.  They come from different times in history.  So some have families that either are overjoyed or terrified that the dead are walking once again.  But what does this mean for the entire population?  Are they still the same people they were before death?  Or are they something completely new to our world?  This is where I have to say – you need to read this novel.

I was drawn into the story.  At times nervous, at other times repulsed and then I’d laugh or tear up at something.  I could honestly say that there is a rollercoaster of emotions you will experience while living in the Spore world.  I would recommend this novel for several genre readers, obviously horror readers, but also mystery, paranormal, thrillers and, honestly, anyone who enjoys a really good tense, interesting story will find themselves captivated by Spore.  Set aside everything you think you know about the reanimated dead (zombies) and take a risk on a novel that might be a bit outside of your usual read.  I do not believe you would be disappointed by this story.  It draws you in and then takes you on a fast paced adventure.

*I received an e-ARC of Spore from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

~Any review is just one person’s opinion. You might feel the same or totally different. The only way to know for certain is for you to read it. This was my opinion of this particular book.~

Spore is available for the Kindle