Here’s the thing. For the last few books, Kirkman has been losing me. First there was a big mislead about the possibility of resolving the zombie threat, and then he started exploring themes he’s already explored before. Yes, he finds ways to invert them and make them new, I admit that, but if he’s already holding mirrors up to his thematic territory, I can’t help but notice that the plotting has dragged for a long time. And as the herd comprising his original characters has thinned and new characters join up, only to be lost to the rightfully dangerous environment themselves, I’m having an ever harder time even recognizing the characters; and that only makes it harder to care about them. But back to my main complaint, about the dragging plot: for instance, in No Way Out, the characters find themselves threatened on all sides by a) rampaging evil humans looking to take advantage b) a horde of zombies c) weather-based food shortages, I guess?, just when things were starting to feel safe and human again. Whichever one you pick, we’ve been here before. A few people die, the threat passes and/or the survivors pick up and move on, and soon we’ll be back here again.

And yet, every damn book there’s either a huge cliffhanger or else some kind of plot- or character-based epiphany that makes me think he’s finally gotten the story to turn a corner and something new is on the horizon, or in this case both, and either way, I have to at least find out what happens next to decide if the series is worth it anymore. You’d think I would learn.