Mindless

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first—*another* zombie book? But *Mindless* hooked me within an hour, not with jump scares, but with its sheer audacity. Blackmore takes the apocalypse trope and twists it into something far more interesting: a feudal nightmare where the living rule through fear, and the dead are just another resource. The worldbuilding is dense but never dull, packed with details like zombie-powered mills and aristocrats who treat the undead like livestock. It’s grotesque, yes, but also weirdly plausible, which makes it all the more unsettling. R.C. Bray’s performance is the glue holding this chaos together. His narration has that perfect mix of weariness and dark amusement, like a battle-hardened soldier who’s seen too much but still finds the absurdity funny. The action scenes are electric, with Bray’s pacing making every sword swing and zombie groan feel immediate. That said, the political intrigue sections *can* drag—there’s a mid-book stretch where the scheming feels a bit *too* *Game of Thrones*-derivative, and Bray’s voice for one minor character veers into cartoonish territory. But these are quibbles. The payoff—a climax that’s equal parts horrifying and darkly triumphant—is worth the occasional lull. If you love your horror with brains (both literal and figurative), this is a must-listen.