The Walking Dead 2

The Walking Dead 2 (Original title: The Walking Dead - The Road to Woodbury ) is the second part of a five-part novel series by the writers Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga from 2012. The German translation by Wally Anker was published by Heyne Verlag in 2013 .

Structure of the book

The novel was published in Germany as a paperback by Heyne Verlag . Similar to Volume 1 of this series of novels, this book is divided into two parts this time, preceded by an almost completely black page with several white splashes of color. A section heading and a quote are shown in white letters on this black page. The nineteen chapters of roughly the same length are simply numbered.

action

Part 1: The Dawn of Red Day

Part 1 comprises chapters 1-7. The quote at the beginning of this part reads:

"Life is much more painful than death." Jim Morrison

The young Lilly Caul fights hunger, cold and zombies in a post-apocalyptic world . However, as she has to learn, the greatest danger comes from other people.

In a tent camp south of Atlanta , Lilly holds out with other survivors. The African American Josh Lee Hamilton gives her support. During a sudden zombie attack, Lilly looks after four young children. Despite their selfless efforts, one of the children falls victim to the undead. The father of the deceased child blames Lilly for his loss and beats her almost to death. Josh can intervene just in time. Driven by anger, he kills Lilly's attacker. The residents of the tent city punished Josh with banishment. Josh joins Lilly Caul, her sexually permissive high school girlfriend Megan Lafferty and boyfriend Scott Moon, and drunkard and Afghanistan veteran Bob Stookey.

The small group of survivors initially holed up in an abandoned gas station. However, they have to give up this after a truck full of zombies rushes into the gas station. On their further escape they find a Walmart . While they are collecting food they are caught by another group.

Part 2: This is how the world ends

Part 2 comprises chapters 8-19. The quote at the beginning of the section reads:

"What people do bad, they survive. The good is often buried with you." William Shakespeare from Julius Caesar

After initial distrust, the strange group led by Martinez reveals that they come from a supposedly safe place: Woodbury. Lilly and Josh's group decides to follow Martinez to Woodbury. Although Woodbury offers a certain protection from the zombies through a built wall - but the place is not free from fear and terror. Brian Blake, who has assumed the identity of his dead brother Philip and is only called the "Governor" in Woodbury, rules here. The sole ruler keeps his zombie niece Penny as a pet and feeds her human remains. The governor has even converted a former racetrack into a battle arena in which people fight each other for life and death. Lilly's life in Woodbury changes abruptly when Josh is shot dead after a verbal argument with a Woodbury resident.

In the meantime, Megan throws herself at the governor, because she wants him to be safe. But in Brian Blake's accommodation, she discovers severed human heads in several aquariums, which are still moving due to the transformation into zombies. Megan also discovers Scott Moon's head in an aquarium. An experience that she cannot cope with and that takes her life. After these atrocious events, Lilly plans to remove the governor. Martinez, among others, takes part in their conspiracy. The conspirators incapacitate the governor and plan to expose him to the zombies in the nearby forest. But here the group and their prisoners, the governor and his closest followers, get caught in a horde of the undead. In this mess, the governor manages to break free and take control of the conspirators. After their successful return to Woodbury, the governor locks Lilly's conspirators under the racecourse and lets them cut up corpses for his zombie niece. The governor has finally consolidated his regime in Woodbury and is continuing his zombie gladiatorial fights.

continuation

A reference to the continuation can already be found on the last page of the book. The plot is continued in the novel: The Walking Dead 3

literature

• Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga: The Walking Dead 2 (Original title: The Walking Dead - The Road to Woodbury ). German by Wally Anker. Heyne Verlag 2012, 416 pages, ISBN 978-3-453-52953-3
• Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga: The Walking Dead (Original title: The Walking Dead - Rise of the Governor, Book 1 ). German by Wally Anker. Heyne Verlag 2012, 448 pp., ISBN 978-3-453-52952-6

Web links

• Robert Kirkman on comicbookdb.com (English)
• Reading sample from paperback edition 2013 (Heyne Verlag)