The Walking Dead 4

The Walking Dead 4 (Original title: The Walking Dead - The Fall Of The Governor: Part Two ) is the fourth part of a six-part series of novels by the writers Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga from 2014. The German translation by Wally Anker was published by Heyne Verlag released on October 13, 2014. The novel series is a spin-off of the comic book series The Walking Dead and this volume is the last of four parts that tell the backstory of the character of the "Governor" Philip.

Structure of the book

The novel was published in Germany as a paperback by Heyne Verlag . Similar to the first volumes ( volume 1 , volume 2 , volume 3 ) of this series of novels, this book is also divided into three parts this time, which are 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 simply numbered 23 chapters are about the same length in the first two parts and slowly get shorter and shorter in the third part.

action

Part 1: battlefield

Part 1 comprises chapters 1-9.

The quote at the beginning of this part reads:

“I am death, destroyer of the worlds.” - J. Robert Oppenheimer

The plot follows the end of Volume 3 .

The loyal followers Cooper and Gabe find the self-proclaimed "Governor" Philip in his apartment and initially believe him dead. However, he gets up feverish, hallucinating and severely disfigured. With the last of his strength, he is able to prevent his niece Penny from being shot by Bruce Cooper. Bob Stookey, a former military medic , is astonished at the sign of life . The alcoholic and also this time seriously drunk Stookey immediately makes his way to the Philips apartment. At the sight of the injuries, Stookey sobered up immediately and patched the governor back together as best he could.

Austin, whom Lilly describes as a "pretty boy", and Lilly try to find out the overall situation. Rumors are making the rounds. Since Martinez and the governor cannot be seen, the guards are unmanned. While they search the ramparts, the two discuss the future and the child Lilly is expecting. They are almost led by Dr. Stevens, meanwhile turned into a zombie , is surprised. Only with difficulty can they save themselves and finally kill the doctor with a shot in the head. Then you bury the body in a small solemn ceremony. The next morning, Lilly intercepts Gabe and comes to the governor's apartment.

Bob and Lilly are now seizing the initiative. Due to the shock and all the work on the countless wounds of the governor, Bob is so sober and focused that everyone involved is amazed. Lilly is again organizing regular changes of the guard and calling an emergency meeting in the local courthouse. During the gathering, several undead make it through a weak spot in the wall. This break-in is over after a brief, violent battle. The local population is told a distracting story about the governor's whereabouts and the whole city is teeming with busy work on the defensive wall. An expedition into the surrounding area will find a good 500 liters of diesel. After several days, the governor wakes up and orders Lilly to come over. The district governor is considering a pre-emptive strike against the prison residents, Rick and Michonne's group. First, however, Martinez, who was smuggled into prison as a spy, should be the target of a large-scale search. Martinez is found. He is part of a huge zombie herd that is about five football fields. They bring Martinez's head to Woodbury as evidence of the governor.

On the same evening, the governor invites to a community meeting on the speedway race track. He explains to the crowd that the strangers around Rick and Michonne attacked and injured him and captured Martinez, and presents Martinez's cut off head as evidence. The governor swears bloody vengeance on the roaring crowd and demands that everyone make a concerted effort. Meanwhile, Lilly's abdominal cramps and nausea as a result of pregnancy increase to an unnatural extent. A visit to Bob brings cruel confirmation. She loses the child. Both Lilly and Philip are now working around the clock to prepare for the prison attack. An expedition group from Woodbury is surprised and massacred by an ambush by the group led by Rick and Michonne in front of a National Guard barracks. Only Gabe survives and can determine the location of the prison.

Part 2: The Last Judgment Clock

Part 2 comprises chapters 10–16.

The quote at the beginning of the section reads:

"And when he had finished these words, the earth tore up under them and opened your mouth and devoured them with their houses, with all the people who were with Korah and with all their belongings ..." - Numbers chapter 16, Verses 31-32

Before the united adults capable of fighting leave for the prison, Philip tells Bob the secret of his niece Penny and bears the protection of Penny on Bob. The 23-man convoy, which even has an Abrams tank , makes its way to the prison. Once at the outer fence, the governor sitting on the tank makes his peace offer. The answer consists of a bullet that hits the district governor in the right shoulder. The overview is lost in the subsequent firefight. Due to high casualties, the Woodbury militia withdraws out of range into the forest. In the forest they take a prison defender prisoner and capture Michonne's katana . Even now, the group around Rick does not want to negotiate, even when their comrade is beheaded with Michonne's sword in front of everyone . By noon the Woodbury militia hasn't achieved much, but lost some men. In a second attack wave, the tank breaks through the barbed wire, so that the fighting continues in house- to- house combat . In a mess, the militia also meet Alice and Rick. The increasingly insane and feverish governor is now even shooting at children and babies. Disgusted by this, Lilly rams her gun into the governor's mouth.

Part 3: the case

The quote at the beginning of this part reads:

"The call of death is a call of love." - Hermann Hesse

For seemingly endless seconds, Lilly ponders the shot baby and her own child. Only when Austin is attacked by zombies, and she has to get rid of some zombies, she pulls the trigger and shoots the governor.

With the last survivors, Lilly escapes into a cell block. More zombies have been attracted by the dead on both sides. Corridors and courtyard are impassable. It turns out that Austin has been bitten and is slowly turning into a zombie. While wandering around , he notices the children's book The Pied Piper of Hameln . He himself, doomed to die, decides to use this model to distract walkers and thus enable the rest of his militia comrades to escape back to Woodbury.

They see black smoke on the way to Woodbury. Woodbury's defensive wall is on fire. The people who remained in Woodbury and the remnants of the militia are feverishly busy with the reconstruction. Everything will be more or less in order by evening. The fires have been extinguished, the wall has been patched, supplies and ammunition have been inventoried. At a hastily convened meeting, Lilly was elected leader. Bob shows Lilly the governor's zombie niece. She will be redeemed and solemnly buried. Then Lilly shoots the zombie heads in the governor's aquariums.

A car appears on the horizon. A whole family with three children is sitting inside. Lilly, now the leader, leads the father through the town.

continuation

In contrast to the first two volumes of the series of novels, there is no direct reference to a continuation in volume 4. The plot continues in the novel The Walking Dead 5 .

literature

Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga: The Walking Dead 4 (Original title: The Walking Dead - The Fall Of The Governor: Part Two ) German by Wally Anker. Heyne Verlag 2014, 389 pages, ISBN 978-3-453-31614-0
Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga: The Walking Dead 3 (Original title: The Walking Dead - The Fall Of The Governor: Part One ) German by Wally Anker. Heyne Verlag 2013, 352 pp., ISBN 978-3-453-52954-0
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