Nerds That Geek Book Review – ‘Cryonic: A Zombie Novel’

Written by Scott Edwards

Everyone should have fond memories of their parents, be it the help they provided you with over the years, the fun times you had as your father coached your baseball team, or your mother just teaching you how to do the laundry, so all of your socks don’t come out of the dryer with a pink color. It is your parents that make up these memories for you, even if you did not ask for them. Royce Bruyere is one of these parents that did not want to miss a second with his son Colt, using everything in his discretion to make sure his son turned out to be a great man when he got older. Now Royce was very well off in his financial situation, being able to capitalize on the internet bubble before it burst and he was going to make the most of it. Taking his son surfing was one of the highlights of his week living on the coast of California. If the waves were not big enough, Royce would watch the news and find out where he needed to go to make the day feel complete.  

On their latest trip to find the best surf, Royce and Colt fly down to Mexico and enjoy the day with great conversation and even greater waves. Although Royce had been told not to fly in the dark, he ignored this and took off when the day came to a close and headed back up the coast to San Diego. A strong wind hits the plane as they are landing, causing the plane to tumble down the runway. Colt is badly injured, but his father Royce is dead on arrival. Being very well off, Royce had signed up for Cryogenics, just in case he was taken before his time. The response time by the company he paid for this service is astounding, and it ends up changing his life forever.

The year is 2047, thirty-five years since the crash. Royce awakens in a small white room with people in lab coats looking over him, speaking what he thinks is Chinese. Thinking that there is a joke being played on him, a young American lab tech named Alex takes pity on the man and explains what is going on. The world has changed, American soil from New York to the Mississippi River has been taken over by the Chinese. The restrictions that the Chinese have put into place have made it impossible to figure out what has happened on the other side of the continent. Besides that, Royce is now a medical anomaly, being the first person in the history of cryogenics to be revived. With this success, the Chinese plan to work on reviving more people, to show the world their medical dominance, and lack of foresight.

Half of America being under China’s rule is only the first problem Royce gets to encounter in these future times. The second is much more troubling as three more people are revived from cryostasis and start biting their doctors. Cryonic gives you a look into the future as medical advances and world dominance are the primary worries for the hybrid country that is America/China. Royce gets thrown into a drastic situation as his new world is getting eaten up, person by person. Joining a group of Alex’s friends, Royce is able to see where technology has advanced in the future, but only in the medical side with lasers that can slice through human tissue like a hot knife through butter and faster healing techniques. As these biters get loose and the current government does not know how to cure them, the biters are shipped to different medical facilities across the globe. The infection gets out of hand, and only Royce and his group of survivors have an idea of how to stop it, but not being able to contact anyone due to the restrictions placed on their side of the river, they will need to fight to get across to America and pass their knowledge on.

This is another zombie novel that is a joy to read. Author Travis Bradberry is able to play upon your fears of the nation being run over by another, then adding the threat of zombies to that puts you into a state of shock. Your main character Royce is as strong as he should be, fighting off the oppression of the Chinese, the zombies and taking lead of his group on his way to get back home.  With the strong morals this man possesses, you will be cheering him on and hoping that nothing gets in his way as he fights with all of his heart to see what has happened to his family. Great zombie kills are also added in this novel, with the classic bullet to the head, but those that fight also have a bayonet attached to their rifles, along with a flesh cutting laser that seems to work wonders on the hordes of zombies that come their way. Just be happy we are still many years away from seeing what will really happen when someone gets out of cryogenic slumber, but once you hear on the news that Walt Disney is being defrosted, be ready to run!

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