A review by abaugher
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

5.0

Awesome steampunk zombie novel set during the American Civil War, but removed from that action because it takes place in Seattle. The greed for gold in Alaska prompted a contest to see who could create the best machine for digging under the ice. Naturally, it drew the attention of a power-crazed genius, who made a machine to go more directly to the source, and thus the Boneshaker was built. It was then used to drill a gaping hole through the underground of downtown Seattle and right into the bank vaults. It also accidentally unleashed an extremely toxic gas that turned people to zombies. Not really slow-moving stupid ones, though. As their hunger increased, so did their speed. A 200-foot-high wall was built around downtown to keep in "the Blight" and those affected by it.
The son of the genius who destroyed the city, now a teen, goes in to find proof that his father was a good man, and his mother follows him in to rescue him, knowing that he wasn't. And that's where the fun really starts. The story is full of underground tunnels, gas masks and shotguns, fast zombies with great hearing and the ability to climb ladders, fascinating characters with both noble and nefarious motives, and--of course--the ever-present and highly poisonous Blight.

I finished this book in bed, then had an awesome zombie dream of my own. Gotta love it.