There is a definite shift in this volume--not in quality, but in narrative intent. As the two previous volumes have shown, I Am A Hero takes the common tropes of the zombie genre and subverts them, from having a hero who is very mentally unstable to having zombies that still retain a degree of individuality.
This volume takes that last subversion even deeper, by showing just what the zombies may be thinking. Which succeeds in making the horror of their existence even moreso. Why they see things the way they do is not explained--is this how they survive the trauma? Or is this part of whatever chemical change is occurring? We don't know. We can only feel pity for monsters that in most zombie fiction heroes are wired to just kill.
It's not surprising, then, that parts of this volume feel like an exploration of dealing with a terminally ill relative. The unease of dealing with someone else's personal hygiene, of feeding them, all set against an environment that makes such caring a threat to one's own existence. It's as well done as it is heartbreaking.
By the volume's end, new characters have been introduced, tying themselves to perhaps finding an answer to the zombie infestation destroying the world. I wasn't thrilled with this turn of narrative, because elements of it reminded me quite a bit of The Last Of Us. But if reading this series has shown me anything, it's not to think I'm going to get what I expect.
A brilliant, heartbreaking horror story.
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