Rot & Ruin

Rot & Ruin is a science fiction novel written by Jonathan Maberry and published by Simon & Schuster, set in the post-zombie apocalypse. The novel was released in the United States in September 2010 and in the United Kingdom in March 2011. It is the first in a series; its sequel, Dust & Decay, was released August 2011. Flesh &amp; Bones was released in September 2012 and Fire & Ash is set to be released August in 2013. Set fourteen years after the zombie apocalypse, the novel follows Benny Imura five months after he turns fifteen as he looks for a job so that his rations will not be halved. The novel is a third-person narrative that follows the protagonist, Benny Imura. Upon release, the book was generally well-received and received a majority of positive reviews.

Plot
Benny Imura and his friend Chong look for a job so their rations don't get cut in half. Benny is against becoming a zombie hunter because his half-brother, Tom, is known as one of the best zombie hunters. Benny thinks that Tom is a coward, due to a memory that Benny has from when he was two years old of Tom leaving his parents trapped in their house while he escaped with Benny on First Night, when the zombie epidemic had just begun. After trying many jobs, Chong becomes a spotter for the local watch, but Benny is still left without a job. Out of options, he finally asks Tom if he can be his apprentice. Tom accepts and the next morning they set out into the Rot and Ruin.

While they are beyond the fence Benny realizes that zombies are not monsters and should be respected as the dead are. Tom reveals to him the immorality of the hunters who maim the zombies to hunt them for sport.

A collectible zombie card of The Lost Girl piques Benny's interest. He finds the card's artist, Rob Sacchetto, who tells him more about the Lost Girl, who wanders the Rot and Ruin, surviving on her own. When Benny leaves, Charlie Pink-eye and The Motor City Hammer stop Benny at the door and demand that he hand over the Lost Girl zombie card. Tom intervenes and takes Benny home for training.

That night, a giant storm breaks out and the townspeople, including Tom, rush to defend the border. By morning, Rob Sacchetto and Nix's mother have died and Nix kidnapped. Benny and Tom go to rescue Nix. From Tom, Benny learns more about the Lost Girl and her connection to Gameland, where Charlie Pink-eye and other hunters pit children against zombies for entertainment. Benny meets the Lost Girl, rescues Nix, and defeats Charlie Pink-eye and The Motor City Hammer.

Benny and Nix see a jumbo jet fly overhead, turn around, and fly away. They decide to pursue the jet and see where it came from. In the end, Benny and Tom go to Sunset Hollow, where Benny, Tom, and their family lived before the zombie outbreak. Benny realizes that Tom was not a coward and took Benny and ran away from their parents, who had already been infected. He earns respect and love for his brother.