The Finster Effect

By: Wednesday Lee Friday

Narrated by: Nancy Linari

What happens when a malevolent minister, a fast-food manager, a loyal dog, and the son of a kidnapper are forced to navigate an undead apocalypse and swarms of super-intelligent rats? The cannibalistic undead plague a Michigan town, prompting the National Guard to join forces with the Michigan Militia. A group of survivors attempts to make it to the Mackinac Bridge, while the god-fearing take on the godless in a bloody battle that is anything but holy. Just when you think it can't get any worse, there's a cat stuck in a goddamn tree! Will anyone survive, and will their humanity remain intact?

The Finster Effect is the latest novel from the author of A Stabbing for Sadie and Kiss Me Like You Love Me, and the creator of the serial killer comic, Stig and the Puppetman.

©2012 Wednesday Lee Friday (P)2013 David N. Wilson

Everyone trying to hard....

It seemed like such an interesting concept, but within minutes I began to get a touch nervous. The narrator is one of those that work to speak every word clearly while also trying to "capture" her thinking of the books intent. Okay, so I can handle that except the book just veers into so many directions, with few seeming to really capture the character. The author goes into the head of everyone, from a young female to a dog to an older guy to a rat. Her focus on the condescending female felt the most real, although the dialog with her significant other make me think her relationship with men are few and far between. The dog and the Messianic rat were weird and annoying. Her attempt to get into the mind of the survivalist male was a fail. Pretty much gave up at that point.

weird story with zombies

The story jumps around too much. One minute it is from the dogs perspective then all of a sudden its the cat. A bit too confusing without an explanation. Also some weird rat religious stuff. Just weird but if you are anything like me you will give it a go because there are zombies

“Faith is always rewarded in the end.”

The Finster Effect by Wednesday Lee Friday is different from the other disaster books that I have read. The causes for the disaster will probably not surprise fans of the genre, but the way it plays out, and the voices used to share the tale are unique.

A friend cautioned me ages ago that it is a risky thing to change protagonists within a work of fiction. She was right because doing so risks losing the reader, and the point, in a discordant confusion.

But when the world ends, chaos is just what you should expect. So be prepared to wonder what the heck is going on at first. Keep going, because Ms. Friday has the mastery to pull off the shifting points of view and voices. She not only clearly differentiated between the various male and female humans, but you will hear the end of the world as observed by many species including rats, cats, and dogs as well as humans and zombies.

Your reward for persistence will be a tour of a strange and frightening world that is moving from one kind of order, perhaps to another.

The audio is crisp and clear. The reader, Nancy Linari, is a pleasure to hear. She does a wonderful job at enhancing the distinctly different voices the author created for each of the varied characters.

“Faith is always rewarded in the end.”