And so we revisit the world first brought to us in Tim Lebbon's earlier novella Naming of Parts. In the earlier book Jack and his father had fled from their home, trying to find safety against a disease that was turning most of the people they knew (including family members) into Zombies.

But just when it seems Zombies are making a bit of comeback in terms of popularity with the recent release of two Zombie movies, Tim Lebbon has changed tack a little for this second novella. In this book Jack and his father find themselves living in a virtual prison state, having barricaded themselves in a beached ferry with several other survivors of the Zombie plague.

They are barricaded in as a defence against the attacks that have kept coming from some unnaturally large animals - attacks that started when the full moon came out.

However one of their group, Lucy, seems a little apart from the group - and Jack sensing something is not quite what it seems attempts to learn more. From what he learns about Lucy and the world beyond the prison ferry of the ferry Jack determines to see if a peace can be brokered between the survivors huddled aboard the ferry and the were-creatures in the local town.

This is a compelling read, and given its length, it is most likely a one sitting read (as was the first of these novellas). Tim Lebbon's writing brings even the most unnatural creatures and situations to a down-to-earth level. It's a case of this is the world Jack finds himself in, and he's going to make the most of it. There is none of the shock regarding the events that can be all-consuming in some horror stories.

That Jack is a child probably helps with this perception. Jack has not had the time to firm his understanding of what should be, and so he is much more open to what is - and these things are then just there, just part of the way the world happens to be.

This might not be your ideal kind of read if you like horror black and white - Zombies bad, let's blow them away style. But for anyone who likes to think, and is open to seeing new angles on old favourites there is a lot to be said for trying this book.

Having read these two novellas and Lebbon's takes on Zombies and now Lycanthropy, I'm just wondering what he might do with Vampires or Ghosts. I guess I'll have to check to see if he's put his mind to creating his own take on these horror staples.

This is intelligent horror fiction, it doesn't have oceans of blood, nor mountains of flesh being ripped away from the bone. Okay there are some moments but they are well spaced, and used merely to emphasis what the stakes are.

Tim Lebbon is a man who is living up to his reputation for fine horror.

Synopsis
Jack and his father have been through a lot, and when they reach the coast they think they have found safety. There's a beached ferry there, and a community of survivors from the living-dead plague that has swept the land. To begin with, things seem fine.

And then the full moon comes, and the ferry is attacked by unnatural creatures far more powerful and determined than lumbering zombies.

When dawn arrives the survivors count the cost... and Jack feels something calling him along the coast. He leaves the ferry and his father to venture into the wilderness, thinking that he can help but, in reality, sensing something far more malevolent luring him away. His growing sense of betrayal is countered by the strange new desires he is experiencing.

It is only at the next full moon that Jack is made to realise the implications of what he has done.