Review - The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury

The Walking Dead just returned for its third season on Sunday with a fairly good premiere episode. But if waiting until next Sunday for the second episode, "Sick," is too difficult of a prospect for you, worry not: there's a new novel, out today, for all you Walking Dead fans. It's called 'The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury.'

It's a semi-sequel to this year's other Walking Dead novel, 'Rise of the Governor,' which told the origin story of the ruthless leader of the survivor settlement Woodbury (with a rather surprising twist at the end, too). 'The Road to Woodbury,' is told from the point-of-view of another character, Lilly Caul, a survivor who makes her way to Woodbury about halfway through the book. 

The story here is really nothing special; the origins of Woodbury's cruelty are elaborated upon (with Lilly occasionally playing a direct role). "We're going to meet new characters as they come to Woodbury and see how Woodbury is founded, and how the Governor continues to grow as a character," says Walking Dead creator and 'Road to Woodbury' co-writer Robert Kirkman in the press release. "It all takes place before we met the Governor in the comic book series, and there's a lot more story to tell with that guy. We'll also look at others -- Lilly is going to be another focus. It's going to be fun to explore these characters again." 

'The Road to Woodbury' isn't quite as shocking or as well-plotted as 'Rise of the Governor' -- the series doesn't have much in the way of plot twists, and perhaps the biggest death of the book doesn't quite have the punch that it should. It's by no means a bad book, but it doesn't quite have the plot twists and turns that you might expect after reading 'Rise of the Governor.' 

Having said that, co-writer Jay Bonansinga, who appears to be doing the real heavy lifting with the writing duties, is particularly good at crafting descriptions that are occasionally lurid enough to churn your stomach even more than some of the graphic violence that's been seen on screen. He can evoke senses that the visual medium of television can't, and when he does, he does so to great effect. 

Fans of The Walking Dead, both the comic and the series, will enjoy 'The Road to Woodbury,' which ends with a hint toward at least one more novel. While it's nowhere near as riveting as the first novel, 'Rise of the Governor,' it's still a solid read, and should be more than enough to tide you over between episodes of The Walking Dead season 3. 

The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury hits shelves today.