The breakout star of a zombie pit-fighting league has been off-grid for the last few years, and when he resurfaces, the company that runs the league has him pegged for their next zombie entertainment spectacle. 1500 undead. 48 hours. 30 teams. 1 tropical island. Survive, and you’re richly rewarded; fail, and your undead food. Thom Carnell revisits his wildly imaginative post-apocalyptic zombie universe with Don’t Look Back, the second volume of his No Flesh Shall Be Spared saga.

In the original No Flesh Shall Be Spared, a man named Cleese rose from obscurity to notoriety to fame as he became a champion in the World Gladiatorial Federation, an outfit that repurposed the zombie horde into entertainment for the masses. But after both his mentor and the woman he loved are murdered by this league, he buys his freedom with the life of Monroe, part of the corporate triumvirate that runs the show, and rides off into the sunset. In Don’t Look Back, we find that the sun sets in Bangkok, and a retired Cleese is still as violently dangerous as ever. He drifts from island to island in Southeast Asia as he tries to find a very elusive peace. He returns to the US when his assets are frozen by the League and soon finds himself face-to-face with Masterson, the number two at Weber Industries, and the WGF that they oversee. Masterson has an offer that Cleese can’t refuse (due to a contractual obligation and a gun to his head) called The Paradise Project. A spectacle that’s part Survivor, part Naked & Afraid, The Paradise Project places several teams of league warriors (plus some less seasoned fighters) on an island overrun by The Dead. Cleese finds himself reunited with familiar faces from his days in the pit, and as they fight their way to a designated extraction point, Cleese and his comrades stumble upon a mysterious young girl who knows the Project’s darkest secret.

Carnell’s first entry in this universe was a nuanced skewering of corporate America’s hold on society and their tendency to exploit things they don’t fully understand until a disaster happens. It was a timely commentary, released not long after the Deepwater Horizon tragedy along the Gulf Coast. In this volume, he takes on our fascination with “reality” TV and the growing trend toward putting ordinary people in situations they’re not qualified to handle for the sake of entertainment. The Paradise Project in Don’t Look Back is a Survivor/Naked & Afraid stand-in where people are dropped into a hostile environment woefully unprepared with the promise of wealth at the end should they survive and make it to the pickup point. The commentary here is not subtle, but it’s as effective as a sledgehammer to the kneecaps.

Cleese is still as magnetic an antihero as ever, and we watch his character develop further as he starts to get the past the grief of losing friends and loved ones (despite constant reminders of that loss) and becomes capable of caring about people again. That development is impressive to watch, and he becomes more of a complete character than an outlet for violent rage. Carnell’s storytelling takes on a cinematic quality, especially in the prologue, and his gift for capturing violence in motion is on full display here. You can absolutely visualize every move our intrepid heroes make. However, the narrative—direct and simple in most stages of the book—gets overtly technical in spots, such as where he details specifics of certain Filipino fighting styles, referencing move sets and drills by name. If you know what he’s talking about, there’s a level of appreciation for when something like Heaven’s Six is mentioned. If you don’t, you might get a bit lost as the lack of context could make you not quite as aware of how that influences movement. Carnell’s style is also very conversational, and parts of the story read like you’re hearing it at a bar secondhand. For my tastes, that style works very well in a story where you’re trying to pack as much action as possible in 300 pages, but I can see how some people might find it off-putting.

Overall, the second chapter of Thom Carnell’s epic zombie saga gives all the thrills of a summer blockbuster and tees up the final part of the trilogy. Grab your popcorn and enjoy the ride.

Pros: Cool setup, solid storytelling, and strong commentary; Great action sequences mixed in with shocking story moments and compelling twists; Likeable hero and detestable villains.

Cons: Blood-and-guts violence isn’t for everyone; Some fight scenes are slowed down by very technical descriptions.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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