Stuff I've Read: Positive by David Wellington

Decades after a zombie plague nearly wipes out humanity, a young man is exiled from post-apocalyptic New York City for being a potential carrier of the virus. As he sets out toward a medical camp in far-away Ohio, he learns that the monsters he needs to fear might be other people. And with that, we begin a dive into David Wellington’s 2015 Mad Max/Walking Dead mashup, Positive.

And of course, this is your friendly, neighborhood SPOILER ALERT.

Positive by David Wellington

Finnegan is your typical, 18-year old New Yorker. He hunts wild game, fishes in the flooded subway tunnels, and scavenges from the ruins of the once-great city. After the plague, New York is only habitable north of Midtown Manhattan, as the outer boroughs were decimated 20 years before. Getting basic needs met is tough due to pollution. Without human intervention to alleviate the decay of the things we built, runoff from disused factories and power plants makes the waterways around and beneath New York toxic to humans. Finnegan returns from subway fishing with a lobster in hand, the first time he had seen one, and as he and his family sit down to cook and eat it, they find that it is also toxic and inedible. His mother collapses and the dormant and undetected zombie virus in her system makes her turn. She’s killed and Finnegan is branded a positive—a potential carrier of the virus. The doctors determine that the virus can take up to 20 years to manifest, so Finn is tattooed with a + sign on the back of his hand and is sent to a medical camp in Ohio run by the remnants of the US government. He’s due to meet a government transport across the George Washington Bridge in Fort Dix, New Jersey, but finds that escort dead and his vehicle destroyed when he arrives. He’s hunted by a scavenger calling herself Red Kate. As he escapes her, he finds himself in the employ of Adare, a scavenger who has a crew of young girls in his company. However, Adare isn’t quite a savior; he’s been using his girls, some as young as 11, as his personal harem. His operation is complicated when Finn develops a friendship with one of the girls. After the girls are eventually freed from Adare’s control, Finn figures the best way forward is to make their way to the medical camp.

Similar to The Girl with All the Gifts, Positive puts a motley crew of survivors on the road in the aftermath of a zombie plague. This book is more road novel than zombie horror, and I found that both surprising and enjoyable. The rumination on what humanity becomes when our society breaks down is timely, even though this book is five years old. And while most zombie novels lean in on the horrific depiction of undead predators, Positive has a broader focus than just zombie gore, and for the most part, it works. The main character, Finn, is the perfect answer to the question of what the next generation would look like if we didn’t have the technology we’ve relied on. He starts off as a sheltered boy, unaware of anything beyond his community. After going through several hellish experiences, his demeanor hardens and he becomes gradually—and believably—more capable as a survivor, fighter, and leader. He’s whiny at the beginning, which can be annoying as he’s the first-person narrator, but you wind up rooting for him by the end.

Positive gets points from me for its worldbuilding. Wellington depicts several different societies that spring up in the aftermath of the catastrophe, each with its own social strata. He even depicts a death cult that spans the Midwestern United States, a bigger potential threat than even the zombies. There’s a lot in this book that’s taken from the Mad Max universe—biker gangs, road pirates, and the aforementioned death cult—but it’s fleshed out in exceptional detail that leaves it feeling fresher.

I’m a fan of Wellington’s Vampire Hunter series that ran from 2007-2012, so when he introduced a character from that series into this book, I geeked out. That bit of fan service was well-handled and didn’t feel shoehorned in or tacked on. That is a hard trick to pull off, but Wellington managed to do it.

I did find that Positive was a little long, with slow stretches throughout the novel that went on for pages at a time. That’s a problem inherent in road novels—sometimes you’re on the road and nothing happens—so it’s not a deal breaker unless you hate that type of story. Make no mistake, though, this is a road novel. It just happens to be set in a zombie universe.

Positive is a solid read but be warned. Like most zombie novels, it examines what humanity becomes when you remove society from the mix. The only thing that’s really missing here is the zombies.

Pros: Well-constructed world, main character grows on you, solid road novel.

Cons: But where are the zombies?

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.