The superhero formerly known as the Mighty Dragon and his allies fight against the zombies outside their walls as well as a powerful new foe. St. George, the hero formerly known as the Mighty Dragon, and his compatriots live at the Mount, a portion of Los Angeles walled off to protect the surviving humans from the zombies – or “exes” – outside. St. George helps Captain Freedom, a super-soldier from Project Krypton, fight off an attack by the villainous Legion, a former gang member turned disembodied consciousness who can control the exes. During one of the attacks, some guards on the Big Wall notice someone flagging them down from a nearby building, and St. George investigates. He finds a young woman named Madelyn Sorenson, the daughter of Project Krypton's scientist. Only Madelyn supposedly died in an attack by exes as some Krypton soldiers transported her and her mother to the base in New Mexico, and she even looks like an ex – though she somehow retained her ability to speak and think. As the Mount's doctor examines Madelyn, St. George visits Zzzap, the superpowered being who provides the Mount's power supply. When St. George calls Zzzap out on the fact that he seems to be talking to himself, Zzzap reveals that he is actually speaking to the ghost of Max Hale, the deceased hero known as Cairax. Hale, through Zzzap, tells St. George that he needs a body so he can resurrect himself and protect the Mount from the real Cairax, a demonic being Hale trapped in a medallion. When Max died during the zombie outbreak, he was trapped inside his demonic form with Cairax, but when St. George destroyed the body they were both released. Max uses the body of Jarvis, one of the Mount's guards, who was bitten by a zombie during one of Legion's attacks. While Max is resurrecting himself, Zzzap flies outside the mount and blasts a series of symbols into the ground. Max tells St. George and the other heroes that the symbols are wards that will prevent Cairax from attacking the Mount, but there is a catch – nobody inside the Mount can go past the wards, otherwise they risk possession or destruction at Cairax's hands. The Mount's doctor, Connelly, comes to St. George and tells him that Madelyn is in fact dead, but that her body had been completely replaced by microscopic machines injected into her by her father. These nanobots helped Madelyn heal, but when she died in the ex attack, the machines replicated in an attempt to heal her body, and ultimately rebuilt her entire body. Madelyn, who discovers she is invisible to the exes, takes the name “Corpse Girl.” As Dr. Connelly explains Madelyn's situation, the Mount's secret prisoner escapes. This prisoner, Regenerator, so named because of his supercharged healing abilities, used to be an ally of St. George. He also started the zombie plague when he attempted to raise his wife from the dead with his abilities, which is why he was locked away by St. George and the others. Max realizes that Cairax can possess Regenerator, giving the demon an unstoppable, unkillable body, and urges St. George to go out and help him stop Regenerator before that happens. Max needs a sword to use as a magical blade against Cairax, but the people inside the Mount can only find props from old movies. Madelyn learns that one of the Mount's residents, a former gang member from the Seventeens, knows of a sword his grandfather owns. Unfortunately, the sword is outside Max's wards, and impossible to reach. Since she is invisible to the exes, Madelyn sets out to retrieve the sword. St. George and Max fly into a trap, and Max reveals that he intends to remove his spirit from Jarvis' body and place it into St. George in order to escape the punishment promised by Cairax for Max trapping the demon in the medallion. Stealth realizes that Max was lying to them, and sets out with Captain Freedom, Zzzap, and Madelyn to rescue St. George. The heroes free St. George and attack Cairax. They manage to defeat the demon when St. George impales Cairax with Madelyn's sword, and Zzzap blasts the sword with a concentrated burst of his massive power. Max, injured during the battle, dies as well. The heroes return to the Mount, safe from Cairax and Max, but Legion and the exes remain an ever-present threat.
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Best part of story, including ending:
I liked the story because it not only continued the superhero vs. zombie story Clines built in his first two novels, but also introduces other comic book elements such as nanobots and magic.
Best scene in story:
I enjoyed the chapter where Clines introduces Madelyn through her diary entries. The first few entries are all dated the same date and much of the information is repeated, but gradually the dates and information change when the character (unnamed at the time) realizes that more time has passed than she first realized.
Opinion about the main character:
St. George is willing to put his trust in Max but not Stealth, despite her repeated reservations about Max and the fact that she and St. George are a couple.
