2.5 StarsThis may well be one of the oddest books I've ever read. It is an antiquated futuristic story...What?? Yep, it takes place in the future but with all the social protocol of the Victorian Era. I could not get a handle on that, at all. Then add zombies to the mix and what do you have? Dearly Departed.The mixture of well developed futuristic technology with old Victorian styling just did not mesh for me. You have corset and parasol wearing girls carrying cell phones and digi-diaries. I can't imagine such an advanced society sticking women back into the dark ages of 'don't bare your ankles' and 'no un-chaperoned visits with boys'. Add to that the idea of girls being married off for societal gain and I just get annoyed.It was not only the world that confused me, it was the point of view as well. It is written in first person but each chapter you switch to one of, I think, five characters. If I got interrupted in the middle of a chapter, I often had to look back at who I was reading. At times, I wondered why the chapter was even there to begin with, some seemed pointless. It isn't all bad though. The characters are developed quite nicely and I liked several of them. Unfortunately, Nora really wasn't a favorite of mine. I never fully connected with her. I did really enjoy Bram and Nora's best friend Pam, who is entirely entertaining and had a couple of great scenes in this story. If not for these two characters, I think I would have given up on this read entirely. Alas, I don't think I will be picking up the sequel.
