Soooo awesome....

I cannot wait until I no longer feel obligated to read these. Or when I finally give up and just can’t do it anymore. Unfortunately today is not that day.

These books aren't the best to read over lunch because of how graphic they are but I can't put them down. I've realized I can't get too attached to any characters because of how quickly the cast changes, but I am enjoying this series tremendously and can't put them down.

This is the last one I have from the library right now, but I actually enjoyed this one so much I'm going to send my partner back tomorrow morning to return the ones I read and get the next few lol.

I've been waiting for Lori to die to be honest, I personally just don't like her, and being as I've watched the show I think this one so far has been the MOST different from that so I was surprised how this one played out, and I prefer how it happened here.

Also, I was super upset about Axel, he got pulled into all their drama and he was such a nice guy. Also teared up a little for Hershel and totally understand his choice.

Upset with the RV crew as they were the teams top shooters, even if one returned to help, I get it but it wasn't nice to all just jump in and not talk it through, they left them there like sitting ducks while people were still healing from wounds lol

Every issue is so much better than the last! Every time I read them I love them much more.

Rereading the Walking Dead as a whole story, as opposed to reading it in chunks is not only more satisfying than the alternative, it also makes it easier to pretend that the story doesn't have very predictable patterns. Issue one of a story has the characters comfortable than thrown into chaos, issue two has them confused by chaos, issue three has them thinking they've found a solution, but it doesn't quite work out, issue four has everyone second guessing Rick (usually including himself), issue five an important character dies, issue six there's reprecussions that often (but not always) involve a death or injury that is even more significant to Rick. Issues 7-12 repeat the sequence, but with Rick making some sort of speech either to the whole group or whoever he has taken a vested interest in during the storyline. This is how every book is structured. While every twelfth issue contains a denoument to the previous issues, and a hint or preview of the next storyline, it's every forty-eighth issue (or the end of every fourth hardcover) that there's a Massive Story Changing Event. So the end of this volume has the first of those Now Our Story Has To Be Different moments.

The metaphorical impotence of The Governor in this volume, compared to the previous volume was interesting, as he's still A Threat, but you're less afraid of him than what will happen because he fails to make his plans work. You know he can't win (or the series will be over) but you also know that whatever stupid thing he does is going to get a bunch of people killed. And this is the first Clear The Decks issue of the series.

I think it works. I became more invested in the story, knowing that, while it was going to remain formulaic, the character relationships within the formula were going to have to change because of what happened during this storyarc, which I would call "Math" (because what follows is definitely focused on the aftermath of this volume. Plus, numbers always factor into Walking Dead storylines.

This is also an important volume for seeing how the TV show (which I don't enjoy as much as the books, and stopped watching about a season after this storyline) took the emotional gutpunch from the end of this volume, and an interesting moment from volume five and combined them to amp the emotion and gif-ability of the series to a much higher level. It's the one moment, where, for me, the show was 1000% more devestating than the book. But Kirkman couldn't have reached that level without being able to look at this volume and think "There is One Way I could make this Even More Agonizing."

Once again I'm impressed by this series by their willingness to take chances. Although, I'm starting to wonder-will this series end with all but one dying, while the brink of civilization suddenly comes back? It seems fitting but still too typical. I'd love to see more of Michonne, and there were some characters I was glad to see go. However, this book did have a few more slow moments than the previous one, hence losing one star.

The issues I had with Book Three of The Walking Dead (lack of forward movement, lack of character development, sensationalism without purpose) have been resolved in Book Four. The prison has once again become a site of drama and conflict, and the characters seem alive again. There are definitely still some incredibly shocking moments--truly twisted and heartbreaking things happen in this volume, and though I'm not a queasy reader, I had to stop a few times and collect myself. The plot is definitely becoming more grotesque and more complex, especially as a few characters are tested beyond their limits and as a few flee the scene. And even though it has resulted in some turns that I would have preferred happened differently, I most appreciated that the characters are once again being pushed--their psychological, physical, emotional limits are being tested and the story is well-developed enough to make you interested in following them through the next volume.