John Brian Costa's Asura is a fast paced zombie-apocalypse novel in three parts, it takes place in an imaginary landscape where he uses characters as concepts and other characters as devices for a greater allusion and allegory tale in magical realism from which the characters place in the book represent a higher metaphor of world views and societal problems. He uses scientific breakthroughs as elements of the overall setting such simple examples as mirror physics, the hypodermic needled syringe, pharmocolgy, DNA technology, and drone technology. He blends occult myth with world cultures as the reader follows Yume the protagonist through his dreams and anti-heroic ambitions as a privy savvy counter culture drug fiends, nihilist, and skateboarding computer hacker. His world soon takes a turn for the worst when he along with his girlfriend Kagami get thrown into the criminal justice system which stems their fingerprints, DNA, and mug shots. Then as if things weren't bad enough- as they struggle with drug addiction upon their release the impending catastrophic pandemic of...