Dead City Book

I half expected every step to carry me over the edge of a cliff. It was like there was a big coiled snake moving slowly through my gut. I wanted to sit down and rest, to let the sick feeling inside me pass, but I knew I couldn't. I still had miles to go before that could happen.

I would normally shun zombie fiction in much the same way I shun the new commercial vampire fiction. However, with Halloween around the corner and having enjoyed The Walking Dead I decided to give this a try.

They all moved with the same stop and start lurching motion that made me think of the drunks that sleep under the rail bridge behind the homeless shelter downtown.

And it wasn't half bad either. While it was somewhat sentimental in spots (I'm guessing the author was a recent father when he wrote this) it certainly has a few things going for it.

But first - a blurb break:
"A merciless, fast-paced and genuinely scary read that will leave you absolutely breathless" - Brian Keene

I put a bullet in his head and left him on the floor next to the candy aisle.

While I don't necessarily agree with the whole "absolutely breathless" bit, this is certainly a merciless and fast-paced read. In fact, it gets seriously crazy at times, and showcases more than a few "how the hell?" moments. Inevitably, this kind of thing detracts a bit from what you'd expect should be a generally dark affair, because, frankly, some things just can't be taken seriously.

As I mounted the steps I felt something sticky beneath my boots. I shined my light on the stairs and saw a long smear of blood leading up to the landing.

But: there are some really scary scenes, and the story takes place at night, so….

In the end, this is basically a series of (very) narrow escapes strung together by first person narrative. Expect lots of blood and a bit of banter. One thing the story does really well is the sense of disbelief that accompanies an actual zombie apocalypse. It also goes to the effort to touch on one or two philosophical issues.

In closing: it's a quick read that deals with a single night of zombie mayhem, so don't expect anything more and you'll be good. I enjoyed it enough to (at least) revisit my opinion on zombie stories, and I have already placed an order for the next book in the series (Apocalypse of the Dead). 3.5 stars, but rounded down to 3 (since goodreads doesn't allow half-stars) because of one or two irks.

..she walked hunched over so that the strands of skin that had once been her face dangled over her shoes like jelly fishing lures.