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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The only other book of Brian Keene's I have read is The Rising, but I enjoyed his take on zombies in that book, so I looked forward to reading this. Even better, in this book you get Romero-ish zombies - slow, shuffling hungry undead vs. the intelligent ones in The Rising.
This book paints a pretty bleak picture of the world after Hamelin's Revenge, a virus originating in rats that kills and then reanimates the dead. I enjoyed the main character who filled the "everyman" role quite well. There was plenty of zombie action and not a ton of filler exposition and back story. What back story there was seemed to contribute to the story and was interesting, rather than just taking up space to pad the book out.
I'll admit that I wish there had been more zombie marine life, and the first zombie fish didn't show up until 2/3rds of the way through the book. But Keene's use of human and other animal zombies, including horrific descriptions of all of them, more than make up for this.
Zombie fiction is a tough nut to crack - it's hard to do it without the visuals of a movie and still keep it interesting. Somehow, Keene has a really good handle on this and his zombie books have yet to disappoint me.
This book paints a pretty bleak picture of the world after Hamelin's Revenge, a virus originating in rats that kills and then reanimates the dead. I enjoyed the main character who filled the "everyman" role quite well. There was plenty of zombie action and not a ton of filler exposition and back story. What back story there was seemed to contribute to the story and was interesting, rather than just taking up space to pad the book out.
I'll admit that I wish there had been more zombie marine life, and the first zombie fish didn't show up until 2/3rds of the way through the book. But Keene's use of human and other animal zombies, including horrific descriptions of all of them, more than make up for this.
Zombie fiction is a tough nut to crack - it's hard to do it without the visuals of a movie and still keep it interesting. Somehow, Keene has a really good handle on this and his zombie books have yet to disappoint me.
VERDICT: ~2.9 stars for the zombie horror sub-genre. Or a flat 2 stars if rated against general or horror fiction.
Readers enjoying nastier, smellier zompocalypse survival tales will find some things to like here--and some slower parts and ridiculousness. But the gore level was good, and the main setting (a ship, eventually) was a change from the mundane.
One word of caution: The ending (yes, this will be a mild spoiler)... It leaves possibility of a sequel, but that doesn't seem likely.
Overall, DEAD SEA is slightly above average for zombie books--but that's a pretty low bar. Most zombie books I've read have been 1 to 2 stars, with a few notable exceptions*.
*Some better (dare I say 'exceptional') books in the sub-genre:
[bc:The Reapers are the Angels|8051458|The Reapers are the Angels (Reapers, #1)|Alden Bell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388716938l/8051458._SY75_.jpg|12707063] [bc:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts (The Girl with All the Gifts, #1)|M.R. Carey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403033579l/17235026._SY75_.jpg|23753235]
Readers enjoying nastier, smellier zompocalypse survival tales will find some things to like here--and some slower parts and ridiculousness. But the gore level was good, and the main setting (a ship, eventually) was a change from the mundane.
One word of caution: The ending (yes, this will be a mild spoiler)...
Spoiler
is open-ended, with no resolution.Overall, DEAD SEA is slightly above average for zombie books--but that's a pretty low bar. Most zombie books I've read have been 1 to 2 stars, with a few notable exceptions*.
*Some better (dare I say 'exceptional') books in the sub-genre:
[bc:The Reapers are the Angels|8051458|The Reapers are the Angels (Reapers, #1)|Alden Bell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388716938l/8051458._SY75_.jpg|12707063] [bc:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts (The Girl with All the Gifts, #1)|M.R. Carey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403033579l/17235026._SY75_.jpg|23753235]
This book started out slow. In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish it...but then - about the mid point of the book, I had a hard time putting it down (I did, because I needed sleep). I have read quite a bit of horror, but not so many zombie novels, but it seemed pretty innovated that the animals (well some of them) became zombies, just like the humans. Dead humans stalking you is scary, a pack of dead dogs tracking you is down right horrific. I really enjoyed this novel and would rec it to horror fans out there.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
As a huge horror fan of both films and novels, you may be surprised to find I'm not a big zombie addict. While most of my fellow horror hounds go that route, there has never been much to appeal to me about when it comes to rotting corpses stumbling around looking for brains. That being said, Keene has made quite a name for himself in the literary world as one of the best writers of the zombie sub-genre out there. Deciding to ignore the ending of his last and take it to a new direction, Dead Sea is a captivating experience not suitable for the faint of heart.
From page one it's clear this is a different type of story, as action orientated as a book can get. In every chapter there is a crisis that explodes, nothing being held back: tension, fear, violence, and blood. If you're a horror fan this sort of thing will likely be up your alley, as it's far from cheesy and is clearly an intelligent work. There were about a dozen times I thought to myself, how the hell could Keene possibly write the character out of that? It's hopeless! Amazingly things turned around every time, not with stupid cop-outs either, but with pure brilliance.
I don't mean to gush on and on, but when a book keeps making me gasp and tell my boyfriend in detail on how wonderful it is, when it keeps me up half the night and makes me late for work the next day, it's a keeper. I especially loved once they reached the boat and the inevitable slowly happened. I genuinely felt for most of the later munched-on characters, as their personalities had ample time to evolve.
The main hero, Lamar, is not your typical lead - he's a black, gay man in the ghetto trying to do right by the world. Much of the story involves him taking care of two kids he finds along the way of the zombie massacre, feeling like a failure in his own heart, yet unable to back away from responsibility once it's found. The little boy Malik, especially, was adorably sweet with his tough-guy spirit. Each character works ideally, which made it all the more tragic if something happened to them.
For the zombies themselves; whoa! Interestingly Keene decided to have the virus "jump species." First humans, and then slowly others like dogs, cats, etc. Genuinely eerie to have a zombie dog after your tail! I won't go into detail about which species were affected and which weren't (as what happens with them later - or doesn't - is something you'll be wondering for chapters if you ever read this book), but it's fascinating how he adds to and changes the legend around.
Novels that deal with the end of the world have one thing that's easy for them, and that is that it's clear for the reader what the huge obstacle is. Survival is for the fittest, or - in some cases - the lucky. It was nice to note that Keene made the reader question whether survivors were really lucky at all when they had to sit and reflect on what they were surrounded by, who they lost, and what they could potentially become. Just reading one paragraph from this review should tell you I highly recommend this fierce story, but be sure to start reading it early so you can get some sleep!
From page one it's clear this is a different type of story, as action orientated as a book can get. In every chapter there is a crisis that explodes, nothing being held back: tension, fear, violence, and blood. If you're a horror fan this sort of thing will likely be up your alley, as it's far from cheesy and is clearly an intelligent work. There were about a dozen times I thought to myself, how the hell could Keene possibly write the character out of that? It's hopeless! Amazingly things turned around every time, not with stupid cop-outs either, but with pure brilliance.
I don't mean to gush on and on, but when a book keeps making me gasp and tell my boyfriend in detail on how wonderful it is, when it keeps me up half the night and makes me late for work the next day, it's a keeper. I especially loved once they reached the boat and the inevitable slowly happened. I genuinely felt for most of the later munched-on characters, as their personalities had ample time to evolve.
The main hero, Lamar, is not your typical lead - he's a black, gay man in the ghetto trying to do right by the world. Much of the story involves him taking care of two kids he finds along the way of the zombie massacre, feeling like a failure in his own heart, yet unable to back away from responsibility once it's found. The little boy Malik, especially, was adorably sweet with his tough-guy spirit. Each character works ideally, which made it all the more tragic if something happened to them.
For the zombies themselves; whoa! Interestingly Keene decided to have the virus "jump species." First humans, and then slowly others like dogs, cats, etc. Genuinely eerie to have a zombie dog after your tail! I won't go into detail about which species were affected and which weren't (as what happens with them later - or doesn't - is something you'll be wondering for chapters if you ever read this book), but it's fascinating how he adds to and changes the legend around.
Novels that deal with the end of the world have one thing that's easy for them, and that is that it's clear for the reader what the huge obstacle is. Survival is for the fittest, or - in some cases - the lucky. It was nice to note that Keene made the reader question whether survivors were really lucky at all when they had to sit and reflect on what they were surrounded by, who they lost, and what they could potentially become. Just reading one paragraph from this review should tell you I highly recommend this fierce story, but be sure to start reading it early so you can get some sleep!
Keene's novel records the tale of Lamar Reed, a gay, black man from Fells Point (can we say three strikes against the narrator in the real world?) who finds himself down on his luck before Hamelin's Revenge spreads across the nation, bringing the infected dead back to life - human and animal alike. After gunning down his friend and only surviving neighbor, Alan, Lamar is pushed out of his hiding place by a wild fire, spreading throughout the neighborhood and city. Upon his escape, he comes across two orphaned siblings, Tasha and Malik and a gun aficionado, Mitch. The four of them manage to escape the city, rescued by a motley crew aboard a naval ship turned museum. But the danger doesn't end there as Hamelin's Revenge begins to mutate and jump upon species previously assumed to be immune.
Haunted by his past, Lamar is regrettably the "hero" of the story and is told so more than once by a few characters. He doesn't feel like the hero they need, but the hero the book deserves (and that's not a harsh insult whatsoever). It makes him believable. After all he has done to fight the stereotype bestowed upon African-Americans from Fells Point, he feels that he has become exactly what he has fought against for so long. And to top it off, he feels his sexuality is just another thorn on his side. He carries excess baggage that he's unwilling to let go even as the world is literally eating one another.
His journey through it all, leaves him pondering the end. If the hero is supposed to be heroic, lead his flock into safety, bring knowledge forward at the dawn of a new age, then what happens to the hero when the world around him is filled with the groans and moans of the undead and the screams of those who cannot out run them? Who is left to tell the tale of the hero after all is said and done? And exactly why does it matter that he continues on?
Haunted by his past, Lamar is regrettably the "hero" of the story and is told so more than once by a few characters. He doesn't feel like the hero they need, but the hero the book deserves (and that's not a harsh insult whatsoever). It makes him believable. After all he has done to fight the stereotype bestowed upon African-Americans from Fells Point, he feels that he has become exactly what he has fought against for so long. And to top it off, he feels his sexuality is just another thorn on his side. He carries excess baggage that he's unwilling to let go even as the world is literally eating one another.
His journey through it all, leaves him pondering the end. If the hero is supposed to be heroic, lead his flock into safety, bring knowledge forward at the dawn of a new age, then what happens to the hero when the world around him is filled with the groans and moans of the undead and the screams of those who cannot out run them? Who is left to tell the tale of the hero after all is said and done? And exactly why does it matter that he continues on?
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Stuck at sea with complete strangers as the world goes to hell all around you would not be the best of circumstances! I like zombies that are dumb as stumps but relentless. Zombies kill you by never tiring and overwhelming in shear numbers. Add to the mix cross species infection and we are screwed dude!