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In the Land of the Blind
Like everyone else he knew, Steven's heart did not beat. Instead it lay dead in his chest, as docile as his brain and his lungs and his soul. So when he first heard the faint beating sound coming from outside his bedroom window, he didn't know what to think.
"In the Land of the Blind" is a 3,000-word nontraditional zombie story that won the 10th Annual Chiaroscuro Short Story Contest. It was also the inspiration for Robert Swartwood's zombie thriller LAND OF THE DEAD. The prologue and first three chapters of LAND OF THE DEAD are included in this e-book.
"In the Land of the Blind" is a 3,000-word nontraditional zombie story that won the 10th Annual Chiaroscuro Short Story Contest. It was also the inspiration for Robert Swartwood's zombie thriller LAND OF THE DEAD. The prologue and first three chapters of LAND OF THE DEAD are included in this e-book.
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 20, 2011
23 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Robert Swartwood
62 books308 followersUSA Today bestselling and ITW Thriller Award–winning author of The Serial Killer's Wife, The Killing Room, Man of Wax, and several other novels. He created the term "hint fiction" and edited Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 7, 2020
Simply brilliant take on the zombie genre.
This was the Google Play Books version.
This was the Google Play Books version.
November 8, 2019
I picked this up because it was a free Kindle download and it had zombies in it and honestly because the cover looks pretty cool!
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***
So apparently zombies have conquered the world and have created their own society. Our main character Steven, is a 10 year old zombie boy and he hears a strange thumping outside. His friends and his parents can't hear it so he goes out and digs up a small cube of some kind. He meets a living person who he calls a "zombie." The "zombie" tells him that there are many colors, tastes, sounds, touches and smells to the world.
The "Hunters," then arrive and dispatch the "zombie." The Hunters are like the zombie police who come and kill any living human they find in order to keep peace. Steven returns home with his little cube and cups it in his hands while his parents argue downstairs. The cube melts and is absorbed into his body. His heart starts beating and he is alive again. He hears sounds, smells scents, sees colors and feels touches on his body. He loves every second of it but his parents call the Hunters and he is killed. But he regrets nothing as he as experienced life as it was intended to be.
***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS***
I really enjoyed this book! I loved how this author was able to describe things so well and was able to remind us of the little joys of life such as feeling a fresh breeze blow across our bodies, or feel the sun on our body as it rises. Plus it was really a unique take on the zombie apocalypse! The zombies are the new norm and the humans are seen as the monsters that need to be eradicated. But we have our main character who is a zombie who realizes how wonderful it is to be alive.
My only complaint is that this story is just too short. I would have liked to know more about what this cube was that he found and more about who the human was that Steven came across.
Check it out!
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***
So apparently zombies have conquered the world and have created their own society. Our main character Steven, is a 10 year old zombie boy and he hears a strange thumping outside. His friends and his parents can't hear it so he goes out and digs up a small cube of some kind. He meets a living person who he calls a "zombie." The "zombie" tells him that there are many colors, tastes, sounds, touches and smells to the world.
The "Hunters," then arrive and dispatch the "zombie." The Hunters are like the zombie police who come and kill any living human they find in order to keep peace. Steven returns home with his little cube and cups it in his hands while his parents argue downstairs. The cube melts and is absorbed into his body. His heart starts beating and he is alive again. He hears sounds, smells scents, sees colors and feels touches on his body. He loves every second of it but his parents call the Hunters and he is killed. But he regrets nothing as he as experienced life as it was intended to be.
***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS***
I really enjoyed this book! I loved how this author was able to describe things so well and was able to remind us of the little joys of life such as feeling a fresh breeze blow across our bodies, or feel the sun on our body as it rises. Plus it was really a unique take on the zombie apocalypse! The zombies are the new norm and the humans are seen as the monsters that need to be eradicated. But we have our main character who is a zombie who realizes how wonderful it is to be alive.
My only complaint is that this story is just too short. I would have liked to know more about what this cube was that he found and more about who the human was that Steven came across.
Check it out!
June 22, 2013
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
So imagine a world where zombie and human roles are reversed: the zombie is the societal norm, and human are feared and hunted on sight. A little undead boy one day hears the thump thump thump of a heartbeat and wonders if he's hallucinating. He goes out to the backyard and digs up a mysterious box which is emitting the thumping, heartbeat-like sound. And meets a living human, er...zombie...who tells him about colors and emotions and life.
Poor little undead boy.
I'm reading "The Dishonored Dead" next, a full-length novel set in the same world.
So imagine a world where zombie and human roles are reversed: the zombie is the societal norm, and human are feared and hunted on sight. A little undead boy one day hears the thump thump thump of a heartbeat and wonders if he's hallucinating. He goes out to the backyard and digs up a mysterious box which is emitting the thumping, heartbeat-like sound. And meets a living human, er...zombie...who tells him about colors and emotions and life.
Poor little undead boy.
I'm reading "The Dishonored Dead" next, a full-length novel set in the same world.
July 31, 2012
Confusing. If the author elaborated more on this story, it would be great. It has the potential to be an amazing zombie story. I'd definitely like to read more by Robert Swartwood.
August 24, 2012
Want more. I like the role reversal, just s few things I question, but they could be ironed out in the whole story too.
February 21, 2019
Loves this short.
I don't normally read about zombies. Just thinking they all walk about groaning. This short story made me think again. Give it a read. It won't take long. I will be very surprised if you don't enjoy it.
I don't normally read about zombies. Just thinking they all walk about groaning. This short story made me think again. Give it a read. It won't take long. I will be very surprised if you don't enjoy it.
November 5, 2018
A very interesting take on the zombie apocalypse that I don't think I've run into before. I liked it and would like to delve more into the story.
February 27, 2014
I'm not giving this story 2 stars because of anything the author did or didn't do per se. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into this. I found the premise to be very new and different which is wonderful for a genre that's been bombarded like this one has, but this just didn't work for me. Part of the reason I love zombie stories so much is the gore and utter hopelessness of a dystopian and dying world but with this kind of story it kinda takes all of that out of it. The zombies in this story are actually the living and breathing people and its the actual zombies that are considered to be human and normal so they hunt down those that are still living and seeing because they are the scary monster zombies. Not the ACTUAL zombies, who act totally normal (this kind of defeats the reason why I love this genre in the first place). This was a prequel to a longer novel titled "The Dishonored Dead" and unfortunately this short story just showed me that it wouldn't be a book I would appreciate as much as others might. I'm sure there are some great philosophical and psychologically interesting points in the book itself but that's not really what I was looking for in this.
March 22, 2013
This was a zombie story, like the subtitle suggests. But it was an interesting take on the genre. The twist to the genre was a little confusing at first. This made me a little iffy on whether or not the story worked for me as a whole. Other elements of it worked well for me though, once I got past the reversal of the zombie label.
This short story was intriguing enough to make me want to know more about the world it was written in. What lead the world to be the way it is, etc.
I’d recommend this books to some people. Just remember to keep an open mind when beginning it. I was caught off-guard.
This short story was intriguing enough to make me want to know more about the world it was written in. What lead the world to be the way it is, etc.
I’d recommend this books to some people. Just remember to keep an open mind when beginning it. I was caught off-guard.
January 6, 2013
Robert Swartwood, In the Land of the Blind (RMS Press, 2011)
Interesting, though too short, story that reverses the usual zombie conventions: while the scenario is the usual, where the zombie plague has wiped out all but a handful of survivors, Swartwood's story is told from the perspective of one of the living dead who encounters a living human, and must make a tough decision that will alter his existence forever. Swartwood eventually turned this into the novel The Dishonored Dead; judging by this it looks well worth checking out. ***
Interesting, though too short, story that reverses the usual zombie conventions: while the scenario is the usual, where the zombie plague has wiped out all but a handful of survivors, Swartwood's story is told from the perspective of one of the living dead who encounters a living human, and must make a tough decision that will alter his existence forever. Swartwood eventually turned this into the novel The Dishonored Dead; judging by this it looks well worth checking out. ***
November 3, 2013
Allegories seldom work well as literary pieces, they're usually too blatant, characters too flat, the moral too simple. 'In the Land of the Blind' is a wonderful exception to the norm as Swartwood handles the story, characters, and moral theme adeptly. The 'reveal' is gradual, gentle, and transparent which allows the reader to enter into the main character's enlightenment, confusion, transformation, and final acceptance with full empathy. Wonderful story about 'zombies' but in a literary vein. Refreshingly different. Recommended.
April 17, 2013
The premise here is a surprising one, and a very good one! What if YOU were the zombie? Only, zombie means human? And the humans are what WE would think of as zombies? Confusing? At first... but if we were the ones to be feared, would we consider ourselves zombies? No, we'd call ourselves humans, and fear those different than us.
While this was extremely short, it was also extremely well written, and makes me want to know more about this upside down world.
While this was extremely short, it was also extremely well written, and makes me want to know more about this upside down world.
May 25, 2012
An interesting short story with a twist. Zombies are the norm (and do not call themselves zombies), while humans are the feared species.
I don't want to say much more than that, as it would be too easy to give too much away. I found this interesting enough, to add the novel that this short story inspired, to my wishlist.
I don't want to say much more than that, as it would be too easy to give too much away. I found this interesting enough, to add the novel that this short story inspired, to my wishlist.
April 1, 2011
This short story takes place in the same universe as Swartwood's forthcoming novel, The Dishonored Dead. The concept is interesting, but not taken far enough, not fully explored and realized. It will make you think, though.
January 3, 2012
This was only a short story, but it could have been fleshed out a bit more. It's a nice reversal of roles in a zombie world. I realize it was the inspiration for a novel by the same author, and this does make me want to attempt that read. I'd give this a 2.5
December 3, 2012
This book was... I don't know. I kind of didn't understand it much. I was getting confused reading it. It could be because i was falling asleep AS i was reading it, but I gave it three stars because i was interested, just confused. :\
May 5, 2012
Interesting change from the usual zombie stories. Good short story.
November 21, 2012
Intriguing premise. I found this to be a pretty cool twist on the zombie theme.
January 8, 2013
I thought this was a pretty neat book. It was interesting to see a new twist on the zombie genre, and also on how our perception can affect things.
January 25, 2013
Good for a tweener book but otherwise my rating is a big "Meh!" :)
July 22, 2013
definitely a different take on zombies, a little confusing, still don't know if I get the whole premise. still enjoyed it for some reason though
May 23, 2013
Meh...
October 19, 2013
A short story where we are the zombies. Beautiful writing and a little sad.
October 10, 2014
Too short to really make up my mind. Made me want for more closure even though it was a bit too esoteric.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews