The Nekropolis Archives

Matt Richter #1-3

by Tim Waggoner

Meet Matt Richter. Private Eye. Zombie.

His mean streets are the city of the dead, the shadowy realm known as Nekropolis. You’ve got to keep your head in Nekropolis. But when you’re a zombie attempting to battle the vampire lords, that’s not as easy as it seems…

This massive omnibus editions collects all three Matt Richter novels — Nekropolis, Dead Streets and Dark War — plus a swathe of short stories too.

File Under: Urban Fantasy [ Tooth And Claw | Flirting With Danger | Underworld | A Head For Business ]

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror, Zombies, Paranormal, Fiction, Vampires

912 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Tim Waggoner's first novel came out in 2001, and since then, he's published over sixty novels and eight collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. He's written tie-in fiction based on Supernatural, The X-Files, Alien, Doctor Who, Conan the Barbarian, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Grimm, and Transformers, among others, and he's written novelizations for films such as Ti West’s X-Trilogy, Halloween Kills, Terrifier 2 and 3, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He’s also the author of the award-winning guide to horror Writing in the Dark. He’s a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, a one-time winner of the Scribe Award, and he’s been a two-time finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and a one-time finalist for the Splatterpunk Award. He’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've reviewed the three main titles separately, but I wanted to put down a quick note about the short stories in this book, too -- they're worth reading, bridging the gaps and filling in the holes quite satisfactorily. I'm glad I had the collection both for those and because it was easy to go from one book to another without having to pause. Which is weird for me to say at the moment because -- look at my currently-reading shelf -- I'm doing nothing but pause.

Overall, the collection of three books could have tighter writing and so on, but I found it really fun and addictive, and I'm going to keep reading Tim Waggoner's work, there's no doubt of that.

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys*]

I won this book from the blog http://www.mybookishways.com/ whoohoo!!

[Brian Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of Paranormal Fantasy books out there that have grown popular, but none that are as gruesome, imaginative, and fun as Tim Waggoner’s Nekropolis Archives. His Matt Richter series is not only laugh-out-loud funny and action-packed, but full of creations and concepts that make his writing stand out for what he could envision. All of this blends seamlessly into a narrative, that while might feel familiar to genre fans, is uniquely all Waggoner’s.

“The Nekropolis Archives” is an omnibus that collects the first three books in the Matt Richter series along with three Richter short stories. The first short is more of a prologue, setting the reader up for the first novel. “Nekropolis” introduces us to Matt, the only sentient zombie to ever exist, who lives out his days working as a sort of Private Investigator, a livelihood held over from his days as a Detective with the Cleveland Police Department. Here he meets the Hybrid-Vampire Devona, and takes on her cause – a missing artifact from the Vampire Lord’s collection. A great deal of twists and turns ensue, and the day is saved. A short story is inserted before the second novel and the third, detailing some events that occurring not seen within the novels. Needless to say, Matt and Devona find more adventure, madness, and horror in every book.

There are vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, and the dead in Nekropolis, and those are just the major nationalities. There’s a Gorgon whose snakeheads’ have video cameras in them, a brothel run by the descendent of Mr. Hyde, a gossip columnist who is ‘reality-challenged,’ a bar run by a man with just a skull for a head, golems that work as a security force, and hundreds more. There are vines that eat people, living cars made out of flesh, burning rivers that separate the five dominions, a black sun in the sky casting a perpetual gloom over the dimension, and oh, Chihuahua-piranha hybrid creatures that attack in hordes at random.

This massive tome was 900 pages, and never once did I consider putting it down for something else. I got bored with Jim Butcher quicker, and while I like Simon R. Green, he lacks the wit found among the pages of Tim Waggoner. Most other genre work of this type I don’t find nearly as dark – or as funny. I highly recommend this to fans of Paranormal Fantasy, for those looking for something more.

[Aimee]

I enjoyed the world building, the characters, the stories - but I had trouble getting past the descriptions that were basically copy&pasted from other sections, short stories or novels. It's Mr Waggoner's prose, so he can use it as he likes, but I actually did not finish this collection. I just gave up. It felt like the same things were being said over and over, partially to keep the noir feeling going.

I may come back to this later, but reading them all at once was a big mistake.

[ChocoKraken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fantastic sense of humour, brilliant scenarios and quite enjoyable characters until everything turns out into a challenge about what's is stranger in this world half way to the end of the book. It looks like the writer looses his inventive and stick up together many different casual encounters and situations. Also I didn't appreciate at all the sudden feeling between the protagonist and his colleague (which happened all in one night): sounds too much of a cliché and too much poor of sense to me.
I don't think I'd suggest this book for I closed it and obligated myself to bring it back to read twice.

[Amarinske · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars with an average of 6.99/10

Disarmed and Dangerous
3/5 stars with an average of 6.4/10
I generally like these kinds of stories, even the really short ones. Detectives are a bit nostalgic for me. And I did enjoy this one but it also was pretty predictable and maybe not the best execution I have ever seen for this kind of story. All in all, this is ok, but not really noteworthy whatsoever. It feels like something that's fine when you read it, but you don't need it and can do without. It feels like the actual novels are probably gonna do better work. The world-building done here will probably be repeated in the first actual novel anyway. But it was fun, nothing special though, in my opinion.

Meet Matt Richter, Private Eye, Zombie
3/5 stars with an average of 6.25/10
As I predicted, some of the world-building that appeared in Disarmed and Dangerous was repeated in this book. What I didn't expect was that the sentences were almost literal copies of one another. The writing wasn't anything special, it was easy enough to follow and I liked the narrative voice of Matt. But the plot was kinda average. I've seen this stuff before. Normally I like detectives and mysteries, but the execution wasn't there for me. It was fun and the dynamics between Matt and Devona were fun and cute. I didn't expect something like a romance to develop in here, especially considering the story takes place over only a couple of days but it was done well and made sense. I also liked the ending. I hope we get to see her again.
And even though the world-building could've been a bit more in-depth, I like what I've seen so far. I'd love to see it expanded.

The Midnight Watch
3/5 stars with an average of 6.5/10
This was a fun little story that gives some background on what Devona is doing and how she got her business The Midnight Watch. It reads more like one or several chapters from a story or maybe a prequel to Dead Streets. Something that isn't necessary but gives some nice background.

Dead Streets
3/5 stars with an average of 7/10
There was some more world-building happening, but not as much as I wanted to see. I like that we got to see what basically amends to Nekropolis prison as well as the warden of said facility. We got to see and get some reveals about Frankenstein. Which was a great pleasure even for me, who still needs to read that story. It built up some more characters, which makes the world we're reading the story in feel more vivid. The plot was pretty fast-paced and I liked it, but I am, at my core, more a character-based reader. Even though we did get more development in the character and world area, it just wasn't enough. We still know about nothing about the cabby who just turns up at the most convenient times and generally the explanations of the motives the antagonists give work but aren't that strong. And it feels kinda similar for Matt, to be honest. There was no reason for him to continue as a PI, yet he did, which is fine, but the main motivations in these stories more often than not don't seem to have to do with his PI work and more with him not being cautious enough and getting into trouble for no good reason.
Don't get me wrong, this makes for some fun plot action. It also doesn't really give Matt's character a lot of depth. I guess that might not be the point of the story though. It happens more often with paranormal detective-type stories. The character gets more fleshed out the further in you get. But maybe it's also just the way it's written. The Graphic Audio alongside the physical read definitely helps with the immersion. I don't know how high my enjoyment would've otherwise been.

I suppose this is also a bit horror-comedy. The situations often are ridiculous, but it works because of the setting. That doesn't mean it isn't comedic though. I feel like not everything is supposed to be taken seriously even if the plot is pretty dang serious.

Zombie Interrupted
4/5 stars with an average of 7.25/10
Some nice backstory on when Matt uses Charon's coin to be alive for a day. Will Matt and Devona become pregnant? I also like we got to see what Matt had been doing since his deal with Orcon. He's like King Midas, but instead of gold, he turns stuff into silver. Interesting twist, IMO.

Dark War
4/5 stars with an average of 7,35/10
Well, this ended with a bang. I liked the way we got answers about the sun and moon. I liked the character dynamics and the characters as well. But I don't have very strong feelings about a lot of the other stuff. The reveals were fun and the plot was too, and the ending felt spectacular enough. For what I was expecting. Which means it was fun and fast-paced. It didn't fully satisfy me though. It didn't really feel like the ending of the series (I know there's another short story after this one that's not included in this bind-up, but even with that it's somehow not entirely satisfying).
There was more world-building in this installment, but not really enough for my liking and the politics that came up was relatively shallow in my opinion. Not everybody can write politics well and that's fine, that's not really what this book series was meant to be anyway, but it was still not satisfying enough for me. My fave twist was probably that Devona was pregnant of twins and not a singleton and that they are fraternal twins.

[Cindy Kerwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I really didn't like these but I gave it a 2 stars instead of 1 because he had a great idea, just not a great follow through. The idea, characters and story could be cool, but the plot and the telling of the story was lacking. And since I listened to these as Graphic Audio, I HATED the main characters voice! It was whiney and nasally and drove me frickin nuts! It was painful to listen to the story because it bugged me so much. I loved loved loved the Eric Carter voices, I was impressed with that series but this one is a miss. I won't finish the series after these 3 books.

[Wes · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good story, with major flaws.

The story itself was great! Unfortunately, it was SO repetitive that it made me ill. With the help of a good editor, this would be a 4 or 5 star read.

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the beginning, it’s a wonderfully graphic (and a little bit disgusting) tale of a zombie PI. But, by the end, it’s so sugary sweet that it loses the morbid charm that kept you reading in the first place. 2 stars for turning into a cozy mystery.

[Sue Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the alternative world that has been created and the characters that inhabit it. There are other books which have similar nightmare worlds but the author has brought something new to the gene. It had me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting concept, but not interesting enough to keep me going beyond the first book.

Sharing with a mate who's interested in something different.

[Brett Grossmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid world building and good horror noir fun. Collects all the books in one place making a nice long read

[Sunni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my usual book but I really enjoyed the world building that went into this series!

[Magnus Bäcklund · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay and amusing book. Sadly it was one of those where lots of interesting stuff never got developed passed interesting stuff but on the whole a fun read.

[JJ DeBenedictis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of three novels and three short stories. I had read the first book (review here) and liked it pretty well in a "This is good dumb fun" sort of way. The collection was a better deal than buying the next two books individually, so this is what I got.

The story follows Matthew Richter, a self-willed zombie with no brain-eating tendencies but with a strong need to earn a living so he can keep purchasing the preservation spells that prevent him from rotting. He lives in Nekropolis, a city in an alternate dimension that the "darkfolk" of Earth moved to 400 years ago. Darkfolk consist of vampires, werewolves, demons, etc, plus some much weirder critters, and Matt works as a private investigator. Given that Nekropolis has only a faintly-glowing sun (the better to preserve the health of its vampire population, y'know), the tone of the book is almost noir by default--albeit a campy, comedic noir.

The world-building is the best part of the stories. Nekropolis is endlessly weird and wonderfully imaginative, and its inhabitants are remarkably likeable and endearing given they're monsters -- sometimes very dangerous ones.

Where my "meh" rating of the book comes from is the plot and prose quality. The prose is actually fine -- not beautiful and not irritating -- but that merely-workmanlike quality acerbates the real problem, which is that the plots are sometimes only moderately entertaining and they are never, ever surprising. It seemed I was constantly seeing who the baddies were and what the evil plot was going to be waaaaay in advance of the characters, and that made story events that should have been exciting seem plodding.

The short stories in the collection aren't very well formed; they were mostly there to act as bridges between the novels. The books themselves did better at telling a complete story, but the quality of that story varied. I liked the first novel best, the second one seemed a bit dull throughout, and I thought the last one started in a similarly dull way but then picked up and became pretty enjoyable again in in the last half of the book.

In summary, I'd still recommend these books as good dumb fun, and buying this collection rather than the individual novels is definitely the most cost-effective way to read the series. The charming characters and wonderfully odd world is a good reason to pick this series up, but the plots are a little too easy to predict.

[Kashmira Majumdar · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is physically painfully to slog through the first book. The worldbuilding is AMAZING, an incredibly creative mix of the macabre and black comedy, but it reads like a comic book. Talking to people, discovering clues, fight scenes, rinse and repeat. You can set your watch by the fight scenes, I s2g.

Worse: the side characters are wonderfully fleshed-out, whereas Matt and Devona, our lovely leads, are made of cardboard.

Devona is occasionally useful in a fight (realistic for a sheltered, naïve, stereotypical ingenue) but when she gets upset with Matt for being blasé about a corpse found in an alley (her own family member, natch) and then RUNS OUT OF THE ALLEY IN TEARS (after lecturing Matt about how they can't just leave an effing dead body), I. Am. Done. I can't take this old wine in a really fancy new bottle anymore. Goodbye. DNF. Will maybe resume it another day.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was some really fantastic stuff in this book. I like the world building and the characters. Matt is actually the stiffest character in there (yes, bad puns in the review I know). There were tons of secondary characters that were just excellent ideas. The gossip columnist that will literally disappear if people don't notice her? Great idea!

Here's the frustrating part: there are so many great ideas and wonderful characters it was horribly distracting to run into a character from a Mel Brooks movie in the middle of the story. There are other examples in there, but I'm not going to point them out. They were so very frustrating and distracting I remember them as much as I remember the story.

If you can get past those things, I'd say you should check this detective out!

[Mphecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jess told me about the original short story version of Nekropolis that she discovered at the public library when she was younger, so when I learned that there was an expanded and updated version being printed, I ordered a copy from the UK to send her as a gift. After finishing it, she loaned it to me and I was hooked. Waggoner creates an interesting original (and yet also familiar) setting for his ghosts and goblins, and Matt Richter, Zombie Private Eye (I'll never get sick of that name) drags us along for very odd and fun adventures. I'm glad to see that the books were popular enough for a collected edition, and I hope that there's more on the way.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting collection of stories set in the alternate universe of Nekropolis, inhabited by vampires, demons and witches. I loved the complex and intricate world built by a creative genius, the characters are well developed and quirky. I only wish there was more. The last story ended on such a cliff hanger...

[Bart · Rating 3 out of 5]

it has potential, but the writer keeps repeating descriptions of certain characters. now i'm reading for the third time that Lazlo does not believe in seatbelts...very, very annoying. what was the editor paid for? I'm gonna have to go ahead and close the book on this one...

[Maryanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this authors style.An amazing romp through the Nekropolis with Max ,Devona and a wonderful bunch of weird wonderful characters in a universe like no other.I would love to know what the twins are like maybe one day eh Mr Waggoner

[Kris Turner Moskol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish someone would show this series to Tim Burton. It would make a killer film!

[Peter Okeafor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one of my all time favorite series. Tim Waggoner has a new twist on zombies, vampires, and cyberpunk. This series is a creative tour de force.

[Lavinia · Rating 5 out of 5]

an oustanding atmosphere of mayhem and chaos. Im on the next train!

[Mkittysamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series and I hope there is more to come! Zombie Private Investigator Matt R is really smart! I want to know what happens next, especially with the twins !

[Bill Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so good I am looking forward to reading again in a couple years!

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally don't do zombies. But this was good!

[Sandra]

$8.99 for all three

[David Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic nor if your not involves zombies, vamps demons and the end of all things. Superb.

[Melanie]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14580904