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The Dead Files: Vol. 1
A collection of tales of the zombie apocalypse, tales of love and devotion, blood and guts, and heroes and villains.
The first part of a new on-going series from UKZDL, this book pulls together a collective of new writers, bringing new and fresh takes on the zombie genre.
The first part of a new on-going series from UKZDL, this book pulls together a collective of new writers, bringing new and fresh takes on the zombie genre.
80 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 16, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 24, 2012
I may be biased as I wrote one of the stories in this collection but I really enjoyed this. Zombies are not always the easiest subject to be original with but there a few really nice ideas in here.
I particularly enjoyed 'The Key To The Gates Of Hell' (which I think could easily be stretched to a full length novel) and also 'The Eternal Sunshine Of An Undead Mind' and 'For Love'.
Well worth a look (and cheap at the price too).
I particularly enjoyed 'The Key To The Gates Of Hell' (which I think could easily be stretched to a full length novel) and also 'The Eternal Sunshine Of An Undead Mind' and 'For Love'.
Well worth a look (and cheap at the price too).
July 10, 2012
I'll state for the record two things: firstly, zombie-lit is not really my fave genre, and secondly that I am aquainted with one the authors. As a collection, and as self-published material, it suffers the same hiccup as almost everything so produced (including my own work), that of poor editing and proofing. That doesn't, of course, detract from the quality of the tales. The tales are (as my review title suggests) a fairly eclectic mix, and one of the seven stories alone occupies roughly half the book - a novella in its own right.
'Are you hungry, my love?' is a short tale. I would say that the story is a little obvious and predictable (even within the genre), but is handled with enough style in the telling and the language that it overcomes that obstacle, attempting to provide an insight into the plague-ridden mind of the undead.
'5 Rings' was, I think an opportunity missed. A nice idea with great potential was rendered less impressive by its brevity and high speed rush to a conclusion. That may have been the point of the tale but, if so, it missed the mark for me.
'Zs under the bed' is a poetic addition. Again, I'm not sure that works for me. Poetry and drooling zombie hordes seem a strange mix (and I'm not a poetry buff by a long shot) but from my minimal understanding, it seems good in terms of content and style and no doubt it will hit the spot for others.
'The Son' for me is the highest point in the collection. It is fresh and fascinating and takes a very brave step that could offend some folk (but then would those easily offended folk be likely to read zombie books?). A twist on a very familiar event, the story is well told and draws the reader in.
'Eternal sunshine of an undead mind' was again a little predictable for me, though engaging enough that I didn't feel inclined to skip it, so it worked.
'For Love' is another poem, though this one hit me a great deal closer than the first and left an impact, so I consider it to be a rousing success. Interesting and funny in strange ways, I enjoyed it and read it twice.
'The Key to the Gates of Hell' due to its length feels like the book's main event for which the other tales were a warm-up act. After 'The Son', 'Key' is my second favourite in the collection. Set in a near dark future, the story has fascinating echoes of the present seen through quasi-scientific, quasi-religious eyes.
'Are you hungry, my love?' is a short tale. I would say that the story is a little obvious and predictable (even within the genre), but is handled with enough style in the telling and the language that it overcomes that obstacle, attempting to provide an insight into the plague-ridden mind of the undead.
'5 Rings' was, I think an opportunity missed. A nice idea with great potential was rendered less impressive by its brevity and high speed rush to a conclusion. That may have been the point of the tale but, if so, it missed the mark for me.
'Zs under the bed' is a poetic addition. Again, I'm not sure that works for me. Poetry and drooling zombie hordes seem a strange mix (and I'm not a poetry buff by a long shot) but from my minimal understanding, it seems good in terms of content and style and no doubt it will hit the spot for others.
'The Son' for me is the highest point in the collection. It is fresh and fascinating and takes a very brave step that could offend some folk (but then would those easily offended folk be likely to read zombie books?). A twist on a very familiar event, the story is well told and draws the reader in.
'Eternal sunshine of an undead mind' was again a little predictable for me, though engaging enough that I didn't feel inclined to skip it, so it worked.
'For Love' is another poem, though this one hit me a great deal closer than the first and left an impact, so I consider it to be a rousing success. Interesting and funny in strange ways, I enjoyed it and read it twice.
'The Key to the Gates of Hell' due to its length feels like the book's main event for which the other tales were a warm-up act. After 'The Son', 'Key' is my second favourite in the collection. Set in a near dark future, the story has fascinating echoes of the present seen through quasi-scientific, quasi-religious eyes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews