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The Dead Series #1
Dead Air
When a man suffering from a rare disease receives a debilitating head injury, the treatment given him mutates his affliction into a highly contagious virus. As the disease spreads, it first kills its victims and then reanimates them into beings that are compelled to eat ravenously and crave human flesh.
In Clearwater, Florida, Steve Wendell is following the stories of people attacking each other, but is unaware of the situation. When Heather Johansen, a Sheriff’s Deputy who is interested in Steve as more than a friend, tells him the real story of cities being overrun by the dead, Steve makes plans to barricade himself in the fifteen story bank building where the radio station manages has its suite of offices.
After locking himself in with Heather and eight others, the group continues to broadcast live as the dead surround their redoubt and search for a way in. Coming across a ten year-old girl that is immune to the disease, the group tries to find a way to transport her across a land filled with the flesh-eating dead to a government facility where she can be studied and a cure found.
In Clearwater, Florida, Steve Wendell is following the stories of people attacking each other, but is unaware of the situation. When Heather Johansen, a Sheriff’s Deputy who is interested in Steve as more than a friend, tells him the real story of cities being overrun by the dead, Steve makes plans to barricade himself in the fifteen story bank building where the radio station manages has its suite of offices.
After locking himself in with Heather and eight others, the group continues to broadcast live as the dead surround their redoubt and search for a way in. Coming across a ten year-old girl that is immune to the disease, the group tries to find a way to transport her across a land filled with the flesh-eating dead to a government facility where she can be studied and a cure found.
150 pages, ebook
First published April 6, 2012
45 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Jon Schafer
15 books17 followersJon Schafer (Born February 21st, 1965) is an artist, a writer, and used to design amusement parks, casinos, and family entertainment centers as well as running his own architectural design firm.
So that means in this economy, he work as a telemarketer.
He loves to write and has traveled around the world, so he uses a lot of his life's experience in the background of his books.
He served in the Marine Corps, and although he would never do it again in a million years, cherishes every minute and memory of that time.
His first book, Dead Air, is number one of a four book Zombie apocalypse series, with Dead Calm coming out soon. His second book, Immigrant Song, takes a hard look at illegal immigration but with a twist.
He is a Master Diver and Dive Master through PADI, so to be near some of the best diving in the world he currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.
When you buy one of his books, please rate it. He relies on his customers to tell him how they liked his work and doesn't have family and friends flesh out his reviews.
So that means in this economy, he work as a telemarketer.
He loves to write and has traveled around the world, so he uses a lot of his life's experience in the background of his books.
He served in the Marine Corps, and although he would never do it again in a million years, cherishes every minute and memory of that time.
His first book, Dead Air, is number one of a four book Zombie apocalypse series, with Dead Calm coming out soon. His second book, Immigrant Song, takes a hard look at illegal immigration but with a twist.
He is a Master Diver and Dive Master through PADI, so to be near some of the best diving in the world he currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida.
When you buy one of his books, please rate it. He relies on his customers to tell him how they liked his work and doesn't have family and friends flesh out his reviews.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 11, 2016
After blatantly lying about the cause of Prader-Willi syndrome (it's a chromosomal disorder, not bacteria attacking the hypothalamus) I couldn't get much further through this book. It's funny, but if a made up disease had been used then I probably would have read it. My aversion probably has something to do with the fact that it looks like lack of fact checking. It may be fiction but if you're going to set it in the present day then you have to get real world facts right, otherwise your story doesn't have any foundations.
I'm still going to set date finished because I'm finished with this book.
I'm still going to set date finished because I'm finished with this book.
July 7, 2019
Great characters and story but needs serious proofing
I really enjoyed this book - loved the characterization and little twists like zombies hiding in the sewers, BUT this is a really good story marred by terrible proofing/grammatical and other errors that would have led to me abandoning it if I’d liked it any less. It’s a shame because I think this will turn off a lot of readers.
I really enjoyed this book - loved the characterization and little twists like zombies hiding in the sewers, BUT this is a really good story marred by terrible proofing/grammatical and other errors that would have led to me abandoning it if I’d liked it any less. It’s a shame because I think this will turn off a lot of readers.
May 23, 2025
This was a decent read and don't be fooled into thinking I struggled to finish it as it took me so long to finish it. It took so long as I continually borrow books from my library.
What would you do if there was a new virus which turned people in to zombies? Having lived through the recent Covid pandemic I know I would follow the rules and guidance given.
What would you do if there was a new virus which turned people in to zombies? Having lived through the recent Covid pandemic I know I would follow the rules and guidance given.
July 1, 2020
Good solid start to a series
I enjoyed this because the main character is believable - which for a zombie novel is saying something. To book 2!
I enjoyed this because the main character is believable - which for a zombie novel is saying something. To book 2!
September 16, 2025
Great author
This is the 3rd time I'm reading this series. I guess that would mean I love all 4 of these books.
This is the 3rd time I'm reading this series. I guess that would mean I love all 4 of these books.
August 25, 2017
I liked the start of this book. A car accident victim with a rare condition that leaves him hungry all the time, is given up as about to die by doctors in the hospital. They decide to do some extra tests for research purposes on his brain but what they do triggers a reaction in his condition and turns him into a zombie. How realistic this might be is open to debate but I put that aside and enjoyed seeing something a bit different as the reason for Patient Zero. I also enjoyed the way the scenes in the hospital were written and I was amused by the interaction between the obnoxious doctor and his angry and very un-PC nurse!
The problem starts with the characters. The doctor was obnoxious but he got his so that was ok by me. The rest of the cast include Meat the rude alcoholic radio DJ who does nothing but party and makes me want to hit him. His long suffering boss Steve is a bit on the bland side for a hero. He has a girlfriend he doesn't really love, a lack of patience with those around him ie the boy at the store who was doing him a favour and we just get so much pointless information about his life. His girlfriend is a bit of a cardboard cutout with no personality and a desire to spend all his money.
We also have the characters who are just introduced so we can see them die, so we didn't need all the description of who they were and why they were there. There was Anton the wifebeater whose long suffering wife seeks an amusing way out of her situation, the drunken rednecks who go out to shoot the rabid people and use up all their ammo before the dead show up, and the knife wielding ticket tout at the stadium. A lot of time is spent on these characters instead of showing us our main MCs to follow. We barely see Heather in the beginning of the book and she was the most interesting character.
The book also suffers from being pretty slow in getting to the main point of the plot, which is the survivors joining together to barricade themselves at the radio station. Instead we follow Steve going bowling, Steve going for supplies, Steve meeting his girlfriend, plus all the filler incidents. I just wanted the story to move along a bit with less description.
This was a decent enough book. Minor niggles about plot and character can be easily ignored if you are engaged with the book, and I was, until we got the plot twist. The US government know what the virus is now but instead of looking for a cure or prevention, they decide to release it round the world to ensure nobody can invade them. WTF??? Everyone agrees to it without an objection or comment of surprise or horror about killing billions of people? I'm afraid that was a deal breaker for me and I didn't continue with it. It is a pity because the book had real potential.
The problem starts with the characters. The doctor was obnoxious but he got his so that was ok by me. The rest of the cast include Meat the rude alcoholic radio DJ who does nothing but party and makes me want to hit him. His long suffering boss Steve is a bit on the bland side for a hero. He has a girlfriend he doesn't really love, a lack of patience with those around him ie the boy at the store who was doing him a favour and we just get so much pointless information about his life. His girlfriend is a bit of a cardboard cutout with no personality and a desire to spend all his money.
We also have the characters who are just introduced so we can see them die, so we didn't need all the description of who they were and why they were there. There was Anton the wifebeater whose long suffering wife seeks an amusing way out of her situation, the drunken rednecks who go out to shoot the rabid people and use up all their ammo before the dead show up, and the knife wielding ticket tout at the stadium. A lot of time is spent on these characters instead of showing us our main MCs to follow. We barely see Heather in the beginning of the book and she was the most interesting character.
The book also suffers from being pretty slow in getting to the main point of the plot, which is the survivors joining together to barricade themselves at the radio station. Instead we follow Steve going bowling, Steve going for supplies, Steve meeting his girlfriend, plus all the filler incidents. I just wanted the story to move along a bit with less description.
This was a decent enough book. Minor niggles about plot and character can be easily ignored if you are engaged with the book, and I was, until we got the plot twist. The US government know what the virus is now but instead of looking for a cure or prevention, they decide to release it round the world to ensure nobody can invade them. WTF??? Everyone agrees to it without an objection or comment of surprise or horror about killing billions of people? I'm afraid that was a deal breaker for me and I didn't continue with it. It is a pity because the book had real potential.
June 28, 2014
Opening few chapters were as I expected and - like all the other zombie books I've read -described the zombie virus outbreak and how it all started. However, unlike most of those books, I wasn't bored witless and I thought the beginning of Dead Air was brilliant. Well, not the actual reason of how the zombie outbreak started - I thought that was a bit out there - but the tension that the author created when he described the slow, initial, almost serene turn from normal pleasant person to a flesh devouring monster. The suspense at wondering if that person was a zombie filled me with nervous anticipation and I actually had some semblance of dread whilst reading, which was a refreshing change to the usual eye rolling that normally accompanied these type of books.
Simply put - it was done right. Zombies were actually scary to read.
In terms of characterisation, the story focused mainly on Steve Wendell, a radio station manager. As far as hero's go he was exactly the type of person you'd want by your side in such a crisis. He was calm, composed and a leader. And not your stereotypical Rambo impersonator but instead someone who used brains over brawn. In fact that's something I liked overall about the book - the story wasn't like an encyclopaedia of every gun under the sun like most authors are contagious of (pun intended).
As the book wore on the early promise began to dwindle away when the author introduced more character POVs. Personally, I really hate it when characters constantly change and so I didn't enjoy it when the scenes shifted away from Steve. What can I say, I'm a one-man type of....erm....I mean I'm a one-woman...anyway I'm sure you get the point.
This is a zombie book (just in case you forgot) but there actually wasn't a lot of zombie craving action. Rather most of the book was contained behind the walls of Steve's radio station where the group of survivors were holed up in. The story focused more on the logistics of staying safe. Which suited me as I'm more curious learning of how one would go about being hydrated and fed in such dire predicaments instead of charging headlong into a swarm of zombies with just a hand-knife. I know I'm probably in the minority when I say that and die-hard zombie fans will no doubt be shaking their heads at me, scoffing 'amateur' under their breaths.
Conclusion
One of the better zombie apocalypse stories I've read and I would definitely recommend it to fans who have sporadic renewals of enthusiasm for such books.
Simply put - it was done right. Zombies were actually scary to read.
In terms of characterisation, the story focused mainly on Steve Wendell, a radio station manager. As far as hero's go he was exactly the type of person you'd want by your side in such a crisis. He was calm, composed and a leader. And not your stereotypical Rambo impersonator but instead someone who used brains over brawn. In fact that's something I liked overall about the book - the story wasn't like an encyclopaedia of every gun under the sun like most authors are contagious of (pun intended).
As the book wore on the early promise began to dwindle away when the author introduced more character POVs. Personally, I really hate it when characters constantly change and so I didn't enjoy it when the scenes shifted away from Steve. What can I say, I'm a one-man type of....erm....I mean I'm a one-woman...anyway I'm sure you get the point.
This is a zombie book (just in case you forgot) but there actually wasn't a lot of zombie craving action. Rather most of the book was contained behind the walls of Steve's radio station where the group of survivors were holed up in. The story focused more on the logistics of staying safe. Which suited me as I'm more curious learning of how one would go about being hydrated and fed in such dire predicaments instead of charging headlong into a swarm of zombies with just a hand-knife. I know I'm probably in the minority when I say that and die-hard zombie fans will no doubt be shaking their heads at me, scoffing 'amateur' under their breaths.
Conclusion
One of the better zombie apocalypse stories I've read and I would definitely recommend it to fans who have sporadic renewals of enthusiasm for such books.
February 1, 2015
Good, but not great
'Dead Air' was, for me, a fast read. To be honest, there wasn't much that set it apart from your average zombie novel. The writing is a little clunky, there is the occasional misuse of punctuation, and the characters are a little one-dimensional. In addition, the characters sometimes act in ways that just don't make sense. For example, the main male lead, on his way to safety as zombies are swarming everywhere, notes that his vehicle is low on gas - so when he runs a zombie down, he wastes gad running back and forth over the body. In another instance, the characters find something that may lead to a cure or at least a defense against the zombies. Instantly they make plans to get this possible cure to a military base or government authorities- even though they've seen no sign of civil authority for months, nor have they received any communications in the radio station in which they are holed up. Also, the characters adapt very easily to the end of everything; there's nary a lost night's sleep or concern over other loved ones to be seen.
'Dead Air' is a quick little read, recommended only if you just want to read everything you can find with zombies in it.
'Dead Air' was, for me, a fast read. To be honest, there wasn't much that set it apart from your average zombie novel. The writing is a little clunky, there is the occasional misuse of punctuation, and the characters are a little one-dimensional. In addition, the characters sometimes act in ways that just don't make sense. For example, the main male lead, on his way to safety as zombies are swarming everywhere, notes that his vehicle is low on gas - so when he runs a zombie down, he wastes gad running back and forth over the body. In another instance, the characters find something that may lead to a cure or at least a defense against the zombies. Instantly they make plans to get this possible cure to a military base or government authorities- even though they've seen no sign of civil authority for months, nor have they received any communications in the radio station in which they are holed up. Also, the characters adapt very easily to the end of everything; there's nary a lost night's sleep or concern over other loved ones to be seen.
'Dead Air' is a quick little read, recommended only if you just want to read everything you can find with zombies in it.
November 23, 2015
I liked this novel. If you are more a prepper Z fan verses a drama or gore Z fan, I think you'll like this one too. I disagree with some reviews that the characters were unbelievable. I was quite happy with the lack of overly drawn out sad, personal grief scenes that find themselves in zombie novels and The Walking Dead series. It's also worth mentioning that the author wrote from many different viewpoints and at first I thought it was going to be a Max Brooks World War Z rip-off novel (I prefer following and getting to know a character instead of never hearing from them again) but it wasn't. Just lots of different viewpoints and a main character and a few recurring characters. I rather enjoyed that. I also found the romances realistic and not overly dramatical, strained, or sexist (which also seems like a common theme in Z novels). And yes the characters did seem a little chillax considering everything that was going down but I actually feel like that makes sense. Human beings are resilient. I believe that they could be cool and not always in a state of anxiety. Just my opinion. I really enjoyed this book and I'm planning on cracking the second one right now.
December 24, 2013
BRILLIANT!
For the first time a story 'dares' to start with how it all began, and goes into detail. I was transfixed as the author had obviously done a fair whack of research and imagineering!
It kept me reading long into the night! Brilliant way the story leads you into a false sense of security, and then once you think all is well, Humanity (if it can be called that) comes along and ruins everything!
I am going to follow the series closely!!!
All I can say is if you are contemplating getting this book, think no longer... Get it! You will not be disappointed!
For the first time a story 'dares' to start with how it all began, and goes into detail. I was transfixed as the author had obviously done a fair whack of research and imagineering!
It kept me reading long into the night! Brilliant way the story leads you into a false sense of security, and then once you think all is well, Humanity (if it can be called that) comes along and ruins everything!
I am going to follow the series closely!!!
All I can say is if you are contemplating getting this book, think no longer... Get it! You will not be disappointed!
December 31, 2013
Pretty good zombie apocalypse thriller. The writing style tends to take a bit of getting used to and could do with a bit of editing for typos etc (regularly uses 'puss' when he means 'pus' which is a bit annoying at times) but overall a good read and have now started the second book as I want to see what happens to the 'survivors'.
October 31, 2014
As a starting book to a series, it was good. The storyline had me intrigued along with the multiple viewpoints (although it was clear who was the main character/characters)
My only problem with the whole thing was that some of the viewpoints felt...unnecessary. Other than that, good book. I'm on the last of the series by the way
My only problem with the whole thing was that some of the viewpoints felt...unnecessary. Other than that, good book. I'm on the last of the series by the way
April 1, 2015
A refreshing zombie book, however not just about zombies it's about the people, the human nature in all of us in dark times... With an heir of Stephen King like characters and situations, is a great read for any horror fan! I read this as re to review thanks for the book Jon will be recommending this to a lot of people.
January 26, 2014
What a great read! I loved the way the story was built up slowly so the reader could really get into the anticipation of what was going to happen on the next page. I can't wait to get my teeth into the next instalments.
June 22, 2015
Not bad if you are in a pinch. I am finding the love interests in these prepper/zombie books are so hard to take. I can suspend my disbelief where zombies are concerned-but not how these authors portray relationships.
August 1, 2014
brilliant if you are a fan of Zombie books. I have read all three cant wait for the fourth. a page turner from start to finish!
June 2, 2013
Meh. Not great. Probably not going to read any more of the series.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews