Where the Dead Talk

by Ken Davis

Out past the towns and villages of Colonial Massachusetts lies a lake, black and icy and deep.

When night settles on the deep woods, when the wind sings a mournful song through the trees, voices can sometimes be heard, rising from its still surface: voices of the lost, voices of the damned, voices of the dead.

When tragedy unlocks the terrifying secret of the lake, when revolution explodes across the countryside, the doorway to Hell opens a crack and the dead begin to rise.

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Paranormal, Fiction, Ebooks

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 4, 2011

About the author

Ken Davis writes dark fiction: a blend of supernatural horror, gritty fantasy, and alternate history.

Reviews

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this story as much as I did. I didn't expect to love one of its characters either. It is a combination of horror and historical fiction.
It takes place in a small hamlet West Bradhill in colonial Massachusetts. The villagers are preparing for rebellion and a small group of British soldiers led by Major William Pomeroy ends up in the middle of a mess made by one of the villagers.

The story is well written: a very selfish man does something unforgivable and forbidden and unleashes evil on his family, friends, neighbours and even enemies. Only a small group of people stands against it: one British officer, a deaf boy, an annoying young woman who never does what she should when they are in danger without arguing, a brave and decent innkeeper with his lover and a few others. Most of those others are just there to depict all the traits of their tiny society. For example, at the first sign of trouble some of them accuse the innkeeper to be a loyalist (because he is black). I loved Pomeroy's take on the innkeeper's relationship with a white woman.

"To hell with people, then," he said. "Always ready to dash everyone else’s passion and enjoyment for whatever fool’s reason they can muster, all to make sure that everyone around them stays as miserable as they are."

Something horrible had to happen for those to wake up. I won't bother writing about the horrors they face, because Pomeroy steals every scene he is in and I could hardly wait to read them.

So, my favourite character, who is both humorous and courageous when it is needed later, is Major William Pomeroy. He is far from stupid, even though he doesn't bother to show that he is better than what people expect from him.

"Have no fear, young Tommy," he said, "you’re under the watchful eye of one of the finest officers of the King’s Own Regiment, a strapping young Major who’s risen through the ranks nearly as fast as his dear father could purchase his commissions."

He is the reason why I rated this book higher. Major is the fourth son of Lord Pomeroy and a black sheep in his family, so it's no wonder they sent him to the colonies (probably hoping someone would kill him there). At first he is that spoiled officer interested only in his well-being.

"Where are we, Major, sir?" "Look, Hutchison," Pomeroy said, "I’m starting to rather worry about your constant ‘where are we now, where are we now?’ Strikes me a tad unhealthy. It’s perfectly clear that we’re–" he swept his arm forward "— directly in back of this lovely farm."

**********

"Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll have one of their ingenious home-remedies-got-from-the-natives that can help Hawkes with whatever it is he’s come down with." "His leg’s broke, sir," Private Hutchinson said."

Even after they find that something is not right in the village, he remains flippant and seemingly unconcerned. Maybe I shouldn't laugh at this, but there is a lot of dark humour in this book.

The private pointed near the large fireplace. "Ah. Handy," Pomeroy said. He stepped over and nudged the severed hand with the toe of his boot. Behind him, Hutchison lost his stomach.

As the story moves further, he ends up being a true hero whom people respect.

"You’re a better man than you give yourself credit for, Major," Jude said. "Or the biggest fool to wear the uniform of this King or any other," Pomeroy said.

As far as I am concerned, Pomeroy hijacked this whole story (in a good way).

[P. Christopher Colter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where the Dead Talk by Ken Davis is a gripping tale of the undead which takes place in a rural part of the Massachusetts colony on the very eve of the American Revolution.

As a mix of horror and historical fiction, well-researched and skillfully written with an intriguing plot, this novel would have likely earned five stars from me anyway. However, the character of Major William Pomeroy, "one of the finest officers of the King's Own Regiment" (in his own words), pushed Where the Dead Talk over the top for me. Sarcastic and smarmy, arrogant, at times cowardly and at other times brave, Major Pomeroy is ultimately endearing to both the reader and other characters in the story. He absolutely steals every scene in which he appears.

While Pomeroy is the best one in my opinion, he is only one of several intriguing characters in Where the Dead Talk who kept me reading chapter after chapter long past my bedtime. There is the black tavernkeep who struggles against racism and vicious rumors, the desperately unhappy preacher's wife looking for a way out, the young deaf boy from a family thought to be cursed who feels he is not much good for anything, and the very reluctant Indian shaman who holds the key to stopping the horror that has descended upon the countryside surrounding the tiny village of West Bradhill.

I don't consider myself a real horror aficionado, and my Kindle is littered with horror titles I have started and soon abandoned. However, when the story is driven by multidimensional characters you genuinely come to care about and really do not want to have munched up by the undead, it's not hard to love a book like this. Where the Dead Talk is definitely worth your attention. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Davis will consider another novel with some of these characters, especially Major Pomeroy.

[Grammar*Kitten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't too impressed with this book; I blame it a little on the reviews I read before picking it up.

'A zombie story where they're made by and must be destroyed by magic' - yet, strangely like modern zombies, removing the head works well enough too.

The historical aspect of it appealed to me from the word go - only to find that the author used a lot of contractions within the dialogue. I'm no expert, but I wouldn't have expected an abundance of contractions during this time period!!

I did enjoy the story, and some of the passages were written very well, encapsulating tension and suspense very well, but just not my cup of tea I think!

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Where the Dead Talk by Ken Davis
5 stars

A riveting and terrifying horror novel, “Where the Dead Talk” kept my attention and interest from beginning to end as I raced through it. Mr. Davis’ horrors are different, and very horrifying. It all revolves around the lake near the village of West Bradhill in pre-Revolutionary New England, a lake which is more than just “haunted.” Whatever rests beneath that lake surely is older than even the indigenous tribes formerly of the area. I also greatly enjoyed the historic detail, as a former history major and aficionado of all things history: the events of the story take place at a time somewhat earlier than the Boston Tea Party, and include a village determined on “rebellion,” or as they consider it, “patriotism.” A freedman who owns the tavern, a minister who suffers apparently from what could quite possibly be either epilepsy or paranoid schizophrenia, townsfolk who assume the sight of one British officer means the town is surrounded; and the unending, seemingly non-stoppable, and implacable horror of The Dead, whose appetite knows no bounds.

[Mia Darien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: On my review blog, I gave it a 4.5 since I can't quite say a 5. As GoodReads doesn't allow half stars, this brings me down to a 4.

* * *

This is my second experience with Davis' work. I have also read his Array'd in Flames. I liked it, but I did have some issues with it. I'm happy to say that I did not have the same issues with this one. I felt for the characters and cared what happened to them all. Between both books, Davis has a real gift for creating atmosphere of the setting. He certainly did in this one, too.

Apparently I work in trends, since this is another New England story and you really got the feel for it, as well for the time period.

I liked it, a lot. I don't really have much to say about it, though. Something about it didn't quite stand out in my head to absolutely rave about it, so it's not quite a five but I didn't really have any issues with it. I did get kind of confused trying to keep threads from the back stories straight, who did who wrong at what time and in what way kind of stuff. But aside from that, it was good. I give it a 4.5.

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best line in the book: "Please, Carolyn. I need your skin.

Started off disjointed to me; like the author wanted me to guess what was going on and what it was all about, to keep me in suspense, but instead I was confused and felt like giving up. However, I pressed on and the revealing process started oh so slowly. This is a character driven story of men at war who happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time when a 'curse' brings out the undead who know your secrets and like to spread their evil. Some skimming was done due to over-talking/dialogue that didn't enrich the storyline. This read could have been shortened for more impact. I also like my horror a little darker. Just an 'Okay' read. Not for me~

[Cyndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book confused me. I understood what the curse was, but it wasn't clear how the curse worked. From what I understood, some Indian people were burned in a house and set a curse on the land, but what confused me is that the purpose of the curse was to destroy all the Indians in that tribe? Maybe I didn't understand it properly, but I really just didn't get this book, hence why I took off so many stars.

There were some pretty suspenseful parts in this book but it took me a very long time to warm up to the characters. Overall, this book was ok, but there was nothing to grab my attention.

[Rachel Bullock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I found it an easy and interesting read. I thought it was well written with lots of great descriptions that really made the characters and situations easy to imagine. Yes, it is a horror story but you can also take this from it: sometimes secrets are better shared than hidden in the dark.

[Valery Lucien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't too thrilled by this novel. The pacing staggered a bit and though one might consider this apropos since it did have shambling undead in it, I just found it unnerving. It also took a while to really start to develop the characters so that I would care about what happened to them. I felt as though the author himself was trying to discover which character he wanted to concentrate on.

[Robert Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read. Started off a little slow for me, but I'm glad I kept reading. Interesting story and great characters. The major is a hoot.

Very impressed with the book as a whole and enjoyed it very much.

[Sonja Bristow · Rating 1 out of 5]

No words can describe my annoyance.

[Ivette Ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

couldn't finish. Not my cup of tea.

[Toni Wyatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is quite creepy! If you're looking for an atmospheric read that will give you the chills, this is a good one for that.

It takes place just before the Revolutionary War in a rural community. Two brothers know the secret of bringing back a person from the dead, but little do they know the consequences and series of events they will set off by doing so.

I did find that there were an overabundance of characters in this. I didn't really like the repeating story of Jude. Apparently, he just enjoys having affairs with married women? That was a bit repetitive, and I didn't find it necessary.

I did enjoy the characters of Carolyn and Thomas, but the character of the Major was hard to relate to. His personality rubbed me wrong, and so it was hard to root for him.

I did enjoy the creep factor though!

[Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead and Revolutions

This book was an interesting read I had this book for years. I love how the author gave the characters life and made them relatable. I do recommend you reading this book with a good ale.

[Carla Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Page turner

From page one "Where the Dead Talk" keeps the reader in suspense, wanting to know what happens next. One of the best books I've read in quite awhile.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first half of this book. The second half was ok. I got it for free on Bookbubs and was interested because I love historical fiction. The book was basically about a zombie attack during revolutionary times in Massachusetts.
The first half was scary! Excellent building of scenes where people encounter the "dead". The whole scene with the group in the pub fending off the "dead" was rockin'!! The descriptions of the dead were gross but awesome. Enjoyed the banter between Pomeroy and Carolyn. Wanted more of that. Thomas was interesting, would have liked more of a glimpse of his life before the invasion.
I would like to see more Pomeroy and I would have liked to know more about him. The novel told the story of occurrences but did not delve too much into the individual people. I liked these characters but was left wanting.
I was bored at the end of the book because the part where Nonshashoon tried to fight the invasion lasted WAY TOO LONG. I actually stared skimming paragraphs. I didn't want to but...
LOVED the brief interlude near the end where we heard more about Jude and his motivations.
Basically, if the development of the people was a little deeper, AND they encountered the challenges presented in the book, I would have surely given 5 stars.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read. The story begins around the time of Colonial independence. The British are fighting those colonialists who wish to separate themselves from royal rule. Little do they know the bigger threat lies in their village, a threat they have helped feed.

The story is not overly frightening. There are adult issues that are raised, which would have me making sure a young adult understands them prior to reading. However, I think it would make a good young adult read.

I tend to feel that my ability to read something this quickly means it's a young adult read. I did find it interesting enough for a no longer young adult to read. I think Mr. Davis did a great job of invoking early Massachusetts, how the Revolutionary War brought together various parties and how New England values can be detrimental. Very much worth the read.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit out of my comfort zone, but the summary definitely pushed me to read it. The fact that Halloween is quickly approaching, probably helped a little too.

Though I did enjoy "Where the Dead Talk" it seemed like it took FOREVER to read. I was honestly shocked to find out that it only had 249 pages. I guess when you read intermittently... on the bus... on your phone, you don't make as much progress as you think you do. The storyline seemed to build a little slow, so I guess that didn't help matters either. Yet, when the zombies came out, I was hooked. I got chills when a character would look up into a tree and see a zombie staring back or a zombie crawling on the ceiling of a dark house. Let me say again, this is NOT my genre, but I really enjoyed this book!

[Samantha Oglesby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fairly good. Slow at first, but gets better. It is about a young boy named Thomas, who lost his hearing at a young age due to illness and a curse upon the family. His cousin dies in a tragic accident, and his father, uncle and he put the body into the lake. His uncle is later attacked, his brother runs away, and his dad seemingly disappears due to a mysterious force. British calvary men arrive at Thomas's uncle's house and find blood leading to the basement. Some die, others escape and find a doctor. Who will die and who will live? To find out, you must read.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A zombie apocalypse at the start of the American revolution?

I don't even know how to classify this one . . . a story of a small village in Massachusetts at the outbreak of the American Revolution, with a nearby cursed lake that brings back the dead (rather like "Pet Semetary"), and the outbreak of a zombie uprising . . . the writing of individual scenes is really good, although I found the overall flow a little disjointed at times. Anyway, it's a nifty story, and made me a bit homesick for New England, so enjoy!

[Shawn Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book! I had tried to read it a while back but wound up pulling the plug after about 15 pages. I decided to give it another shot and am glad that I did. Setting a zombie story during the American Revolution was a brilliant idea. The fact the the author creates characters that are fully developed and plot that gallops along just makes for a complete package. I will be seeking out more by Mr. Davis.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what can i say? This book was awesome. It had almost everything in that you could hope for in a book, the american revolution, Native Americans, a evil lake, demon possession and even zombies in a way though not the flesh eating kind. Very well written with characters that come to life in your mind. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Myra Gabor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books about colonial America as well as books about the dead coming back to the land of the living. Ken Davis has put the two of them together, in an absolutely unputdownable book. It's a cracking good read & Mr Davis has down the near impossible by making us believe in every character he created. If this type of book is your genre, do yourselves a favor and get your hands on a copy.

[Crystal w · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok when I first started reading it I didn't think I was going to finish it let alone like it. I was wrong I loved it. I think this would make an awesome movie with great effects. I could see it playing in my head. it does start out slow but it is worth it to finish it. I like the unique spin on the walkers.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the concept but I think it could use a bit more editing. Tightened up a bit more as a shorter story. Period pieces can be a bit tricky and one also had to suspend belief with some of the characters.

I'll be keeping my out on this writer.

[Brandi Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little bored at first, because I don't typically read books dealing with the Revolutionary War time period. However, I quickly became intrigued and a little bit creeped out by this new take on zombies or "the walking dead" if you will. Great book!

[Timothy Haas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zombie based book based in colonial times.

[Rsg Junior · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story started a little slow for me but it grew on me. I really enjoyed the story and recommend it for history horror lovers.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy and fast paced. Some of the characters weren't terribly smart or believable but it's a good read for Halloween.

[BJ Haun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give it a 3.5/5.

It's a nice little twist on the zombie genre because of the setting, and it starts out good, but kinda runs out of steam towards the end.