Black Death

by David Hardy

Confused , disoriented and strapped to a hospital bed, William Skinner awakes from a coma with no idea how he got there, who he is or what was happening. Worst to come was a sudden outbreak of an Ebola type virus that turns the infected into rotting piles of black bodily fluids. A virus that eats the infected from the inside out. Thrown into the chaos of having to survive such a horrific event, he is still on a mission to find out who he is and what happened. With the help of his physical therapist, Anna Rochelle, the both of them set about the task of surviving the apocalypse all awhile trying to run from the CDC kill team better known as the Epidemic Intelligence Service. Will they survive the apocalypse or will Williams mind finally crack sending them into a tailspin of death and destruction?

A gory, disgusting take on a viral outbreak fills this Extreme Horror Novella with twists, turns and full of suspense that will captivate you till the end.

Genres: Horror, Apocalyptic, Ebooks

177 pages, Paperback

Published August 30, 2023

About the author

Hello Fleshbags,

I'm a self proclaimed Horror Aficionado, Self Published Horror Author who loves any and all things Macabre. If I'm not writing, I'm geeking out on space stuff or watching Horror Movies. I can spend hours talking about the universe, or how horror has shaped the entertainment industry as we know it. I have a deep rooted love of anything zombies thanks to the king Mr. George Romero.

Outside of the fascinating deplorable world that is my imagination, I......well.......I don't really know cause my imagination is my world. If it involves go fast automobiles, gearhead/petrolhead, dark disturbing horror, or space, we will probably get a long just great.

As always, thanks for your support. Without you, I would be another blade of grass in a boring world.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This wasn't a bad outbreak sort of story. The biggest challenge here was that the POV shifted around, with no clear delineation as to who we were following. That made it incredibly hard to stay focused on which characters were in the spotlight amongst all the chaos. Beyond that, lots of standard fare here with lots of action, icky moments, and even a minor love story. While the story itself was fine, it didn't break any new grounds, which is fine, as it will still appeal to fans of this particular subgenre of horror. The real star here was David Hardy's writing, which was what kept my attention throughout. A fun way to burn an hour or two when you get reminiscent of the COVID outbreak or other such exhilarating pandemics and epidemics. Happy Monday everyone!

[OutlawPoet · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 24% due to wanna be edgelord crap. This is very sloppy work.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me, this book seems like it did not have a straight story. Yeah, they start explaining a bit of background as it goes, but they are just all over the place, but they stayed in the same place.

This book is gory for sure (i was okay with it and didn't turn my stomach). But the gore seemed forced, and the cursing seemed forced.

1 minute, the character isn't okay with what's going on, and the next, they are all for it.

Now the plot twist made me want to throw my Kindle against the wall, I wanted to punch something, not gonna lie.

The ending to me was meh. I don't know what I would change, i don't know what kind of ending i would expect, but it wasn't that.

Now I'm scared to go read David's other books, but I'm too intrigued not to. This book was a stand-alone to me. Maybe when I read the others, it will make more sense.

[Phrique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I survived “All the Rage,” so I HAD to dive into “Black Death.” We hit the ground running with William waking up in a hospital with amnesia. No idea how he got there or what happened in his car accident. Then the flashbacks begin & he is greeted by a mysterious woman at his door. “He immediately hated her.” That was the last line of chapter 1 & I knew that some shit was about to go down.

From there we switch to the POV of the mystery woman Anna, who confirms that indeed…some shit is going down here. Hardy proves to be quite good at the flashback, feeding us breadcrumbs to follow as we go. Then we are introduced to a mystery illness that’s rapidly taking over patients in this hospital. One that is causing black tar that reeks of death leaking out of EVERY orifice they have. The hospital gets placed in an emergency epidemic lockdown; amping up the paranoia of all those inside as we learn death can be a breath away or just a step outside those hospital doors.

That’s all I can say without spoilers, but I will say the ending caught me off guard. I thought I knew, I was close, but I still somehow way off. Everything matches up in a super-fucked up way, which I appreciated. There were multiple tropes thrown in that normally would have pissed me off. Yet it showed that if done correctly, they can be effective. A fun, exciting read. Lots of action, blood/gore, and Black Death. Mind those triggers, cuz they’re abundant. 😅

[Callie Towne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my honest opinion for David Hardy's Black Death.
This book was a real treat! I had high hopes after All the Rage and this really was exactly what I was hoping for, if not more.
We follow William, a man suffering amnesia after a rough car crash, and Anna, a therapist at the hospital he is being treated at.
William has to quickly get back on his feet and battle his way out alongside Anna to escape the sudden outbreak of a new, unheard of virus.
Things get more and more wild as the CDC begins taking desperate and viokent measures to prevent further spread of this new virus.
During their journey, William has short bursts of flashbacks that lead to even more confusion and questions.
I really thought I had this read figured out but I was way off and was reeling by the end.
Maybe a few tears were shed.... Maybe.
Be aware of your triggers as always!

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

* 4.5 Stars *

After reading All the Rage by David Hardy, I was really excited to see what other forms of destruction would come from his imagination.
From the beginning, I knew this was going to be a fast paced book with very little chance of slowing down. Not long after you meet the two MC's, absolute mayhem begins. Each page drives them further into madness and chaos.
Comparing this on the horror darkness scale, I will say this is a 3 out of 5. I found that although some scenes were more intense than others, the boundary could have been pushed even further towards the extreme scale. For those looking for a good area to start in horror, Black Death is a great one to pick up. I expect great things from this author.

[stephreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Hardy does it again!!
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
William was in a terrible accident, causing a concussion. His PT, Anna is working with him when the hospital becomes over taken by a government agency trying to conceal a virus outbreak that is causing people to pour black tar like substance from every opening on their body. Anna & William make it their goal to escape the madness and find safety elsewhere since people are being killed on the spot by the agency.
William starts having flashbacks of his life before the accident.
48 hours together.
The perfect amount of terror, a dash of smut, and as always a way of pulling at my heart.
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

If you have not read David's work, I can not recommend it enough!

[Sally Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the premise of the book is very interesting and the bones of the story are there it’s unfortunate that it is in desperate need of some editing and proofreading. Some sentences and paragraphs just straight up didn’t make sense and the dialogue was incredibly cringy at times - his monologue about how he feels drawn to her for example.

The pace of the book was very fast which didn’t help the believability of the story. It would have benefited from a more extended timeline (a 1.5 day coma causing a need for physical therapy?? Come on!).

It’s a shame because in parts I did really get into the book and wanted to know what happened next!

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

David's ability to create characters and a story that keeps readers engaged is amazing. The gory descriptions leave very little to the imagination. I had many predictions for how the book would end for William and Anna, but I would have never guessed what actually happened.

I can't wait to see what David comes up with next!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Chivon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cover is amazing. This story is wild and it's only like 179 pages but it is filled with non-stop craziness.
The end kind of took me for a little bit of a surprise there but also it's like I maybe knew that it was coming, but yeah I definitely recommend it. It is very grotesque.
People are dying left and right it is very Vivid with the gore, so just beware on that part lol, and hey even a little romance bloomed here in this horror field apocalyptic Novel.

[Ash Readz · Rating 5 out of 5]

David’s writing is always a 5 star for me. His stories will have you hooked from the first page. Always packed with blood, guts and vomit. This is every horror lovers bedtime story. Check out all his work! You won’t be disappointed! And if you thought this was good ! Then run and find All The Rage and it’s sequel Consumed By Rage !

[brian littles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me

I refer to this type of writing as "gore porn". It isn't for me but I do know that there are people who enjoy this graphic style. In all honesty, the author advised of the graphic descriptions of his work, but I chose to dive into it anyway, so it is on me. The concept was okay and the male character was interesting.

[Desireè Wingate · Rating 4 out of 5]

My gore, smut, and twisted story loving mind needed this 😂 It’s so weird, yet so captivating. I appreciate that even though it’s a short read, there are no questions left unanswered and the whole story flows perfectly. That ending though. I threw my kindle. I was NOT expecting that at all. But in a great way!

[Laura Bilodeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you think you figured out the backstory to this book; keep reading - I assure you, you haven’t. David has a way of taking apocalyptic horror and turning it into an absolutely emotional page turner. I cannot get enough of his work. This book was so beyond amazing and I can’t recommend it enough.

[Chelsea McCrady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a complete mindfxck from beginning to end! Exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat! Another good one from the Twisted mind of David Hardy!

[Tori Janitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read: if you’re into body horror lol

[Abby Burell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was unfortunately not it for me. There were a ton of grammatical errors that it became distracting and the writing was often clunky, redundant, or just plain confusing at times.