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Dead #8
Darkness Before Dawn
Winter has gone, but the world is no less inhospitable.
The survivors of this first winter now face some of the darkest and most soul-wrenching choices thus far. From the outskirts of London to an island refuge in Oregon, small groups struggle to build a new life.
Kevin recovers to a realization that shatters his dreams, yet he must stand up and take the role of leader…or die trying. His followers, now largely consisting of juvenile delinquents and society cast offs need him. Can he shake loose from his own misery to be their salvation?
Billy must decide what sort of life he wants to forge. Has he been following blindly and gone down the wrong path? And has Dr. Zahn finally discovered the mystery of the zombie children?
The survivors of this first winter now face some of the darkest and most soul-wrenching choices thus far. From the outskirts of London to an island refuge in Oregon, small groups struggle to build a new life.
Kevin recovers to a realization that shatters his dreams, yet he must stand up and take the role of leader…or die trying. His followers, now largely consisting of juvenile delinquents and society cast offs need him. Can he shake loose from his own misery to be their salvation?
Billy must decide what sort of life he wants to forge. Has he been following blindly and gone down the wrong path? And has Dr. Zahn finally discovered the mystery of the zombie children?
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2014
13 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
T.W. Brown
96 books303 followersTucked away in the Pacific Northwest with my wife Denise, a Border Collie named Aoife, a guitar collection, and an increasing number of aquariums sporting a variety of fish (cichlids are my new favorites), I live for football season when I can cheer on the Oregon Ducks and be disappointed by my Seattle Seahawks once again. I am a fan of Cookie Monster, KISS, and Dr. Who (along with most things British).
As a person who always dreamed of writing as well as one completely enthralled by all things zombie, it is hard to believe that I never once considered writing in the genre. It is true. I wanted to be more “mainstream”. The first novel I actually wrote is titled Dakota (as Todd Brown). It is about a pair of DEA types tossed back in time to just prior to the start of the Civil War. They are in Charleston, South Carolina, and one of them is an African-American.
The zombie thing really started when I wrote a short for a college Creative Writing class. The teacher, Ms. Bose, pulled me up and told me I had an obvious love for the subject and a real talent for the style. I decided to give it a shot.
The first thing I cobbled together was Zomblog. I wrote it as a warm up for the project I had brewing in the back of my mind. It is a journal account of the apocalypse. The funny thing is that it was never intended to be published. A few things happened and it ended up being presented to me as a gift in book format by my wife for a Christmas present. There was something I will never forget about holding the copy of that book in my hand the first time.
Because it gained a readership, and those readers asked for more, I made it a trilogy (Zomblog, Zomblog II, and Zomblog: The Final Entry). It is also because of those fans that I have returned to the Zomblog universe and just released the sixth (and FINAL) book in the series on Halloween of 2013: Zomblog: Snoe's Journey. I freely admit that I will sellout my plans to write what the fans ask for.
I really want my DEAD series to be what I am known for, and in the last year, it has really taken off. However, I will say that with the release of the fourth book in the DEAD series (DEAD: Winter), the numbers started to pick up beyond my wildest dreams.
The DEAD series (DEAD: The Ugly Beginning, DEAD: Revelations, and DEAD: Fortunes & Failures, DEAD: Winter, DEAD: Siege & Survival, DEAD: Confrontation, DEAD: Reborn) is scheduled to be a 12 part epic series.
It is told in three rotating chapters. One is from the first person perspective of Steve Hobart, a man thrust into the role of leader for a group of survivors struggling to keep alive. One chapter follows a group of four self-professed zombie “geeks” who initially believe that the zombie apocalypse would be fun and soon discover that it is nothing like the movies. The third of the rotating chapters is called “Vignettes” and is a series of snapshots from all around the world. Some of the vignettes are single chapter episodes, others are continuing threads that carry on for several chapters. A few are merged into the Steve story or the Geek story line.
Last year,I began my horror/comedy series, "That Ghoul Ava" and have found it to be my new guilty pleasure.
My blog can be found at:
http://twbrown.blogspot.com/
You can contact him at:
twbrown.maydecpub@gmail.com
You can follow him on twitter @maydecpub and on Facebook under Todd Brown, Author TW Brown, and also under May December Publications.
Book Links:
DEAD
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-The-Ugly-B...
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Revelation...
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Fortunes-F...
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-ebo...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Winter-TW-...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Siege-Surv...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Confrontat...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Reborn-TW-...
As a person who always dreamed of writing as well as one completely enthralled by all things zombie, it is hard to believe that I never once considered writing in the genre. It is true. I wanted to be more “mainstream”. The first novel I actually wrote is titled Dakota (as Todd Brown). It is about a pair of DEA types tossed back in time to just prior to the start of the Civil War. They are in Charleston, South Carolina, and one of them is an African-American.
The zombie thing really started when I wrote a short for a college Creative Writing class. The teacher, Ms. Bose, pulled me up and told me I had an obvious love for the subject and a real talent for the style. I decided to give it a shot.
The first thing I cobbled together was Zomblog. I wrote it as a warm up for the project I had brewing in the back of my mind. It is a journal account of the apocalypse. The funny thing is that it was never intended to be published. A few things happened and it ended up being presented to me as a gift in book format by my wife for a Christmas present. There was something I will never forget about holding the copy of that book in my hand the first time.
Because it gained a readership, and those readers asked for more, I made it a trilogy (Zomblog, Zomblog II, and Zomblog: The Final Entry). It is also because of those fans that I have returned to the Zomblog universe and just released the sixth (and FINAL) book in the series on Halloween of 2013: Zomblog: Snoe's Journey. I freely admit that I will sellout my plans to write what the fans ask for.
I really want my DEAD series to be what I am known for, and in the last year, it has really taken off. However, I will say that with the release of the fourth book in the DEAD series (DEAD: Winter), the numbers started to pick up beyond my wildest dreams.
The DEAD series (DEAD: The Ugly Beginning, DEAD: Revelations, and DEAD: Fortunes & Failures, DEAD: Winter, DEAD: Siege & Survival, DEAD: Confrontation, DEAD: Reborn) is scheduled to be a 12 part epic series.
It is told in three rotating chapters. One is from the first person perspective of Steve Hobart, a man thrust into the role of leader for a group of survivors struggling to keep alive. One chapter follows a group of four self-professed zombie “geeks” who initially believe that the zombie apocalypse would be fun and soon discover that it is nothing like the movies. The third of the rotating chapters is called “Vignettes” and is a series of snapshots from all around the world. Some of the vignettes are single chapter episodes, others are continuing threads that carry on for several chapters. A few are merged into the Steve story or the Geek story line.
Last year,I began my horror/comedy series, "That Ghoul Ava" and have found it to be my new guilty pleasure.
My blog can be found at:
http://twbrown.blogspot.com/
You can contact him at:
twbrown.maydecpub@gmail.com
You can follow him on twitter @maydecpub and on Facebook under Todd Brown, Author TW Brown, and also under May December Publications.
Book Links:
DEAD
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-The-Ugly-B...
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Revelation...
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Fortunes-F...
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Winter-ebo...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Winter-TW-...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Siege-Surv...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Confrontat...
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-Reborn-TW-...
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 10, 2014
Warning: This review contains spoilers from previous books within the Dead series. If you have not yet read them, you may wish to stop reading.
Dead: Darkness before dawn is the eighth book in TW Brown's Dead series. In books seven and eight, the book's narrator has shifted due to the death of the main character, Steve. Billy, a teen among Steve's group takes over the first person narration. While the main concept of survival remains the same, the perspective is much different. Billy is unsure of himself as he takes on the role of de facto leader. The vignettes of other groups continue on and their unique stories are told alongside Billy's journey.
Brown does an excellent job with describing Kevin, a secondary 'vignette' character. Immediately I was struck with the word logical as the best way to describe him, and Brown reinforces this assumption when a member of Kevin's group explains that the others see him as a logical person with the ability to come up with viable solutions other can't. It's always great to find successful examples of authors showing as opposed to telling a story. Brown's writing allows the reader to form their own opinions true to how a character was intended to be conveyed in the story.
Darkness Before Dawn's main theme is twofold. Billy struggles with his new role, and questions his instincts on who to trust. But the real juicy bits are these children zombies. In the last few books, there has been much speculation regarding the differences between adults and children zombies. They are getting smarter, and while they are outwardly cautious, at the same time they have gotten bolder. The tone of the book is heavy. There is so much death that it seems these characters will never catch a break. But even when things are at their worst, Brown finds a way to provide some comic relief and lighten the mood.
"The equation is simple; teen boy plus boobies equals boner"
Society is completely broken down, communities grow at a snails pace as survivors trickle in, and a governing body is desperately needed. Infighting within the individual groups provide multiple points of conflict. A new antagonist comes to light as soon as old adversaries are eliminated, and now there is even a group out to get the immune.
Several of the vignettes end in cliffhangers. Both Kevin and Billy's group are in their own desperate situations with seemingly no way out. The hordes are plentiful and the damn child Z's are closing in. The series has the distinct feeling of leading up to something massive, but the momentum needs to pick up and give readers something in return for their investment in the next release. As much as I enjoy reading heavy characterization, there's only so long I can go without the big bang.
Dead: Darkness before dawn is the eighth book in TW Brown's Dead series. In books seven and eight, the book's narrator has shifted due to the death of the main character, Steve. Billy, a teen among Steve's group takes over the first person narration. While the main concept of survival remains the same, the perspective is much different. Billy is unsure of himself as he takes on the role of de facto leader. The vignettes of other groups continue on and their unique stories are told alongside Billy's journey.
Brown does an excellent job with describing Kevin, a secondary 'vignette' character. Immediately I was struck with the word logical as the best way to describe him, and Brown reinforces this assumption when a member of Kevin's group explains that the others see him as a logical person with the ability to come up with viable solutions other can't. It's always great to find successful examples of authors showing as opposed to telling a story. Brown's writing allows the reader to form their own opinions true to how a character was intended to be conveyed in the story.
Darkness Before Dawn's main theme is twofold. Billy struggles with his new role, and questions his instincts on who to trust. But the real juicy bits are these children zombies. In the last few books, there has been much speculation regarding the differences between adults and children zombies. They are getting smarter, and while they are outwardly cautious, at the same time they have gotten bolder. The tone of the book is heavy. There is so much death that it seems these characters will never catch a break. But even when things are at their worst, Brown finds a way to provide some comic relief and lighten the mood.
"The equation is simple; teen boy plus boobies equals boner"
Society is completely broken down, communities grow at a snails pace as survivors trickle in, and a governing body is desperately needed. Infighting within the individual groups provide multiple points of conflict. A new antagonist comes to light as soon as old adversaries are eliminated, and now there is even a group out to get the immune.
Several of the vignettes end in cliffhangers. Both Kevin and Billy's group are in their own desperate situations with seemingly no way out. The hordes are plentiful and the damn child Z's are closing in. The series has the distinct feeling of leading up to something massive, but the momentum needs to pick up and give readers something in return for their investment in the next release. As much as I enjoy reading heavy characterization, there's only so long I can go without the big bang.
July 15, 2014
When I lose my job -- I'll have few regrets!
When I lose my job -- I'll have few regrets!
I've come to sneaking into the bathroom for more breaks than a normal body would require just so I can sneak in a few pages here and there... I love this series! I'm invested in every character and in their own way, some have become friends in my head...
Thank you for this awesome saga!
(written during another bathroom break)
When I lose my job -- I'll have few regrets!
I've come to sneaking into the bathroom for more breaks than a normal body would require just so I can sneak in a few pages here and there... I love this series! I'm invested in every character and in their own way, some have become friends in my head...
Thank you for this awesome saga!
(written during another bathroom break)
February 24, 2014
Another gem, Mr. Brown has created a series that really grips you and leaves you with a now familiar feeling of desire for more. Again we are following many groups and their ability to survive after the zombie outbreak. This book spends more time with the mysterious children zombies. Curious and cunning, these anomalies are getting even creepier. I'm glad a fair amount of the characters survive, but not unscathed. After the harsh winter people are spending more time outdoors and more communities are springing up. The main goal is still not becoming lunch, but worse yet lawlessness allows humans to react without morals or consequences. This is even scarier. This book is a part of a series and should be read in order starting with DEAD: The Ugly Beginning.
March 26, 2014
More Intense each book
This is book eight, and each volume gets better, characters I could care less about, I'm now cheering on their survival, or mourning the loss of this person or the other, Mr. Brown is cranking out a new book about every 3 or 4 months and I can't wait for the novel, and the best part, they're priced reasonably, the first book "The Ugly Beginning" is only 0.99¢ or give "Steve's Story" or "The Geeks" a try.
This is book eight, and each volume gets better, characters I could care less about, I'm now cheering on their survival, or mourning the loss of this person or the other, Mr. Brown is cranking out a new book about every 3 or 4 months and I can't wait for the novel, and the best part, they're priced reasonably, the first book "The Ugly Beginning" is only 0.99¢ or give "Steve's Story" or "The Geeks" a try.
February 28, 2014
Can't wait for the next book- what's worse the zombies or those left fighting for survival? With freaky children zombies with more intelligence than the usual zombie- freaky little things! The plot thickens...
April 7, 2014
Great
I cannot wait for the next in the series. It feels like it is leading up to a huge ending.
I cannot wait for the next in the series. It feels like it is leading up to a huge ending.
September 21, 2023
The stories continue, and they're still interesting. The writing style of cycling through groups helps keep from over-development or plot fatigue.
December 21, 2014
I really enjoy reading this book and I can't wait to see what happen next
April 22, 2019
T W Brown's Dead: Darkness Before Dawn is the eighth book in a series about a zombie apocalypse and different perspectives of it. Multiple perspectives, characters you either fall in love with or hate... but you better be careful because no one is safe and anyone can fall in this series. Loving every moment though. Who need The Walking Dead when I can read/listen to TW Brown's Dead series?!?
Narrator does a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Really brought the characters' personalities out. Love it!
Narrator does a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Really brought the characters' personalities out. Love it!
July 26, 2020
After a few slow books this one managed to pick up the pace again.
Billy was in constant motion and a lot of things happened with that group. Also, I am glad that the child zombies finally showed us what they can do.
Kevin's story was good as well and all of the group started to pitch in. I was a bit disappointing how out of hand Kevin's depression got though. If it would have been another character I would have understood, but if he was a geek when growing up he had to deal with a lot of depressing moments and it wasn't even that good of a reason to be upset for. Even if he didn't wanted to risk it by using protection, he could have moved on with Heather and they could have even have children if they wanted.
Another thing I was a bit confused about was how would that army benefit from exchanging 15 of their women to other 15? Anyway hope the vignets get a bit better as well as they haven't been that interesting.
Billy was in constant motion and a lot of things happened with that group. Also, I am glad that the child zombies finally showed us what they can do.
Kevin's story was good as well and all of the group started to pitch in. I was a bit disappointing how out of hand Kevin's depression got though. If it would have been another character I would have understood, but if he was a geek when growing up he had to deal with a lot of depressing moments and it wasn't even that good of a reason to be upset for. Even if he didn't wanted to risk it by using protection, he could have moved on with Heather and they could have even have children if they wanted.
Another thing I was a bit confused about was how would that army benefit from exchanging 15 of their women to other 15? Anyway hope the vignets get a bit better as well as they haven't been that interesting.
December 21, 2017
Good
On to the next part. Reading until I get to the end of the series. I enjoyed this one as much as all the others.
On to the next part. Reading until I get to the end of the series. I enjoyed this one as much as all the others.
January 27, 2020
Nothing new to add to this review that is any difference than my other reviews.
August 8, 2021
This one was the best so far. Good pace and the stories got better.
February 12, 2015
I love this series!
T.W. Brown is a gifted author; and he does a great job at creating believable characters that you can't help but either care deeply for or hate them with extreme prejudice. I have never read an apocalyptic series that felt so real, like it could truly happen tomorrow and it would pan out exactly as in the pages of the "Dead" series.
I am so glad that the next book is out so I don't have to wait to see what comes next! "Darkness Before Dawn" ended all three main stories on a major cliffhanger. I was left sitting there with my mouth hanging open and speechless, and thinking "what!!??! No! You can't just stop at the most climatic part yet!" It's definitely a great way to keep readers coming back for more!
If you enjoy the zombie genre or even just all stuff apocalyptic you have to read this series. Of course make sure to start at "Dead: The Ugly Beginning." Each new book is better than the last! I almost feel sad knowing that there are only a few books left to go. Guess I will just have to check out the "Zomblog" series next!
T.W. Brown is a gifted author; and he does a great job at creating believable characters that you can't help but either care deeply for or hate them with extreme prejudice. I have never read an apocalyptic series that felt so real, like it could truly happen tomorrow and it would pan out exactly as in the pages of the "Dead" series.
I am so glad that the next book is out so I don't have to wait to see what comes next! "Darkness Before Dawn" ended all three main stories on a major cliffhanger. I was left sitting there with my mouth hanging open and speechless, and thinking "what!!??! No! You can't just stop at the most climatic part yet!" It's definitely a great way to keep readers coming back for more!
If you enjoy the zombie genre or even just all stuff apocalyptic you have to read this series. Of course make sure to start at "Dead: The Ugly Beginning." Each new book is better than the last! I almost feel sad knowing that there are only a few books left to go. Guess I will just have to check out the "Zomblog" series next!
February 25, 2015
Boring. Boring, boring, boring.
Why are the characters worshipping Kevin, who's a selfish, arrogant douche? Or Juan? Come on, those two are terrible. There's no such thing as a sweet pimp. He used to sell women. That's pretty low and not exactly something you can look back and say "wow, I made some mistakes in my life". That's just awful and unacceptable.
Vix is okay, but I'm tired of the teenage drama. Chad, I just don't care about his daughter.
I do like Billy. But he keeps disappearing, we need more of him.
Glenn and his wife. Boring. Jody stuff. Boring.
Seriously, these books waste so much time with boring stuff.
Why are the characters worshipping Kevin, who's a selfish, arrogant douche? Or Juan? Come on, those two are terrible. There's no such thing as a sweet pimp. He used to sell women. That's pretty low and not exactly something you can look back and say "wow, I made some mistakes in my life". That's just awful and unacceptable.
Vix is okay, but I'm tired of the teenage drama. Chad, I just don't care about his daughter.
I do like Billy. But he keeps disappearing, we need more of him.
Glenn and his wife. Boring. Jody stuff. Boring.
Seriously, these books waste so much time with boring stuff.
September 10, 2014
I really like some of the ideas in this series. So I keep reading them. However, I don't like the switching between all the stories of the different groups. And I don't like how he keeps saying over and over and over how people are thinking about the zombie books and movies.
September 2, 2015
Love love love this series! I talk about it all the time. I've learned from these books. Never really thought about gas going bad or nukes leaking....
Zombie kids are smart and cunning.
People are both good &/or evil.
Can't wait to start the next one!
Zombie kids are smart and cunning.
People are both good &/or evil.
Can't wait to start the next one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2015
More headway into more sensible and therefor more enjoyable to me, decision making (with the exception of the rejects in the UK). The progress for all the story lines is good and I'm looking forward to whats next.
October 9, 2015
great read great series.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews