What do you think?
Rate this book
The Return Man
The outbreak tore the U.S. in two. The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness. They call it the Evacuated States. It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.
But in the wastelands of America, you never know who -- or what -- is watching you.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.
But in the wastelands of America, you never know who -- or what -- is watching you.
Audible Audio
First published March 29, 2012
38 people are currently reading
1618 people want to read
About the author
V.M. Zito
4 books53 followersVincent Michael Zito resides in Connecticut, USA with his wife and daughter. When not writing, he spends his weekdays working as Creative Director at a New England ad agency and his weekends running on trails. The Return Man is his first novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
May 23, 2012
3.5 Stars.
This is a fun book. There are some books I read that strike me so strongly as a story that would translate well into a movie. The Return Man is one of those movies. I read a lot in this genre. I love survivalist, end of society and end of world books. When I saw this title I grabbed it because it fits everything I love about an action novel. And it did not disappoint. The Return Man had me not wanting to put it down and had me thinking about the world created between its pages long after I finished.
The Return Man begins several years after the western part of the United States has fallen and succumbed to a zombie plague. The government and society has retreated to east of the Mississippi; everything west of the Mississippi has been evacuated and abandoned. The zombie plague is focused only in the USA, other countries have not (yet) experienced it. (I wasn’t clear if Mexico or Canada had been effected and if not ….. why or what they were doing.) The main character of the story lives in Arizona in the house he lived in with his wife before the fall. He has fortified it and is able to jump off satellite connections and communicate with a relative living in the "safe states". The Return Man is an interesting and different take on the zombie plague compared to what I have read before. Zombies are referred to as "corpses" and they are not completely mindless. The corpses are like most zombies -- not complex and not thinking roving beings but they retain some reflexive memory of places and actions. This is explained in the book in a scientific way - - the stronger the emotional connection to a place or action, the more embedded it is in the brain and only that is retained. So a corpse will return to locations that it had a strong emotional connection to. Why is this important? Well the hero of the story is an assassin of sorts. Through his satellite internet connection to the retreated US populace in the "safe states", the hero has become a hunter of corpses that are the former loved ones of paying clients in the safe states. He uses information about his target to determine where the corpse would be emotionally pulled to and he goes after the zombie to eliminate it. Then the relatives can go on with their lives knowing that their loved ones are no longer out in the world hungry, desparate and undead. The main character travels throughout the western part of the former USA on his hunts.
So there are fights scenes and chase scenes – oh and the gore scenes. Funny enough, this is not what I like about survivalist and apocalypse themed books. So I skimmed these parts, however they are well written and with tight realistic action and humor. What’s that you ask? How can I like zombie books and not love the car and train chase scenes, fight and gore scenes? I like the collapse of society novels to read about what caused the collapse, how it happened, how people survived it and how people attempt to move-on past the collapse. The Return Man has that aspect, but it also centers more on a quest that needs to take place after the partial collapse of society and the fights and battles the leads must engage in to complete their quest. There are painful memories, witty jokes bantered about and fighting.
Some other unique things about this book, there are references to both domestic and international politics. There is a themes of foreign espionage (the USA is no longer the strongest country on the planet), domestic terrorists, and the very conservative and fascist government that has arisen and is in control in the "safe states". At the same time, the main character is plagued by his own emotional loss. The reader learns about these through flashback scenes. These touches to the post-zombie world make The Return Man different and interesting. It reads like an action packed thriller but instead of chasing down international secrets about warheads – an unlikely pair is chasing down a potential cure to the zombie plague fighting off zombies, domestic terrorists and international forces.
This book was a lot of fun and I really hope there is a sequel! I believe fans of thrillers, zombie books and post-apocalyptic books will really enjoy the Return Man.
Update May 23, 2012 - The Return Man is now on the Badass Book Reviews' Best Badass Zombie Books List. Check it out!
This is a fun book. There are some books I read that strike me so strongly as a story that would translate well into a movie. The Return Man is one of those movies. I read a lot in this genre. I love survivalist, end of society and end of world books. When I saw this title I grabbed it because it fits everything I love about an action novel. And it did not disappoint. The Return Man had me not wanting to put it down and had me thinking about the world created between its pages long after I finished.
The Return Man begins several years after the western part of the United States has fallen and succumbed to a zombie plague. The government and society has retreated to east of the Mississippi; everything west of the Mississippi has been evacuated and abandoned. The zombie plague is focused only in the USA, other countries have not (yet) experienced it. (I wasn’t clear if Mexico or Canada had been effected and if not ….. why or what they were doing.) The main character of the story lives in Arizona in the house he lived in with his wife before the fall. He has fortified it and is able to jump off satellite connections and communicate with a relative living in the "safe states". The Return Man is an interesting and different take on the zombie plague compared to what I have read before. Zombies are referred to as "corpses" and they are not completely mindless. The corpses are like most zombies -- not complex and not thinking roving beings but they retain some reflexive memory of places and actions. This is explained in the book in a scientific way - - the stronger the emotional connection to a place or action, the more embedded it is in the brain and only that is retained. So a corpse will return to locations that it had a strong emotional connection to. Why is this important? Well the hero of the story is an assassin of sorts. Through his satellite internet connection to the retreated US populace in the "safe states", the hero has become a hunter of corpses that are the former loved ones of paying clients in the safe states. He uses information about his target to determine where the corpse would be emotionally pulled to and he goes after the zombie to eliminate it. Then the relatives can go on with their lives knowing that their loved ones are no longer out in the world hungry, desparate and undead. The main character travels throughout the western part of the former USA on his hunts.
So there are fights scenes and chase scenes – oh and the gore scenes. Funny enough, this is not what I like about survivalist and apocalypse themed books. So I skimmed these parts, however they are well written and with tight realistic action and humor. What’s that you ask? How can I like zombie books and not love the car and train chase scenes, fight and gore scenes? I like the collapse of society novels to read about what caused the collapse, how it happened, how people survived it and how people attempt to move-on past the collapse. The Return Man has that aspect, but it also centers more on a quest that needs to take place after the partial collapse of society and the fights and battles the leads must engage in to complete their quest. There are painful memories, witty jokes bantered about and fighting.
Some other unique things about this book, there are references to both domestic and international politics. There is a themes of foreign espionage (the USA is no longer the strongest country on the planet), domestic terrorists, and the very conservative and fascist government that has arisen and is in control in the "safe states". At the same time, the main character is plagued by his own emotional loss. The reader learns about these through flashback scenes. These touches to the post-zombie world make The Return Man different and interesting. It reads like an action packed thriller but instead of chasing down international secrets about warheads – an unlikely pair is chasing down a potential cure to the zombie plague fighting off zombies, domestic terrorists and international forces.
This book was a lot of fun and I really hope there is a sequel! I believe fans of thrillers, zombie books and post-apocalyptic books will really enjoy the Return Man.
Update May 23, 2012 - The Return Man is now on the Badass Book Reviews' Best Badass Zombie Books List. Check it out!
March 29, 2012
Before the Resurrection they all had normal lives and families, when all went to the undead their roles and priorities changed. One man Marco, changed completely, once a renowned Doctor hes now a hired Hitman to execute the undead. Returns them, for their families, back to dead as they should not be walking the earth undead. It is a task that requires emotional detachment and one that Marco the marksman has developed on. There are many things he had left behind one being his wife, four years now and no trace of her, she is possibly another lost to the undead.
Some big power pushers want Marco on the trail of an old buddy to recover him and some needed information on The Resurrection, the outbreak. The buddy is Roger Ballard a genius, a preeminent research neurologist and encephalopathologist.
There's also another man that joins Marco, his name is Wu a trained assassin of the living not one known to kill the undead, a military agent. These two are about to face the most undead that they have ever had to face and try to come through alive with the locating and delivering of the vital important information. He must consider that in the wrong hands it could doom the whole earth.
The story was written well and the writer really gets you into the psyche of the characters and the loneliness they face, you feel the death they partake in and are surrounded with and walk their walk on the Grimm earth, he places you in the thick of the battle in the search of Roger Ballard.
Review also here >>> http://more2read.com/review/the-return-man-by-v-m-zito/
Some big power pushers want Marco on the trail of an old buddy to recover him and some needed information on The Resurrection, the outbreak. The buddy is Roger Ballard a genius, a preeminent research neurologist and encephalopathologist.
There's also another man that joins Marco, his name is Wu a trained assassin of the living not one known to kill the undead, a military agent. These two are about to face the most undead that they have ever had to face and try to come through alive with the locating and delivering of the vital important information. He must consider that in the wrong hands it could doom the whole earth.
The story was written well and the writer really gets you into the psyche of the characters and the loneliness they face, you feel the death they partake in and are surrounded with and walk their walk on the Grimm earth, he places you in the thick of the battle in the search of Roger Ballard.
Review also here >>> http://more2read.com/review/the-return-man-by-v-m-zito/
February 6, 2021
So this has been on my TBR pile since around 2013. I joined Worldswithoutend.com and it was one of the books listed under the "Zombie" sub-genre heading, but life is short and flesh is weak and I was drawn to thousands of other books.... Until January of 2021 when it was again the focus of my attentions.
There are many levels of zombie fiction, and I love them (almost) all. I do not care how poorly written, how unbelievable the plot /character development, I enjoy a good old fashioned zombie romp. But when the zombie story is actually well written and engrossing, I am in my brains-loving element. The Return Man is one such book.
The characters are well developed and the storyline is enjoyable. Henry Marco is a completely likable character, but is not without his flaws. The travel across the Western US to get to California was a little unrealistic. Why didn't the nefarious government agency just air drop a gaggle of zombie fighting commando's, or at the very least Harry and his ops team into the hot zone to retrieve the needed samples? After all, they had a very strong idea where they were. But, of course why didn't the Eagles just fly Frodo to Mt. Doom so could could just drop in the ring? Because that would be a very short story indeed, and the journey is the thing in the end.
When the book ended I immediately looked up to see if there were any other books in the series. Unfortunately there appear to be only two short stories and one appears out of print. This si disappointing because I would have loved to spend more time in Harry Marco's zombie infested world.
There are many levels of zombie fiction, and I love them (almost) all. I do not care how poorly written, how unbelievable the plot /character development, I enjoy a good old fashioned zombie romp. But when the zombie story is actually well written and engrossing, I am in my brains-loving element. The Return Man is one such book.
The characters are well developed and the storyline is enjoyable. Henry Marco is a completely likable character, but is not without his flaws. The travel across the Western US to get to California was a little unrealistic. Why didn't the nefarious government agency just air drop a gaggle of zombie fighting commando's, or at the very least Harry and his ops team into the hot zone to retrieve the needed samples? After all, they had a very strong idea where they were. But, of course why didn't the Eagles just fly Frodo to Mt. Doom so could could just drop in the ring? Because that would be a very short story indeed, and the journey is the thing in the end.
When the book ended I immediately looked up to see if there were any other books in the series. Unfortunately there appear to be only two short stories and one appears out of print. This si disappointing because I would have loved to spend more time in Harry Marco's zombie infested world.
April 2, 2012
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/04/...
Henry Marco, former neurologist, is now a gun for hire in the wastelands of what used to be the western US (the Evacuated States). His business partner and former brother in law lives in the east, in the area deemed safe by the government, the New Republicans. Days are spent tracking lost relatives and giving them the peace that their family members desire, with the memory of his wife haunting his every step. Haunted, yes, that’s the best way to describe Henry Marco. Hardened by years of battling the undead, he begins to questions just what it is that keeps him going. Is it his “job?” Does killing the undead relatives of grieving survivors bring him peace and closure also, or does it just fuel the pattern that he’s been forging for years, alone and devastated by loss? Well, Marco’s lone wolf existence is about to be shaken up. Homeland Security has taken his brother in law hostage, using him as leverage in order to hire Marco to hunt the ultimate target: Roger Ballard, the scientist that may just have the cure for the Resurrection disease. The US government isn’t the only one after Ballard, though, and it will take every bit of cunning that Marco possesses to take on this job, out among the wreckage of a country in collapse, overrun by the hordes of living dead.
It’s probably pretty obvious to you by now, dear reader, that I like zombies. It’s a very popular genre right now, and when it comes to zombies, I’m not a gourmand, I’m a gourmet, and I’m always on the lookout for the next above-the-cut zom novel. Luckily, The Return Man more than fits the bill. When I mentioned that more than just the US is interested in a possible cure or vaccine for the Resurrection disease, take that to heart, because Marco will have to deal with some pretty nasty customers (other than zombies), on his journey to Sarsgard Medical Prison, where Ballard was last known to be. He picks up an unlikely ally (or is he) in the form of Ken Wu, Chinese assassin and spy, and a group of psychotic militia men are after them as well. Trust me, the Horsemen will give you a case of the shudders. I really enjoyed the author’s idea that zombies might have a trace of their old selves intact. Not much, but enough to seek out places that are familiar or give them comfort. While this isn’t necessarily a comforting thought, considering the state of these things that were once human, it provides a neat twist on the usual zombie fare.
I had absolutely no trouble getting into, and staying immersed in, The Return Man. There is a ton of carnage in this, seriously, the sheer number of zombies that Marco and Wu have to wade through is staggering, and when it comes to zombie killin’, the author doesn’t leave much to the imagination. That’s ok, though! I mean, you’ll cringe, at least, I did and consider myself somewhat jaded, but the gore really is necessary to paint a terrifying picture of what our hero has to endure, and has had to steel himself to in order to survive in the Evacuated States. The Return Man has quite a bit more depth to it than your average zombie apocalypse novel because Marco himself has a lot of depth, and we also get to know Wu quite a bit during the telling of the story. You’ll think you have Wu’s number at the beginning, but you won’t, and his story just added another layer to the unfolding of The Return Man. I enjoyed every terrifying bit of this book, and if you love zombies, good writing, and great storytelling, I think you will too!
Henry Marco, former neurologist, is now a gun for hire in the wastelands of what used to be the western US (the Evacuated States). His business partner and former brother in law lives in the east, in the area deemed safe by the government, the New Republicans. Days are spent tracking lost relatives and giving them the peace that their family members desire, with the memory of his wife haunting his every step. Haunted, yes, that’s the best way to describe Henry Marco. Hardened by years of battling the undead, he begins to questions just what it is that keeps him going. Is it his “job?” Does killing the undead relatives of grieving survivors bring him peace and closure also, or does it just fuel the pattern that he’s been forging for years, alone and devastated by loss? Well, Marco’s lone wolf existence is about to be shaken up. Homeland Security has taken his brother in law hostage, using him as leverage in order to hire Marco to hunt the ultimate target: Roger Ballard, the scientist that may just have the cure for the Resurrection disease. The US government isn’t the only one after Ballard, though, and it will take every bit of cunning that Marco possesses to take on this job, out among the wreckage of a country in collapse, overrun by the hordes of living dead.
It’s probably pretty obvious to you by now, dear reader, that I like zombies. It’s a very popular genre right now, and when it comes to zombies, I’m not a gourmand, I’m a gourmet, and I’m always on the lookout for the next above-the-cut zom novel. Luckily, The Return Man more than fits the bill. When I mentioned that more than just the US is interested in a possible cure or vaccine for the Resurrection disease, take that to heart, because Marco will have to deal with some pretty nasty customers (other than zombies), on his journey to Sarsgard Medical Prison, where Ballard was last known to be. He picks up an unlikely ally (or is he) in the form of Ken Wu, Chinese assassin and spy, and a group of psychotic militia men are after them as well. Trust me, the Horsemen will give you a case of the shudders. I really enjoyed the author’s idea that zombies might have a trace of their old selves intact. Not much, but enough to seek out places that are familiar or give them comfort. While this isn’t necessarily a comforting thought, considering the state of these things that were once human, it provides a neat twist on the usual zombie fare.
I had absolutely no trouble getting into, and staying immersed in, The Return Man. There is a ton of carnage in this, seriously, the sheer number of zombies that Marco and Wu have to wade through is staggering, and when it comes to zombie killin’, the author doesn’t leave much to the imagination. That’s ok, though! I mean, you’ll cringe, at least, I did and consider myself somewhat jaded, but the gore really is necessary to paint a terrifying picture of what our hero has to endure, and has had to steel himself to in order to survive in the Evacuated States. The Return Man has quite a bit more depth to it than your average zombie apocalypse novel because Marco himself has a lot of depth, and we also get to know Wu quite a bit during the telling of the story. You’ll think you have Wu’s number at the beginning, but you won’t, and his story just added another layer to the unfolding of The Return Man. I enjoyed every terrifying bit of this book, and if you love zombies, good writing, and great storytelling, I think you will too!
January 25, 2013
THE OUTBREAK TORE THE USA IN TWO. THE EAST REMAINS A SAFE HAVEN. THE WEST HAS BECOME A RAVAGED WILDERNESS. THEY CALL IT THE EVACUATED STATES.
It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco, for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again. But in the wastelands of America, you never know who – or what – is watching you…
When it comes to zombie fiction, I’ve now reached the point where I’ve read quite a lot. Some may say too much? So much so in fact, that I have been actively trying to avoid reading any of late. I’m worried that it’s only a matter of time before I pick up a zombie novel and I’m going to absolutely loathe it. I’ll have reached saturation point and I just won’t be able to take anymore. The good news, however, is that The Return Man by V.M. Zito is not that time.
Henry Marco is a bit of an enigma. Living a lonely existence, by choice, amongst the ruins of society he is all about his work. Why has he turned his back on the living? What events have forced this isolated lifestyle? The main focus of the story follows Marco as he travels throughout the new world where he confronts not only the dead but also the ghosts of his past.
You would no doubt expect some serious gore from a zombie novel and I’m glad to say the author’s descriptive powers don’t ever disappoint.
"The ear crunched between the cadaver’s teeth like a gory Dorito."
Eeeewww, that’s nasty isn’t it? The good news is that there are many more dark delights like that to discover. Zito peppers the text with some spectacularly horrific imagery. There is a nice mixture of out and out balls to the wall nastiness as well as a fair number of psychological scares. I particularly enjoyed Marco’s journey into a railway buffet car from hell. The feeling of claustrophobia in that one scene alone felt almost palpable. If you don’t enjoy enclosed spaces that chapter is going to stay with you.
And then there are also moments when The Return Man manages to be both heart breaking and harrowing in a single breath. It’s the mark of a great zombie novel when it doesn’t just go straight for the brain, it gets you square in the heart as well. When you finally discover the reasons why Marco has chosen to stay in the Evacuated States, I dare you not to be empathise with his plight.
I began reading this novel immediately off the back of a book that I didn’t finish. This happens very rarely, I finish about ninety nine percent of the book that I start and, if I’m honest, I was more than hacked off and looking for something to restore my faith in speculative fiction. The Return Man did just that. It caught my attention immediately and turned out to be the ideal remedy to my reading funk.
Zombie fiction can be a wonderful thing as V.M Zito’s debut novel more than adequately proves. It appears that there is definitely signs of life in these old coffin dodgers yet. Let’s just remember people, it’s only a matter of time before this sort of fiction becomes a startling reality. Reading zombie stories and watching the movies isn’t just entertainment it’s training. Oh, and don’t ever forget rule number one – Cardio.
Will Henry Marco return? I do hope so. Though there is a certain amount of resolution by the novel’s end, there are also just enough tantalizing suggestions that there is a larger story still left to tell. At the very least I need to learn more about the other denizens of the Evacuated States. In particular the para-military organisation, The Horsemen, they are featured in this novel but not heavily. I look forward to this author’s next novel with a sense of anticipation.
The Return Man is published by Hodder and is available now. Seek it out its well worth your time.
It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco, for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again. But in the wastelands of America, you never know who – or what – is watching you…
When it comes to zombie fiction, I’ve now reached the point where I’ve read quite a lot. Some may say too much? So much so in fact, that I have been actively trying to avoid reading any of late. I’m worried that it’s only a matter of time before I pick up a zombie novel and I’m going to absolutely loathe it. I’ll have reached saturation point and I just won’t be able to take anymore. The good news, however, is that The Return Man by V.M. Zito is not that time.
Henry Marco is a bit of an enigma. Living a lonely existence, by choice, amongst the ruins of society he is all about his work. Why has he turned his back on the living? What events have forced this isolated lifestyle? The main focus of the story follows Marco as he travels throughout the new world where he confronts not only the dead but also the ghosts of his past.
You would no doubt expect some serious gore from a zombie novel and I’m glad to say the author’s descriptive powers don’t ever disappoint.
"The ear crunched between the cadaver’s teeth like a gory Dorito."
Eeeewww, that’s nasty isn’t it? The good news is that there are many more dark delights like that to discover. Zito peppers the text with some spectacularly horrific imagery. There is a nice mixture of out and out balls to the wall nastiness as well as a fair number of psychological scares. I particularly enjoyed Marco’s journey into a railway buffet car from hell. The feeling of claustrophobia in that one scene alone felt almost palpable. If you don’t enjoy enclosed spaces that chapter is going to stay with you.
And then there are also moments when The Return Man manages to be both heart breaking and harrowing in a single breath. It’s the mark of a great zombie novel when it doesn’t just go straight for the brain, it gets you square in the heart as well. When you finally discover the reasons why Marco has chosen to stay in the Evacuated States, I dare you not to be empathise with his plight.
I began reading this novel immediately off the back of a book that I didn’t finish. This happens very rarely, I finish about ninety nine percent of the book that I start and, if I’m honest, I was more than hacked off and looking for something to restore my faith in speculative fiction. The Return Man did just that. It caught my attention immediately and turned out to be the ideal remedy to my reading funk.
Zombie fiction can be a wonderful thing as V.M Zito’s debut novel more than adequately proves. It appears that there is definitely signs of life in these old coffin dodgers yet. Let’s just remember people, it’s only a matter of time before this sort of fiction becomes a startling reality. Reading zombie stories and watching the movies isn’t just entertainment it’s training. Oh, and don’t ever forget rule number one – Cardio.
Will Henry Marco return? I do hope so. Though there is a certain amount of resolution by the novel’s end, there are also just enough tantalizing suggestions that there is a larger story still left to tell. At the very least I need to learn more about the other denizens of the Evacuated States. In particular the para-military organisation, The Horsemen, they are featured in this novel but not heavily. I look forward to this author’s next novel with a sense of anticipation.
The Return Man is published by Hodder and is available now. Seek it out its well worth your time.
November 23, 2015
I went into this book with very low expectations. I had eagerly looked forward to reading the two books before The Return Man and was very disappointed in both. I'd put off reading this one for the longest time, and I was afraid I was going to be disappointed for the third book in a row.
I'm actually happy that I was wrong! Not only did it go well beyond expectations, but it came very close to five stars. 4 and 1/2 stars from me!
The book starts with Dr. Henry Marco doing his job: Returning one of the Resurrected. Returning means "killing" and the Resurrected are the victims of a plague that causes people to rise from the dead.
Marco is a very sympathetic character. During the initial outbreak, much of the western half of the US was evacuated to the east, barricaded on the other side of the Mississippi River. Marco stayed behind, spending the past four years searching for his Resurrected wife.
That alone makes this character, and zombie book, unique. The Return Man isn't just about a character escaping the zombie apocalypse. It's not even about survival in a desolate, zombie ridden landscape, though you do get some of that.
What I loved about this book was the two intertwined plots, one an exciting, espionage thriller, the other a journey of personal discovery. One story is about Marco being blackmailed into taking an extremely dangerous job, the other is a story of grief and the inability to move on.
The author handled all of this beautifully. I was pleasantly surprised that a first novel worked almost flawlessly. The action is non-stop, vividly drawn, and the final reveal is chilling on a whole new level. The author never makes the mistake of telling; the reader is shown every horror, every revelation, every epiphany, every step of the way.
And that's where my one little nitpick comes in. I expect a lot of gore in a zombie book, but the descriptions of some of the most horrific scenes were just a little too much for me. I had to skim a few paragraphs because the scenes were just too stomach turning. If you like a lot of visceral horror, definitely give this one a try.
Other than that, the plotting, characters, world building, creativity, and even the descriptions are top notch.
I'm actually happy that I was wrong! Not only did it go well beyond expectations, but it came very close to five stars. 4 and 1/2 stars from me!
The book starts with Dr. Henry Marco doing his job: Returning one of the Resurrected. Returning means "killing" and the Resurrected are the victims of a plague that causes people to rise from the dead.
Marco is a very sympathetic character. During the initial outbreak, much of the western half of the US was evacuated to the east, barricaded on the other side of the Mississippi River. Marco stayed behind, spending the past four years searching for his Resurrected wife.
That alone makes this character, and zombie book, unique. The Return Man isn't just about a character escaping the zombie apocalypse. It's not even about survival in a desolate, zombie ridden landscape, though you do get some of that.
What I loved about this book was the two intertwined plots, one an exciting, espionage thriller, the other a journey of personal discovery. One story is about Marco being blackmailed into taking an extremely dangerous job, the other is a story of grief and the inability to move on.
The author handled all of this beautifully. I was pleasantly surprised that a first novel worked almost flawlessly. The action is non-stop, vividly drawn, and the final reveal is chilling on a whole new level. The author never makes the mistake of telling; the reader is shown every horror, every revelation, every epiphany, every step of the way.
And that's where my one little nitpick comes in. I expect a lot of gore in a zombie book, but the descriptions of some of the most horrific scenes were just a little too much for me. I had to skim a few paragraphs because the scenes were just too stomach turning. If you like a lot of visceral horror, definitely give this one a try.
Other than that, the plotting, characters, world building, creativity, and even the descriptions are top notch.
April 4, 2013
I really loved this book. It's obscenely violent and gory, but hey, it's about zombies! What else would you expect? What surprised me was the depth of the characters and the quality of the writing. Much better (IMO) than most other zombie fiction. So glad I picked this one up!
April 9, 2017
Loved this book, really well written
March 6, 2012
Original Post: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/03/...
It didn’t take much convincing to get me hooked on The Return Man, VM Zito’s first foray into the realm of the writing industry. First of all – the appearance of zombies, and as you know if you’ve been following TFF for a while, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan. In fact, although I haven’t recently read many of zombie fiction (to see which zombie-related books that I’ve reviewed, click on the tag at the bottom of the review labelled zombies.) – I’ll read and enjoy pretty much anything zombie related. And so, when I came across The Return Man, it didn’t take me long to get hooked on VM Zito’s debut.
Set after the initial outbreak, the novel follows Doctor Henry Marco, living alone in the barren wasteland that was once western USA, known as the Evacuated States to those survivors that reside on the East coast. And, it is in these Evacuated States where Marco makes his living, hunting down the deceased and delivering peace, hired by grieving relatives. And it is here, that homeland security will enlist Henry Marco on a mission that will take him back to where it all began, and his tragic past will come back to harm him yet again.
Especially when nothing is as it seems, with twists and turns abound, this action-packed blockbuster is going to have you hooked right from the get go. I really enjoyed it, and now I’m going to tell you why.
First, let’s start with Henry Marco, the central protagonist in this very short cast of dramatis personae. Although the story isn’t told from the first person perspective of Marco (in fact, there’s no first person POV of him at all), as it jumps around from character to character, Marco is still firmly the centre of attention, the character that we know the most about, and the character who we get to really understand over the course of The Return Man. He’s flawed enough to actually be a real person, and isn’t portrayed as the next Superman. This helps make the novel great, and it ups the tension, as I believe I’m not the only one who thought that there was some situations where I didn’t quite think Marco would make it out alive.
And, of course, it’s not just Marco who we have to deal with. There’s the Chinese secret agent Kheng Wu, working under the guise of a US soldier sent to back up Marco on this mission. Wu makes a fantastic counterpart to Marco, and as we get to see the perspective from both the secret agent and the lead star himself, it really helps us understand what’s going on, and I believe that The Return Man wouldn’t have worked as well as it did if it hadn’t been told in first person.
The action is pretty fast paced, with several awesome fight scenes that will have you flicking through the pages as you’re desperate to find out what happens next. It’s unputdownable, and will have you whizzing through especially in the latter half of the novel, where the action reaches the outstanding finale and the bittersweet conclusion where Zito could even have room for a sequel, if he wanted to return to the barren wastelands of Western USA.
I hope he does, despite the fact that the novel works perfectly fine as a standalone. I, and am not alone in this opinion, really enjoyed The Return Man, and it is far from your average zombie thriller, with the zombies in question having a twist that I liked, and the inclusion of Wu to add to the tension and the stakes.
Also, there’s even some good news that a company has considered the option for movie rights, so we may be seeing a film in the future. And I don’t think that I’ll be the only one that wants to go and see it.
If you’re looking for a bloodbath, this is a novel for you. There’s lots of bloody, gritty, gore-infested violence that splatters through the pages of The Return Man, and helps make the novel more enjoyable.
Highly recommended, zombie fan or not.
Verdict: 4/5
It didn’t take much convincing to get me hooked on The Return Man, VM Zito’s first foray into the realm of the writing industry. First of all – the appearance of zombies, and as you know if you’ve been following TFF for a while, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan. In fact, although I haven’t recently read many of zombie fiction (to see which zombie-related books that I’ve reviewed, click on the tag at the bottom of the review labelled zombies.) – I’ll read and enjoy pretty much anything zombie related. And so, when I came across The Return Man, it didn’t take me long to get hooked on VM Zito’s debut.
Set after the initial outbreak, the novel follows Doctor Henry Marco, living alone in the barren wasteland that was once western USA, known as the Evacuated States to those survivors that reside on the East coast. And, it is in these Evacuated States where Marco makes his living, hunting down the deceased and delivering peace, hired by grieving relatives. And it is here, that homeland security will enlist Henry Marco on a mission that will take him back to where it all began, and his tragic past will come back to harm him yet again.
Especially when nothing is as it seems, with twists and turns abound, this action-packed blockbuster is going to have you hooked right from the get go. I really enjoyed it, and now I’m going to tell you why.
First, let’s start with Henry Marco, the central protagonist in this very short cast of dramatis personae. Although the story isn’t told from the first person perspective of Marco (in fact, there’s no first person POV of him at all), as it jumps around from character to character, Marco is still firmly the centre of attention, the character that we know the most about, and the character who we get to really understand over the course of The Return Man. He’s flawed enough to actually be a real person, and isn’t portrayed as the next Superman. This helps make the novel great, and it ups the tension, as I believe I’m not the only one who thought that there was some situations where I didn’t quite think Marco would make it out alive.
And, of course, it’s not just Marco who we have to deal with. There’s the Chinese secret agent Kheng Wu, working under the guise of a US soldier sent to back up Marco on this mission. Wu makes a fantastic counterpart to Marco, and as we get to see the perspective from both the secret agent and the lead star himself, it really helps us understand what’s going on, and I believe that The Return Man wouldn’t have worked as well as it did if it hadn’t been told in first person.
The action is pretty fast paced, with several awesome fight scenes that will have you flicking through the pages as you’re desperate to find out what happens next. It’s unputdownable, and will have you whizzing through especially in the latter half of the novel, where the action reaches the outstanding finale and the bittersweet conclusion where Zito could even have room for a sequel, if he wanted to return to the barren wastelands of Western USA.
I hope he does, despite the fact that the novel works perfectly fine as a standalone. I, and am not alone in this opinion, really enjoyed The Return Man, and it is far from your average zombie thriller, with the zombies in question having a twist that I liked, and the inclusion of Wu to add to the tension and the stakes.
Also, there’s even some good news that a company has considered the option for movie rights, so we may be seeing a film in the future. And I don’t think that I’ll be the only one that wants to go and see it.
If you’re looking for a bloodbath, this is a novel for you. There’s lots of bloody, gritty, gore-infested violence that splatters through the pages of The Return Man, and helps make the novel more enjoyable.
Highly recommended, zombie fan or not.
Verdict: 4/5
September 27, 2013
Time taken to read - 3 days
Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton
Blurb from Goodreads
The outbreak tore the USA in two. The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness, known by survivors as the Evacuated States. It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.
But in the wastelands of America, you never know who - or what - is watching you.
My Review
A zombie novel with a bit of a twist, this one is purely centered around America, the West is abandoned barring those reanimated with the virus. The East is a safe haven where the survivors are residing and living in safety. Henry Marco is in the West with the walking dead and making a living by bringing them peace after being hired by their family. His business partner is in the East and deals with the contracts, money and people whilst Henry does the dirty work. Henry has a personal agenda and is on the lookout for his wife whom he lost during the in initial outbreak, four years ago. As always there is corruption and Homeland Security makes Marco an offer he can't refuse, to go into the heart of the outbreak, risk life and limb to complete his mission.
There is a lot going on in this wee story, it starts off with Henry tracking a relative for someone on the other side and we get an introduction into what he does. Henry is haunted by the fact he finds others relatives but can't find his own wife, this is what keeps him in the West and in constant danger. He then meets up with Kheng Wu - Kenny, although Henry mostly calls him Wu, they make a great team although Wu is not all he seems although the reader knows all along his secret.
There is a lot of action and the zombie scenes kicked my heart rate up a bit just about every time. It has the zombie theme at the heart of the story but also love, devotion, friendship, trust, betrayal and corruption. I really enjoyed this and it was my first zombie read in a wee while. I have added the next in the series on to my wish list as although this was my first time with this author I did quite enjoy it and would like to read more about the characters in this story. 4/5 for me this time, I did like it, it has good pace however I am fussy with zombie stories and there was one or two wee things that didn't bring it right up to the five star mark.
Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton
Blurb from Goodreads
The outbreak tore the USA in two. The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness, known by survivors as the Evacuated States. It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead and delivers peace.
Now Homeland Security wants Marco for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.
But in the wastelands of America, you never know who - or what - is watching you.
My Review
A zombie novel with a bit of a twist, this one is purely centered around America, the West is abandoned barring those reanimated with the virus. The East is a safe haven where the survivors are residing and living in safety. Henry Marco is in the West with the walking dead and making a living by bringing them peace after being hired by their family. His business partner is in the East and deals with the contracts, money and people whilst Henry does the dirty work. Henry has a personal agenda and is on the lookout for his wife whom he lost during the in initial outbreak, four years ago. As always there is corruption and Homeland Security makes Marco an offer he can't refuse, to go into the heart of the outbreak, risk life and limb to complete his mission.
There is a lot going on in this wee story, it starts off with Henry tracking a relative for someone on the other side and we get an introduction into what he does. Henry is haunted by the fact he finds others relatives but can't find his own wife, this is what keeps him in the West and in constant danger. He then meets up with Kheng Wu - Kenny, although Henry mostly calls him Wu, they make a great team although Wu is not all he seems although the reader knows all along his secret.
There is a lot of action and the zombie scenes kicked my heart rate up a bit just about every time. It has the zombie theme at the heart of the story but also love, devotion, friendship, trust, betrayal and corruption. I really enjoyed this and it was my first zombie read in a wee while. I have added the next in the series on to my wish list as although this was my first time with this author I did quite enjoy it and would like to read more about the characters in this story. 4/5 for me this time, I did like it, it has good pace however I am fussy with zombie stories and there was one or two wee things that didn't bring it right up to the five star mark.
August 15, 2012
just about the only internal organ that doesn't ever become external in this book is a uterus.
the guts! the gore! the slime! the pus! the ...... ya, the list of icky goes on and on.
but it's still, in a way, a kind of fun read for zombie fans. the premise is way cool: a zombie virus begun on the US west coast has worked its way eastward and been stopped only at the Mississippi River. the US abandons the midwest and the west and goes on about its business, after absorbing the non-infected refugees. the west is a giant graveyard, except the dead won't lie down.
one man (cue music) has chosen to stay in arizona to hunt for his wife. in the meantime, to pay the car insurance or something, he takes on jobs: finding the random roaming dead and ending their undead misery.
all is well in this sunny, depopulated haven of bliss until some shady covert types let him know that he has to go find an old (possibly dead) friend in california, and bring back his blood.
complications, as they say, ensue; testosterone skyrockets. perfect grist (ha! ha!) for a hollywood movie.
there's nothing deep here, except the gore on the floor--lots of derring-do, witty banter at terrifying moments, clever escapes. but if you're in the mood for a popcorn book with a side-order of entrails, this book is your Manly Man.
just don't try to read it at lunchtime, or over dinner.
one oddity in the book: everyone living and dead is american... well, almost... but anyway, all the tyres are british. can't figure that one. has some british tyre-making company come along with tyres guaranteed to outlast the zombiepocalypse? a puzzler.
the guts! the gore! the slime! the pus! the ...... ya, the list of icky goes on and on.
but it's still, in a way, a kind of fun read for zombie fans. the premise is way cool: a zombie virus begun on the US west coast has worked its way eastward and been stopped only at the Mississippi River. the US abandons the midwest and the west and goes on about its business, after absorbing the non-infected refugees. the west is a giant graveyard, except the dead won't lie down.
one man (cue music) has chosen to stay in arizona to hunt for his wife. in the meantime, to pay the car insurance or something, he takes on jobs: finding the random roaming dead and ending their undead misery.
all is well in this sunny, depopulated haven of bliss until some shady covert types let him know that he has to go find an old (possibly dead) friend in california, and bring back his blood.
complications, as they say, ensue; testosterone skyrockets. perfect grist (ha! ha!) for a hollywood movie.
there's nothing deep here, except the gore on the floor--lots of derring-do, witty banter at terrifying moments, clever escapes. but if you're in the mood for a popcorn book with a side-order of entrails, this book is your Manly Man.
just don't try to read it at lunchtime, or over dinner.
one oddity in the book: everyone living and dead is american... well, almost... but anyway, all the tyres are british. can't figure that one. has some british tyre-making company come along with tyres guaranteed to outlast the zombiepocalypse? a puzzler.
June 6, 2012
The Return Man has brought the concept of zombies back from the dead, for me at least. I was getting tired of all the stories that were all identical with the same plots, the same types of protagonists and no real story telling. "Let's just shoot some zombies" had become a way if life for zombie writers, and then, along came V. M. Zito, who decided to actually write a story about a character that you could relate to, that had depth, and that was Henry Marco. This story follows a former surgeon named Marco as he is hired by what's left of the U.S. government to hunt down an old friend in California. Folks call him the zombie hitman, and he's hired by families to hunt down their turned relatives and return them to just plain dead. He doesn't like his job, but its one that he'll continue to do until he finds his long lost wife.
The Return Man has a thousand different levels within the story, and each character isn't only relatable, but is also much more than 2 dimensional. Even the characters you hate have moments in which you love them, and the struggles that Marco goes through tug at your heart strings. Horror has been slowly evolving into just gore. You make it gore and you've made it horror, but Zito reminds us that horror has many different dimensions. That horror can simply be the ugly shadow cast by the destuction of hope.
This isn't a zombie story, it's a great story that just so happens to have zombies in it.
Loved this book.
The Return Man has a thousand different levels within the story, and each character isn't only relatable, but is also much more than 2 dimensional. Even the characters you hate have moments in which you love them, and the struggles that Marco goes through tug at your heart strings. Horror has been slowly evolving into just gore. You make it gore and you've made it horror, but Zito reminds us that horror has many different dimensions. That horror can simply be the ugly shadow cast by the destuction of hope.
This isn't a zombie story, it's a great story that just so happens to have zombies in it.
Loved this book.
May 19, 2013
Very gripping and evocative writing style, ruined for me by a doofus MC and a basic premise I simply cannot believe (no, not the zombies: Marco's job).
And one word, dude: crossbow.
And one word, dude: crossbow.
March 17, 2024
L’homme des Morts de V.M. Zito aux Editions Orbit
Un bon 16/20
Je n’avais pas lu de livres qui parlent de zombies, d’invasion zombies, de mangeurs de chair humaine et autres joyeusetés du même genre depuis longtemps aussi quand je suis tombée sur cet ouvrage je n’ai pas hésité. D’autant que le titre comme la couverture m’ont attisé les papilles gustatives (pas de chair en putréfaction bien évidemment…)
Les Etats-Unis ont connu une épidémie de zombification intense. Mais qui a réussi à être contenue au sud-ouest du pays. Un homme a refusé d’évacuer et vit dans cette zone de non-droit. Son travail, retrouver des zombies chers aux cœurs de vivants et leur permettre de passer dans l’au-delà. Tout cela contre rémunération bien évidemment. Mais on va lui proposer un contrat qu’il va être tenté de refuser. Sauf qu’on ne lui laisse pas vraiment le choix…
Si le plot n’est pas le plus original au monde (mais après tout on parle de zombie et sorti d’une histoire d’amour entre vivant et mort vivant, difficile de jouer la carte de l’originalité) l’écriture est passionnante. Plus qu’un roman de survie en territoire zombie on se trouve ici dans un véritable roman d’aventures à travers les Etats-Unis dévastés.
Les zombies ne sont finalement qu’une intrigue secondaire, ce ne sont pas eux les « vrais » méchants comme on s’en rend compte rapidement. Un des personnages refuse d’ailleurs tout bonnement de les tuer (alors que pour ce qui est de trucider des vivants, on y va à tout va). On retrouve du Romero dans cet ouvrage où les zombies tiennent moins d’importance dans l’histoire que la façon dont les survivants gèrent cette apocalypse nouvelle.
Il y a des rebondissements en veux-tu, en voilà, des sectes plus qu’étranges, un acolyte plus que suspect, une fin à faire pleurer dans les chaumières. En bref une bonne lecture détente pour déconnecter de la réalité en jouant à se faire peur. La fin est ouverte et appelle une suite. Deux novellas existent dans le même univers, avec le même personnage principal mais j’avoue ne pas avoir trouvé comment me les procurer. Je peuplerai donc la suite de l’histoire par mon imagination et disons-le il y a de quoi faire avec l’univers installé par V.M. Zito !
Un bon 16/20
Je n’avais pas lu de livres qui parlent de zombies, d’invasion zombies, de mangeurs de chair humaine et autres joyeusetés du même genre depuis longtemps aussi quand je suis tombée sur cet ouvrage je n’ai pas hésité. D’autant que le titre comme la couverture m’ont attisé les papilles gustatives (pas de chair en putréfaction bien évidemment…)
Les Etats-Unis ont connu une épidémie de zombification intense. Mais qui a réussi à être contenue au sud-ouest du pays. Un homme a refusé d’évacuer et vit dans cette zone de non-droit. Son travail, retrouver des zombies chers aux cœurs de vivants et leur permettre de passer dans l’au-delà. Tout cela contre rémunération bien évidemment. Mais on va lui proposer un contrat qu’il va être tenté de refuser. Sauf qu’on ne lui laisse pas vraiment le choix…
Si le plot n’est pas le plus original au monde (mais après tout on parle de zombie et sorti d’une histoire d’amour entre vivant et mort vivant, difficile de jouer la carte de l’originalité) l’écriture est passionnante. Plus qu’un roman de survie en territoire zombie on se trouve ici dans un véritable roman d’aventures à travers les Etats-Unis dévastés.
Les zombies ne sont finalement qu’une intrigue secondaire, ce ne sont pas eux les « vrais » méchants comme on s’en rend compte rapidement. Un des personnages refuse d’ailleurs tout bonnement de les tuer (alors que pour ce qui est de trucider des vivants, on y va à tout va). On retrouve du Romero dans cet ouvrage où les zombies tiennent moins d’importance dans l’histoire que la façon dont les survivants gèrent cette apocalypse nouvelle.
Il y a des rebondissements en veux-tu, en voilà, des sectes plus qu’étranges, un acolyte plus que suspect, une fin à faire pleurer dans les chaumières. En bref une bonne lecture détente pour déconnecter de la réalité en jouant à se faire peur. La fin est ouverte et appelle une suite. Deux novellas existent dans le même univers, avec le même personnage principal mais j’avoue ne pas avoir trouvé comment me les procurer. Je peuplerai donc la suite de l’histoire par mon imagination et disons-le il y a de quoi faire avec l’univers installé par V.M. Zito !
January 9, 2018
4 yrs after zombie appoc, half US is still ok/other half zombies, searches for a person, blah, blah, not great but not super boring. No need to read next in series
December 13, 2024
I'm normally all in on TEOTWAWKI genre but this book just fell flat for me, it was the same old same old and I'm just not interested.
June 2, 2020
Gostei do tipo de escrita, muito viva e gráfica. Como já vi muita série e filme de zombies (vergonha... 🙄) também consigo facilmente imaginar e faz "sentido" o que leio...
June 29, 2024
It was fine. Early on I thought about putting it down but then didn’t. Overall well written albeit wordy in spots (zombie attacks that seem to go on for 20 pages purely because of description). I found myself skimming often. Not the worst thing I’ve read but didn’t bring a lot of thrill either.
September 10, 2016
The Return Man is set in a barely future U.S. in which some sort of zombie plague has broken out and the country has been cut in half by a retaining wall at the Mississippi River. Our daring main character is a neurologist by training, but refused to evacuate due to personal reasons, and now passes his time hunting down other people's loved ones and delivering final death to them (Wait, does this sound like Rot Ruin? I hated that.)
The book opens with Marco up in a tree blind having searched for a corpse in multiple locations and having believed finally to have located him. He mostly identifies the decomposed via jewelry, so his main goal in this trip is to get his target's wedding band. He shoots the body on a shore of a lake, waits to spy out any incoming trouble, and then hoofs down to the lake to retrieve the body, which OMG! Has started to drift out!!
This is where the book gets dumb, real dumb. Marco has the choice to go back to his blind or to strip naked abandon his guns, shoes, and clothes and wade out after it. He's probably already got enough proof not to have to get the ring, but what the hell, he chases the body into the lake (I love that it doesn't occur to him until he's already in that there may be hidden zombies on the lake bed). He makes his way out to the body, one gun on a neck sling, and then realizes OMG! He's surrounded by zombies that were just in the treeline. He carefully takes his first shot (the only one he'll have time to really aim), and then realizes OMG! He forgot to get the ring off the body. Are you kidding me? The dude has been tracking this RING for weeks and he forgets his goal upon getting there? And don't point out the horde, because he's been doing this for four years. If he can't think critically while surrounded, he'd already be dead.
Sigh. So I figure maybe the author chose that to make the opening exciting. Then we get to the second section and MC2 makes a poor strategic decision that almost gets him killed. Then we get to section 3, and MC1 makes several poor strategic decisions that almost get him killed. Ad nauseum. It was sort of terrible, but maybe in that juicy way where you are going to tear the book to pieces in a review later. ;)
But the book just keeps going. More dumb decisions, more stupid actions scenes (MC2 doesn't actually kill zombies), and best of all too much description. The book lingers on all the uncoiled, unsprung, discolored, hanging bits possible, but somehow it's not particularly gross which makes me think that Zito is lacking in the power of evocative imagery department. A good writer can conjure the perfect scene out of air and a handful of words. Zito uses hundreds and is just scraping by. The book is also not scary, not funny, and only barely entertaining. Not to mention there are all kinds of holes in Zito's world building. Poke at it even a little bit and it starts to unravel around the edges. For instance, think about how well the evacuation of New Orleans for Katrina went. Now imagine that instead of a region, you had to work out the logistics for clearing out, oh, I don't know half the continental U.S. on zero notice in the midst of active hostiles. Right....
It winds up to three conclusions and a couple of "twists" but none of it is particularly exciting, engaging, surprising, or smart. Yes, no one expects high literature from a zombie book, but they don't have be this dumb or mediocre either.
The book opens with Marco up in a tree blind having searched for a corpse in multiple locations and having believed finally to have located him. He mostly identifies the decomposed via jewelry, so his main goal in this trip is to get his target's wedding band. He shoots the body on a shore of a lake, waits to spy out any incoming trouble, and then hoofs down to the lake to retrieve the body, which OMG! Has started to drift out!!
This is where the book gets dumb, real dumb. Marco has the choice to go back to his blind or to strip naked abandon his guns, shoes, and clothes and wade out after it. He's probably already got enough proof not to have to get the ring, but what the hell, he chases the body into the lake (I love that it doesn't occur to him until he's already in that there may be hidden zombies on the lake bed). He makes his way out to the body, one gun on a neck sling, and then realizes OMG! He's surrounded by zombies that were just in the treeline. He carefully takes his first shot (the only one he'll have time to really aim), and then realizes OMG! He forgot to get the ring off the body. Are you kidding me? The dude has been tracking this RING for weeks and he forgets his goal upon getting there? And don't point out the horde, because he's been doing this for four years. If he can't think critically while surrounded, he'd already be dead.
Sigh. So I figure maybe the author chose that to make the opening exciting. Then we get to the second section and MC2 makes a poor strategic decision that almost gets him killed. Then we get to section 3, and MC1 makes several poor strategic decisions that almost get him killed. Ad nauseum. It was sort of terrible, but maybe in that juicy way where you are going to tear the book to pieces in a review later. ;)
But the book just keeps going. More dumb decisions, more stupid actions scenes (MC2 doesn't actually kill zombies), and best of all too much description. The book lingers on all the uncoiled, unsprung, discolored, hanging bits possible, but somehow it's not particularly gross which makes me think that Zito is lacking in the power of evocative imagery department. A good writer can conjure the perfect scene out of air and a handful of words. Zito uses hundreds and is just scraping by. The book is also not scary, not funny, and only barely entertaining. Not to mention there are all kinds of holes in Zito's world building. Poke at it even a little bit and it starts to unravel around the edges. For instance, think about how well the evacuation of New Orleans for Katrina went. Now imagine that instead of a region, you had to work out the logistics for clearing out, oh, I don't know half the continental U.S. on zero notice in the midst of active hostiles. Right....
It winds up to three conclusions and a couple of "twists" but none of it is particularly exciting, engaging, surprising, or smart. Yes, no one expects high literature from a zombie book, but they don't have be this dumb or mediocre either.
July 18, 2016
Wow, I honestly cannot even begin to express how much I love this book. From beginning to end, it grabbed me by the throat and never let go. I absolutely fell in love with Henry Marco from the moment I met him (okay, him being a physician had a little to do with it ;)) and his character is fleshed out so so well and I just had to know his story.
I won’t reiterate the premise, but Marco is contracted by surviving family members to hunt and kill their zombified loved ones. He brings back trinkets with him—wedding rings, watches, usually jewelry—as proof of their demise or their “return”. He still remains in the evacuated states (or western America), desperately seeking his wife for the past four years, whom he believes has been seized by the Resurrection (or “zombie disease”). So, in the mean time, he tracks down the loved ones of others and puts them to rest.
Marco and his wife, Delle, hold a tragic history (which I won’t spoil here) but this is really the “guts” of the story, so to speak (which I loved). Enter Kheng Wu, a spy from China, who deceives Marco into thinking he’s an American soldier when Marco is forced by Homeland Security into hunting an old colleague of his who holds the secret to the Resurrection. I really enjoyed the political scope of this story as well (the Republican party is the major force of government here and how every other nation is competing to find a cure for the Resurrection before it affects their own nation—America is the only country plagued with zombies and is no longer a world power).
This book was FULL of action and the pacing was perfect; it never slowed down for me. Some of the situations Marco finds himself in are horrific and it’s nearly unfathomable how he manages to get himself out of them alive (zombies in the woods, zombies on a train, ZOMBIES IN A PRISON—oh hell yeah!). Although, I have to warn you, there are some extremely violent and gory scenes in this book. However, they were very well done—Zito knows how to make every scene vivid and believable without being purple or over the top.
Every medical aspect of this novel was accurate and Zito definitely did his research (prions!!! Eeeee, I love it! Why didn’t I think of this?! WHY?!). I really love the idea that zombies still have some form of basic memory, where they return to places that had affected them in life—marriage/honeymoon/first date locales, cemeteries of loved ones, their first homes, etc. This makes perfect sense to me since these types of memories are deeply ridden in our gray matter. My only qualm was the fact that zombies didn’t breath but they made sound (breathing is essential to voice, along with intact vocal cords and articulators), but this is a mistake every zombie book makes. I know there’s a fear factor with the traditional moaning, but in reality, zombies would probably only gurgle every once in awhile or belch from the gas accumulation in their GI tracts.
One other issue I had was the UK spelling of a novel set in America. Why didn’t the editors fix this? It’s really no big deal, but I found it curious that the author is an American who wrote everything in UK form. There were also sentences that went on for paragraphs, which pulled me out of the story at times. I’m not sure if this was an attempt to uphold the pacing, but I think the novel could’ve used a good edit.
Otherwise, the story itself was really brilliant and a fantastic new take on the pseudo-apocalyptic zombie genre. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s remotely interested in these types of novels—it’s worth every second of your time!
I won’t reiterate the premise, but Marco is contracted by surviving family members to hunt and kill their zombified loved ones. He brings back trinkets with him—wedding rings, watches, usually jewelry—as proof of their demise or their “return”. He still remains in the evacuated states (or western America), desperately seeking his wife for the past four years, whom he believes has been seized by the Resurrection (or “zombie disease”). So, in the mean time, he tracks down the loved ones of others and puts them to rest.
Marco and his wife, Delle, hold a tragic history (which I won’t spoil here) but this is really the “guts” of the story, so to speak (which I loved). Enter Kheng Wu, a spy from China, who deceives Marco into thinking he’s an American soldier when Marco is forced by Homeland Security into hunting an old colleague of his who holds the secret to the Resurrection. I really enjoyed the political scope of this story as well (the Republican party is the major force of government here and how every other nation is competing to find a cure for the Resurrection before it affects their own nation—America is the only country plagued with zombies and is no longer a world power).
This book was FULL of action and the pacing was perfect; it never slowed down for me. Some of the situations Marco finds himself in are horrific and it’s nearly unfathomable how he manages to get himself out of them alive (zombies in the woods, zombies on a train, ZOMBIES IN A PRISON—oh hell yeah!). Although, I have to warn you, there are some extremely violent and gory scenes in this book. However, they were very well done—Zito knows how to make every scene vivid and believable without being purple or over the top.
Every medical aspect of this novel was accurate and Zito definitely did his research (prions!!! Eeeee, I love it! Why didn’t I think of this?! WHY?!). I really love the idea that zombies still have some form of basic memory, where they return to places that had affected them in life—marriage/honeymoon/first date locales, cemeteries of loved ones, their first homes, etc. This makes perfect sense to me since these types of memories are deeply ridden in our gray matter. My only qualm was the fact that zombies didn’t breath but they made sound (breathing is essential to voice, along with intact vocal cords and articulators), but this is a mistake every zombie book makes. I know there’s a fear factor with the traditional moaning, but in reality, zombies would probably only gurgle every once in awhile or belch from the gas accumulation in their GI tracts.
One other issue I had was the UK spelling of a novel set in America. Why didn’t the editors fix this? It’s really no big deal, but I found it curious that the author is an American who wrote everything in UK form. There were also sentences that went on for paragraphs, which pulled me out of the story at times. I’m not sure if this was an attempt to uphold the pacing, but I think the novel could’ve used a good edit.
Otherwise, the story itself was really brilliant and a fantastic new take on the pseudo-apocalyptic zombie genre. I highly recommend this to anyone who’s remotely interested in these types of novels—it’s worth every second of your time!
September 1, 2012
Yes it is a zombie novel. Yes I know that zombies seem to be everywhere on the big screen, on the small screen, in comics, and in novels. They are I guess the new "it girl" of monsters, with the star of vampires fading somewhat (are vampires really even scary anymore, 30 Days of Night and the vampire Nathaniel Cade in Christopher Farnsworth's novels aside?). One can aruge that can be quite interesting if not scary, but well, that is not the topic to be discussed here.
I need to admit up front I am a sucker for both a good post apocalypse novel and the TV series Walking Dead. And like in the latter series, you get a bit of both, though, quite different from The Walking Dead on AMC, the world didn't quite end. And in that, I think, lies one of the book's strengths and weaknesses. Face it, in a good zombie story, zombies are obstacles, terryifing often to be sure, but not necessarily of the greatest interest themselves. It's the humans, all about the humans. The living ones at any rate. They are both the greatest asset and often the worse enemy.
In the world of The Return Man, not all of humanity died out. In fact, much of it survived. I would even say the vast majority of it. The zombies took over - or was ceded to them - the Evacuated States, the U.S. west of the Mississippi River. To the east, you still have TV shows, shopping malls, fast food, and government (put that way it doesn't sound so great). To the west, wasteland and hordes of zombies. Realistic? Maybe not but I think - heresy that this might be - it is more realistic than The Walking Dead, where no government pretty much anywhere (The Governor aside) survived. Why are zombie universe apparently universes that never had zombie movies? Or an effective military? For a better take (and more developed world, though it is a trilogy in all fairness) on how a post-zombie (but not post-end-of-the-world) society might function and be like to live in, I recommend Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy.
Anyway, it is a strength that we have government intrigue, politics at home and abroad, and people "back east" for the main character Henry Marco to interact with (even if often through teleconferences; apparently the zombie rising did not end that). A downside though, even with all those humans still alive, Marco is either alone or has for the most of the book, at most, one other, I would say for now fellow traveler, to interact with. There are humans - bad humans - in the Evacuated States who like Henry Marco make a living (no pun intended) there but mostly they were, eh, obstacles too, not at all developed. Mostly, though there is one huge exception that was quite interesting. No spoilers here though.
This is not a profound book with a Message, just a good zombie adventure story that doesen't pretend to be anything but. It was surprisingly gory at times, describing in loving detail what zombies do to people. Perhaps a bit overly graphic but eh, it's horror. I liked how the author handled zombies in general and while the zombie transmission model wasn't anything really new, it was better explained than in The Walking Dead (though to be fair to that, The Walking Dead deliberately does not deal with the science much if at all).
It is a stand alone book though clearly there could be a sequel, which could either go the "lone zombie killer hero" route, or could deal with the fallout of the intrigue from back east or I guess both. I would likely read it I think, as this one was a pretty fast read.
I need to admit up front I am a sucker for both a good post apocalypse novel and the TV series Walking Dead. And like in the latter series, you get a bit of both, though, quite different from The Walking Dead on AMC, the world didn't quite end. And in that, I think, lies one of the book's strengths and weaknesses. Face it, in a good zombie story, zombies are obstacles, terryifing often to be sure, but not necessarily of the greatest interest themselves. It's the humans, all about the humans. The living ones at any rate. They are both the greatest asset and often the worse enemy.
In the world of The Return Man, not all of humanity died out. In fact, much of it survived. I would even say the vast majority of it. The zombies took over - or was ceded to them - the Evacuated States, the U.S. west of the Mississippi River. To the east, you still have TV shows, shopping malls, fast food, and government (put that way it doesn't sound so great). To the west, wasteland and hordes of zombies. Realistic? Maybe not but I think - heresy that this might be - it is more realistic than The Walking Dead, where no government pretty much anywhere (The Governor aside) survived. Why are zombie universe apparently universes that never had zombie movies? Or an effective military? For a better take (and more developed world, though it is a trilogy in all fairness) on how a post-zombie (but not post-end-of-the-world) society might function and be like to live in, I recommend Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy.
Anyway, it is a strength that we have government intrigue, politics at home and abroad, and people "back east" for the main character Henry Marco to interact with (even if often through teleconferences; apparently the zombie rising did not end that). A downside though, even with all those humans still alive, Marco is either alone or has for the most of the book, at most, one other, I would say for now fellow traveler, to interact with. There are humans - bad humans - in the Evacuated States who like Henry Marco make a living (no pun intended) there but mostly they were, eh, obstacles too, not at all developed. Mostly, though there is one huge exception that was quite interesting. No spoilers here though.
This is not a profound book with a Message, just a good zombie adventure story that doesen't pretend to be anything but. It was surprisingly gory at times, describing in loving detail what zombies do to people. Perhaps a bit overly graphic but eh, it's horror. I liked how the author handled zombies in general and while the zombie transmission model wasn't anything really new, it was better explained than in The Walking Dead (though to be fair to that, The Walking Dead deliberately does not deal with the science much if at all).
It is a stand alone book though clearly there could be a sequel, which could either go the "lone zombie killer hero" route, or could deal with the fallout of the intrigue from back east or I guess both. I would likely read it I think, as this one was a pretty fast read.
August 25, 2017
Henry is one of the few people alive in the zombie wastelands, looking for his missing wife, and being hired by grieving families to have their zombie relatives put to rest. Now the government have found out about him and they want to hire him to track down a doctor who was working in a prison lab to find a cure-and they won't take no for an answer. Henry and his military escort have a dangerous journey ahead and Henry is not aware that his escort is actually a Chinese agent who plans to kill him after the mission.
This really was a great zombie book, one of the best that I've read. It had all the action and excitement of a zombie book complete with death and gore. Three scenes that really stand out include the pair trying to get some supplies from a train that has been overrun by the undead. There was some serious tension and scary moments in that scene. The dead end on the highway with the crazy guys chasing them was another very exciting bit that had me on the edge of my seat. And the very gripping series of events in the prison were so well written that I didn't want to put the book down. Having all these exciting action sequences are exactly what I look for in this genre. But it is not just action. The tension that the author builds during these scenes is excellent and it keeps you hooked on the story.
Henry is a great hero because he isn't a super hero. He's a normal guy who has adapted to a new way of life and is doing what he can to give peace of mind to the families of the dead, yet sadly he cannot find that peace of mind for himself. He is constantly looking for his wife amongst the undead and takes a detour from the mission in a last hope of finding her. This gave him a very human and sympathetic side and I felt so sorry for the pain he was going through. We see more of his story as he remembers the worst moments of his life just before the zombie outbreak and those incidents become related to his current mission.
Wu is a complex character. On the one hand he is the bad guy who has killed people to get close to Henry, and he plans to dispose of him when he is no longer any use. On the other you see moments when he really seems to connect to Henry, and the reader knows that he is working under orders for his government. Are you bad for doing what you are ordered? Well that is the million dollar question. Then we have the people who have threatened Henry to make him do this job against their will. They have information Henry needs and the power to hurt his friends and are willing to use it against him, which in my eyes made them worse than Wu. We also have the survivalist gang who want to kill them and there is no doubt that you want them to be zombie chow! Having some good bad guys to yell at is always fun!
The zombies are dang scary and dangerous, as we see from the opening scenes of the book and the mayhem just keeps on coming. The descriptions were good with the perfect mix of tension, action, danger and gore. There really was a lot to like about this book and I recommend it to fans of The Walking Dead and the ZA Recht zombie books.
This really was a great zombie book, one of the best that I've read. It had all the action and excitement of a zombie book complete with death and gore. Three scenes that really stand out include the pair trying to get some supplies from a train that has been overrun by the undead. There was some serious tension and scary moments in that scene. The dead end on the highway with the crazy guys chasing them was another very exciting bit that had me on the edge of my seat. And the very gripping series of events in the prison were so well written that I didn't want to put the book down. Having all these exciting action sequences are exactly what I look for in this genre. But it is not just action. The tension that the author builds during these scenes is excellent and it keeps you hooked on the story.
Henry is a great hero because he isn't a super hero. He's a normal guy who has adapted to a new way of life and is doing what he can to give peace of mind to the families of the dead, yet sadly he cannot find that peace of mind for himself. He is constantly looking for his wife amongst the undead and takes a detour from the mission in a last hope of finding her. This gave him a very human and sympathetic side and I felt so sorry for the pain he was going through. We see more of his story as he remembers the worst moments of his life just before the zombie outbreak and those incidents become related to his current mission.
Wu is a complex character. On the one hand he is the bad guy who has killed people to get close to Henry, and he plans to dispose of him when he is no longer any use. On the other you see moments when he really seems to connect to Henry, and the reader knows that he is working under orders for his government. Are you bad for doing what you are ordered? Well that is the million dollar question. Then we have the people who have threatened Henry to make him do this job against their will. They have information Henry needs and the power to hurt his friends and are willing to use it against him, which in my eyes made them worse than Wu. We also have the survivalist gang who want to kill them and there is no doubt that you want them to be zombie chow! Having some good bad guys to yell at is always fun!
The zombies are dang scary and dangerous, as we see from the opening scenes of the book and the mayhem just keeps on coming. The descriptions were good with the perfect mix of tension, action, danger and gore. There really was a lot to like about this book and I recommend it to fans of The Walking Dead and the ZA Recht zombie books.
April 19, 2016
The Return Man is a zombie book, set in the USA after a fast spreading virus turns people into zombies causing countless casualties, the Eastern part of the US is then quarantined with most of the survivors left alive being there, called The Safe States. The Western part of the US is where the zombies rule and only a few survivors remain, called The Evacuated States, with the lead character of the title ‘The Return Man’ being one of them.
The main character is Dr Henry Marco who in simple terms ‘returns’ people, what this means is that he kills zombies, he’s not a war waging hero who is attempting to kill every undead, no, he is just a former Doctor, who stayed behind to search for his missing wife.
With the help of his contact in the Safe States he takes jobs from people there who have loved ones that have been turned into zombies. He then kills ‘returns’ the zombie so they remain dead, giving closure to the family so they can grieve for their loss of a loved and gain closure, nyone knowing that there not walking around somewhere out there one of the undead.
The government in the Safe States find out about Henry and use his contact to forcible make him search for a former colleague who went missing not long after the virus started spreading (4 years ago) and who may have a cure to end the plague. The Safe States government aren’t the only ones interested in a possible cure for the plague and with the last known location of his former colleague being hundreds of miles away through zombie infested terrain, it will take Henry on his toughest job yet.
This is a really good book, it’s well written and well paced. The author gives you enough detail without you as the reader ever feeling that the information given is detracting from the actual story. Both the Safe and the Evacuated States are believable areas and you can really picture them in your mind.
The lead character of Henry is really well developed and likeable, we are given enough of his back story so that when he finally has to take on the mission to find his former colleague we can really feel for him. There are a few other minor characters in the book who are all well rounded.
Without going into spoilers, there is one other main character who joins Henry on his job and it’s the relationship between these two that really make this book stand out, they act brilliantly as a counter point to each other and as their plight worsens the relationship between the two grows as they have to rely more and more on each other to get them through their ordeal and this leads to a really moving part at the end of the book.
This book really surprised me, I was expecting a generic zombie novel but The Return Man was so much more and is a great book. There are some moving parts, some stand out terrific moments, horrific moments, the characters, there relationships and the actual ‘return man’ concept all make this far above the standard generic zombie novel out there, it is a compulsive, character driven, page turning read.
Highly recommended.
The main character is Dr Henry Marco who in simple terms ‘returns’ people, what this means is that he kills zombies, he’s not a war waging hero who is attempting to kill every undead, no, he is just a former Doctor, who stayed behind to search for his missing wife.
With the help of his contact in the Safe States he takes jobs from people there who have loved ones that have been turned into zombies. He then kills ‘returns’ the zombie so they remain dead, giving closure to the family so they can grieve for their loss of a loved and gain closure, nyone knowing that there not walking around somewhere out there one of the undead.
The government in the Safe States find out about Henry and use his contact to forcible make him search for a former colleague who went missing not long after the virus started spreading (4 years ago) and who may have a cure to end the plague. The Safe States government aren’t the only ones interested in a possible cure for the plague and with the last known location of his former colleague being hundreds of miles away through zombie infested terrain, it will take Henry on his toughest job yet.
This is a really good book, it’s well written and well paced. The author gives you enough detail without you as the reader ever feeling that the information given is detracting from the actual story. Both the Safe and the Evacuated States are believable areas and you can really picture them in your mind.
The lead character of Henry is really well developed and likeable, we are given enough of his back story so that when he finally has to take on the mission to find his former colleague we can really feel for him. There are a few other minor characters in the book who are all well rounded.
Without going into spoilers, there is one other main character who joins Henry on his job and it’s the relationship between these two that really make this book stand out, they act brilliantly as a counter point to each other and as their plight worsens the relationship between the two grows as they have to rely more and more on each other to get them through their ordeal and this leads to a really moving part at the end of the book.
This book really surprised me, I was expecting a generic zombie novel but The Return Man was so much more and is a great book. There are some moving parts, some stand out terrific moments, horrific moments, the characters, there relationships and the actual ‘return man’ concept all make this far above the standard generic zombie novel out there, it is a compulsive, character driven, page turning read.
Highly recommended.
January 16, 2014
Standard military-issue spoiler warning.
You know what? Not everything needs a stinger. I know, I know, all the Marvel movies make it look like such a good idea, but everyone isn't required to put in an 'after the credits' thing, or in this case, an epilogue. It serves no purpose whatsoever! It doesn't cast the story in a new light, it just makes a character who was kind of an asshole seem like slightly more of an asshole. Every word written about him screamed 'I am the villain', so it's not exactly surprising to learn, after the story has ended, that yes. Yes he was the villain.
It also seems kind of pointless to obscure his name (it is Osbourne), because there are three characters. I mean, there are a lot of zombies, and a handful of redshirts and plot devices with legs, but there are only three people who actually talk enough to make me care about them in any way. Which isn't specifically a bad thing; this is a zombie story after all. It's just that I don't think the story should pretend to be something it's not.
What it IS, is a pretty good story about two people who hate each other with opposing goals surviving the zombie wasteland. What it really wants to be is some kind of spy-thriller, which doesn't always show, but when it does, it's really awkward.
Points to the author though for making a zombie story where humanity isn't almost completely wiped out. As near as I can tell, zombies have caused a few million deaths across the western third of the United States before the whole place was evacuated and contained. So, there ARE zombies, and there's a really well-characterized reason for the main character to be out there in the quarantine zone, but for the most part, no one goes out there. It's a clever way to tell a zombie story, and I like it way more than the standard "everyone is dead" thing that the genre tends toward.
Final verdict, I liked the book. I liked that the main two characters felt like actual people. I liked the survival and the travel and even the at-odds personalities of the two leads. It just felt satisfying to read.
Except the epilogue. Fuck the epilogue.
You know what? Not everything needs a stinger. I know, I know, all the Marvel movies make it look like such a good idea, but everyone isn't required to put in an 'after the credits' thing, or in this case, an epilogue. It serves no purpose whatsoever! It doesn't cast the story in a new light, it just makes a character who was kind of an asshole seem like slightly more of an asshole. Every word written about him screamed 'I am the villain', so it's not exactly surprising to learn, after the story has ended, that yes. Yes he was the villain.
It also seems kind of pointless to obscure his name (it is Osbourne), because there are three characters. I mean, there are a lot of zombies, and a handful of redshirts and plot devices with legs, but there are only three people who actually talk enough to make me care about them in any way. Which isn't specifically a bad thing; this is a zombie story after all. It's just that I don't think the story should pretend to be something it's not.
What it IS, is a pretty good story about two people who hate each other with opposing goals surviving the zombie wasteland. What it really wants to be is some kind of spy-thriller, which doesn't always show, but when it does, it's really awkward.
Points to the author though for making a zombie story where humanity isn't almost completely wiped out. As near as I can tell, zombies have caused a few million deaths across the western third of the United States before the whole place was evacuated and contained. So, there ARE zombies, and there's a really well-characterized reason for the main character to be out there in the quarantine zone, but for the most part, no one goes out there. It's a clever way to tell a zombie story, and I like it way more than the standard "everyone is dead" thing that the genre tends toward.
Final verdict, I liked the book. I liked that the main two characters felt like actual people. I liked the survival and the travel and even the at-odds personalities of the two leads. It just felt satisfying to read.
Except the epilogue. Fuck the epilogue.
October 17, 2012
V.M. Zito's first novel, The Return Man, is a well-paced, well-written, and compelling entry in the zombie fiction genre. While it features many elements that will be familiar to zombie fans in terms of plot, setting, and characterization - not to mention abundant quantities of gory details! - the novel maintains an energetic freshness that will hold readers' interest. It even manages to throw in a few new twists.
A few years after a massive rising of the undead has rendered all of the United States west of the Mississippi River into an "evacuated" zone, former medical scientist Henry Marco has remained in the west for personal reasons and makes his living accepting contracts to "return" the undead relatives of his living clients to a state of actual death. In the crisis of the zombie uprising, the national government has become an authoritarian tyranny, and its chief figure compels Marco to accept a contract to locate and obtain DNA samples from a former colleague presumed undead at a prison research lab in California.
As it happens, Marco's former colleague is an object of interest from several other quarters. The Chinese government, still untouched by the zombie plague, has dispatched an elite assassin, Kheng Wu, to deceive Marco and accompany him on his mission. A significant portion of the novel is devoted to this familiar "unlikely companions on the road" plotline, but to Zito's credit he keeps it interesting rather than dull. Marco and Wu also discover they must contend with gang of mercenary killers known as The Horsemen, who are also interested in the contract for reasons of their own.
Along the way Zito gradually reveals the painful details about Marco's life that have kept him in the evacuated zone, details that tie together various other plot elements in the novel. The result is a satisfying and cautiously hopeful work, and well worth reading. Just make sure you have a strong stomach!
A few years after a massive rising of the undead has rendered all of the United States west of the Mississippi River into an "evacuated" zone, former medical scientist Henry Marco has remained in the west for personal reasons and makes his living accepting contracts to "return" the undead relatives of his living clients to a state of actual death. In the crisis of the zombie uprising, the national government has become an authoritarian tyranny, and its chief figure compels Marco to accept a contract to locate and obtain DNA samples from a former colleague presumed undead at a prison research lab in California.
As it happens, Marco's former colleague is an object of interest from several other quarters. The Chinese government, still untouched by the zombie plague, has dispatched an elite assassin, Kheng Wu, to deceive Marco and accompany him on his mission. A significant portion of the novel is devoted to this familiar "unlikely companions on the road" plotline, but to Zito's credit he keeps it interesting rather than dull. Marco and Wu also discover they must contend with gang of mercenary killers known as The Horsemen, who are also interested in the contract for reasons of their own.
Along the way Zito gradually reveals the painful details about Marco's life that have kept him in the evacuated zone, details that tie together various other plot elements in the novel. The result is a satisfying and cautiously hopeful work, and well worth reading. Just make sure you have a strong stomach!
February 14, 2014
I admit to a weakness for Zombie books, just can't resist them for some reason. The Return Man was a fun read, a slightly different take on the trope.
The United States is split into the Safe States (the portion of the US to the East of the Mississippi River) and the Evacuated States (West of the Mississippi). Guess which one is full of Zombies? :)
In the Evacuated States, our protagonist Henry Marco lives in Arizona. He acts as a kind of Zombie bounty hunter. Tracking down loved ones for survivors in the Safe States and putting these zombies down completely. A final death for the undead.
It's an interesting premise and the author does some great character and world building. The descriptions of the undead are particularly grizzly and detailed. The story is filled with unrelenting tension and action. I also enjoyed the political aspects in this story, the new American government, the threat of international terrorism and intrigue. These added an extra dimension that you don't see very often in Zombie books.
My only complaints are a tendency to perhaps a bit too much over-description which throws the pace occasionally and the frequent British spellings of words like kerb instead of curb or tyre instead of tire. I grew up in a former British colony so these things took me a bit to notice and typically it wouldn't bother me except the story is set in the US and the whole thing is so America focused that it really stood out in an annoying way.
Regardless, still a fun read and one of the better Zombie books I've read. Three and a half stars.
The United States is split into the Safe States (the portion of the US to the East of the Mississippi River) and the Evacuated States (West of the Mississippi). Guess which one is full of Zombies? :)
In the Evacuated States, our protagonist Henry Marco lives in Arizona. He acts as a kind of Zombie bounty hunter. Tracking down loved ones for survivors in the Safe States and putting these zombies down completely. A final death for the undead.
It's an interesting premise and the author does some great character and world building. The descriptions of the undead are particularly grizzly and detailed. The story is filled with unrelenting tension and action. I also enjoyed the political aspects in this story, the new American government, the threat of international terrorism and intrigue. These added an extra dimension that you don't see very often in Zombie books.
My only complaints are a tendency to perhaps a bit too much over-description which throws the pace occasionally and the frequent British spellings of words like kerb instead of curb or tyre instead of tire. I grew up in a former British colony so these things took me a bit to notice and typically it wouldn't bother me except the story is set in the US and the whole thing is so America focused that it really stood out in an annoying way.
Regardless, still a fun read and one of the better Zombie books I've read. Three and a half stars.
May 12, 2012
Siiiigggghhhh. There's a certain kind of science fiction or action nove--almost exclusively written by me--where the prose is stultifying and inappropriately detailed (when I'm fighting zombies, my thoughts usually drift back to when I met my wife or what my father once told me...and the strangely discolored intestine looped around the thing's legs, just like the garden hose around my mother's legs that summer I joined the marines and trained on XJ-75 Lightning Kill Machines with titanium bolts, Torx head....); where the emotional loner manages to "do what's necessary" and kill stuff and the novels are too effing long and boring and it takes special talent to write an action-packed zombie fight scene and make it DULL. But I run on and on.
I'm disappointed because I've framed a few stories where the the loved ones of a zombie want their former friend, lover, family member to be put out of their misery. Space for some real depth in this concept but Zito isn't original enough to exploit that.
I'm disappointed because I've framed a few stories where the the loved ones of a zombie want their former friend, lover, family member to be put out of their misery. Space for some real depth in this concept but Zito isn't original enough to exploit that.
June 6, 2014
Yet another zombie novel, in which the United States has been afflicted with a plague of the undead. Everything west of the Mississippi has been cordoned off and abandoned to the zombies. Henry Marco has stayed behind, working as a contract killer who "kills" zombies so that they can have their final peace. He is given the task of making his way from his home in Arizona to a prison in California where a vaccine against the zombie disease can be found.
"The Return Man" is structured like a video game. Marco is attacked by a bunch of zombies, fights them off, and moves on to the next level, so to speak. He finally gets to the prison, which is like the villainous home base in video game terms. Each episode in this journey is pretty much the same, an orgy of extended and detailed violence, to the point where I would call it violence porn. It gets to be tedious pretty quick. Still I suppose that there are readers who like this sort of thing, but I'm not one of them.
"The Return Man" is structured like a video game. Marco is attacked by a bunch of zombies, fights them off, and moves on to the next level, so to speak. He finally gets to the prison, which is like the villainous home base in video game terms. Each episode in this journey is pretty much the same, an orgy of extended and detailed violence, to the point where I would call it violence porn. It gets to be tedious pretty quick. Still I suppose that there are readers who like this sort of thing, but I'm not one of them.
March 25, 2012
‘The Return Man’ by V. M. Zito is a dystopian adventure set in America in the year 2018. Zombies have taken claim to half of America, leaving the East safe and a stronghold. No one, not even though ‘un-infected’ are allowed in.
We meet Henry Marco, a man who has remained out in the Evacuated States instead of obeying the call to retreat to the Safe States the Government managed to defend. He’s out there with a few million zombies, making a living by communicating with his brother-in-law (in the Safe States) who takes requests from the grieving to track down their loved ones and serve their second death. So they can go to God, so they can be at peace – Marco doesn’t really care, as long as it pays and gives him something to take his mind off things.
Review continued: http://sentientonline.net/?p=3292
We meet Henry Marco, a man who has remained out in the Evacuated States instead of obeying the call to retreat to the Safe States the Government managed to defend. He’s out there with a few million zombies, making a living by communicating with his brother-in-law (in the Safe States) who takes requests from the grieving to track down their loved ones and serve their second death. So they can go to God, so they can be at peace – Marco doesn’t really care, as long as it pays and gives him something to take his mind off things.
Review continued: http://sentientonline.net/?p=3292
October 26, 2012
so this is like a PI story - a 'PI' who finds missing persons. In this case it's a guy who finds missing people who just happen to be zombies - and he really kills them - for real - for their loved ones. And as he finishes one case he is forced to look for someone from his past by the bad guy and if he doesn't take the case a friend will be killed.
so the zombies are really the only new variable in this story. The 'PI' guy constantly gets into trouble with the zombies by doing stupid stuff he knows he shouldn't do. Quite frankly, his 'almost getting eaten by zombies' was getting boring. In fact, when he got to the train (and who didn't see the problems there?) I skipped ahead to where he got to his final destination and found his guy.
If you read detective/PI stories then you know how it worked out between him and the bad guy -
so the zombies are really the only new variable in this story. The 'PI' guy constantly gets into trouble with the zombies by doing stupid stuff he knows he shouldn't do. Quite frankly, his 'almost getting eaten by zombies' was getting boring. In fact, when he got to the train (and who didn't see the problems there?) I skipped ahead to where he got to his final destination and found his guy.
If you read detective/PI stories then you know how it worked out between him and the bad guy -
Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews