What do you think?
Rate this book
Deadlands
The Dead Won't Die
In A World Of Death. . .
First, the dead rose up--and civilization fell. Those who survived struggled to rebuild, creating makeshift societies with harsh new rules and harsher punishments. Some would be leaders, others slaves. But none would ever be safe from the walking death.
Humanity's Last Hope. . .
Off the coast of Texas, an island research facility offers sanctuary, supplies--and hope--to a desperate trio of survivors. But when they learn what the scientists are doing, how their experiments could unleash armies of the undead, they have no choice but to fight back.
Kill Them All. . .
Dead or alive, the enemy drives the survivors to run and hide--in the last place any human wants to go. Underground. In the tunnels below. Where the dead hunt in herds. . .and the survivors' numbers are dwindling. . .
First, the dead rose up--and civilization fell. Those who survived struggled to rebuild, creating makeshift societies with harsh new rules and harsher punishments. Some would be leaders, others slaves. But none would ever be safe from the walking death.
Humanity's Last Hope. . .
Off the coast of Texas, an island research facility offers sanctuary, supplies--and hope--to a desperate trio of survivors. But when they learn what the scientists are doing, how their experiments could unleash armies of the undead, they have no choice but to fight back.
Kill Them All. . .
Dead or alive, the enemy drives the survivors to run and hide--in the last place any human wants to go. Underground. In the tunnels below. Where the dead hunt in herds. . .and the survivors' numbers are dwindling. . .
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 29, 2015
33 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Joe McKinney
112 books666 followersJoe McKinney has been a patrol officer for the San Antonio Police Department, a homicide detective, a disaster mitigation specialist, a patrol commander, and a successful novelist. His books include the four part Dead World series, Quarantined and Dodging Bullets. His short fiction has been collected in The Red Empire and Other Stories and Dating in Dead World and Other Stories. For more information go to http://joemckinney.wordpress.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 11, 2015
There was a time when I thought Joe McKinney could do no wrong. His first 3 zombie novels were fantastic and great examples of how well he grasped the zombie genre. And then, somewhere along the line, things took a turn for the worst.
Maybe it was the boring and confusing stand-alone Inheritance, or the lackluster and even more bizarre Mutated or the awful novella Crooked House. Yes, there was the decent The Savage Dead thrown into that mix, but for the most part, nearly all of McKinney's recent works have been hugely disappointing and so very far off track from those first 3 books.
The new Deadlands series is no exception. First there was Plague of the Undead which left me feeling empty and almost angry that I had spent time and money on it. For the most part I hated the book, but I was willing to give McKinney the benefit of the doubt that it was a new series, and something he was just getting started on, since, afterall, it had some original and fairly interesting ideas. Plus, I had hopes that the next one would answer some of the annoying questions and close up some previous plot-holes.
Well, let's just say, that while it kind of delivered on those hopes, it still failed to impress me or give me any of the confidence I once held in the author. Really, The Dead Won't Die is a mess of a novel. It's sloppily written with bad dialogue and lazy details. McKinney repeats himself so often that its almost as if he thinks his readers are stupid and forgot what he had just written the chapter before while the characters that were introduced in Plague remain horribly unlikable and any good that they do is quickly replaced by selfish and asinine decisions. The plot brings nothing new to the table in terms of excitement or originality, and like I said, fails to capitalize on the ideas of the first book.
Honestly, this book felt rushed and woefully uninspired. Maybe McKinney was under a deadline with his contract with Pinacle Publishing. Maybe the pride of winning the coveted Bram Stoker award twice has gone to his head and he thinks anything he publishes will be gold. Yeah, that sounds harsh, but this guy used to write such awesome stuff. I used to look forward to every new book and would be one of the first to pre-order anything that was due in the future. Hell, I even pre-ordered this one.
At least it's short (at 311 pages) and I paid only 5 bucks for it.
Maybe it was the boring and confusing stand-alone Inheritance, or the lackluster and even more bizarre Mutated or the awful novella Crooked House. Yes, there was the decent The Savage Dead thrown into that mix, but for the most part, nearly all of McKinney's recent works have been hugely disappointing and so very far off track from those first 3 books.
The new Deadlands series is no exception. First there was Plague of the Undead which left me feeling empty and almost angry that I had spent time and money on it. For the most part I hated the book, but I was willing to give McKinney the benefit of the doubt that it was a new series, and something he was just getting started on, since, afterall, it had some original and fairly interesting ideas. Plus, I had hopes that the next one would answer some of the annoying questions and close up some previous plot-holes.
Well, let's just say, that while it kind of delivered on those hopes, it still failed to impress me or give me any of the confidence I once held in the author. Really, The Dead Won't Die is a mess of a novel. It's sloppily written with bad dialogue and lazy details. McKinney repeats himself so often that its almost as if he thinks his readers are stupid and forgot what he had just written the chapter before while the characters that were introduced in Plague remain horribly unlikable and any good that they do is quickly replaced by selfish and asinine decisions. The plot brings nothing new to the table in terms of excitement or originality, and like I said, fails to capitalize on the ideas of the first book.
Honestly, this book felt rushed and woefully uninspired. Maybe McKinney was under a deadline with his contract with Pinacle Publishing. Maybe the pride of winning the coveted Bram Stoker award twice has gone to his head and he thinks anything he publishes will be gold. Yeah, that sounds harsh, but this guy used to write such awesome stuff. I used to look forward to every new book and would be one of the first to pre-order anything that was due in the future. Hell, I even pre-ordered this one.
At least it's short (at 311 pages) and I paid only 5 bucks for it.
Want to read
January 28, 2015Another one?!
January 6, 2016
Jacob Carlton, Joe McKinney’s protagonist in both The Dead Won’t Die (Pinnacle, October 2015) and Plague of the Undead (Pinnacle, October 2014), isn’t heroic and doesn’t want to be a hero. He’s just an ordinary guy, like you or I, caught up in extraordinary circumstances. All he wants is to survive.
Jake acts the way you or I might react given similar circumstances, not the way we should act but the way we would act. He’s scared shitless most of the time. Jake has more tragic flaws to his personality—uncontrollable displays of anger, a naive schoolboy crush on a married woman named Kelly, and Jake is best friends with a guy who takes advantage of underaged girls—than he has redeeming qualities. In fact, Jake not only lets down almost all of his friends by failing to protect them from zombies and slavers, he deliberately and with malice aforethought kills two of his best friends.
Jake swore an oath to live or die by the Code, Arbella’s version the The Ten Commandments. As one of Arbella’s few police officers, Jake was forced to act as public executioner and shoot Jerry Grieder in the head. Jake did his duty and later discovered the circumstantial evidence had been misinterpreted and Jake executed the wrong man. When the right man turned out to be Jake’s best friend, Jake did his duty again, this time without flinching.
The Dead Won’t Die, the second book in the series, finds Jake and Kelly in what seems at first to be paradise. Temple, the post-apocalypse city that replaced Galveston, has electric lights, electric automobiles, morphic-field powered aerofluyts, and is entirely zombie-free. Just as Arbella was created as a refuge for ordinary people, Temple was created as a refuge for extraordinary people: scientists, engineers, doctors and nurses, and corporate executives. What Temple does not have is police officers and a mutually-agreeable code of conduct.
Jacob, Kelly, and Chelsea soon discover they have been betrayed by the powers-that-be who run Temple. Chelsea’s deceased father, once an honored scientist, is being discredited by Doctor Lester Brooks and the ruling council of Temple. When Chelsea secretes her father’s research and refuses to turn her father’s notebooks over to the council, armed men attempt to capture or kill her. Jacob, Kelly, and Chelsea go on the run. Not only do they have to fight off armed mercenaries who wear battle armor and carry high-tech weaponry, but hoards of zombies from the Great Texas Herd.
McKinney has crafted an exciting series of novels where everyone who dies instantly becomes a zombie. Though Jake is more of an anti-hero than a hero, his love for Kelly and his determination to survive make readers care about the outcome. Despite everything else, Jake is still a cop at heart and he gathers evidence and solves murder mysteries while fighting against zombies and city hall to achieve justice for all.
Not McKinney’s best work, but The Dead Won’t Die is still a competent novel and an exciting read. Highly recommended.
Jake acts the way you or I might react given similar circumstances, not the way we should act but the way we would act. He’s scared shitless most of the time. Jake has more tragic flaws to his personality—uncontrollable displays of anger, a naive schoolboy crush on a married woman named Kelly, and Jake is best friends with a guy who takes advantage of underaged girls—than he has redeeming qualities. In fact, Jake not only lets down almost all of his friends by failing to protect them from zombies and slavers, he deliberately and with malice aforethought kills two of his best friends.
Jake swore an oath to live or die by the Code, Arbella’s version the The Ten Commandments. As one of Arbella’s few police officers, Jake was forced to act as public executioner and shoot Jerry Grieder in the head. Jake did his duty and later discovered the circumstantial evidence had been misinterpreted and Jake executed the wrong man. When the right man turned out to be Jake’s best friend, Jake did his duty again, this time without flinching.
The Dead Won’t Die, the second book in the series, finds Jake and Kelly in what seems at first to be paradise. Temple, the post-apocalypse city that replaced Galveston, has electric lights, electric automobiles, morphic-field powered aerofluyts, and is entirely zombie-free. Just as Arbella was created as a refuge for ordinary people, Temple was created as a refuge for extraordinary people: scientists, engineers, doctors and nurses, and corporate executives. What Temple does not have is police officers and a mutually-agreeable code of conduct.
Jacob, Kelly, and Chelsea soon discover they have been betrayed by the powers-that-be who run Temple. Chelsea’s deceased father, once an honored scientist, is being discredited by Doctor Lester Brooks and the ruling council of Temple. When Chelsea secretes her father’s research and refuses to turn her father’s notebooks over to the council, armed men attempt to capture or kill her. Jacob, Kelly, and Chelsea go on the run. Not only do they have to fight off armed mercenaries who wear battle armor and carry high-tech weaponry, but hoards of zombies from the Great Texas Herd.
McKinney has crafted an exciting series of novels where everyone who dies instantly becomes a zombie. Though Jake is more of an anti-hero than a hero, his love for Kelly and his determination to survive make readers care about the outcome. Despite everything else, Jake is still a cop at heart and he gathers evidence and solves murder mysteries while fighting against zombies and city hall to achieve justice for all.
Not McKinney’s best work, but The Dead Won’t Die is still a competent novel and an exciting read. Highly recommended.
October 14, 2015
Another non stop zombie tale by the great Joe McKinney. His books are what any reader of zombie tales would enjoy. The pace is fast and the action just keeps going. The characters are either well liked or you hope to see them die a horrible death. This book is also for anyone who enjoys sci fi, as McKinney has manged to combine zombies apocalypse with a smattering of sci fi. I would highly recommend this book and any other book by Joe McKinney because he knows how to write a very enjoyable yarn. Jump on the McKinney train and go for a fast ride.
January 29, 2020
I made a bit of a mistake in reading this before reading book #1, not the first time I have done this. It made following some of it difficult but it was still manageable. Regardless of all that I still found it slow in some places and then it would speed up for a while and then drag for a bit more. The characters were not bad and since I missed some of the character-building from the previous book, though it still tells who they were supposed to be. The towns and countries are interesting since they are not the same places that we are used to seeing. The references to "Stranger in a Strange Place" are very good because he happens to be one of my favorite science fiction novels and actually seems apropo to what the the characters encounter.
When the dead rose up 30 years ago civilization fell and many did not make it. The survivors went on to rebuild what they could from the ashes of the old world. The new societies were harsh and in some cases barbaric in their dealings with their citizens and outsiders alike. Punishments could seem to be worse than the crimes in some cases.
An Island off the coast of Texas seems to offer refuge to three weary travelers and may even be the salvation for some of the communities who have had a hard time. But like all idyllic places, it houses some dark secrets of its own that need to be brought into the light. And when our trio learns of some of the things which are really going on they have to decide what to do about it.
I would definitely suggest that you read the first book in the series before reading this one. It is a decent read but would have been so much better if I had read the first novel. This book has multiple layers that can be appreciated with political intrigue, interesting technology and thirty years of survival by regular people.
When the dead rose up 30 years ago civilization fell and many did not make it. The survivors went on to rebuild what they could from the ashes of the old world. The new societies were harsh and in some cases barbaric in their dealings with their citizens and outsiders alike. Punishments could seem to be worse than the crimes in some cases.
An Island off the coast of Texas seems to offer refuge to three weary travelers and may even be the salvation for some of the communities who have had a hard time. But like all idyllic places, it houses some dark secrets of its own that need to be brought into the light. And when our trio learns of some of the things which are really going on they have to decide what to do about it.
I would definitely suggest that you read the first book in the series before reading this one. It is a decent read but would have been so much better if I had read the first novel. This book has multiple layers that can be appreciated with political intrigue, interesting technology and thirty years of survival by regular people.
May 28, 2017
The zombie action scenes were good.
It took me a minute to realize this was actually part of a series.
I had read the book prior. The names sounded familiar. But, it had been to long in between readings.
I don't remember not liking the the Jacob, Chelsea characters. I do remember liking the prior books a whole lot more.
I really like Joe McKinney. But this book didn't seem up to his usual stellar writing.
Plus the ending was somewhat abrupt.
It might be worth checking out. For die hard fans.
For someone reading his books for the first time, I would check out one of his other books.
It took me a minute to realize this was actually part of a series.
I had read the book prior. The names sounded familiar. But, it had been to long in between readings.
I don't remember not liking the the Jacob, Chelsea characters. I do remember liking the prior books a whole lot more.
I really like Joe McKinney. But this book didn't seem up to his usual stellar writing.
Plus the ending was somewhat abrupt.
It might be worth checking out. For die hard fans.
For someone reading his books for the first time, I would check out one of his other books.
March 8, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this mini series but I can't say the same for this book. While it was not the worst novel I have ever read, the story was unlikely and the characters should have been dead many times. I also hated the ending and felt as though I was not given a proper end to the overall series. It's safe to say that after the first Deadlands book, this was a let down.
October 14, 2019
I don't have much to say about this one. It wasn't the worst thing I've read, but it was pretty bad. I still liked the story he was trying to tell, but I hated the characters and how much he repeated himself. Read it to pass time if you want, but I can't really even recommend it for that.
January 8, 2020
I'd give this book a 3.5 it was pretty decent an enjoyable. Solid characters, and I never found myself bored. I found it at Dollar general and I'm now hoping to find more books from this series there.
October 19, 2017
Another awesome book by Joe McKinney. I've listened or read most of Joe McKinney's zombie books and I think the two books in this part of the story are my favorite so far.
April 16, 2025
Not bad, but not good enough to write home about. A bit repetitive, which quickly became very exhausting. I did, however, appreciate the moral ambiguity of the novel and its characters, though.
November 3, 2025
Pretty boring for a zombie book and didn’t have a satisfying ending.
March 12, 2017
Overall the story was pretty good, but there were a few things I didn't like.
The zombie scenes, while obviously part of the book because of its genre, seemed to be so frequent that it got rather tedious. I found myself skimming through each zombie scene in the last 50 pgs sadly.
My biggest complaint about this story is that it felt like nothing more than just one big filler episode. Almost nothing happens outside of them going from one place to the other where shit happens, they fight their way out and then the end. I usually love McKinney's work (aside from Flesheaters) and this was the only thing I found really at fault with the story.
3 stars out of 5.
The zombie scenes, while obviously part of the book because of its genre, seemed to be so frequent that it got rather tedious. I found myself skimming through each zombie scene in the last 50 pgs sadly.
My biggest complaint about this story is that it felt like nothing more than just one big filler episode. Almost nothing happens outside of them going from one place to the other where shit happens, they fight their way out and then the end. I usually love McKinney's work (aside from Flesheaters) and this was the only thing I found really at fault with the story.
3 stars out of 5.
May 18, 2016
The Great Texas Herd
Hopefully you've read Book 1 already. Chelsea Walker, Kelly Banis, and Jacob Carlton..are found by strange people in suits. They arrive in Temple, and find out Chelsea used to live there. Her father was a great scientist but when they arrived, his name had gotten dragged through the mud because of his theory about Morphic Fields hurting people's brains. Also he was blamed for the destruction of the Darwin. Chelsea had her father's notebooks and wanted to clear her father's name. When Jacob woke up in the hospital, he was told he had to face the council. The council denounced him, and suddenly all three were targets. Chelsea thought their only hope was her aunt Miriam in El Paso...but.. The biggest Zombie Herd ever was currently passing through and El Paso was on lock down. So Chelsea, Jacob and Kelly went out on an adventure to El Paso and to clear Chelsea's namesake. I loved this story, I think there was a little less gore and more character building. I'm wondering now what will happen next because this felt like a break for our brave characters that survived the first book! I mean Jacob is a machine!! He really is a bad ass cop and kicks some mad butt!! Kelly stepped up to the plate but Chelsea...I wonder what will become of our teenage survivor..poor girl. Anyways..it's Joe McKinney and Zombies! How can you not like his stuff?! Great book!! Keep it up!
Hopefully you've read Book 1 already. Chelsea Walker, Kelly Banis, and Jacob Carlton..are found by strange people in suits. They arrive in Temple, and find out Chelsea used to live there. Her father was a great scientist but when they arrived, his name had gotten dragged through the mud because of his theory about Morphic Fields hurting people's brains. Also he was blamed for the destruction of the Darwin. Chelsea had her father's notebooks and wanted to clear her father's name. When Jacob woke up in the hospital, he was told he had to face the council. The council denounced him, and suddenly all three were targets. Chelsea thought their only hope was her aunt Miriam in El Paso...but.. The biggest Zombie Herd ever was currently passing through and El Paso was on lock down. So Chelsea, Jacob and Kelly went out on an adventure to El Paso and to clear Chelsea's namesake. I loved this story, I think there was a little less gore and more character building. I'm wondering now what will happen next because this felt like a break for our brave characters that survived the first book! I mean Jacob is a machine!! He really is a bad ass cop and kicks some mad butt!! Kelly stepped up to the plate but Chelsea...I wonder what will become of our teenage survivor..poor girl. Anyways..it's Joe McKinney and Zombies! How can you not like his stuff?! Great book!! Keep it up!
August 1, 2016
Maybe because I did not read the prequel to this book, I did not understand a lot of the jargon and the back story of this book. But the dialogues are juvenile and badly written, a lot of the situations seem impossible and Jacob should've been dead with the amount of injuries that he has received. None of the characters are
Sympathetic or likeable either.
I only gave it 2 stars because I like the origin story of how the zombie plague came about and also it had a pretty good beginning- esp the parts set in Temple.
I don't think I'll be reading anymore books from this writer.
Sympathetic or likeable either.
I only gave it 2 stars because I like the origin story of how the zombie plague came about and also it had a pretty good beginning- esp the parts set in Temple.
I don't think I'll be reading anymore books from this writer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2015
The 2nd book in the Deadlands series.
Author Joe McKinney is not fucking around here. Picks up immediately after the first book, The Plague of the Undead, I loved it! When the protagonists are escaping from a massive zombie herd is just so intense. As good as a movie, fucking jaw dropping, heart pounding!!
I am addicted to Joe McKinney. He names names, and kicks zombie ass!! Can I get a "fuck YEAH"?!
Author Joe McKinney is not fucking around here. Picks up immediately after the first book, The Plague of the Undead, I loved it! When the protagonists are escaping from a massive zombie herd is just so intense. As good as a movie, fucking jaw dropping, heart pounding!!
I am addicted to Joe McKinney. He names names, and kicks zombie ass!! Can I get a "fuck YEAH"?!
November 19, 2015
Some above average plotting and action. No Walking Dead comparison as it is not deep - just action. To be fair this would appear to be the 7th in the Deadlands series and maybe I should give one of the earlier books a shot as well.
Read
October 25, 2015Meh.
Fast paced but has an abrupt ending. Compared to Mckinney's other books and other series this one is not as gripping. Worth a read if you are a fan of this author.
Fast paced but has an abrupt ending. Compared to Mckinney's other books and other series this one is not as gripping. Worth a read if you are a fan of this author.
January 7, 2016
This was a great book!! It surprised me because when I picked it up I thought it was going to be really horrible, but it wasn't! I love it!!!
September 7, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book,one of his best!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews