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Dead Earth #1
Dead Earth: The Green Dawn
Something bad has happened in Nevada.
No one knows what it is for sure. Rumors fly about plagues and secret government experiments. And the President isn't talking.
In Serenity, New Mexico, Deputy Sheriff Jubal Slate has his hands full. It seems that half the town, including his mother and his boss, are sick from an unusual malady.
Even more worrisome is the oddly-colored dawn sky.
Then a stranger crashes through town, a woman with a nightmarish story about what really happened in the Nevada desert.
Soon, the townspeople of Serenity start dying.
And they won't stay dead.
No one knows what it is for sure. Rumors fly about plagues and secret government experiments. And the President isn't talking.
In Serenity, New Mexico, Deputy Sheriff Jubal Slate has his hands full. It seems that half the town, including his mother and his boss, are sick from an unusual malady.
Even more worrisome is the oddly-colored dawn sky.
Then a stranger crashes through town, a woman with a nightmarish story about what really happened in the Nevada desert.
Soon, the townspeople of Serenity start dying.
And they won't stay dead.
94 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
9 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
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August 5, 2015This is copy 146 of 500 editions signed and numbered by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks.
January 30, 2011
The book was ok. What bugged me about it, was the alien involvement. I am not sure if that is something I want mixing in my horror books. The writing was fine. It was a lot better than a few I have read recently. I was able to connect with the main character. It was just those dang aliens that threw me off a bit.
December 28, 2010
Wow. This was really terrible.
January 20, 2023
Read : January 20, 2023
Rating : 2,5 Stars
Not particularly awfull or anything but just very, very weird.
Because it's so strange I don't know what to rate this at as it wasn't the worst I've read but no where near the best either.
The whole sickness progressed too quickly, coupled with the weird dreams, green sky and floaty stuff it just doesn't really come together but stay seperate elements.
Rating : 2,5 Stars
Not particularly awfull or anything but just very, very weird.
Because it's so strange I don't know what to rate this at as it wasn't the worst I've read but no where near the best either.
The whole sickness progressed too quickly, coupled with the weird dreams, green sky and floaty stuff it just doesn't really come together but stay seperate elements.
July 1, 2024
I don't read too many short stories because usually they seem like story outlines without a full and complete story. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this story. The authors were able to introduce the main character pretty in depth and provide enough information about the secondary characters to move the story forward and make you care about the main character.
I am not a big fan of zombies but this had an interesting sci-fi twist. It was a quick read and pretty enjoyable.
I am not a big fan of zombies but this had an interesting sci-fi twist. It was a quick read and pretty enjoyable.
November 4, 2016
As with one other recent zombie book I've read, this zombie contagion has to do with some kind of particle physics experiment gone wrong, but in this case it appears to also be a contagion. The result is an army of the dead, so while it starts on a Romero-style note, it ends closer to Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness or City of the Dead by Brian Keene, with an alien inteligence controlling the dead. I tend to prefer the more ambiguous forms of zombie contagion that may have an origin, but don't have a mind of their own. I wasn't clear at the end of this book which direction the concept was going to go, but it seemed likely it would become an all-out shooting war between human survivors and a demonic alien presence controlling the dead.
My other beef with it is that it's set in the future and I don't know why. Nothing about the book feels like the future, except the brief mention of a solar car, and the general idea that there would be a quantum physics string theory experiment that opened a portal to another world. Which is fine...but it could have been contemporary. Briefly, one character is mentioned as having been a little girl on September 11, 2001. That's the only other time that it's really established in story terms that this is the future, and I didn't see the point of it. Granted, there doesn't have to be a "point" to everything in a story, but it just felt distracting, especially since chapters start with the date, and I kept thinking, "Why the hell is it 2048? This could be happening tomorrow." It made it feel less immediate and more remote, and as a result it was slightly less scary to me. My school of storytelling is the stripped-down style, where if something doesn't have a reason to be there, it shouldn't be...generally speaking, I feel like if something's in the future it should transport me to the future. Not that it's my book to write, so take it with a grain of salt.
With that complaint deep-sixed: it's certainly a readable enough novel, and I enjoyed it a fair amount. The style was fluid enough -- ultimately, I think moreso than the other recent zombie novel I read, The Crossing by Bryon Morrigan, though I think the latter had more potential for originality.
I've seen plenty of horror novels with small-town sherrif protagonists, spunky diner waitresses, etc, and the zombie concepts were not stunningly original. But I did feel engaged with the characters and situations, and the action is vividly enough described.
Warning: it's clearly a setup for a sort of zombie survival series, and there's no question at the end that it's an incomplete story without the rest of the books in the series. It's not a standalone.
Overall, it may not be a stunningly original book, but I enjoyed reading it.
If you like zombies and you're not a zombie purist, then you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did.
My other beef with it is that it's set in the future and I don't know why. Nothing about the book feels like the future, except the brief mention of a solar car, and the general idea that there would be a quantum physics string theory experiment that opened a portal to another world. Which is fine...but it could have been contemporary. Briefly, one character is mentioned as having been a little girl on September 11, 2001. That's the only other time that it's really established in story terms that this is the future, and I didn't see the point of it. Granted, there doesn't have to be a "point" to everything in a story, but it just felt distracting, especially since chapters start with the date, and I kept thinking, "Why the hell is it 2048? This could be happening tomorrow." It made it feel less immediate and more remote, and as a result it was slightly less scary to me. My school of storytelling is the stripped-down style, where if something doesn't have a reason to be there, it shouldn't be...generally speaking, I feel like if something's in the future it should transport me to the future. Not that it's my book to write, so take it with a grain of salt.
With that complaint deep-sixed: it's certainly a readable enough novel, and I enjoyed it a fair amount. The style was fluid enough -- ultimately, I think moreso than the other recent zombie novel I read, The Crossing by Bryon Morrigan, though I think the latter had more potential for originality.
I've seen plenty of horror novels with small-town sherrif protagonists, spunky diner waitresses, etc, and the zombie concepts were not stunningly original. But I did feel engaged with the characters and situations, and the action is vividly enough described.
Warning: it's clearly a setup for a sort of zombie survival series, and there's no question at the end that it's an incomplete story without the rest of the books in the series. It's not a standalone.
Overall, it may not be a stunningly original book, but I enjoyed reading it.
If you like zombies and you're not a zombie purist, then you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2014
I've never been a big fan of zombie stories which may explain why I waited so long to pick up this novella by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks. I've read enough other pieces from both men individually to know how talented they are, but still I waited because of my bias against zombie stories. Recently, I decided to put that aside and give it a shot. I'm glad I did.
This tale takes place in the small town of Serenity, New Mexico. Police officer Jubal Slate notices a green tint to the sky on his way to work on a morning when everyone else has called in sick. Before long an illness has infected nearly everyone in Serenity, including Jubal's mother, his father figure boss, and his fiancé. Jubal soon learns other areas are dealing with the same issue and have enacted quarantine protocols. He also learns his fiancé has been experiencing the same mysterious dreams he's been having about a strange-looking, red cloaked man commanding a horde of zombies. Jubal struggles to try and save his loved ones from the horrors invading Serenity and to learn what's causing it.
This is a fast-paced read filled with great characters, eerie dreams, zombies, aliens, action and the occasional touch of humor as well. Give DEAD EARTH: THE GREEN DAWN a read even if, like me, you aren't a big fan of zombies. I think you'll find yourself swept along to the very end. Afterward, the story continues on with DEAD EARTH: THE VENGEANCE ROAD and DEAD EARTH: SANCTUARY, all from Permuted Press.
This tale takes place in the small town of Serenity, New Mexico. Police officer Jubal Slate notices a green tint to the sky on his way to work on a morning when everyone else has called in sick. Before long an illness has infected nearly everyone in Serenity, including Jubal's mother, his father figure boss, and his fiancé. Jubal soon learns other areas are dealing with the same issue and have enacted quarantine protocols. He also learns his fiancé has been experiencing the same mysterious dreams he's been having about a strange-looking, red cloaked man commanding a horde of zombies. Jubal struggles to try and save his loved ones from the horrors invading Serenity and to learn what's causing it.
This is a fast-paced read filled with great characters, eerie dreams, zombies, aliens, action and the occasional touch of humor as well. Give DEAD EARTH: THE GREEN DAWN a read even if, like me, you aren't a big fan of zombies. I think you'll find yourself swept along to the very end. Afterward, the story continues on with DEAD EARTH: THE VENGEANCE ROAD and DEAD EARTH: SANCTUARY, all from Permuted Press.
January 31, 2012
This is the first title by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks that I have read. I am a fan of at least 80% of what comes out of the vaults of Permuted Press, and this series shows promise. It is well edited and very clean, so no real distractions to derail the reader...just open the cover (or power up your ereader of choice) and enjoy.
The story has many of the stock elements of the standard zombie tale. The nice thing here is that, while not being entirely explained, the source of the zombie uprising is well explained. That is an element many of these stories skip all together, so it was nice to get the WHY.
The central character, Jubal Slate is a small town cop who watches his hometown fall. Depth-wise, there is not much going on. The surrounding characters don't feel like much more than cardboard cutouts, but they do their part to advance the story. I did like how the character Fiona was dealt with (sorry, no spoilers).
Now for a few criticisms...this book takes A LOT of the elements of THE STAND. Intentional or not, you can't read this book and not see the striking similarities. Some of the dialog seemed awkward at times. Hopefully it will flow better in the sequel. Also, the finale seemed rushed (again, no spoilers) and there was a scene where a helicopter followed a car into town...then just wasn't there anymore.
I will give the second book a go This story has promise and sets up a unique and "alien" twist on the zombie story.
The story has many of the stock elements of the standard zombie tale. The nice thing here is that, while not being entirely explained, the source of the zombie uprising is well explained. That is an element many of these stories skip all together, so it was nice to get the WHY.
The central character, Jubal Slate is a small town cop who watches his hometown fall. Depth-wise, there is not much going on. The surrounding characters don't feel like much more than cardboard cutouts, but they do their part to advance the story. I did like how the character Fiona was dealt with (sorry, no spoilers).
Now for a few criticisms...this book takes A LOT of the elements of THE STAND. Intentional or not, you can't read this book and not see the striking similarities. Some of the dialog seemed awkward at times. Hopefully it will flow better in the sequel. Also, the finale seemed rushed (again, no spoilers) and there was a scene where a helicopter followed a car into town...then just wasn't there anymore.
I will give the second book a go This story has promise and sets up a unique and "alien" twist on the zombie story.
November 28, 2016
The novella Dead Earth: The Green Dawn is the first installment in Mark Justice and David Wilbanks' zombie series, which tells the story of Earth in the not too distant future. A military experiment has accidentally opened a gateway to an alien world, and its inhabitants have unleashed a devastating plague that infects huge swaths of Earth's population and changes the infected into ravenous zombies.
Zombie 411: For the most part, the undead in The Green Dawn are your basic Romero-style zombies. The authors introduce a couple of variations here, like a bite not necessarily infecting the victim and the dead acting like an army under command. These are expanded upon in the next book.
The focus of The Green Dawn is Jubal Slate, a small town sheriff dealing with the initial stages of a mysterious flu-like outbreak that has affected nearly everyone in town. The story plays out a lot like a situation from Stephen King's The Stand, but quickly turns into something from Dawn of the Dead. Things get apocalyptic in a hurry, and by the time Jubal gets a good look at what's causing the crisis, you've got the perfect setup for Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road.
Dead Earth: The Green Dawn is a pretty short read, and the pace is quick as well. It's an effective way to set up the larger series, and while it's not without some flaws (the dialogue is not really believable), it is an enjoyable tale of zombie mayhem.
Zombie 411: For the most part, the undead in The Green Dawn are your basic Romero-style zombies. The authors introduce a couple of variations here, like a bite not necessarily infecting the victim and the dead acting like an army under command. These are expanded upon in the next book.
The focus of The Green Dawn is Jubal Slate, a small town sheriff dealing with the initial stages of a mysterious flu-like outbreak that has affected nearly everyone in town. The story plays out a lot like a situation from Stephen King's The Stand, but quickly turns into something from Dawn of the Dead. Things get apocalyptic in a hurry, and by the time Jubal gets a good look at what's causing the crisis, you've got the perfect setup for Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road.
Dead Earth: The Green Dawn is a pretty short read, and the pace is quick as well. It's an effective way to set up the larger series, and while it's not without some flaws (the dialogue is not really believable), it is an enjoyable tale of zombie mayhem.
January 16, 2023
"Dead Earth: The Green Dawn" is a fun, briskly paced novella following the life of a young sheriff's deputy during the beginning of what turns out to be a zombie apocalypse. While some of the elements at first appear to be "standard zombie apocalypse fare", the authors handle these elements well and throw in some interesting twists to show that these are not your standard-issue zombies. (I wont say more so I can keep this spoiler free. Let's just say the origin and "purpose" of the zombies sets this story apart.) The authors' decision to concentrate on just one protagonist also adds to the enjoyment of the story. We follow young Jubal Slate closely and see just how he is changed by these events.
The book is a quick read and feels like a introduction to a larger story. This is because, it is... After reading "Dead Earth: The Green Dawn", one immediately wants to pick up their follow-up novel "Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road". After tasting this appetizer and enjoying it, I'm looking forward to their main course.
The book is a quick read and feels like a introduction to a larger story. This is because, it is... After reading "Dead Earth: The Green Dawn", one immediately wants to pick up their follow-up novel "Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road". After tasting this appetizer and enjoying it, I'm looking forward to their main course.
May 31, 2012
Free short story from www.amazon.co.uk.
An interesting take on the zombie apocalypse with a few differences to set it apart from the average story .
Well written and good characterisation of the protagonist, setting up a good background for the full length novel Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road. A couple of things in the story were reminiscent of Stephen King's The Stand, especially the shared dreams between characters.
One of the better short stories I've read in this genre.
An interesting take on the zombie apocalypse with a few differences to set it apart from the average story .
Well written and good characterisation of the protagonist, setting up a good background for the full length novel Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road. A couple of things in the story were reminiscent of Stephen King's The Stand, especially the shared dreams between characters.
One of the better short stories I've read in this genre.
June 16, 2014
Mark Justice's and David T. Wilbanks' first novel in the Dead Earth series is fast-paced, easy to read, and entertaining. I was immediately pulled into the story and could not put it down until I finished it. The main character, Jubal, is very likable and I appreciate how the authors developed his character. I felt I got to know him pretty well by the time I finished the book. The authors of this book also do a wonderful job with "visual" descriptions. I could clearly picture the characters in the story as I read.
The Green Dawn would most likely appeal to those who like Zombie fiction that doesn't have a strong military focus. It would also be good for people who like some extraterrestrials thrown into the zombie mix.
The Green Dawn would most likely appeal to those who like Zombie fiction that doesn't have a strong military focus. It would also be good for people who like some extraterrestrials thrown into the zombie mix.
January 1, 2015
DEAD EARTH: THE GREEN DAWN is a fun B zombie movie in book form. Maybe A- or B+ zombie movie. And this is a compliment. It's a lean book that manages just enough characterization so you care about the characters while roaring along a break-neck speed. I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. Being a slow reader, it's rare for me to go through half a book in one sitting, but I did that with the 2nd half of this book. And Justice and Wilbanks did exactly what any good storyteller (or storytelling team) should do: left me wanting more. I WILL return to the Dead Earth. I need to find out what happens.
July 2, 2012
This story was a little confusing when it came to the zombies. Meaning, you kind of don't know exactly why the aliens made the zombies. The main character pretty much couldn't hold it together and the ending seemed a little too surreal. I just don't get a good feel from this book and it took me several days to finish it because I got quickly bored. If you need something to just pass the time, then this would be an ok read; nothing more and nothing less.
March 26, 2013
WOW!! what an awesome book! I have never read a zombie book like this. The author made the story work!! I don't want to spoil it for others, so I wont give away where the virus came from, But I will say I am going to get the next book, I am curious to see how it plays out. This book is a fast read, with twists and turns, its a CANNOT put down book. If you love zombie stories as much as I do, then this book is for you. ENJOY!! I did!!
August 6, 2012
Just another zombie story. I liked it until the zombies showed up. The zombies were not particularly interesting. I really did like how the author wrote the characters and I may give the sequel a try.
January 5, 2012
I enjoyed it. I plan on picking up the next in the series.
April 12, 2012
Loved this book and read it a second time before I read Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road. Can't wait till the next book!
May 17, 2012
I liked it. It has a nice twist to it that makes me want to see where the story is going. Too bad the book is so short. :)
Want to read
July 24, 2012Kindle freebie, 07/23/12
April 25, 2013
A very depressing (but realistic) look at a world sliding into an apocalypse.
May 28, 2013
Competently done end-of-the-world-through-disease short for kindle
6.5/10
6.5/10
October 30, 2012
Good book. A little slow to start but that's ok because u gt a good feel of the characters. Which u can't help but to like them.
November 19, 2012
Excellent character development not just zombies
December 5, 2012
Short but don't let that deter you, is a good read.
Will pick up the next one when it's out.
Will pick up the next one when it's out.
February 21, 2013
Not bad for what it is. Didn't realize it was just a small short story that led into a larger book though. It was good enough to make me want to read on.
March 20, 2013
3.5 stars for this story. Not enough of the story yet to feel like I can give it a higher rating but good enough that I will continue with the series.
June 13, 2014
the story was good. the ending would have been better if it w were a complete closure instead of seeing up a sequel.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews