Twilight of the Dead

Twilight Dead #1

by Travis Adkins, David Moody (Introduction)

Courtney Colvin was nearing the end of her teenage years when the undead apocalypse began. She survived, forsaking her youth and innocence, and five years later she continues to exist--albeit lonely--in the fortified town of Eastpointe. Nightmares and the unwelcome advances of Leon Wolfe are the worst things she's dealing with now in her otherwise mundane life. But when a newcomer arrives in town and claims to know the location of the antidote to the zombie plague, it sends Eastpointe into an uproar. To retrieve this cure, she and a group of other survivors must venture outside the relative safety of the compound's walls and into a world ruled and dominated by the flesh-eating undead. Twilight of the Dead puts a new spin on the zombie genre, yet remains true to the classic rules that have already been set forth. A sure-fire reading pleasure for anyone who loves character-driven horror. This Special Edition contains an Introduction by David Moody and three bonus short stories detailing important moments in the lives of other survivors

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Apocalyptic, Audiobook

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about zombies. It's about a time a few years after the zombie outbreak when people have either been eaten and turned into zombies or they have found safe places to live. The characters in this book live in some gated community / country club sort of thing in a hoity part of Rhode Island, which I'm guessing is right across the street from where Karen lived, because Rhode Island is so small everything is right across the street from everything else.

The main character is a pre-zombie outbreak popular girl who is now a sullen and gothy trained zombie killing machine. She was trained soon after the zombie shit went down, and when she goes off to fight zombies she wears a skintight wetsuit, for it's practicality in fighting and probably because it's hot thinking of a sullen gothy girl killing zombies in a badass way while wearing super-tight clothing. Sort of like a zombie killing version of Catwoman or something.

A stranger appears in their little slice of paradise in the middle of Rhode Island with the story that he has discovered the cure to zombie-itis, and he needs help getting back to his boat to retrieve it. Why this is a story is beyond me, it's freaking Rhode Island, the boat has to be across the street, right? But, apparently it's in a far corner of Rhode Island and The Teenage Zombies Killing Army set out with the good Doctor to retrieve the cure and bring it back to Karen's house.

But, things go wrong! Horribly wrong! As you know it would, because it's a fucking horror novel.

It's kind of a fun read, it's a little clunky at times and I think that the author has a bit too much of a crush on his main character, and some of the fighting stuff is a little too much like a comic book, but it's a zombie novel and it's fun. My one real problem with the book is in one of the parts that serves as a manual for how to fight zombies. The closed guard in jiu -jitsu is recommended for controlling zombies. The author has some good points, about controlling the posture and all of that, but putting a zombie in your closed guard might ruin his posture and make it difficult for him to get up or move into a better position or whatever, but zombies aren't looking to improve their position, they aren't looking to pass to side-control and work a submission, they are looking to eat you and in controlling them with a closed guard you're putting the zombies mouth awfully close to your chest / neck or face. Wouldn't you want to get into a position where you could more easily get out from under a zombie, instead of just trying to control the snapping monster close to you while his hungry friends move into to help make you a snack? My recommendation? A loose half-guard, with a knee in the belly/chest so you can push the zombie away and scramble back into a standing position.* (see comment 13)

I would have also made the novel more realistic by setting it in a state that is bigger than a postage stamp.

[Tracy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had "Twilight of the Dead" in my library for a while - starting and stopping several times. Glad I finally picked up where last left off, and finally committed myself, as turned out to be an engaging, extremely clever, and well executed take on a Zombie apocalypse. Initially, I did not become as engaged as I tend to since it did not have the rough and tumble zombie gore fest (pretty much) right out of the gate which I seek out in this genre. This story certainly has zombie mayhem, however it is not a focal point. Here, the characters and their emotional ups and downs are front and center. And. . . it is just as suspenseful and terrifying. Having this kind of access to some intense thoughts of all main the main characters with all the power struggles, in-fighting, and a multitude array of reactions when experiencing injuries. deaths... of friends and/or peers (to zombie bites, etc) is psychologically intense and gets in the head. Just way more terrifying in my opinion than the typical in your face, blatant blood and guts action I am used to. Leaves much to the imagination, and caused me to pretty much stay on the edge of my seat wondering how some tough circumstances would ultimately resolve themselves. Lots of shockers!
Time for the final episode - "After Twilight: Walking with the Dead." The synopsis sounds like it is being ratcheted (hard to do after this one) up even more. I'm prepared. Deep breaths...

[Janny · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's rare that I'm this disappointed by a book, but hey, I guess that's what happens when you pick a novel by random. But I was intrigued when I saw the blurb: zombies, dystopia, and an ass-kicking female protagonist? Count me in, I thought. But oh boy was I wrong getting my hopes high. And it wasn't because of the story - which is cliche - because this is a zombie book, so of course it's going to be cliche. But it's because of the protagonist. And Christ on a cracker, is she ever cringe-worthy. I lost count of how many times I shook my head reading this book.

But let me explain myself. Courtney is supposed to be this strong, ball-busting lady, right? I mean just read the blurb. Even the cover is supposed to hint that. But quite frankly, she's childish as hell. I know that's she's only 22, but it's just scratches the brain to constantly read how she calls pretty much everyone either gross, or a freak, or annoying. The only thing I can understand is that she can equally hate everyone. Not that it makes much sense for her to the one to save the world from a zombie invasion, but anyway.

Courtney seems to think that the world revolves around her. She keeps grudges, she hates anyone who looks at her wrong and by the looks of it, she despises men. She gets pissy when a guy asks her to climb a ladder first or tries to help her unfasten her seat belt when she's hammered because - and get this - she thinks the men are undermining her and making her look weak. So many times I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and try and shake some sense into her because all these things that make her act like a bitch are not a big deal. No one is undermining her, it's just some guys being nice to her. But no, tough ol' Courtney doesn't need no man being polite to her.

This isn't some character being a hardcore feminist (which would pretty damn annoying on its own), it's the protagonist being so damn insecure that it becomes tedious. It gets to the point where she can't even take a joke. So all this really made me side with the guys.

And speaking of that, here's another thing that bugs me to no end. The blurb (and Courtney herself) keep calling Leon a jerk and things like that, but let's take a step back and try and figure out exactly what makes him such an ass. At the beginning of the book he brings our protagonist some breakfast (+1 for not-asshole), he apologizes for being mean to her five years prior (+1), he makes a crass comment on her laundry (-1), tries to get her out of her rut (+1), helps her drunken ass home (+1). So yeah, what an asshole. [/sarcasm] Basically, besides the fact that he did something jerk-like to her years ago, the only reason we're supposed to hate Leon is because the protagonist keeps telling us to.

But let's get to the action parts. Our protag seems to be able to handle herself - no complaints there, so at least she's got that going for her. She doesn't really come off as such a badass when she's talking to the villain, but that's no big deal. What is a big deal, though is how she acts after she and her friends get attacked. After witnessing her buddies either dying or being basically mutilated, Courtney starts to worry about her burned pinky finger, whining that it's going to be deformed for the rest of her life. Gee, yeah lady, the guy sitting next to you has two massive gashes in his back, but oh no, your pinky is burned forever! Isn't that a major problem?

Okay, so now that I've bitched (way to much) about our main character, I have to assure you that this isn't the sole reason I dislike this book. It's also the writing and the pacing. The writing comes across as... newbie-ish. Like how the villain "smiled a very creepy smile" or Courtney's puking is just described as "gross" and nothing more. Then there's the pacing, which is all over the place. But to give you a better view of this, just know that there's an entire chapter dedicated to Courtney dressing up for her mission. Yep. Also, the book ends like it's been severed by someone. It's just abrupt as hell, so don't expect much resolution. All in all, I'd suggest giving this one a pass. There's nothing memorable about it, and will probably just give you a headache.

[Trevor Oakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about the right book at the right time...sometimes I have a book sitting on the shelf that I don't pick up for months and then I get inspired. Thanks Zombies Goodreads Group for getting me off my butt and back to reading my zombie books. Anyway...I really enjoyed Twilight of the Dead. I got a decent sense of the walled community and then the plot takes off when the mysterious stranger appears promising a cure for the zombie plague. This is damn close to being a young-adult-novel of the zombie apocalypse (like REAL zombies, not Hatian zombies of Sleator's Boy Who Couldn't Die...but that's still a cool book). The end left me wanting more and I guess that's a good thing.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twilight of the Dead by Travis Adkins is a different and exciting take on the zombie genre. The story revolves around Courtney Colvin, a sassy young woman and a lethal "Black Beret": a zombie killer. She is one part Tomb Raider, one part Gretel and one part everyday girl. Twilight of the Dead takes the old Romero style zombie story and adds some modern twists. How would a community live on years after the apocalypse? What would every day and not so everyday life be like? Adkins explores the long term life style of people in such a setting. This is all done within a well written and paced story that reels you in and doesn't let go.

The bulk of the story takes place in and around the walled in community of Eastpointe that had been able to survive the outbreak. It also ended up being the home for the last of the Black Berets. Courtney is a "Black Beret", trained in the art of zombie killing. Black Berets are armed with a rifle, pistol, and a wakizashi and trained in a modified form of hand-to-hand combat created specifically to fight zombies. Among the other Black Berets is Leon, a young good looking guy around Courtney's age. Leo and Courtney have a more or less love to hate relationship going.

The book overall has a really addicting element about it, I read the first 140 pages in one sitting without realizing how long I had been sitting there. I was fully engrossed in the story and in the characters. I think the part that keeps you reading is that besides having a great plot; it also has several intriguing subplots. Relationships, situations, and the setting provide plenty of interesting tidbits to think about beyond the main plot. Because of this there is always something happening to keep your interest.

Hardcore zombie fans should be pleased with the action and the way Adkins writes his combat scenes and the Black Berets really kick rear. What could be cooler than a people taking a wakizashi to zombies? The zombies are truly terrifying and the twist near the end will leave you saying "that's just wrong!"

In the end Twilight of the Dead was a complete surprise to me and in now among my favorites. It has few flaws, such as medical explanations that stretched my suspension of disbelief. However, I have a medical background and I think most people may not know the difference. This is definitely a book that belongs on every zombie fan's shelf.

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up, because that's how rounding works.

This book had an odd, 'young adult' feel to it for me, probably because Counrtney was 17 when the zombie outbreak takes place and 22 when the story catches up with the present. Her whole teenage angst is mixed with zombie survivor guilt and a ridiculous vinegar-drinking episode that is so horribly embarrassing to our young, badass, zombie-killing Black Berert that Courntey stays hidden in her safe house for 5 years. Ridiculous. How about a month, tops?

Her whole 'you're normal, I'm not' ordeal that sends her down the road to a Billy Idol-sneering, punk sensibility fashion sense, is also a little over the top for me. This must be the first piece of zombie fiction I've read where the protagonist's sense of style - hair, make up, clothes, her coolness factor - actually seemed to matter. When Courtney finally has to return to the outside world in search for the Cure, the detailed description of her dressing in her synth-leather outfit strongly recalled to me the scene of Taarna getting dressed in Heavy Metal The Movie.

But despite these flaws, there are elements of the story that really did it for me. Courtney's recurring dream sequence of walking down a dark corridor towards a door surrounded by light, filled with zombies and clutching hands. Classic. I enjoyed Dr. Dane the crazy scientists and his super-charged zombies. And the ending sequence is also classic, which I won't reveal here.

If you like zombie fiction, you should enjoy the hell out of this. If you don't, then you probably just won't get it.

[Lindsey Stock · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly decent zombie book, as is the sequel, but I would recommend not starting this series, because the ending of the second book is unsatisfying and a cliffhanger,and it doesn't look like the third book is ever going to be written. There are better zombie stories out there. With endings. Try Rhiannon Frater's 'As the World Dies' trilogy, or Z.A. Recht's Morningstar Saga (the third book isn't out yet, but it's available for pre-order, so at least we know it exists).

[Dreadlocksmile · Rating 4 out of 5]

First released through Permuted Press back in 2004, Travis Adkins' second novel ‘Twilight Of The Dead’ quickly became widely talked about within the post-apocalyptic zombie community. The special edition re-release published on the 1st October 2006 runs for a total of 269 pages and includes new and much more impressive cover art by Noel Hill. This new re-release also includes an additional 78 pages delivering three bonus short stories of important moments in the lives of the ‘Twilight of the Dead’ survivors. A further additional three page introduction has also been thrown in by the author of the widely acclaimed "Autumn" zombie series David Moody.

From the start, the reader is thrown straight in to a somewhat standard post-apocalyptic scenario, where we follow the survivor Courtney Colvin, as she struggles to remain alive within this frightening and desperate new world where survival should never be taken for granted. With the principal character now clearly identified and the scene now set with zombie action a-go-go, the storyline suddenly reflects back on earlier events that had taken place. This sudden back-tracking allows Adkins to explore the character of Courtney in a much greater depth, encouraging the reader to identify with Colvin more from the glimpses of a more mundane and far more realistic lifestyle pre-apocalypse.

Now five years on from the initial outbreak, Colvin’s new life is within the fortified and thoroughly secure town of Eastpointe has once again return to a relatively mundane existence. Eastpointe has it all. As close to a return to normal civilization as appears possible whilst the undead still roam the landscape beyond the perimeters of the town.

Equipped with specialised clothing and permitted to carry firearms, Colvin is one of the few individuals who takes frequent trips outside of their enclosure to collect further supplies. Colvin, along with the other remaining ‘Black Berets’ are fully trained in all aspects of combat against the flesh-eating hordes of the undead.

With her life now following such a painstakingly uneventful path, void of any change of course, Courtney’s only touch of any true emotion are during her daring raids outside the perimeter of Eastpointe or the recurring haunting nightmare that still plague her each night. Leon Wolfe, a fellow Black Beret, has been carrying on with an almost entirely emotionless relationship with Colvin, which only furthers the depressive spiral of her emotional state.

This all changes with the surprising arrival of a new and previously unknown survivor at Eastpointe’s gates. To the community’s astonishment this scientist, Dr Aaron Dane, has just walked up to the gates with zombies aplenty amidst, claims to know the location of an antidote for the zombie plague, which he insists is in fact one-hundred percent legitimate. Colvin and a handful of fellow Black Berets are soon sent out by the community leaders to retrieve this alleged antidote. But there appears to be more to this whole scenario than first meets the eye.

The storyline never lets up on its fast and tension building pace, with new plot developments emerging throughout this rollercoaster-of a-ride novel. The tale eventually builds to an even more dramatic conclusion that leaves the novel on a nail-biting cliff hanger for the next book ‘After Twilight: Walking With The Dead’ that was later published in 2008.

The novel uses a character driven storyline through the eyes of our principal character, pumping out a tale full of action packed pages, with little to no room for working with any aspect of setting an atmosphere down. The pace certainly helps to keep the reader thoroughly enthralled with Colvin’s desperate new life, however an emotion that was meant to be felt for any of the characters is left lacking by the missed opportunity to work on any real characterization. With this said, the reader still remains perched on the edge of their seat from start to finish, as the dramatic events that happen around the character Courtney Colvin are brought to a climatic crescendo.

The use of 'modified' zombies sporting full body armour, bayonets extending from the zombie's arms and a set of razor sharp teeth to boot, takes the undead threat on to a whole new level, with terrfiying rammifcations for the survivors. The idea of souping up zombies was later echoed in other zombie fiction such as the likes of David Wellington's classic 'Monster' trilogy, with the zombie's arms this time sharpend down to form deadly spikes for spearing their victims with.

The novel shows an obvious lack of medical or biological knowledge from the author as well as a vivid but entirely far-fetched imagination with regards to humanities response to such a massive and life threatening epidemic. Suspending all notion of disbelief is essential for the readers full enjoyment of this novel. However, this is not too difficult with such an overtly over-the-top action filled zombie novel.

All in all, ‘Twilight of the Dead’ is nothing short of literary-candy for zombie enthusiasts who are sure to lap up this monstrously far fetched addition to the now hugely popular subgenre. Adkins utilises brief moments of graphically gritty zombie-splatter to keep to the overall adult appeal of the novel. With barely a page going by without some elaborate or essential element to the storyline being thrown in, the book is certainly a page turner from the very start to the triumphant cliff-hanger of an ending.

There are without a doubt much more involved and well written zombie novels out there. However, what ‘Twilight of the Dead’ does offer is a gripping tale of non-stop action that closely follows the tried and tested (yet still incredibly addictive) formula for a post-apocalyptic success. For sheer enjoyment factor alone, this novel is sure not to disappoint.

The book also contains a map of the Eastpointe refuge, a pre-epidemic radio broadcast transcript, excerpts from Army Research Laboratory files, a final outfitting schematic of the Black Beret's, excerpts on fighting techniques from the Black Beret's training manual, as well as a page from the NASA files hinting towards the beginning of the plague from a mission to Venus, amongst other such insightful manuscripts and documents. The special edition re-release runs for a total of 284 pages and was published through the zombie enthusiastic and apocalyptically dedicated Permuted Press.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

As zombie novels go, this one was a solid meh. There wasn't a character I liked in the whole novel and the short stories that came after it. The main story revolves around Courtney Colvin 17 year old survivor at the start of the book, now 22 and now a zombie killer. She and the rest of the elite zombie killers (black berets) are tasked with following a survivor back to his lab to get a zombie bite cure. As one would guess things don't turn out the way they are planned and lots of death and zombie killing ensues. Alright, now as to the characters, Courtney was just annoying if not a down right misanthrope. I get it life sucks after the collapse of civilization but at least she has a safe place to ride it out. Leon, Dr. Danes and don't get me started on Vaughn are all people I would rather avoid during the zpocalypse than try and live with. I have the second book in this series and hope that the characters that survived actually develop a bit more. So in short unless you are a diehard zombie apoc fiction fan, I would steer clear of this one.

[Horror Guy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess the idea of this novel set in the world of Romero's dead films was to try and create a zombie novel that felt at home in that universe, which it decently succeeds at doing for the first twenty pages. After that though, it just slides into Resident Evil (movie) silliness.

Those two tones clash like oil and water, especially in book form. Shame, because I was really enjoying those first twenty pages and Travis can write decently. .

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

In all honesty the bonus short stories were better than the book itself. It has continuity issues all the way through, like even in the description of how the heroine ends up in Rhode Island (16 rations, a three day tops drive, but she hasn't eaten for three days, lots of little things like that) and the ending was seriously rushed.
It's not terrible though, and it's a shame the author stopped after one more book, he had promise

[Dark Recesses]

Twilight of the Dead
By Travis Adkins
Permuted Press
Trade: $14.95

"The end of the world is a process, not an event..."
Raised on Romero's gruesome 'end world' scenarios and Skipp and Spector's Books of the Dead, I'm a zombie fan from way back. It's safe to say as a reader and film watcher that I've fallen for the big old rotting hunks. So you can imagine how happy I am in this current high point for my favorite horror monster. If TWILIGHT OF THE DEAD is any indication, then Travis Adkins is a hard-core zombie-phile as well.
Set in the Romero world of the living dead (erm...I mean infected...don't call them zombies!), Adkins presents the story of Courtney Colvin, a young woman who's managed to survive five years in this strange new world of the walking dead. Not only survived, but she's become a kick ass soldier/scavenger for the walled community of Eastpointe where a small collection of humans are hanging onto their existences. Courtney, along with a handful of others inside Eastpointe, has been trained by an elite 'last days' special ops group to be able to battle the flesh eaters without reliance on guns to disarm and kill.
Just as she is beginning to make new friends a survivor straggles in from the outside to bring them news of a cure for the plague. The community's leaders decide this is too good to pass up and send Courtney and her comrades on a mission to retrieve the formula. But all is not as it seems, as you can imagine, and soon she is fighting for her life yet again in the wastelands of the walking dead.
TWILIGHT OF THE DEAD is the first of a purposed trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. The reader is left biting his/her nails until the next book.
Damn you, Adkins! HA!
Adkins writes a believable character in Courtney. An emotional mess, and unhappy with her existential hell, she doesn't know how to connect with the living any longer, and would rather be alone than chance losing more people. Adkins provides a clever romance subplot with the caustic Leon Wolfe, a member of the fighting unit, and keeps the banter light and funny, like a Howard Hawks film.
Hell, this was such a great read I can't wait to see what Adkins does next.
But there are a few things to watch for. The major editing issue I had as a reader was the sometimes-distracting overuse of the word 'then' during expositional passages. It became so prevalent at certain points that I found myself skipping the word.
Even though there were opportunities to tighten up the prose a bit to make for a cleaner read, overall the writing is good and the pace is bullet fast. I've got to hand it to Adkins: He knows how to edit for pace. There was hardly a wasted page. In fact, I found the interstitial 'found' documents helped to solidify the story, while adding a certain whimsical air to the experience. In a stroke of editing genius, they also helped to create a flow of back-story that might have otherwise taken way more pages to give the reader. I especially loved the censored N.A.S.A. report on the returning Venus probe, one for the zombie-philes among us.
Bravo, Mr. Adkins.
The special limited edition also includes three short stories set in the world of the dead that detail events in the lives of the survivors, presenting even more back story for the reader to gnaw upon.
If you love zombies, this is a must read.

--Nickolas Cook.

[Patrick D'Orazio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travis Adkins has developed a pretty solid, if fairly short, zombie story. The main character, Courtney, grows and develops with the story; this is something that seems difficult to do for some other writers in the genre to do. She is strong and tough, which is to be expected given that she accepted the training to become a black beret-a zombie killer, but she wasn't always that way and she still is human and vulnerable. She is not superhuman by any means, which means that she is extremely appealing. The combat techniques described in the book are plausible and there is some depth of detail you simply do not get in most other works as to what you would have to do, how you would have to adjust when combating an enemy that feels no pain and essentially only has one real kill spot.
Certainly, the cast of characters here are fairly young, which drives the story in certain ways; their personal problems are something I can remember but perhaps cannot fully relate to at nearly 40, but I still appreciated it. I think Mr. Adkins does a good job of describing the moodiness of some teens/young adults and and I saw it all as realistic given the circumstances they face. Growing up in a dead world would be a unique situation, especially for a people of this age vs. someone older, fully matured, and entangled with family and responsibilities beyond your own self development.
While I was not totally appreciative of metal sheathed zombies or a madman who somehow thinks of zombies as the next stage of evolution (a preposterous concept to me, but one that an insane mind might wrap itself around, I suppose), I did appreciate the challenges the main character faces and has to overcome with these enemies. It made for an entertaining story that was a fun read.
I also enjoyed the other tidbits after the main story was complete-the return to the past with other characters besides Courtney as well as what essentially amounts to a flashback with the main character and the black beret crew of Eastpointe on a past mission. It further fleshed out the story and given that there will be a sequel gave even more insight into both the main character and her "boyfriend", Leon.
This is a well written book that was a fun read. The ghastly editing and plot hole errors of some other books of this genre that are self published or slapped together haphazardly are not present here-the story was well thought out, the characters three dimensional, and the scenario fairly plausible. The editing is solid and the storyline is tight. Again, I am not sure I would say I loved the bad guy and his creations, but they were creative and different. This story focused on our main character and not necessarily the baddies as key players, so my issues with that aspect of the story were not strong.
If I were to gripe it would be that I would have liked even more character development-more details on Courtney's experiences with Gordon Levi and perhaps even more back story on Leon. Not that the story is short on understanding of the characters, I just think this book could have delved even further. But if this is a gripe, it is a minor one and I am not complaining to emphatically about it.
A enjoyable story that was worth the read and I look forward to the sequel when it is published. Travis Adkins has a good voice and one that I definitely enjoyed here.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this one but the main two characters in it were obnoxious idiots and it ruined what potential the book had.

Courtney is a rude, childish, whiny, self obsessed, lazy moron with the personality of a plank of wood. She moans about being lonely and isolated in the community-but she is anti-social, avoids everyone and seems to hate everyone. Her attitude is really obnoxious and if someone is nice to her or tries to help, she goes into full bitch mode as if this person is making her look weak or useless or has some agenda of some kind. She really does think that everyone's action are all about her and that everyone is watching her all the time. Actually, I don't think anyone spares her much thought as she is a total cow.

Courtney has always hated Leon, who humiliated her when she first arrived at the safe haven she lives in now, and has never forgiven him. Last week she decided to seduce and sleep with him to see if it would keep her nightmares away-which didn't work, and now she is annoyed about Leon hanging around her like a bad smell. Well, it's your own fault for sleeping with him, dumbass! Leon is a cocky, arrogant guy who used to play mean tricks on people, and now won't take the hint when Courtney wants him to get lost. His attempts to analyse her behaviour and explain to her why she does things would get anyone's back up and he just doesn't know when to quit. What a perfect couple. The problem is, all this relationship angst takes up way too much time at the start of the book, leaving it slow and dull.

The timeline is all over the place. We get the dull, plodding story of Courtney's current woes and her whining while Leon annoys her. She hides in her house, she gets drunk, she complains more. In between chapters we get random emails, radio transcripts, reports that add nothing to the story and seem a bit pointless. Then we jump back five years to what happened when Courtney lost her family. It's a bit all over the place as far as a cohesive story goes and I don't much like the way it is all set out.

Getting Courtney's story should have made her a more sympathetic character when you see what she has been through but I still didn't like her much. The man hating gets a bit much. A soldier rescues her from the zombies who attack her convoy but of course, he must have done it because he wants sex with her. Now we get nothing else in the story about harrassment but Courtney says the men all look at her and want sex with her and think they deserve it for keeping the base safe for her. Right, coz everyone must love Courtney. When the military instructor arrives to offer to train everyone how to fight, only Courtney wants to learn-y'know, they're all potential rapists, remember? She decides to have sex with Gordon, the instructor and then makes it sound like she didn't really want to but it was expected of her. Oh please, get over yourself you useless idiot!

I got to about page 100 when the idea of a mission for her team is talked about but by then I was bored rigid, and meeting more obnoxious asshats who are going on the mission was enough for me. I hope all of them are eaten.

[Phil Elmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twilight of the Dead by Travis Adkins is competently written, fairly well paced, and relates a reasonably complex narrative worthy of the subject matter and the medium.

Twilight follows the self-recrimination, introspection, and (almost as an afterthought) zombie-oriented adventures of twenty-two-year-old Courtney Colvin, an attractive, waifish young lady whom Adkins describes as his "dream girl." Adkin's "strong yet fragile and short yet [tough]" Colvin is reasonably believable, which is notable given that Adkin's is writing across his gender to bring her to life.

Young Courtney ends up in the quite literally gated (and fortified) post-Zombie-apocalypse community of Eastpointe, after being trained as a "black beret" -- a zombie fighter whose training manual and accoutrements are detailed throughout the book. Twighlight of the Dead includes several pieces of artwork and pages purporting to be from the Black Beret handbook, a touch that I thought was quite imaginative and welcome (right down to the defaced map of Eastpointe that sets the stage for the book even before the narrative begins).

In a genre that has been done to undeath (I apologize; that was wretched of me) it is hard to do something truly inventive or different that does not break George Romero's loosely admired guidelines for how the zombies operate (and, arguably, Romero himself has bent or broken those guidelines in the course of his chronicling of the Undead in film). Adkins manages to do so and manages to make it seem plausible, though I wish he'd spent more time developing it. (I won't give it away here.)

The character-driven writing is, as I've said, competent, though a bit awkward in spots. The dialogue runs from feeling realistic and spontaneous to, at times, contrived and even childish, while the rest of Adkins' prose is similarly inconsistent. It is, on the whole, not bad, but there were times when I found his prose labored or stilted.

Those who insist on the "classic zombie formula" will not be disappointed with the plot and the outlook Adkins relates. I enjoyed the book and found myself admiring Travis' work or his artistic touches in several spots, leading me to forgive thoe portions of the writing or characterization that could have been better. While still a little rough around the edges compared to mainstream commercial fiction, Twilight of the Dead is a credit to niche genres like zombie horror. It isn't perfect, but it's entertaining, and it accomplishes the task it sets out to accomplish.

[Andy Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. As a zombie/apocalyptic fiction fan I often come across recommendations to read this book. It's hailed by some people as a classic in the genre, and the list of quotations from other authors at the beginning made be expect something special. I was partly satisfied.

The story centres around a young woman, Courtney Colvin, who survives the zombie uprising through luck more than judgement, and finds herself in one of the rescue centres that seem to crop up in a lot of these stories. As usual, the military is portrayed in a pretty bad light and she has a fairly poor time in the centre until the mysterious Gordon Levi arrives at the camp. He is a 'black beret' who we learn are some sort of elite team specially created to combat zombies. His purpose is to teach others how to fight the undead hordes using a variety of weaponry and techniques borrowed from different martial arts and fighting techniques. Courtney is the only one to take him up on his offer and becomes a real killing machine in a matter of a couple of weeks before it all goes horribly wrong.

I won't spoil how the story progresses, but the plot is fairly entertaining. There are a few original elements, but you've probably seen a lot of similar things elsewhere. However, I have three main problems with the story, which stop me giving the book five stars. Firstly, the book is written in quite an amateurish way, with some odd uses of words and a fairly clumsy style in places. Secondly, there are a few factual errors and evidence of a lack of research. Thirdly, there is a lack of believability to some of the characters' actions. That said, the book is nowhere near as badly written as a lot of self-published zombie stories, I could live with most of the factual errors, and the unbelievable parts can be taken with a pinch of salt given the whole zombie theme.

In it's defence, the story is fun to read and kept me turning the pages, even if some of it was a bit stupid. Additionally, this edition features three short stories at the end, each set in the same universe, which are all good and worthy additions to the book. I'll be buying the sequel soon.

[William M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize until after I purchased Twilight of the Dead that it was self-published novel. 99% of these books are painfully awful and so I reluctantly began to read. The dialogue in the first few chapters was bit cheesy, but I found the quicker pace and initial setup a lot of fun. Rather than heap scenes of gore upon violence the way you might think an author would do in a zombie book, Travis Adkins focuses on the characters of the living and how they deal with their newly inherited undead world.

Although there were a few twists and turns that caught me off guard, most of the story fell into place exactly how I expected it to. I didn't care for the ridiculously armored zombies and the remote control plot was a little far fetched for my tastes. However, one gimmick that Adkins infuses throughout the book is very cool zombie reports by various experts and non-experts before every chapter. Radio transcripts, pages from training manuals designed to defend against zombies, laboratory reports on reanimation facts, and various maps enhance the overall reading experience.

A lot of professionally published authors frown upon self published material - and rightfully so -- but I must say, that the copy editing in this book (I only discovered two errors) was a lot better than many of the mass market paperbacks from established New York publishing houses where I would find over a dozen errors in a single book. I just thought I'd mention that.

Clocking in at only 199 pages of story (I'm not counting the afterwards by the author), this is closer to a novella than a full novel, so the book price might be a little high for some. But I'm glad I picked it up and have included it in my horror collection. Twilight of the Dead by no means will change the face of zombies as we know it, but it was a refreshing little story that was fast and fun.

[Chris Cagle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twilight of the Dead started out as a great Zombie book, but toward the end, it mutated into absurdity. In the beginning, the zombies were your textbook variety: Slow, moaning, and unthinking. However it unfortunately goes downhill from there and soon there is a mad scientist who has developed a strain of the virus that kills you, but when you reanimate you are still the same, only dead. You can think, run, and do anything else normal people can do, except your dead so you can't get hurt. I have one word for that. STUPID! If you can get beyond that, the book is good. I just HATE the concept of "thinking zombies" so the book lost some glamor because of that.

The characters, however are very good and you care about what happens to them.

Overall the book is really good, I'm just biased about zombies being a certain way so when they stray from those constraints, I get irritated. It's worth reading though.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing in this book is just...bad. Really clunky and disjointed, with endless repetitions and useless details (do we really need to read about how she closes the zipper of her suit?) and the most annoying abuse of the word "situated".
I guess this tidbit a couple of chapters in should have served as a warning:

He was black and a great deal older than most of the soldiers—probably in his late thirties or early forties. However, as they would all soon discover, he was highly articulate and had a strong, domineering voice to go along with it.


...riiiight.

[Val Nwosu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not all about female empowerement in books because it tends to be ridiculous but this was really good. I feel like the author of this book wrote about a very advanced and well-structured society that lived in a very dystopian world. It makes sense that survivors haven't come by in a while and when one comes along and claims to have a cure of course they would love to know more! This book was wonderfully written and very descriptive when it needed to be. It was such a great ride from start to finish!

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad piece of zombie fiction, the characters are flat and the generalizations about soldiers at the beginning set a bad tone for the book. You can always tell the guys who don't have military experience because they treat all soldiers as some ignorant monolith. I wonder if adkins has ever even met a soldier. Horrible generalizations aside, not the worst zombie novel and definitely not the best. I recommend Mark Tufo for a more accurate depiction of former military guys.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised at the shortness of the story. A fourth of the book (at the end) is short stories of before this book. Courtney is the main character and she is a brat. Even hearing her backstory, I had a hard time relating to her or caring about her. I did enjoy the characters that surrounded her. By the end, I wanted more and felt cheated at its shortness. Guess that means I have to buy the next one.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another zombie apocalypse novel - but this one has a scary killer zombie army, which isn't in the book long enough, but is still cool. The book has a nice twist in it, but the zombies are too much in the background, in my opinion. Overall though, I think it is a worthy addition to the zombie genre.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty classic zombie stuff. Not sure if this book is trying to insert its self into the Romero world of the "Dead," but the name seems to imply it does. I liked the main character, but the story was too short. I was hoping for more.

[Kuroi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twilight of the Dead keeps close to all the you expect from a zombie novel while adding a few elements I don't often see. It's a well constructed world populated by exciting but relatable characters. I'd recommend it to any zombie fan.

[Gertie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zombies, yay!

[Jude Felton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable zombie romp

[SinisterAgentMulder · Rating 3 out of 5]

(audiobook) good zombie story. Second book gets better

[Zeeshan]

An absolutely amazing novel. A must read!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book, really fantastic.