Night Things: Undead and Kicking

by Terry M. West

Imagine a world just like yours with one startling every creature of legend has stepped forward from the shadow and they now exist shoulder to shoulder with humankind! New York City has become a macabre melting pot. Vampires, werewolves, zombies and ghouls are now the new immigrants and they are chasing the American dream. The Night Things have become part of the system. But many humans feel the creatures are dangerous ticking time bombs. Carol Haddon is a former professional fighter living in New York City. Now a social worker, she has devoted her career and life to assisting the Night Things. She is killed after a senseless and brutal attack on her office. Carol is reanimated by the mad genius, Herbert West. West discovers that Carol carries a very unique DNA that could change things dramatically for the zombie population of the world. Johnny Stücke, the mysterious leader of the Night Things who has emerged in the media after Z Day, a citywide zombie attack a few months prior, takes Carol under his wing after her life as a mortal is stripped away. Carol’s creation has also attracted the attention of Herbert West’s greatest enemy, Edmund Wraight. An experiment of Herbert West’s gone horribly awry, Wraight is an ageless, violent, and hungry creature who was once known as the infamous Jack the Ripper. And he must stop West before the scientist unlocks the secret hidden in Carol’s blood.

Genres: Horror

232 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2016

About the author

Terry M. West is an American horror author. His best known works: What Price Gory, Car Nex, Dreg and his Night Things series. He was a finalist for 2 International Horror Guild Awards and he was featured on the TV Guide Sci-Fi hot list for his YA graphic novel series, Confessions of a Teenage Vampire. Terry was born in Texas, lived in New York for two decades and he currently hangs his hat in California.
www.terrymwest.com

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow....Simply. Holy. Shit. WOOOW!!
This was such a blast to read. What an incredibly well written, complex and very imaginative little gem by the always impressive and always fantastic Terry M. West! I first fell for this author after reading his What Price Gory short story collection, could not recommend that collection enough, it was perfection and left me wanting so much more of this author, thankfully he has a vast and varied library.

I've read a few things by him so far and he is -without a doubt- a mega talented super polished pro, perched front and center right on top of his game. I was absolutely mesmerized at this story and his extraordinary writing style, not to mention that unbelievable creativity.
Mr. West took some old school Hollywood monsters added in some real historical monsters and blended them all together on a New York emulsifying setting for a rather tasty crimson smoothie. Oh so rich and decadent, and low cal too!
And talk about a gripping page turner, I simply could not/would not put it down...like, - kids can fend for themselves - showers are overrated - and YAY, lost a couple pounds cause eating is too time consuming - kind of transfixed.

So, I'm a bit of a rebel, I read THIS before the original Night Things and as intricately detailed and multi layered with massive characters, plots and subplots, never -not once- was I confused, it's as if Mr. West himself had me by the hand, walking me through it, ensuring I wouldn't get lost.
Cause let's face it, I get lost in my own back yard. It is a really big back yard though....
That speaks volumes about this writers brilliant expertise and attention to every single detail. He's been around quite awhile and has most definitely honed and perfected that craft of his.
Loved loved loved the chapter titles too, gave you cleverly little worded tid bit hints about which character, plot or sub plot you'd be enjoying over the next several pages, somehow makes it all the more fun to follow instead of simply chapter 1,2,3,...

So, obviously I missed the events of the first book but a war was raged, called Zday and apparently it got ugly and things happened, bump in the Night Things happened. Not gonna try to tie anything together because I might confuse myself....which is never pretty.
Imagine a world just like today's, only with new species coming out of the dank and dark woodwork, most are friendly and just wanna co-exist. They have absolutely NO civil rights though, no right to anything at all and must be confined to a containment zone until deemed fit to receive a 'red card'...basically just a badge saying they can exist...still without rights though.
Some such creatures are not so friendly or complaint and evade said rules.

Carol Haddon is one of our main players, all of her parts are told in the first-person perspective, very unique and interesting writing approach. She has a PHD is psych, holds many awards and accolades for her martial arts she trained for in her younger years, now she runs a treatment center, she is a Night Things sympathizer and tries to the best of her ability to help them acclimate to the human way of life.....that is, until she is brutally gunned down in her office (NOT a spoiler, it's an opening chapter)....the not so mad and not so evil scientist Herbert West (either from re-animator or a wink-wink author shout out insert??), using a serum he concocted many many maaaany years ago, brings our fallen heroine back to life. She changes for the better, her now black blood holding the key to finally changing the world for the better, tests need to be run first but then....of course, more chaos ensues..
Because you also have your not so sympathizers, ones that want to rule the world and extinguish human life.

Jack the ripper - yep him - going by the the name Edmund Wraight was always an evil one, yet somewhat (and I use that term very veeery loosely) able to control himself and act normal until he meets our Mr. Herbert West in the 1920's, wanting to be the financier to the poor yet brilliant scientist - I'm sure for his own devious intent - they work together perfecting this life extending serum and zombie controlling serum. That is until something happens and Mr. West, thinking his benefactor dead, injects him with the serum....which turns him into an even bigger threat and menace, like an ogre with a chip on his shoulder. His body chemistry was already unique and odd and would have revived itself in time....now it's uncontrollable.

Also a main player is the huge and menacing yet charming and seemingly sweet natured philanthropist Johnny Stucke, (Ohhh a legendary monster man here) recently he has put himself in the spotlight/hotlight and became the public spokesperson for the allocation of Night Things everywhere. He, along with Herbert's help, take in Carol and help her adjust to her new undead -yet, not zombie- unlifestyle and hone her newly acquired abilities of actually controlling zombies.

Just WOW, yes, there is one thrill after another in this. It would make for an amazing....I don't know, anti-superhero movie. Yea, just give it to that Tim Miller guy, he could take it somewhere.... Lol

This tale bounces around timelines well over a 100 years but it very easy to follow.
OK, I feel as though I've rambled long enough....believe me I could keep going on and on, like I said there are many layers and many more players is this very well thought out and highly enjoyable new spin on our favorite -and feared-monsters of yesteryear!!
Now, if you'll leave me be I'm off to read the first Night Things: Frankenstein vs. Dracula.
There is also a prequel, yea, so...consider me unreachable for awhile.

'The grass is always greener on the other side of the grave.'
LOVE that quote Mr. West!!
And love the fact that you named the genius -but not mad- scientist after yourself even if he actually is from Re-Animator. Both work for me!! LOL

[Zakk Madness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, was I reluctant to start reading Night Things: Undead and Kicking. After finding my way into (and falling for) the world of Terry M. West fiction, a little ditty called Heroin in the Magic Now (bundled with a short story Hardcore Crust) dropped and flipped me upside down.

I loved this book and its main character Gary Hack, a drug addicted pornographer. His path and his plight was fascinating. The book itself? Dingy, edgy, bleak, harsh. Violent and heavy, it spoke to everything I desired in a read and I connected with Gary Hack. The main character of this book that I mistakingly grasped on to be a main character of this world.

After a rebranding, Heroin became Monsters and the Magic Now and a byline was added “Prequel to Night Things”. Prequel, what?! This was just before the release of Night Things: Dracula versus Frankenstein, the official Magic Now Book 1, which I eagerly devoured.

The cold hammer of truth dropped and I discovered that my man Gary Hack was just a cog in a much larger machine. Delegated to somewhat of a background role, taking a bow to Johnny Stücke, a character introduced as Hack’s benefactor in the previous book. I was bummed about Gary’s involvement in DvF, and when he exited in a whimper… My inner superfan was spurned. No disrespect to Mr. West, I didn’t hate the book, I just had an irrational infatuation with a character who, lets be honest, probably couldn’t have held a series upon his shoulders. It took me a long time to realize this. The plight of a reader, a fan.

So, did Night Things: Undead and Kicking win me back?

Yeah, yeah it did.

The highlight of Undead and Kicking is the introduction of new characters Carol Haddon and Jack the Ripper, the hinting at other possible future characters, and the fleshing out and expansion of cast introduced in DvF, mainly Herbert West, Gary Hack’s daughter Holly, and Abraham Janvier.

It’s easy to see that Mr. West had an affinity for all monsters, modern and silver age alike. The creatures are molded by caring hands, even if they end up destroyed by bloody claws. The genuine love of Creature Features is apparent in every page.

The read itself has some exciting moments and solid build up as characters take their positions in a burgeoning war. It is by and large a build up, setting the stage for the follow up, Night Things: The Horde Frequency, which I suspect will be explosive. I’m excited to experience the aftermath.

Overall score: 4.5/ 5

Zakk is a big dumb animal!
https://zdubbzattmom.wordpress.com/

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like with every new Night Things tale, the world of Terry M. West gets both bigger and deeper. He's already established his world of Magic Now, where creatures of legend have stepped forward to openly coexist with the mortal world, but Undead and Kicking ups the ante a little bit in terms of literary legends.

Having already met Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, this installment of the series prominently features Dr. Herbert West, Dr. Jekyll, and Jack the Ripper. While they are instantly recognizable from their fictional origins, West subtly tweaks and twists their stories, giving them a more robust role within his universe, and allowing their lives to more naturally (or supernaturally, as the case may be) intersect in contemporary times.

While this one doesn't attain the same taboo perversity of Monsters and the Magic Now, I did find it an altogether darker, more robust tale than Dracula versus Frankenstein. There's some real drama to the story this time out, a nice central mystery, and even a very weird sort of romance. Dr. West is a fantastic character, serving both as a pivotal figure in the mythology, and a driving force in the story. He offers an interesting glimpse into the power and potential of zombies, and his legacy reminds us of the monstrosities still lurking in the darkness.

In terms of sheer spectacle, the climax here may be the strongest in the series. It's a relatively quick battle, but that's perfectly alright, as it's better to (as they say) burn out than fade away. Clearly, there is still a lot more story to be told, and even a few side stories set up as well. If you're new to the series, do yourself and favor and start from the beginning, but if you're already a fan, you'll be thoroughly satisfied with West's latest.


Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the author in exchange for review consideration. This does not in any way affect the honesty or sincerity of my review.

[David J. Breeden · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting tale of supernatural things becoming real, taking place in the Big Apple. Follow Carol, a sympathic woman always wanting to help. There is intrigue, action, plots within plots, and humor. I enjoyed it and will want to follow to wee what happens next. But a bit too many ‘he said/she said.’

[David Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would our world be like if vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghouls, mermen and other creature walked the earth? They aren’t all trying to hurt humans, some of them just want to make an honest living and be accepted. People still fear what they don’t understand and even though some accept the Night Things, others aren’t so trusting. So the night things are given devices that track their every move.

Times are changing after the events of Z Day and Johnny Stucke, a Night thing himself is getting involved in politics. One of his first orders of business was getting Dr. Herbert West to work on a way to control zombies. Enter recently deceased professional MMA fighter Carol Haddon. Her DNA may hold the secret to changing the world’s zombies. Carol has also drawn the attention of Herbert West’s greatest enemy Jack The Ripper. Due to an accident Dr. West has made Jack more powerful than ever and if Dr. West can’t defeat him, it could bring on the apocalypse.

Night Things: Undead And Kicking by Terry M. West is the second book in The Magic Now series and there is so much going on here that a 2 paragraph description hardly does it justice. The plot moves along at a brisk pace, it includes several sub plots and some great characters. There are also some great cameos from popular creatures and people known to classic horror fans. What makes this masterpiece of horror stand out over other works in the genre is how Terry M. West presents his characters.

For instance the main character is Carol Haddon. When she is introduced we see her as someone who feels compassion for the Night Things, she works in a shelter for them and we hear her comparing them to immigrants(love the metaphor). We also see her as a bad ass MMA fighter, but at the same time she is a vulnerable human being who goes to a therapist to deal with feelings she has for her mother. At this point Carol comes across as a complex person and things get harder for her as we find out that the two people helping her, Johnny Stucke and Herbert West have their own agenda and might not have her best interest at heart. That being said they are better than Jack The Ripper who would like nothing better than to rip the dna from her bone marrow. Carol is a hero you can relate to because she’s a compassionate person in a bad situation. Then we have Johhny Stuck and Herbert West who are shades of grey. They want to help Carol but at the same time they have an agenda that has already made major problems for Carol. You see the good and bad in both and it makes you like them that much more.

Undead And Kicking is the type of book that you can point to when people ask you why you like horror. Terry M. West is a horror fan writing books that he knows other horror fans will love. This story puts a fresh spin on classic horror mythology and also manages to add humor, great characters and plenty of blood and good scares to the mix. I can’t say enough good things about this book and I hope there are several more books in The Magic Now series.

[Deedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

audible:The story was good.The wording was too specific and drawn out.No one talks like that,even Zombies!I could barely stand to listen to anymore.Bryan L Anderson was an okay narrator but Sonya Anderson was just too slow and plodding. was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

[Kerry]

A fun, frightening read showcasing Terry M. West's humor and sense of nostalgia. Night Things: Undead and Kicking is a sequel, but it works well on its own. Carol, an advocate for the undead animated by the Magic Now, joins their ranks and learns a bit about the inner workings of their world.