The Undead

Undead #1

by Roxanne Longstreet

Most people avoid the cold, sterile peace of the hospital morgue, but Adam Radburn finds peace in the undemanding responsibilities of caring for the dead. It’s the perfect job for someone with an affinity for the night…or a vampire. But Adam’s present friend Michael Bowman will discover the truth, and Adam’s past will rise up to haunt them both, in the form of an enemy—and a hunger—that never dies.

Genres: Horror, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Suspense, Fantasy, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1993

About the author

A pseudonym of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.

She has also published as:
Rachel Caine
Roxanne Conrad
Julie Fortune
Ian Hammell

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 18%. I really struggled with this story. Sounded really good, but the writing style just made everything feel very prolonged and dragged out. Had some great imagery surrounding Adam, but that was about all I could salvage here. I tend to not jump into books this long with previously unknown authors and this reminded me why. Too long and the pacing was too slow.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roxanne Longstreet Conrad used the pseudonym Roxanne Longstreet when she penned a handful of horror novels for Zebra in the early 90s. The Undead can be summed up as a vampire novel with urban fantasy and romantic aspects; aptly, as Conrad wrote a long paranormal romance series with vampires. While polished and fun, this is not really a stand out of the genre.

Mike, a doctor, works in a Dallas hospital and is married to Maggie, a cop. Given their occupations, their time together is erratic to say the least, but they have been married for almost a decade. A friend of theirs, Adam, works as a pathologist in the hospital on the night shift. Adam, you see, is a vampire, but one who has 'evolved' so to speak to only consume the blood of willing donors and blood banks. After a rather lengthy preamble, we get to the heart of the story.

One day Mike is visiting Adam in the morgue and realizes that Adam does not have a reflection; one thing leads to another and Adam 'blanks' Mike's memory about the scene. After Mike knocks his head on the way home (tripped and fell), the blanked memories start to ooze out. Adam does not want to kill Mike, but can he trust him to keep the secret? Well, shortly thereafter, Mike dies in a car wreck and Adam brings him back as a vampire. There are other vampires around, however, and one of them is stalking Adam...

The pacing is fine and as I mentioned above, this is a polished novel for sure, with lots of little quips and such to add some humor. I am not a big fan of the whole urban fantasy genre, however, so YMMV on this one. Fun, but nothing really novel. 3 fangs!

[SuperHeroQwimm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good vampire story. A little tid bit I find very interesting is that every morning at sunrise the vampires die all over again, and that is something I've never read in any other vampire stories and I felt that it deepened them. It says that it's not just fun living forever, you have to feel death everyday. It also had an open ending so Im hoping there is a follow up.

[H.A. Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second time I read this -- perfect for Halloween season. Roxanne's first novel only shows the first glimmering of what she is really capable of, and it was still pretty damn good!

[*Aysha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A typical tale of vampire, hate & love. However, it didn't captivate me as Caine's other books. I don't think I would read Cold kiss.

[Veronica F · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, just couldn't get into it.

[Laura C. Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read Rachel Caine before and I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised. This book had a good plot, a few surprises, and what I think is a satisfactory ending. I love finding authors with a backlog of books as it gives me a chance to read more. I am also very sorry Ms. Caine has passed away as I'm sure she had a lot more books to come.

[Nardine · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Rachel Caines very early books under a pseudonym. You can tell that she honed her craft over the years compared to this one from the 90’s.
It was bitty and jumped around to a few unexplained scenarios, almost two books in one. But give her another try. Morganville Vampires, Still House Lake and the Great Library are all fabulous series. Very sadly missed

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, the only downside being the amount of typos in the e-book I read. Sometimes it would take a moment to work out what the word was even supposed to be, and this interrupted the flow of the book.

[Amanda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars. The writing and plot were really good (especially for a Zebra publication) but it wasn’t the most exciting vampire novel. The pace and story thankfully pick up about half way through. A solid choice if you’re in the mood for a slow-burn typical vampire story/urban fantasy.

[Susan Brouillette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story but....

This book had serious typographical errors. Really distracting. But the story and characters were well written. Looking forward to the next book

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Kindle version of this book, and it was filled with so many proofreading errors, it was unbelievable. I can’t imagine publishing a book without proofreading it.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was good, unexpected twists and turns but the entire book was riddled with errors/typos. IMO, editing should have done a better job.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The first book a fave author has published and it didn't disappoint. Reading her books always feel like home. Gone too soon! Going to read the second book after Christmas.

[Emmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't get past the awful sex scene 10 seconds in the book. if the beginning is that bad the book can't be any good

[Maria]

Dnf 40% through. Normally really enjoy Rachel Caine novels but this one really needed additional editing.