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Books of the Dead #1
Sanctuary from the Dead
When zombies rise, humans become the endangered speciesThe dead came back to life and started killing the living. Within weeks, zombies ruled the world.
Joel, a twenty-something slacker, finds himself holed up with a group of survivors as they take refuge inside a church. Fighting the undead in a desperate attempt to survive, they try to maintain some semblance of what makes them human.
Sanctuary from the Dead tells the story of a group of survivors who desperately try to maintain their humanity as they try to survive in an undead world.
Sanctuary from the Dead is the first book in the Books of the Dead Series. If you like the horror of the zombie apocalypse and action that is non-stop, start the series that zombie fans can’t stop reading.
Contains adult language, violence, and gore.
Joel, a twenty-something slacker, finds himself holed up with a group of survivors as they take refuge inside a church. Fighting the undead in a desperate attempt to survive, they try to maintain some semblance of what makes them human.
Sanctuary from the Dead tells the story of a group of survivors who desperately try to maintain their humanity as they try to survive in an undead world.
Sanctuary from the Dead is the first book in the Books of the Dead Series. If you like the horror of the zombie apocalypse and action that is non-stop, start the series that zombie fans can’t stop reading.
Contains adult language, violence, and gore.
- GenresZombies
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 26, 2013
161 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
R.J. Spears
56 books18 followersR.J. Spears splits his writing time between mystery/crime and horror. His stories have appeared on A Twist of Noir, Shotgun Honey, Flashes in the Dark, and the Horror Zine along with other sites. His zombie series Forget the Zombies and Books of the Dead can be found on Amazon. You can learn more about his writing at: rj-spears.com
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 5, 2015
R.J. Spears does it again with this second installment in his Books of the Dead series. This book takes the reader to new levels as Joel and his group of survivors are faced with increasingly horrific challenges. One thing I especially liked about Lord of the Dead is the way R.J. Spears is able to create a villain who is so absolutely evil that we the reader almost forget that he is human. I felt this was a masterful way to illustrate that in a z-poc world, not all monsters are zombies. If you liked Sanctuary from the Dead, this book is a must read; and I highly recommend this novel to any and all horror fans.
July 3, 2018
Awesome read.
It felt and read like it was almost real. It did start out little slow but picked up. It was packed full of zombie killing and fighting the living as well. Author also did good job with the character's and detailing of the book. We got mix of all different types people the military and civilians all had different personalities.
It felt and read like it was almost real. It did start out little slow but picked up. It was packed full of zombie killing and fighting the living as well. Author also did good job with the character's and detailing of the book. We got mix of all different types people the military and civilians all had different personalities.
July 2, 2015
Sanctuary from the Dead by R.J. Spears is the first book in his Books of the Dead series. This novel is perfect for fans of zombie fiction. It’s fast-paced, action-packed and filled with the hallmark features of popular zombie lore. There has been an outbreak of the zombie disease. No one knows why it happened, but the walking dead are everywhere with their voracious appetite for living flesh, their dragging gait and horrible stench. As civilization has broken down, there’s also much to fear from living humans who have become violent toward other survivors. No one knows who can be trusted.
Sanctuary from the Dead focuses on a group of Christians who hunker down inside their local church after the apocalypse begins. Joel, the main character, tells the story of those in the sanctuary in his own first-person point of view. He’s a young man who doesn’t feel especially great about himself. He doesn’t feel that he’s as religious as the “true believers” in his group or as strong as the “warrior Christians” protecting everyone. On the other hand, he doesn’t feel that he’s one of the “poseurs” or one of the “lost” individuals within the church. He’s not exactly sure which group he belongs in, and he struggles with his religious faith and feelings toward God on a regular basis. However, Joel also realizes that the world has changed and people must do things to survive that they never would have imagined doing in the past. He tries to do his best to help out.
NOTE: There are a lot of typos in this book, but they don’t take away from the quality of the story. This is an intense work of zombie fiction.
Sanctuary from the Dead focuses on a group of Christians who hunker down inside their local church after the apocalypse begins. Joel, the main character, tells the story of those in the sanctuary in his own first-person point of view. He’s a young man who doesn’t feel especially great about himself. He doesn’t feel that he’s as religious as the “true believers” in his group or as strong as the “warrior Christians” protecting everyone. On the other hand, he doesn’t feel that he’s one of the “poseurs” or one of the “lost” individuals within the church. He’s not exactly sure which group he belongs in, and he struggles with his religious faith and feelings toward God on a regular basis. However, Joel also realizes that the world has changed and people must do things to survive that they never would have imagined doing in the past. He tries to do his best to help out.
NOTE: There are a lot of typos in this book, but they don’t take away from the quality of the story. This is an intense work of zombie fiction.
January 31, 2018
A great start to a new series!
Sanctuary From The Dead has the perfect balance of action and gore you expect from a zombie story, as well as all the heart of a well written drama. Everyone loves an underdog and Joel is a bit of a lovable loser. Try not to zoom through and one click the others in the series, go ahead.
On the negative side there were a couple parts where there seemed to be some sort of supernatural occurrence(s) that didn't really seem to go anywhere. These incidences may be explored more further on in the series, I don't know. At this time they only seemed to be distracting. I do plan to find out though having already one clicked the next in the series. :)
Sanctuary From The Dead has the perfect balance of action and gore you expect from a zombie story, as well as all the heart of a well written drama. Everyone loves an underdog and Joel is a bit of a lovable loser. Try not to zoom through and one click the others in the series, go ahead.
On the negative side there were a couple parts where there seemed to be some sort of supernatural occurrence(s) that didn't really seem to go anywhere. These incidences may be explored more further on in the series, I don't know. At this time they only seemed to be distracting. I do plan to find out though having already one clicked the next in the series. :)
January 22, 2014
Sanctuary from the Dead by R.J. Spears is a must read for any zombiephile! Small town USA has a zombie outbreak, there are no "action heroes" to save the day, just normal people like YOU! How do they cope, how do they survive, how would you? The conflicts are not just vs the zombies, but against the morality of right and wrong, good and evil, live and let live or live and let die. Can the party risk two lives to save one, let one die to save three, will they turn on each other before the zombies have a chance to get to them? Read the book to find out!
June 1, 2020
Interesting
This kept my interest it wasn’t an immediate have to get to the end but the characters developed into people I wanted to know ,wanted to survive that’s my gauge of a good book or series of books Joel is that young guy just wandering through life not really doing anything remarkable then the zombies show up and he starts changing not into the immediate hero but into the person that becomes one over and over again I’m not quite sure where the “visions” he has had are going but I’m interested to see where. It’s a believable enough zombie story (if you can say they are believable) that I want to see how My new friends survive and hopefully thrive hurrying to book 2 now
This kept my interest it wasn’t an immediate have to get to the end but the characters developed into people I wanted to know ,wanted to survive that’s my gauge of a good book or series of books Joel is that young guy just wandering through life not really doing anything remarkable then the zombies show up and he starts changing not into the immediate hero but into the person that becomes one over and over again I’m not quite sure where the “visions” he has had are going but I’m interested to see where. It’s a believable enough zombie story (if you can say they are believable) that I want to see how My new friends survive and hopefully thrive hurrying to book 2 now
March 13, 2020
Who says the first time is always the best?
I read this series from start to finish, read some other zombie genre book, ran into another series by RJ Spears that features Greg's son, Henry. Since I'd taken a break & had been reading other series I was a bit hazy about who was who, what was what, then discovered that the series begins during Book 7 of THIS series so here I am, enjoying the series again so I can hop over to Henry & his group of survivors. I can't wait!
I read this series from start to finish, read some other zombie genre book, ran into another series by RJ Spears that features Greg's son, Henry. Since I'd taken a break & had been reading other series I was a bit hazy about who was who, what was what, then discovered that the series begins during Book 7 of THIS series so here I am, enjoying the series again so I can hop over to Henry & his group of survivors. I can't wait!
March 16, 2019
Good ol'Fashion zombie apocalypse series...
This is just the beginning... Of a great zombie apocalypse series... Can't wait to get on with the story... But I thought I'd leave a review... If you like fast paced running for your life... Then this series is for you!!
This is just the beginning... Of a great zombie apocalypse series... Can't wait to get on with the story... But I thought I'd leave a review... If you like fast paced running for your life... Then this series is for you!!
May 17, 2021
I did really enjoy this zombie end of the world story! Good ideas & plot, interesting characters & over all a good read! I will look for more by this writer & hope to read the rest of this series!
Want to read
March 4, 2022Nice story
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2018
Really fun zombie tale that focuses on the humans as the hold up in their local church several months after the epidemic. Inside the church, obviously people are divided. The really devout church goers who believe it is a test, the warriors who are needed to go on recon and foraging trips outside of the church and the usual.
Up against the undead or hiding away from them as best as possible. The real threat is from other humans who want to breach the city and the sanctuary of the church.
Good, enjoyable read.
A few typos here and there if you are ones who complain fully about that. But it happens even with editors.
Up against the undead or hiding away from them as best as possible. The real threat is from other humans who want to breach the city and the sanctuary of the church.
Good, enjoyable read.
A few typos here and there if you are ones who complain fully about that. But it happens even with editors.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews