What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dead Room
A week before Christmas, terrorists detonate dozens of dirty bombs throughout Britain and release a man-made contagion, leading Nicola Allen to begin a frantic hunt for her husband and daughter while a nation burns. Fleeing from a horrendous event she refuses to speak of and desperate to find shelter in a dying country, Nicola's sister-in-law, Cate, takes cover in a partly destroyed hospital. Terrorised by visions of mutilated bodies and the screams of phantom children, Cate joins a group of survivors, all of whom are under attack by ruthless scavengers and looters. If Nicola is to have any chance of finding her family and if Cate is to escape from the siege, they must reunite and then descend into the belly of the ruined hospital where the horrific truth of what truly connects the two women is waiting for them. Waiting for them down in the dead room.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 26, 2019
25 people want to read
About the author
Luke Walker
82 books76 followersLuke Walker has been writing horror and dark thrillers for most of his life. His horror titles include The Ninth Circle, Winter Graves, The Nameless, The Day Of The New Gods, The Mirror Of The Nameless, The Kindred, Pandemonium and The Dead Room and others. Several of his short stories have been published online and in magazines/books. His speculative thriller Terminal State, written under the name Rob Harrison, is out now.
Luke's Bluesky page is @lukewalkerwriter.bsky.social
Sign up to his newsletter at
https://substack.com/@lukewalkerwriter
Or find him at https://lukewalkerwriter.wordpress.com
He is forty-eight and lives in England with his wife and cat.
Luke's Bluesky page is @lukewalkerwriter.bsky.social
Sign up to his newsletter at
https://substack.com/@lukewalkerwriter
Or find him at https://lukewalkerwriter.wordpress.com
He is forty-eight and lives in England with his wife and cat.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 30, 2019
Nicola and Cate-I'll never forget them! If you read THE DEAD ROOM, I bet you won't either.
In the late fall, bombs begin exploding all over large cities in the U.K. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the terrorist activity. Shortly after the bombs, many of the remaining citizens started getting sick. That's how the survivors discovered there was also a biological component to the attacks. Few people who get the "Manc" ever recover.
This tale features two very strong women, who are just trying to live their lives, which in these times, is no small feat. One woman sets out on a trek to find her husband and daughter, and the other ends up with a group of people at a bombed out hospital. That's about all I can say about the plot without spoilers.
The main reason I liked this book so much was because of these well written women. I RARELY feel like any man knows what it's like to be a woman in the world in which we now live, never mind a post-apocalyptic world such as the one in this book. Women travelling alone become targets. You can trust no one. There is no longer any law or order. Unfortunately, this allows certain men to act with no regard for..well, anything. Nicola and Cate constantly had to hide from even a single man-the fear of beatings and/or murder paled in comparison to their fears of being raped. Some things are worse than death.
On top of all this real life stuff, there are also supernatural aspects to this tale. I feel that readers are going to read into these aspects what they will. I would be interested in speaking with someone else who reads this book to determine how they feel about what happened and what it means. In the meantime, I'll stick with my interpretation and say the denouement was poignant, sad, and I think I heard my heart crack a little bit.
The only negative thing I have to say is that this book could have been shortened a bit without having too much impact on the story as a whole. For this, I deducted 1 star. For now. I find myself thinking about Cate and Nicola almost constantly since I finished THE DEAD ROOM last night. Sometimes when that happens, I end up revising my rating upward, and I reserve the right to do just that, in this case.
Highly recommended, especially for fans of well written female characters and post-apocalyptic tales!
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2QCKxG3
*I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for review consideration. I considered it, (said Hell Yeah!), and read the book.*
In the late fall, bombs begin exploding all over large cities in the U.K. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the terrorist activity. Shortly after the bombs, many of the remaining citizens started getting sick. That's how the survivors discovered there was also a biological component to the attacks. Few people who get the "Manc" ever recover.
This tale features two very strong women, who are just trying to live their lives, which in these times, is no small feat. One woman sets out on a trek to find her husband and daughter, and the other ends up with a group of people at a bombed out hospital. That's about all I can say about the plot without spoilers.
The main reason I liked this book so much was because of these well written women. I RARELY feel like any man knows what it's like to be a woman in the world in which we now live, never mind a post-apocalyptic world such as the one in this book. Women travelling alone become targets. You can trust no one. There is no longer any law or order. Unfortunately, this allows certain men to act with no regard for..well, anything. Nicola and Cate constantly had to hide from even a single man-the fear of beatings and/or murder paled in comparison to their fears of being raped. Some things are worse than death.
On top of all this real life stuff, there are also supernatural aspects to this tale. I feel that readers are going to read into these aspects what they will. I would be interested in speaking with someone else who reads this book to determine how they feel about what happened and what it means. In the meantime, I'll stick with my interpretation and say the denouement was poignant, sad, and I think I heard my heart crack a little bit.
The only negative thing I have to say is that this book could have been shortened a bit without having too much impact on the story as a whole. For this, I deducted 1 star. For now. I find myself thinking about Cate and Nicola almost constantly since I finished THE DEAD ROOM last night. Sometimes when that happens, I end up revising my rating upward, and I reserve the right to do just that, in this case.
Highly recommended, especially for fans of well written female characters and post-apocalyptic tales!
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2QCKxG3
*I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for review consideration. I considered it, (said Hell Yeah!), and read the book.*
May 4, 2019
This is one of the best and the scariest end of the world apocalyptic book I have read in a very long time. The idea of bringing numerous terrorist bombing attacks, along with a secondary biological terrorist attack together in one country is diabolical and scary as hell. There are also elements of horror, the supernatural, some crime, some violence, there’s fires, monsters, some in the shape of men and women and some that are pure evil, death and running from death. There is blood, large amounts of blood that is spilled in this story. Along the highways and byways strange types of adventures are also happening. There is heartache, self preservation, self doubt and madness all rolled up into this story’s characters. The time of year this takes place makes the story that much more heartbreaking. It makes trying to survive that much harder. I love that the two main characters are strong, smart, tough women. One is a mom who gets to talk to her loved ones once, right after one large city is bombed. After that she goes through some crushing, scary, nightmarish, and heartbreaking events to try and get to her husband and daughter. With this character there is also an element of evil that has been following her. She has to face this evil head-on if she wants to survive and reach her family. The second woman is heartbroken, she comes with a lot of mental baggage. Some you know about some you have to guess at. She is just trying to find a warm, safe place. She finds it along with a handful of her own horrors. There are some pretty amazing twists and turns throughout the story. This has a odd but a very interesting ending. I recommend this book to enders and horror fans alike.
August 12, 2019
"She’d asked herself if the world was full of ghosts now, if the world was a dead place."
After the bombs go off, the horror really begins. Here's a relentless story from the dark imagination of Luke Walker that proves the lucky ones really do die first.
In this engrossing post-apocalyptic type horror novel, Walker shows he can not only thrill and chill his readers, but also haunt them by exploring deep, hidden pathos of his characters. I was immediately drawn into the struggle of Nicola and Cate, trying to survive their new, broken world, while searching for answers to terrifying questions. And, oh, what terror in those questions! Probably the most irresistible part of this story is the mystery that entwines the two main characters - the dead, the shadows, the impossible whispers in their ears - it's clear from the first few pages that there is something else going on, but you'll have to make it to the final pages to find out. It's well worth the trip.
After the bombs go off, the horror really begins. Here's a relentless story from the dark imagination of Luke Walker that proves the lucky ones really do die first.
In this engrossing post-apocalyptic type horror novel, Walker shows he can not only thrill and chill his readers, but also haunt them by exploring deep, hidden pathos of his characters. I was immediately drawn into the struggle of Nicola and Cate, trying to survive their new, broken world, while searching for answers to terrifying questions. And, oh, what terror in those questions! Probably the most irresistible part of this story is the mystery that entwines the two main characters - the dead, the shadows, the impossible whispers in their ears - it's clear from the first few pages that there is something else going on, but you'll have to make it to the final pages to find out. It's well worth the trip.
December 10, 2019
A week before Christmas, terrorist bombs explode across several major UK cities, reducing them to rubble. Out of the carnage a deadly virus is released that decimates the population.
Against this post-apocalyptic background, the story follows the journeys of two women - Nicola and Cate. Nicola is desperate to get to Manchester, the site of the first bomb, where her husband and daughter were before she lost contact. And Cate is running away - from what is not immediately apparent, but she seeks shelter in an abandoned hospital, and finds that her problems are just beginning.
I have read several novels by this author and in my view this is the best to date. It's not an easy read, given its disturbing premise and exploration of the stark reality of human behaviour in desperate situations. Nicola and Cate constantly face the threat of assault and rape from men in a society where there is no longer any law and order. The characters are depressingly realistic. Although we'd like to think that humanity would pull together when there are only a handful of people left in the world, the instinct for self-preservation above all else would likely kick in.
The world Luke Walker has created comes disturbingly to life, and it is small details such as the characters becoming accustomed to the stink of their own unwashed bodies because there is no water available for bathing that add to the realism. When water is so scarce, it is saved for drinking, not washing.
It's hard to say much more about how the novel unfolds without revealing spoilers, but suffice to say I did not see that ending coming.
Fans of apocalyptic horror and strong female characters will find this one well worth a read.
Against this post-apocalyptic background, the story follows the journeys of two women - Nicola and Cate. Nicola is desperate to get to Manchester, the site of the first bomb, where her husband and daughter were before she lost contact. And Cate is running away - from what is not immediately apparent, but she seeks shelter in an abandoned hospital, and finds that her problems are just beginning.
I have read several novels by this author and in my view this is the best to date. It's not an easy read, given its disturbing premise and exploration of the stark reality of human behaviour in desperate situations. Nicola and Cate constantly face the threat of assault and rape from men in a society where there is no longer any law and order. The characters are depressingly realistic. Although we'd like to think that humanity would pull together when there are only a handful of people left in the world, the instinct for self-preservation above all else would likely kick in.
The world Luke Walker has created comes disturbingly to life, and it is small details such as the characters becoming accustomed to the stink of their own unwashed bodies because there is no water available for bathing that add to the realism. When water is so scarce, it is saved for drinking, not washing.
It's hard to say much more about how the novel unfolds without revealing spoilers, but suffice to say I did not see that ending coming.
Fans of apocalyptic horror and strong female characters will find this one well worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews