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Corpse Fauna #2
Tears of Blood
A chronicle of survival in a world of the living dead.
There is no Heaven or Hell; there is only blood and the dust of flesh.
Vale’s safe, contented existence was a lie exposed when the dead began to walk.
The truth was she’d been “dead” for years, no less aimless or lost than the reanimated corpses devouring the world. But with society collapsing, Vale came to life and discovered things about herself she never would’ve learned in the old world.
Now that she was really alive, she refused to let the dead take that away from her.
She never expected the world outside her apartment to be so much more brutal and deadly than she’d imagined. She didn’t count on the cruelty and madness she found among the airport people. Then the stranger came, walking among the living dead as if he was invisible, untouchable, a living mystery with the terrifying power to thrust them all into a whirlwind of madness and violence in the name of faith. And Vale, who prefers to see the world through the scope of her rifle, must fight to stay alive…
Praise for the work of James Chambers:
“James Chambers breathes new life into the zombie genre with the riveting THE DEAD BEAR WITNESS! Weird, heartbreaking, funny, and exciting! Two decaying thumbs up!” -Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of PATIENT ZERO and ROT & RUIN
“…chillingly evocative writing…”
—Publisher’s Weekly
“James Chambers writes stories that are paced fast enough to friction burn a reader's eyeballs.”
—Horror Reader.com
“…often insightful, and downright creepy…”
—The Nth Degree
There is no Heaven or Hell; there is only blood and the dust of flesh.
Vale’s safe, contented existence was a lie exposed when the dead began to walk.
The truth was she’d been “dead” for years, no less aimless or lost than the reanimated corpses devouring the world. But with society collapsing, Vale came to life and discovered things about herself she never would’ve learned in the old world.
Now that she was really alive, she refused to let the dead take that away from her.
She never expected the world outside her apartment to be so much more brutal and deadly than she’d imagined. She didn’t count on the cruelty and madness she found among the airport people. Then the stranger came, walking among the living dead as if he was invisible, untouchable, a living mystery with the terrifying power to thrust them all into a whirlwind of madness and violence in the name of faith. And Vale, who prefers to see the world through the scope of her rifle, must fight to stay alive…
Praise for the work of James Chambers:
“James Chambers breathes new life into the zombie genre with the riveting THE DEAD BEAR WITNESS! Weird, heartbreaking, funny, and exciting! Two decaying thumbs up!” -Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of PATIENT ZERO and ROT & RUIN
“…chillingly evocative writing…”
—Publisher’s Weekly
“James Chambers writes stories that are paced fast enough to friction burn a reader's eyeballs.”
—Horror Reader.com
“…often insightful, and downright creepy…”
—The Nth Degree
142 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2012
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
James Chambers
62 books45 followersJames Chambers writes tales of horror, crime, fantasy, and science fiction. He is the author of The Engines of Sacrifice, a collection of four Lovecraftian-inspired novellas published in 2011 by Dark Regions Press which Publisher’s Weekly described as “…chillingly evocative….” He is also the author of the short fiction collection Resurrection House (Dark Regions Press, 2009). Most recently, Dark Quest Books published The Dead Bear Witness and Tears of Blood, volume one and two in his Corpse Fauna novella series. Volume three, The Dead in Their Masses, will be published in late 2013. In August 2005 Die Monster Die Books published his first short story collection, The Midnight Hour: Saint Lawn Hill and Other Tales, created in collaboration with illustrator Jason Whitley.
His short stories have been published in the anthologies Bad-Ass Faeries, Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad, Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory, Bad Cop No Donut, Barbarians at the Jumpgate, Breach the Hull, By Other Means, Crypto-Critters (Volume 1 and Volume 2), Dark Furies, The Dead Walk, The Dead Walk Again, Deep Cuts, The Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon, Dragon’s Lure, The Green Hornet Chronicles, Hardboiled Cthulhu, Hear Them Roar, Hellfire Lounge, In An Iron Cage, Lost Worlds of Space and Time (Volume 1), Mermaids 13, New Blood, No Longer Dreams, Sick: An Anthology of Illness, So It Begins, To Hell in a Fast Car, Walrus Tales, Weird Trails, and Warfear; the chapbook Mooncat Jack; and the magazines Bare Bone, Cthulhu Sex, and Allen K’s Inhuman.
His tale “A Wandering Blackness,” one of two published in Lin Carter’s Doctor Anton Zarnak, Occult Detective, received an honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Sixteenth Annual Collection.
He has also written numerous comic books including Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals, the critically acclaimed “The Revenant” in Shadow House, and most recently a Midnight Hour story for the comics anthology Negative Burn.
He is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the current chairperson of its membership committee.
He lives in New York.
His short stories have been published in the anthologies Bad-Ass Faeries, Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad, Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory, Bad Cop No Donut, Barbarians at the Jumpgate, Breach the Hull, By Other Means, Crypto-Critters (Volume 1 and Volume 2), Dark Furies, The Dead Walk, The Dead Walk Again, Deep Cuts, The Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon, Dragon’s Lure, The Green Hornet Chronicles, Hardboiled Cthulhu, Hear Them Roar, Hellfire Lounge, In An Iron Cage, Lost Worlds of Space and Time (Volume 1), Mermaids 13, New Blood, No Longer Dreams, Sick: An Anthology of Illness, So It Begins, To Hell in a Fast Car, Walrus Tales, Weird Trails, and Warfear; the chapbook Mooncat Jack; and the magazines Bare Bone, Cthulhu Sex, and Allen K’s Inhuman.
His tale “A Wandering Blackness,” one of two published in Lin Carter’s Doctor Anton Zarnak, Occult Detective, received an honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Sixteenth Annual Collection.
He has also written numerous comic books including Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals, the critically acclaimed “The Revenant” in Shadow House, and most recently a Midnight Hour story for the comics anthology Negative Burn.
He is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the current chairperson of its membership committee.
He lives in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 28, 2023
Foreword: this is the second volume of a tetralogy of which I have not read the first volume. This makes me lack some basis for understanding whether the plot really stands up; nevertheless, I enjoyed the reading. Chambers is very good at character description and his walking dead are quite original, with those eyes popping out all over their bodies. The concept behind this volume, then, is really peculiar. If the dead, all the dead, past and present, must awaken for a mysterious reason (which is perhaps explained in the first volume), in their various degrees of decomposition, what will happen to the incorrupt body of a canonised saint? Which side will he be on, with the living or the dead? It is up to Vale, the undisputed protagonist of this strange novel, the one who was dead in life (too obedient to the desires and canons of others) and who now that the dead rule feels alive at last, to discover the truth. Unfortunately, it is possible that the outcome of this story will be contained in later volumes, which leaves the reader somewhat in suspense with respect to the story of Vale and Saint Blanco.
December 29, 2019
It is typically very hard for me to get into a zombie apocalypse focused book. However, James Chambers did such a fantastic job dragging me in and keeping me hooked with a unique plot in a typical atmosphere... I really enjoyed myself!
My primary con relates to the main character, Vale, which was quite an engaging character. Sadly, I found her intrinsic ability to just be a great shot without any background or deeper explanation a little underwhelming. I wish this would have been explored more.. as she got more training at the airport range did she excel better than everyone else.. even veteran military trained individuals? Or was she just great at a beginner level and struggled as she tried to improve? What kind of great shots or situations had she completed impossibly that gained her notoriety that is so obviously present among the team? I feel like I just know she is a good shot, and I don't really know why or feel it except for the fact that I am continously TOLD it by other irrelevant characters.
And that leads me to another con, the side characters. I didn't really get a connection with any of them, or feel like I understood them or their desires/needs. I feel like they were all just fodder for Vales story. The result was that when deaths occurred I wasn't emotionally impacted at all.. and I wanted to be.. I wanted to feel the same reaction the other characters were having, but I was unsuccessful due to a lack of any strong connections.
There was a substantial amount of vulgar language in the text, but it all fit really well with the moments used and the atmosphere created by the author.
My primary pro, was still Vale! She was such a deep character and I absolutely LOVED the "Vale Dark Days". The context from that backstory was so necessary and enjoyable. I felt bonded to her and I really was emotionally invested in her succeeding.
Next, the plot was fantastic. As I said in my overall opinion, I typically struggle with this type of book because of the standard and expected plot in these atmospheres. However, James did a great job bringing in some unique zombie attributes (the eyes, the death mechanics, etc). With that said, the biggest winner for me was the wrap in of religion and the stranger himself. This ended up developing into such a fantastic conflict and conclusion that was extremely fast paced and left it hard for me to put this book down!
My primary con relates to the main character, Vale, which was quite an engaging character. Sadly, I found her intrinsic ability to just be a great shot without any background or deeper explanation a little underwhelming. I wish this would have been explored more.. as she got more training at the airport range did she excel better than everyone else.. even veteran military trained individuals? Or was she just great at a beginner level and struggled as she tried to improve? What kind of great shots or situations had she completed impossibly that gained her notoriety that is so obviously present among the team? I feel like I just know she is a good shot, and I don't really know why or feel it except for the fact that I am continously TOLD it by other irrelevant characters.
And that leads me to another con, the side characters. I didn't really get a connection with any of them, or feel like I understood them or their desires/needs. I feel like they were all just fodder for Vales story. The result was that when deaths occurred I wasn't emotionally impacted at all.. and I wanted to be.. I wanted to feel the same reaction the other characters were having, but I was unsuccessful due to a lack of any strong connections.
There was a substantial amount of vulgar language in the text, but it all fit really well with the moments used and the atmosphere created by the author.
My primary pro, was still Vale! She was such a deep character and I absolutely LOVED the "Vale Dark Days". The context from that backstory was so necessary and enjoyable. I felt bonded to her and I really was emotionally invested in her succeeding.
Next, the plot was fantastic. As I said in my overall opinion, I typically struggle with this type of book because of the standard and expected plot in these atmospheres. However, James did a great job bringing in some unique zombie attributes (the eyes, the death mechanics, etc). With that said, the biggest winner for me was the wrap in of religion and the stranger himself. This ended up developing into such a fantastic conflict and conclusion that was extremely fast paced and left it hard for me to put this book down!
The stranger's voice resonated, like a cello string holding a long, deep note. It penetrated Vale, impossible to deny; its power made her shiver. "I didn't mean for this man to kill his friend, but death comes to us all, and there's no predicting how anyone will react to the truth. Sometimes the truth has unintended consequences. Both hope and despair can rob a man of his soul. We make our choices alone. These two men were not prepared to hear the truth. Maybe you aren't either."
February 19, 2020
Tears of Blood is the second book in the Corpse Fauna zombie apocalypse series. I read and reviewed the first book not long ago and although I only rated it 3 stars and had some issues with the book I still wanted to continue the series to see where the story goes. In fact, I was really hoping for answers and some kind of tie in of the pieces of the story that we got in book 1. However, I was sorely disappointed in that aspect. Tears of Blood told the story from a completely new character's point of view. Someone who we had never read about before and a completely new view. I did like this new female MC and was finding the characters and the plot engaging but as with the first book, the story just stops dead about 80% in with no warning and switches to another completely new character that doesn't seem to relate to the rest of the story in any way.
This book isn't the end of the series and I think the issue with the books, the story line, and the format is that as readers we are reading each book and judging them seperately. I imagine that however many books down the line all these aspects and characters will come together and suddenly everything will make sense. And if that happens I can see the series as a whole being excellent and highly rated. The writing is good, the characters are engaging, and the freaky out of the norm zombies are intriguing. It's just very difficult to rate what feels like random small pieces of a very big overall story.
I will definitely continue to read the series in the hope that I am right.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This book isn't the end of the series and I think the issue with the books, the story line, and the format is that as readers we are reading each book and judging them seperately. I imagine that however many books down the line all these aspects and characters will come together and suddenly everything will make sense. And if that happens I can see the series as a whole being excellent and highly rated. The writing is good, the characters are engaging, and the freaky out of the norm zombies are intriguing. It's just very difficult to rate what feels like random small pieces of a very big overall story.
I will definitely continue to read the series in the hope that I am right.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.
January 3, 2020
A zombie apocalypse story.
I'm a bit confused by this book. I saw that it was the second in a series, so I wasn't surprised when the story started in the middle, so to speak, with the apocalypse well underway and characters referring to things that have already happened. I just figured all of that happened in the first book, and I followed along as best I could. But then it suddenly flashed back and started covering all the things people had talked about. So...none of it happened in the earlier book? Or, maybe, people who read that one are bored going over the same ground, I don't know which.
I'm also not sure what the section about the young boy is doing there. It just leads out of Vale's story. I assumed Vale and her people were going to meet with the boy, but the book ended very abruptly, and the 'next time' section doesn't mention any of them.
Overall, I enjoyed the read but it did leave me very confused. If these are unrelated stories set in the apocalypse and we never go back to anyone, that's one thing. But let us know that's what it is.
I'd read the other volumes if I could, just to see if anything makes more sense afterwards!
I'm a bit confused by this book. I saw that it was the second in a series, so I wasn't surprised when the story started in the middle, so to speak, with the apocalypse well underway and characters referring to things that have already happened. I just figured all of that happened in the first book, and I followed along as best I could. But then it suddenly flashed back and started covering all the things people had talked about. So...none of it happened in the earlier book? Or, maybe, people who read that one are bored going over the same ground, I don't know which.
I'm also not sure what the section about the young boy is doing there. It just leads out of Vale's story. I assumed Vale and her people were going to meet with the boy, but the book ended very abruptly, and the 'next time' section doesn't mention any of them.
Overall, I enjoyed the read but it did leave me very confused. If these are unrelated stories set in the apocalypse and we never go back to anyone, that's one thing. But let us know that's what it is.
I'd read the other volumes if I could, just to see if anything makes more sense afterwards!
December 29, 2019
Vale is the strong female role model we've been looking for. It just so happens she's living during the zombie apocalypse. I finished this book in one sitting- not able to tear myself away from the action. This seems to be the second in a series, and now I can't wait to find and read the first!
February 1, 2020
Two fantastic stories set in The Corpse Fauna cycle. Read the second entry in the series in less than a day. Can't wait to read the third one in the series. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews