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Dead Lock
In the near future, a far right government jails its undesirable murderers, rapists and leftist enemies of the state.Once every three months, the inmates are given one chance to escape the fortified zombie infested island of Mortwich. Dead Lock - a race for parole chosen by ballot. The winner gets to live as a free man or woman.The losers join the undead.Jim, Mike, Tony and Kate are thrown together in their desperate bid to escape. Just one is one of the companions just another of the many imprisoned political opponents of the government, or a serial killer?
128 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2017
About the author
M.G. Mason
16 books96 followersHello, I'm MG Mason, real name Matt.
I was born in Swindon in the 1970s but currently living on the Cornish south coast.
I'm a web content writer by trade but fiction is my first love.
How would I describe my work? Well, a friend once asked "have you considered writing a book in one genre without throwing two other genres into the same story?" Until that point I hadn't realised just how much mashing up genres defined my work.
They were right of course. But what else can you expect from a scifi nerd with an archaeology degree?
These days, when not writing for businesses or fiction, I'm usually found somewhere in Cornwall with a camera attached to my face.
I was born in Swindon in the 1970s but currently living on the Cornish south coast.
I'm a web content writer by trade but fiction is my first love.
How would I describe my work? Well, a friend once asked "have you considered writing a book in one genre without throwing two other genres into the same story?" Until that point I hadn't realised just how much mashing up genres defined my work.
They were right of course. But what else can you expect from a scifi nerd with an archaeology degree?
These days, when not writing for businesses or fiction, I'm usually found somewhere in Cornwall with a camera attached to my face.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 26, 2023
A really interesting concept for a follow up story; taking the same basic situation & characters but throwing them in a mirror universe and seeing how things play out. I enjoyed the original story for the most part, but didn’t love it. But this really captured my imagination. Where I found Dead Heat a little uneven with moments of superb writing and others that felt a little perfunctory, this mirror world truly comes to life and MG Mason’s gift for satire is on full display here, as is his taste for horror. Funny and unflinchingly gruesome, this was a great ride!
October 29, 2017
Yay! A zomie thriller that makes use of brains as more than just zomie fodder, Dead Lock by M.G. Mason is a nonstop adventure with plenty of thrills and gory kills, as well as some chills due to the disturbing alternative world in which we find ourselves.
Opening in 1979, in a Britain where a strongly nationalistic, anti immigration party known as the Britain As One Party has just won a general election , through the use of snippets from newspaper style reports we see how the oppressive regime grows in power and becomes a totalitarian regime. Such a regime rapidly runs out of prison space , and so a long closed prison facility on a remote island is reopened, with dramatic consequences since the island also happens to be the home of a zombie colony.
Fast forward to the present day , and we meet Jim, Kate and Mike, prisoners competing for parole, in a life or death race. The first to reach the bridge off the island will gain his/her freedom, but there are a lot of zombies to avoid or kill along the way. As readers we rapidly learn that Jim and Kate share a past connection, but it soon becomes clear that at least one of the trio is not telling the truth, and soon knowing who to trust becomes a question,not just for the characters but also for us as readers.
Without spoiling any more of the story , I can say that the escape route off the island has plenty of obstacles, and the story takes several unexpected turns before it reaches a conclusion, with plenty of drama to satisfy the most demanding of readers, and the "who dunnit" style teasing of which characters to trust definitely keeps the brain engaged. All in all this short little book packs a punch well beyond its page count, and I'd definitely recommend it for zombie fans, but also for thriller fans looking for something a little different for this time of year.
The book also works really well as a companion piece to Mr Mason's earlier novella Dead Heat which is set on the same island, but in a completely different reality, and is a strong comedic take on a zombie tale. One island, but two very different takes on the genre, and each stands out in its own way.
I received a copy of the book from the author, but the opinions in this review are entirely my own.
Opening in 1979, in a Britain where a strongly nationalistic, anti immigration party known as the Britain As One Party has just won a general election , through the use of snippets from newspaper style reports we see how the oppressive regime grows in power and becomes a totalitarian regime. Such a regime rapidly runs out of prison space , and so a long closed prison facility on a remote island is reopened, with dramatic consequences since the island also happens to be the home of a zombie colony.
Fast forward to the present day , and we meet Jim, Kate and Mike, prisoners competing for parole, in a life or death race. The first to reach the bridge off the island will gain his/her freedom, but there are a lot of zombies to avoid or kill along the way. As readers we rapidly learn that Jim and Kate share a past connection, but it soon becomes clear that at least one of the trio is not telling the truth, and soon knowing who to trust becomes a question,not just for the characters but also for us as readers.
Without spoiling any more of the story , I can say that the escape route off the island has plenty of obstacles, and the story takes several unexpected turns before it reaches a conclusion, with plenty of drama to satisfy the most demanding of readers, and the "who dunnit" style teasing of which characters to trust definitely keeps the brain engaged. All in all this short little book packs a punch well beyond its page count, and I'd definitely recommend it for zombie fans, but also for thriller fans looking for something a little different for this time of year.
The book also works really well as a companion piece to Mr Mason's earlier novella Dead Heat which is set on the same island, but in a completely different reality, and is a strong comedic take on a zombie tale. One island, but two very different takes on the genre, and each stands out in its own way.
I received a copy of the book from the author, but the opinions in this review are entirely my own.
October 28, 2017
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Totalitarian Great Britain, isolated island prisons and the undead make Dead Lock a fast paced action packed read. History is re written as an upsurge in far right politics in the seventies see the Britain As One Party coming to power, very soon Great Britain is an isolated country and its peoples living in fear.... Fast forward to 2018 and isolated prisons have sprung up housing the worst of the worst.... Child killers, rapists, enemies of the state, leftists... At the island prison of Mortwich the only way to get out is to take part in the Dead Lock a race for parole..... All you have to do is win the race and survive the walking dead.! An eclectic group come together to chance their arm and make a bid for freedom, but in this world of zombie eat the living can anyone be trusted? Action packed, humorous in places the pacing is perfect and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout, the characters are well written, fleshed out and you will find yourself routing for well some of them .. All in all a wonderful short read
Totalitarian Great Britain, isolated island prisons and the undead make Dead Lock a fast paced action packed read. History is re written as an upsurge in far right politics in the seventies see the Britain As One Party coming to power, very soon Great Britain is an isolated country and its peoples living in fear.... Fast forward to 2018 and isolated prisons have sprung up housing the worst of the worst.... Child killers, rapists, enemies of the state, leftists... At the island prison of Mortwich the only way to get out is to take part in the Dead Lock a race for parole..... All you have to do is win the race and survive the walking dead.! An eclectic group come together to chance their arm and make a bid for freedom, but in this world of zombie eat the living can anyone be trusted? Action packed, humorous in places the pacing is perfect and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout, the characters are well written, fleshed out and you will find yourself routing for well some of them .. All in all a wonderful short read
October 21, 2023
This is certainly one of the cleverest zombie stories I've read. There's much more going on in Dead Lock than I expected, and if you're looking for something in the zombie genre that's a little different then this is definitely worth picking up.
Set in an alternate England controlled by a 1984-style government the story feels like a horror, thriller and dystopian drama all at once, the genres blending together seamlessly. Most of the scenes takes place in the grounds of a prison as inmates face off against hordes of undead in order to win freedom, so there's plenty of zombie action, but also enough ominous hints and references for the reader to easily picture the threatening outside world these characters also live in. It all makes for a very effective atmosphere.
Scenes which flash back to different times can sometimes feel distracting but in this story they're well written, fit in naturally and make for interesting plot additions. There are a lot of twists and turns, surprises and enjoyable moments of dark comedy. Great fun to read
Set in an alternate England controlled by a 1984-style government the story feels like a horror, thriller and dystopian drama all at once, the genres blending together seamlessly. Most of the scenes takes place in the grounds of a prison as inmates face off against hordes of undead in order to win freedom, so there's plenty of zombie action, but also enough ominous hints and references for the reader to easily picture the threatening outside world these characters also live in. It all makes for a very effective atmosphere.
Scenes which flash back to different times can sometimes feel distracting but in this story they're well written, fit in naturally and make for interesting plot additions. There are a lot of twists and turns, surprises and enjoyable moments of dark comedy. Great fun to read
October 28, 2017
While the “equel” mirror story is good, and the comedy being toned down should have made this book a really great horror story, there are some niggles that detract ultimately from this story.
Basically the zombies are just as goofy in this story as in the comedy version. And I wanted them to be scarier, and maybe to find out a little more about the Eldritch horror that haunted Mortwich Island in the first book.
Shame because it is a so close to being truly awesome, but misses just a little the potential it could have had.
Basically the zombies are just as goofy in this story as in the comedy version. And I wanted them to be scarier, and maybe to find out a little more about the Eldritch horror that haunted Mortwich Island in the first book.
Shame because it is a so close to being truly awesome, but misses just a little the potential it could have had.
June 24, 2025
A fantastic piece, I assume. I'll update this when I actually read it
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews