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Dead End
The suburb where Adam, Paul, and Josey live has transformed into a wasteland of empty houses and slow, shambling dead. In this new world where a deadly virus transforms its victims into living dead things hungering for human flesh, this small band of survivors must do anything and everything they can to survive from one day to the next. In the city, a small haven has appeared in the form of a fortified church building... but the good Reverend in charge isn't everything he seems. The 'holy place' is quickly becoming a madhouse surrounded by the dead and led by the insane. Adam and his friends trek unknowingly across this mysterious and dangerous post-apocalyptic world on a collision course with the vicious church dwellers in the city. Will there be a way out for the survivors, or are they all headed for a Dead End?
252 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2009
3 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Giangregorio
152 books22 followersAnthony Giangregorio is the author and editor of more than 25 novels, almost all of them about zombies. His work has appeared in Dead Science by Coscomentertainment, Dead Worlds: Undead Stories Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4, and an upcoming anthology (Zombology) by Library of the Living Dead Press and their werewolf anthology titled War Wolves. He also has stories in End of Days: An Apocalyptic Anthology Volumes 1 & 2. Check out his website at www.undeadpress.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 3, 2009
This book wasn't fabulous, but it wasn't terrible either. Spent a pleasant two hours reading this, so fast pretty one-dimensional read. I guess I like the author okay even though he hasn't wowed me yet with anything and this one is like his other--except without magic at the end which is a plus.
In tried and true zombie book fashion, has the following cliches that I've noted time & time again:
1) Police & National Guard immediately turn against the populace rather than the zombies for some reason
2) Government reponse is half-assed (please turn in all your weapons? what? fact that everyone in America has a gun would be a nice plus I'd think. I think in a scenario where streets are flooding with zombies, they'd be organizing citizen militias)
3) Clergy goes insane and starts feeding people to zombies
4) Life's losers find their niche in apocalyptic world and go on powerhungry murder/rape spree
5) Hero is saddled with plucky orphan child
Book had all the above and then some. Wasn't wild about the ending either. But yeah, book was an okay read--I like this author better than Brian Keene at any rate.
In tried and true zombie book fashion, has the following cliches that I've noted time & time again:
1) Police & National Guard immediately turn against the populace rather than the zombies for some reason
2) Government reponse is half-assed (please turn in all your weapons? what? fact that everyone in America has a gun would be a nice plus I'd think. I think in a scenario where streets are flooding with zombies, they'd be organizing citizen militias)
3) Clergy goes insane and starts feeding people to zombies
4) Life's losers find their niche in apocalyptic world and go on powerhungry murder/rape spree
5) Hero is saddled with plucky orphan child
Book had all the above and then some. Wasn't wild about the ending either. But yeah, book was an okay read--I like this author better than Brian Keene at any rate.
November 18, 2019
I bought this book hoping for a new zombie apocalypse type of story, and I was once again disappointed. This book is just another rehash of the standard zombie story. The dead come back to life, chaos ensues, society as we know it collapses, and a small number of people try to make their way through the mess while staying alive. Not really a lot of wiggle room there for alterations, but I always hope that I'll find what I'm looking for.
Now Permuted Press really isn't my favorite publishing house to buy from because of Anthony Giangregario's childish antics and his poor editing and writing skills. But I decided to be fair and give him a chance.
I wasn't expecting anything great, and I wasn't disappointed. However instead of just complain, I'm going to list things I liked and things I didn't like, just to keep it fair. So let's dive right in!
What I Liked:
No explanation of why the dead started to rise. This may be just my personal preference, but when stories try to explain why there are zombies walking around eating people, it takes something away from the story and slows down the action. It's always been my opinion that if the dead began to rise and you were running and fighting for your life, you wouldn't really care where the zombies came from or why they rose from the dead. You'd be too busy trying to just to keep yourself and your loved ones alive, getting food and finding a safe place to sleep.
Slow zombies. I HATE running zombies, or "the infected," or whatever those things from 28 Days Later were. Again, just a personal preference.
Head shots kill the zombies. Romero type zombies that die when you destroy the brain, again, always my favorite type of zombies.
Now for the other side of the argument, which sadly is much longer than what I did like about this book. And I hope you're in for the long haul because I've got a lot to say.
What I Didn't Like:
The constant raping of women. Need I say more?
Timmy - We find out very early in the story that this character is 8 or 9 years old, and later on page 166 the author confirms that Timmy's age is 9. However the actions of the character are more like that of a 4 year old. I have several nieces and nephews and not one of them was this naïve, stupid and uncoordinated when they were 9.
Eve - When we are first introduced to Eve she is portrayed as a smart driven young woman who graduated at the top of her high school class with a scholarship and she was bound for college when the zombie apocalypse began. Yet as soon as the drek hits the fan she turns into the typical damsel in distress simply because there's a couple of big strong men who tell her she has to stay and be their sex slave. Never once does it cross her mind to simply steal a few days worth of food (Which she has round the clock access to), stash it somewhere, then sneak out during the middle of the night and strike out on her own. What happened to the smart, resourceful, opinionated young woman we were introduced to? Did all that just vanish because there are a few big strong men around and she has a uterus?
Paul - In the beginning this character is supposed to be our smart survivalist gun guy. Yet he continually says and does some pretty dumb things that no survivalist in his right mind would do or say. Not bringing extra ammo? No generator at his basement/bunker? Etc.
Now on to the nit picking -
Page 2, Zombies begin rising from the grave. I call B.S. on this one. First of all, in the USA, all graves by law have to be at LEAST 6 feet deep, the lid is either nailed, screwed or latched shut, and there are 6 feet of dirt on top of the coffin. I don't care if you're Arnold Schwarzenegger, you're not gonna bust through a coffin, and then push through that much dirt. It's just physically impossible.
Page 4, Adam's parents die and he buries them in his back yard. Yes the whole world is dying, the dead are devouring the living everywhere, looters are running rampant, the dead are roaming the streets, it's not safe to go outside... yet he had time to dig two graves. Yep, makes perfect sense.
Page 5, Adam picks up the phone and realizes he has no family to call. Wait, you just said on page 4 that you had "extended family that lived out of state." I'm not a genius but I'm pretty sure that counts as someone to call to tell them that their brother/sister/in-laws are dead.
Page 10, The president of the US comes on TV and Paul says, "What do you think he's going to say?" WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK HE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT!?! Gas prices!?! Trade relations with China!?! His stance on stem cell research!?! He's going to talk about the zombies and what the authorities plan to do about it! I thought this guy was supposed to be smart, what smart guy looks out his window, sees a bunch of flesh-eating zombies walking around, then wonders what the special report interrupting daytime television is going to be about!?!
Page 11, The president says "keep posted to your television..." ummm, don't you mean "stay tuned?"
Page 13, The phrase "State police," is used, in that exact way. State is capitalized and police is not. State AND police should both be capitalized, it's the name of a branch of state government. Did anyone edit this thing?
Page 15, The word "China" is capitalized when it's being used to refer to wedding china, not the country. It's official, no one edited this at all.
Page 15 (again), "The zombies merged to form one entity..." Were they combining to form Voltron?
Page 16, A van crashes into a building across the street and Adam and Paul just watch as a man and a woman are dragged screaming from the wreckage and are eaten alive. Then they hear the crying of a child, and suddenly they spring into action! Adam states, "I can't let a kid get slaughtered!" But he'll sit and watch the kid's parents get slaughtered and not bat an eye? Nice guy huh?
Page 16 (again), Josey (Paul's wife) sees the men tooling up for battle to go save the crying child and says "Will you two hurry!" So what is she? Chopped liver? What's stopping her from grabbing a gun and running to help the child too? Just a few pages ago Adam stated what a "strong efficient woman" she was. Plus later we find out on page 94 that she's an even better shot with a gun than her husband is. So remind me again why she can't leave the shelter to go help? Is the fact that she has two X chromosomes stopping her?
Page 17, Paul and Adam leave the shelter to go save the child. Paul says to Adam, "Make sure the safety is off or this is gonna be a short trip." Ummm, I'll admit it's important to take the safety off your weapon before you fire it, but if he forgets that means the whole mission has to be aborted? It takes less than a heartbeat to take the safety off a pistol. The author obviously doesn't know much about firearms. (More on this later).
Page 20, This is where the moronic Timmy is introduced. The 9 yr old whose parents were just slaughtered in front of his eyes, yet he asks, "Where's my mom and dad?" Moron, did you not see them just being ripped from the car and being devoured by the living dead not 10 feet in front of you!?! Did you not hear them screaming as their flesh was being ripped from their bodies?!
Page 20 (again) Paul states now that they have Timmy that they have to get moving because they have "depleted their ammo." First of all, Adam has his revolver (6 rounds), plus a Browning pistol (which has a 10-13 round clip depending on the model), and Paul has a hunting rifle, (5-10 rounds depending on what kind it is) A possible maximum total of 29 rounds, and a minimum of 21 rounds. On the same page it says there are only 12 zombies around, how exactly did they deplete their ammo? Plus I thought Paul was a "Smart survivalist," what kind of "smart survivalist" forgets to put a few extra clips/shells into his pockets when he's going into a combat situation?
Page 20 (yet again) Adam is carrying Timmy on his back and states that Timmy is "50 pounds of dead weight." Are Timmy's legs broken? He can't walk/run himself? What kinda 9 year old can't run 100 feet from one house, across the street, to the back yard of another house and into the basement?
Page 22, The lights go out because the power grid has finally failed, plunging the basement into darkness. Paul responds with a very colorful curse which I won't repeat here. So they're screwed? What kind of "smart survivalist" doesn't have his own generator? Heck I have one in my house, it's just enough to keep the fridge, lights and hot water heater running when the lights go out during an emergency. They're cheap and easy to get. So if a schmuck like me can get/afford one, why can't this "smart survivalist" have one?
Later we go on to meet the Reverend, our medicated schizophrenic man of God. His medication has run out and instantly he begins hallucinating that a statue of Jesus is talking to him. First of all, the man is very intelligent. He knows he has been medically diagnosed as a schizophrenic. He states that he has been taking his medication for 10 years and has been a normal fully functional member of society. Yet as soon as he sees a statue talking to him he instantly believes it's real? He doesn't question this? He doesn't think, okay I knew this was coming? As someone who worked with actual schizophrenics I can tell you that the change from medicated to unmedicated does not go this quickly, and most of them are able to understand what is real and what isn't as the medicine is being removed from their system due to withdrawal. The author obviously did no research whatsoever on schizophrenia. I don't mind when authors use schizophrenia as a plot device, but at LEAST get your facts straight.
Page 25, The reverend runs to the doors of the church and closes the doors. However he only "catches a brief glimpse outside." Yet from that glimpse he can take in all the smashed up cars, the many dead bodies, and count how many zombies are outside? That's a pretty thorough "brief glimpse." On the same page he uses some lamp oil to make some improvised Molotov cocktails to burn some zombies. I don't have a problem with that, but the way that the author writes it is just all wrong. It states that the fire quickly dispatches the zombies but dies before it can "burn the hard wood of the stairs." Okay first of all, if the fire died before it could burn wood, then it didn't have time to get past the zombies' skulls to destroy their brains and kill them. Bones burn at 1,598 degrees Fahrenheit, wood burns at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. You do the math.
Page 36, Adam stops outside to answer a call of nature in the bushes. Yet for some reason when he's "grunting," he doesn't notice that someone has grabbed his ankle. Can't say that I've ever been "grunting" so much that I wouldn't be able to notice someone grabbing my ankle.
At this point there is something upstairs in Paul and Josey's house banging around knocking things over and crashing around. It turns out it's a zombie who's like 7 feet tall and is like 300 pounds, and build like a linebacker, yet it's blind because it's eyes were clawed out by zombies. Now this was a really cool scene! In the ocean of this badly written book, this scene really stands out! Kudos to Anthony G on this scene!
Well except for when Paul tells Adam not to shoot his gun when they are upstairs for "fear that it will attract more zombies." Yet they'll "Laugh long and hard for a full five minutes," without a second thought?
Page 54, Adam states that his mother is laying dead in a bed 25 feet away. Noooo... on page 4 you said you buried her. Did you dig her back up and put her back in her bed?
Page 79, We switch to a FEMA/Army rescue station, where the soldiers have "their rifles hanging at their sides." Since when does anyone have their rifle "hanging at their side"? Do you mean they have their weapons over their shoulder on the strap? Or are they on patrol with the gun across their chest, the barrel pointed at the ground, the butt of the rifle at their shoulder and their finger on the trigger guard? The only time a soldier's weapon would actually be "at their side" would be if they are in formation during a drill or in parade formation standing at attention. Again the author knows very little about firearms.
Page 90, "Eve slumped in her pew, tired and exhausted." Tired and exhausted are two different degrees of the same emotion and shouldn't be used in the same sentence to describe one person. You don't say "I'm starving, and I'm hungry too." You don't say "I am ecstatic and I'm happy too." You don't say "That coffee is scalding hot! And it's a little warm too." If that wasn't bad enough, the author makes the EXACT SAME MISTAKE on the next page!
Page 95, Timmy gets to go outside and he "runs around the yard like a wind-up toy." Again, what 9 yr old does this? This is more the behavior of a 4 yr old.
Page 95, Zombie cop is in riot gear (Reminds me of L4D2). "The man's entire body was encased in his uniform." So then how was he bitten to turn him into a zombie if his entire body was protected?
Page 96, A zombie cop smells the sweet scent of warm human flesh we know as Timmy and comes crashing through the hedges to find the boy. The zombie gnashes his teeth, raises his arms to attack...and he just stands there. Literally. He just STANDS THERE. Paul calls Timmy away from the motionless zombie, and Timmy doesn't want to. Does he not smell the rotting corpse in front of him? Does he have no sense of self-preservation whatsoever? Did no one tell him that there were flesh-eating zombies outside the basement and that he should be careful?
Page 97, The zombie cop was "bitten on the neck." Okay so his entire body WASN'T covered by the riot gear after all, so he must have not had the face shield down when he was overwhelmed, right? Nope, Paul tries to shoot the zombie cop in the face and the bullet bounces off the face shield. Okay so the face shield IS down. So then how did he get bitten on the neck? Modern riot gear has it's face mask end like 2 inches above the chest. The zombie that bit him was able to squeeze it's head into 2 inches of space to bite him? But then why is he worried? The zombie doesn't have the intelligence to know how to move the mask up, so he can't bite Timmy. If the face shield can stop a round from a 9mm pistol then it sure as hell can stop a zombie's teeth. You know what, screw it, let's move on.
Page 104, Our heroes raid a convenience store for supplies. Adam goes to grab a case of beer from the freezer, and a zombie grabs his hand. (Land of the Dead), yet he doesn't realize he's been grabbed until he tries to stand up with the beer and feels the resistance. How do you not feel when someone is grabbing your wrist? I don't care how bad you want some beer, you're gonna be able to feel when someone grabs your wrist.
Page 106, Adam says to Paul, "Maybe you can spell me for a while." What the heck!?! That doesn't even make sense! I can't even thi
Now Permuted Press really isn't my favorite publishing house to buy from because of Anthony Giangregario's childish antics and his poor editing and writing skills. But I decided to be fair and give him a chance.
I wasn't expecting anything great, and I wasn't disappointed. However instead of just complain, I'm going to list things I liked and things I didn't like, just to keep it fair. So let's dive right in!
What I Liked:
No explanation of why the dead started to rise. This may be just my personal preference, but when stories try to explain why there are zombies walking around eating people, it takes something away from the story and slows down the action. It's always been my opinion that if the dead began to rise and you were running and fighting for your life, you wouldn't really care where the zombies came from or why they rose from the dead. You'd be too busy trying to just to keep yourself and your loved ones alive, getting food and finding a safe place to sleep.
Slow zombies. I HATE running zombies, or "the infected," or whatever those things from 28 Days Later were. Again, just a personal preference.
Head shots kill the zombies. Romero type zombies that die when you destroy the brain, again, always my favorite type of zombies.
Now for the other side of the argument, which sadly is much longer than what I did like about this book. And I hope you're in for the long haul because I've got a lot to say.
What I Didn't Like:
The constant raping of women. Need I say more?
Timmy - We find out very early in the story that this character is 8 or 9 years old, and later on page 166 the author confirms that Timmy's age is 9. However the actions of the character are more like that of a 4 year old. I have several nieces and nephews and not one of them was this naïve, stupid and uncoordinated when they were 9.
Eve - When we are first introduced to Eve she is portrayed as a smart driven young woman who graduated at the top of her high school class with a scholarship and she was bound for college when the zombie apocalypse began. Yet as soon as the drek hits the fan she turns into the typical damsel in distress simply because there's a couple of big strong men who tell her she has to stay and be their sex slave. Never once does it cross her mind to simply steal a few days worth of food (Which she has round the clock access to), stash it somewhere, then sneak out during the middle of the night and strike out on her own. What happened to the smart, resourceful, opinionated young woman we were introduced to? Did all that just vanish because there are a few big strong men around and she has a uterus?
Paul - In the beginning this character is supposed to be our smart survivalist gun guy. Yet he continually says and does some pretty dumb things that no survivalist in his right mind would do or say. Not bringing extra ammo? No generator at his basement/bunker? Etc.
Now on to the nit picking -
Page 2, Zombies begin rising from the grave. I call B.S. on this one. First of all, in the USA, all graves by law have to be at LEAST 6 feet deep, the lid is either nailed, screwed or latched shut, and there are 6 feet of dirt on top of the coffin. I don't care if you're Arnold Schwarzenegger, you're not gonna bust through a coffin, and then push through that much dirt. It's just physically impossible.
Page 4, Adam's parents die and he buries them in his back yard. Yes the whole world is dying, the dead are devouring the living everywhere, looters are running rampant, the dead are roaming the streets, it's not safe to go outside... yet he had time to dig two graves. Yep, makes perfect sense.
Page 5, Adam picks up the phone and realizes he has no family to call. Wait, you just said on page 4 that you had "extended family that lived out of state." I'm not a genius but I'm pretty sure that counts as someone to call to tell them that their brother/sister/in-laws are dead.
Page 10, The president of the US comes on TV and Paul says, "What do you think he's going to say?" WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK HE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT!?! Gas prices!?! Trade relations with China!?! His stance on stem cell research!?! He's going to talk about the zombies and what the authorities plan to do about it! I thought this guy was supposed to be smart, what smart guy looks out his window, sees a bunch of flesh-eating zombies walking around, then wonders what the special report interrupting daytime television is going to be about!?!
Page 11, The president says "keep posted to your television..." ummm, don't you mean "stay tuned?"
Page 13, The phrase "State police," is used, in that exact way. State is capitalized and police is not. State AND police should both be capitalized, it's the name of a branch of state government. Did anyone edit this thing?
Page 15, The word "China" is capitalized when it's being used to refer to wedding china, not the country. It's official, no one edited this at all.
Page 15 (again), "The zombies merged to form one entity..." Were they combining to form Voltron?
Page 16, A van crashes into a building across the street and Adam and Paul just watch as a man and a woman are dragged screaming from the wreckage and are eaten alive. Then they hear the crying of a child, and suddenly they spring into action! Adam states, "I can't let a kid get slaughtered!" But he'll sit and watch the kid's parents get slaughtered and not bat an eye? Nice guy huh?
Page 16 (again), Josey (Paul's wife) sees the men tooling up for battle to go save the crying child and says "Will you two hurry!" So what is she? Chopped liver? What's stopping her from grabbing a gun and running to help the child too? Just a few pages ago Adam stated what a "strong efficient woman" she was. Plus later we find out on page 94 that she's an even better shot with a gun than her husband is. So remind me again why she can't leave the shelter to go help? Is the fact that she has two X chromosomes stopping her?
Page 17, Paul and Adam leave the shelter to go save the child. Paul says to Adam, "Make sure the safety is off or this is gonna be a short trip." Ummm, I'll admit it's important to take the safety off your weapon before you fire it, but if he forgets that means the whole mission has to be aborted? It takes less than a heartbeat to take the safety off a pistol. The author obviously doesn't know much about firearms. (More on this later).
Page 20, This is where the moronic Timmy is introduced. The 9 yr old whose parents were just slaughtered in front of his eyes, yet he asks, "Where's my mom and dad?" Moron, did you not see them just being ripped from the car and being devoured by the living dead not 10 feet in front of you!?! Did you not hear them screaming as their flesh was being ripped from their bodies?!
Page 20 (again) Paul states now that they have Timmy that they have to get moving because they have "depleted their ammo." First of all, Adam has his revolver (6 rounds), plus a Browning pistol (which has a 10-13 round clip depending on the model), and Paul has a hunting rifle, (5-10 rounds depending on what kind it is) A possible maximum total of 29 rounds, and a minimum of 21 rounds. On the same page it says there are only 12 zombies around, how exactly did they deplete their ammo? Plus I thought Paul was a "Smart survivalist," what kind of "smart survivalist" forgets to put a few extra clips/shells into his pockets when he's going into a combat situation?
Page 20 (yet again) Adam is carrying Timmy on his back and states that Timmy is "50 pounds of dead weight." Are Timmy's legs broken? He can't walk/run himself? What kinda 9 year old can't run 100 feet from one house, across the street, to the back yard of another house and into the basement?
Page 22, The lights go out because the power grid has finally failed, plunging the basement into darkness. Paul responds with a very colorful curse which I won't repeat here. So they're screwed? What kind of "smart survivalist" doesn't have his own generator? Heck I have one in my house, it's just enough to keep the fridge, lights and hot water heater running when the lights go out during an emergency. They're cheap and easy to get. So if a schmuck like me can get/afford one, why can't this "smart survivalist" have one?
Later we go on to meet the Reverend, our medicated schizophrenic man of God. His medication has run out and instantly he begins hallucinating that a statue of Jesus is talking to him. First of all, the man is very intelligent. He knows he has been medically diagnosed as a schizophrenic. He states that he has been taking his medication for 10 years and has been a normal fully functional member of society. Yet as soon as he sees a statue talking to him he instantly believes it's real? He doesn't question this? He doesn't think, okay I knew this was coming? As someone who worked with actual schizophrenics I can tell you that the change from medicated to unmedicated does not go this quickly, and most of them are able to understand what is real and what isn't as the medicine is being removed from their system due to withdrawal. The author obviously did no research whatsoever on schizophrenia. I don't mind when authors use schizophrenia as a plot device, but at LEAST get your facts straight.
Page 25, The reverend runs to the doors of the church and closes the doors. However he only "catches a brief glimpse outside." Yet from that glimpse he can take in all the smashed up cars, the many dead bodies, and count how many zombies are outside? That's a pretty thorough "brief glimpse." On the same page he uses some lamp oil to make some improvised Molotov cocktails to burn some zombies. I don't have a problem with that, but the way that the author writes it is just all wrong. It states that the fire quickly dispatches the zombies but dies before it can "burn the hard wood of the stairs." Okay first of all, if the fire died before it could burn wood, then it didn't have time to get past the zombies' skulls to destroy their brains and kill them. Bones burn at 1,598 degrees Fahrenheit, wood burns at 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. You do the math.
Page 36, Adam stops outside to answer a call of nature in the bushes. Yet for some reason when he's "grunting," he doesn't notice that someone has grabbed his ankle. Can't say that I've ever been "grunting" so much that I wouldn't be able to notice someone grabbing my ankle.
At this point there is something upstairs in Paul and Josey's house banging around knocking things over and crashing around. It turns out it's a zombie who's like 7 feet tall and is like 300 pounds, and build like a linebacker, yet it's blind because it's eyes were clawed out by zombies. Now this was a really cool scene! In the ocean of this badly written book, this scene really stands out! Kudos to Anthony G on this scene!
Well except for when Paul tells Adam not to shoot his gun when they are upstairs for "fear that it will attract more zombies." Yet they'll "Laugh long and hard for a full five minutes," without a second thought?
Page 54, Adam states that his mother is laying dead in a bed 25 feet away. Noooo... on page 4 you said you buried her. Did you dig her back up and put her back in her bed?
Page 79, We switch to a FEMA/Army rescue station, where the soldiers have "their rifles hanging at their sides." Since when does anyone have their rifle "hanging at their side"? Do you mean they have their weapons over their shoulder on the strap? Or are they on patrol with the gun across their chest, the barrel pointed at the ground, the butt of the rifle at their shoulder and their finger on the trigger guard? The only time a soldier's weapon would actually be "at their side" would be if they are in formation during a drill or in parade formation standing at attention. Again the author knows very little about firearms.
Page 90, "Eve slumped in her pew, tired and exhausted." Tired and exhausted are two different degrees of the same emotion and shouldn't be used in the same sentence to describe one person. You don't say "I'm starving, and I'm hungry too." You don't say "I am ecstatic and I'm happy too." You don't say "That coffee is scalding hot! And it's a little warm too." If that wasn't bad enough, the author makes the EXACT SAME MISTAKE on the next page!
Page 95, Timmy gets to go outside and he "runs around the yard like a wind-up toy." Again, what 9 yr old does this? This is more the behavior of a 4 yr old.
Page 95, Zombie cop is in riot gear (Reminds me of L4D2). "The man's entire body was encased in his uniform." So then how was he bitten to turn him into a zombie if his entire body was protected?
Page 96, A zombie cop smells the sweet scent of warm human flesh we know as Timmy and comes crashing through the hedges to find the boy. The zombie gnashes his teeth, raises his arms to attack...and he just stands there. Literally. He just STANDS THERE. Paul calls Timmy away from the motionless zombie, and Timmy doesn't want to. Does he not smell the rotting corpse in front of him? Does he have no sense of self-preservation whatsoever? Did no one tell him that there were flesh-eating zombies outside the basement and that he should be careful?
Page 97, The zombie cop was "bitten on the neck." Okay so his entire body WASN'T covered by the riot gear after all, so he must have not had the face shield down when he was overwhelmed, right? Nope, Paul tries to shoot the zombie cop in the face and the bullet bounces off the face shield. Okay so the face shield IS down. So then how did he get bitten on the neck? Modern riot gear has it's face mask end like 2 inches above the chest. The zombie that bit him was able to squeeze it's head into 2 inches of space to bite him? But then why is he worried? The zombie doesn't have the intelligence to know how to move the mask up, so he can't bite Timmy. If the face shield can stop a round from a 9mm pistol then it sure as hell can stop a zombie's teeth. You know what, screw it, let's move on.
Page 104, Our heroes raid a convenience store for supplies. Adam goes to grab a case of beer from the freezer, and a zombie grabs his hand. (Land of the Dead), yet he doesn't realize he's been grabbed until he tries to stand up with the beer and feels the resistance. How do you not feel when someone is grabbing your wrist? I don't care how bad you want some beer, you're gonna be able to feel when someone grabs your wrist.
Page 106, Adam says to Paul, "Maybe you can spell me for a while." What the heck!?! That doesn't even make sense! I can't even thi
May 12, 2014
I didn't have to go far is this one to find the first mistake; the very first sentence had no period, in the edition I read. It's just a sign of what's to come with missing commas, missing qoutation marks here and there, a dropped word or two...you name it, I probably found it in here. It's odd, because it would go on just fine for a while and the BAM! Something's amiss and it's a mess for a bit. I found this puzzling as an editor is listed. I guess they weren't a very good one if they couldn't even smooth out missing puctuation. Now, to be fair, it appears there are multiple editions floating around these days. Perhaps these issues have been addressed in later editions. I can only speak on the edition I read, with the shot-up Dead End sign and trees in the background with a pinkish sky.
The story itself is somewhat entetaining. It follows two groups of surivivors after the initial zombie outbreak. One group is holed up in a basement and one is stuck in a church under the eye of a deranged Priest off his meds and his equally sick henchman. I'm always a fan of crazy cults in the apocalypse, and this one has the variation of a few crazies basically holding the normal folks hostage. The author does a good job of moving along the stories of both groups while switching back and forth between them.
I try not to leave spoilers, so I won't. Something happens, it's awful, down the line we discover it's not what we thought, YAY, then it shifts again to something else. I especially enjoyed this part of the plot that dropped us, picked us up and gave us a hug, then shoved us into oncoming traffic. Bravo for that.
I took some serious issue with the ending. I won't spoil it for anyone considering this book, but something happens, a group decides to go do something...and it just doesn't wash. There's a big, glaring hole in their happy plan, and I didn't care for that. It was too Pollyanna-all-wrapped-up-nicely for me. I'm not being picky, it's just their, "Hey! It'll go down like this!" had an obvious problem that made it not such a hot idea. I was decently into this book until the end, which is too contrived to be believable, even in a zombie novel.
An okay read with little that sets it apart. Had it had a more believable ending and far less grammatical errors, I probably would have liked it more.
The story itself is somewhat entetaining. It follows two groups of surivivors after the initial zombie outbreak. One group is holed up in a basement and one is stuck in a church under the eye of a deranged Priest off his meds and his equally sick henchman. I'm always a fan of crazy cults in the apocalypse, and this one has the variation of a few crazies basically holding the normal folks hostage. The author does a good job of moving along the stories of both groups while switching back and forth between them.
I try not to leave spoilers, so I won't. Something happens, it's awful, down the line we discover it's not what we thought, YAY, then it shifts again to something else. I especially enjoyed this part of the plot that dropped us, picked us up and gave us a hug, then shoved us into oncoming traffic. Bravo for that.
I took some serious issue with the ending. I won't spoil it for anyone considering this book, but something happens, a group decides to go do something...and it just doesn't wash. There's a big, glaring hole in their happy plan, and I didn't care for that. It was too Pollyanna-all-wrapped-up-nicely for me. I'm not being picky, it's just their, "Hey! It'll go down like this!" had an obvious problem that made it not such a hot idea. I was decently into this book until the end, which is too contrived to be believable, even in a zombie novel.
An okay read with little that sets it apart. Had it had a more believable ending and far less grammatical errors, I probably would have liked it more.
May 24, 2020
You may be wondering where I heard of Living Dead press and Anthony Giangregorio, a comparatively unknown author, I discovered them from a small ad in the back Eric S. Brown's Last Stand In a Deal Land.
I'm a sucker for awful books sometimes and seeing the cheap, photoshopped covers mixed in with actually decent drawn cover art, as well as some god-awful ones, made me check it out as soon as I drove home (this is before the site disappeared off the face of the internet and only became able to be accessed via Wayback machine).
I ordered Dead Freeze, read it, and was disappointed (the cover is one that's not visible on Goodreads is actually pretty good). I gave Anthony one more chance when my local bookstore had a copy of both Rage Plague and Dead End and picked this book up. Mostly having forgotten about it, I decided to reread this after picking rage plague up check on eBay and reread it.
The book isn't anything new or exciting if you're familiar with the tropes of zombie movies and apocalyptic fiction in general-soldiers act out against civilians, preachers turn evil and start sacrificing people, and villains start raping women. Anthony does have some pretty good zombies in the book, his strong suit seems to be descriptions even if his writing is almost YA-level. I just wish that they were in a story that was less overdone.
Hopefully, Kingdom Of The Dead will be more entertaining.
If you want more information on Anthony Giangregorio's copyright infringement and manipulative editing habits, the websites discussing it are still widely accessible online. Anthony's even earned himself an entire website dedicated to his shenanigans.
I'm a sucker for awful books sometimes and seeing the cheap, photoshopped covers mixed in with actually decent drawn cover art, as well as some god-awful ones, made me check it out as soon as I drove home (this is before the site disappeared off the face of the internet and only became able to be accessed via Wayback machine).
I ordered Dead Freeze, read it, and was disappointed (the cover is one that's not visible on Goodreads is actually pretty good). I gave Anthony one more chance when my local bookstore had a copy of both Rage Plague and Dead End and picked this book up. Mostly having forgotten about it, I decided to reread this after picking rage plague up check on eBay and reread it.
The book isn't anything new or exciting if you're familiar with the tropes of zombie movies and apocalyptic fiction in general-soldiers act out against civilians, preachers turn evil and start sacrificing people, and villains start raping women. Anthony does have some pretty good zombies in the book, his strong suit seems to be descriptions even if his writing is almost YA-level. I just wish that they were in a story that was less overdone.
Hopefully, Kingdom Of The Dead will be more entertaining.
If you want more information on Anthony Giangregorio's copyright infringement and manipulative editing habits, the websites discussing it are still widely accessible online. Anthony's even earned himself an entire website dedicated to his shenanigans.
September 14, 2008
I was disappointed with this book before I'd even finished reading the first page. The author made every mistake they tell you to avoid in any literature or writing fiction class. Character's were 1D, climatic sequences fell flat...all in all a complete waste of my time.
Redeeming factors:
1. A good example of what not to do if ever planning on writing a post apocalyptic zombie novel
2. The short story at the end was a nice touch, and actually rather good. So, I'm not sure what the heck happened with the title story.
Redeeming factors:
1. A good example of what not to do if ever planning on writing a post apocalyptic zombie novel
2. The short story at the end was a nice touch, and actually rather good. So, I'm not sure what the heck happened with the title story.
August 20, 2021
Adam, two friends, and a kid try to survive a zombie apocalypse.
This was ok - a quick, skim-able read - but it didn't add anything new to the genre. There wasn't anything that creeped me out or made me look over my shoulder like great zombie fiction does. There were so many typos, missed words, etc. that they drew me out of the story. Timmy the nine-year-old was very, very unrealistic - a kid that age could understand that you must stop crying and whining loudly when there are zombies that are after you.
This was ok - a quick, skim-able read - but it didn't add anything new to the genre. There wasn't anything that creeped me out or made me look over my shoulder like great zombie fiction does. There were so many typos, missed words, etc. that they drew me out of the story. Timmy the nine-year-old was very, very unrealistic - a kid that age could understand that you must stop crying and whining loudly when there are zombies that are after you.
November 5, 2010
Giangregorio seems to have a whole slew of zombie novels on Amazon, none of which had any reviews before the first reviewer took a chance on this one. I was a little leery with numerous titles and no reviews, worried that somehow I was not privy to some sort of self publishing joke. There are plenty of bad zombie novels out there and I have read quite a few. I am not one to avoid anything with a zombie in it, so I was bound to try this author out. I am just glad to have had someone else take the leap before I did.
This is definitely a self published work (I have not heard of the company Xlibris before, but I am guessing that they are much like I Universe and others giving an author a chance to print their own stuff). There are definitely typos in this story, a lot of too for to and vice versa, some misplaced " marks, etc. but really one of the better self published efforts. A good editor could have really sharpened this story up and tightened the errors and a few awkward phrases here and there but the author has done a good job of creating a vivid story with characters you can appreciate as real and grow attached to through the story.
Our main character is Adam, who is coping with the death of his parents at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. He is taken in by his neighbors, Paul and Josey, who are hiding out in their cellar as the world around them crumbles. After a few weeks stuck underground they begin to run out of food and start to search for other survivors.
Don't expect any major twists on the Romero zombie formula. For me that is not a problem, as I enjoy the traditional stuff as well as the variations that are out there. For me, zombie stories are about the scares and the character development. Give me the gore and the emotions that go along with a worldwide apocalypse where the dead have come back to eat the living. We get a healthy dose of slimy humans reminding us of how much worse we are than the undead who cannot help being what they are. The depravity of mankind is fully on display in this tale.
Again, nothing shocking here but a solid story by an author I am certain I will be checking out again. If you like your zombie stories traditional, with a side order of wretched humanity thrown in, this is a good book to pick up.
This is definitely a self published work (I have not heard of the company Xlibris before, but I am guessing that they are much like I Universe and others giving an author a chance to print their own stuff). There are definitely typos in this story, a lot of too for to and vice versa, some misplaced " marks, etc. but really one of the better self published efforts. A good editor could have really sharpened this story up and tightened the errors and a few awkward phrases here and there but the author has done a good job of creating a vivid story with characters you can appreciate as real and grow attached to through the story.
Our main character is Adam, who is coping with the death of his parents at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. He is taken in by his neighbors, Paul and Josey, who are hiding out in their cellar as the world around them crumbles. After a few weeks stuck underground they begin to run out of food and start to search for other survivors.
Don't expect any major twists on the Romero zombie formula. For me that is not a problem, as I enjoy the traditional stuff as well as the variations that are out there. For me, zombie stories are about the scares and the character development. Give me the gore and the emotions that go along with a worldwide apocalypse where the dead have come back to eat the living. We get a healthy dose of slimy humans reminding us of how much worse we are than the undead who cannot help being what they are. The depravity of mankind is fully on display in this tale.
Again, nothing shocking here but a solid story by an author I am certain I will be checking out again. If you like your zombie stories traditional, with a side order of wretched humanity thrown in, this is a good book to pick up.
March 28, 2010
This is my first Permuted Press title and while I did enjoy the story, I can't help but think the editor missed quite a few things. There were added words, misspelled words, a closed parenthses (without an open parentheses), missing punctuation, etc. Mostly just little things like that. Plus quite a bit of passive voice.
BUT, once I got past all that and just read the book without my editor hat, I quite enjoyed it. It's a fun, fast read that didn't fail to entertain. Some scenes felt like they existed only to occupy space, but they were still fun. Giangregorio's writing style is unfetterd and linear, and the story moves along well.
Lots of gore, too, for those who are into that.
But to me, where this book really fell flat was the ending. I finished the book and the first thought I had was "That's it?" I don't want to give anything away, but Mr. Giangregorio could have tied it up a bit better. It felt more like the ending of a book in a series than a stand alone novel.
In any case, the bottom line is I liked it. I didn't love it, but it served its purpose and helped me to while away a few hours in someone else's head. B-
BUT, once I got past all that and just read the book without my editor hat, I quite enjoyed it. It's a fun, fast read that didn't fail to entertain. Some scenes felt like they existed only to occupy space, but they were still fun. Giangregorio's writing style is unfetterd and linear, and the story moves along well.
Lots of gore, too, for those who are into that.
But to me, where this book really fell flat was the ending. I finished the book and the first thought I had was "That's it?" I don't want to give anything away, but Mr. Giangregorio could have tied it up a bit better. It felt more like the ending of a book in a series than a stand alone novel.
In any case, the bottom line is I liked it. I didn't love it, but it served its purpose and helped me to while away a few hours in someone else's head. B-
August 24, 2011
When I first opened the book I was a bit skeptical. The cover and back graphics were underwhelming and the paper was not the best quality, but I love zombie novels so I took a chance. The author's story telling style took a bit of getting used to. It seems a bit of pulp fiction style, but the story itself sucked me in. I inhaled the book, and actually cared what happened to the main characters. The storyline surrounding the church and the pastor was not as intriguing, but it all came together in the end. I found quite a few spelling and/or grammar mistakes, but was able to figure it all out. If you looking for a fun zombie read, give this a try!
Read
May 11, 2012This book...kinda got on my nerves, but I loved it. A lot of mistakes...it made me want to take the book and edit it myself. (Which would've been bad, since it was my friend's book, not mine. .___.)
But I did enjoy reading it. I want to read it again...*sighs*
But I did enjoy reading it. I want to read it again...*sighs*
July 18, 2009
FUN and emotional zombie/survival horror!
March 12, 2012
This is one of the best zombie series I have ever read
August 24, 2016
Mmh
This story is okay at best. It's older one of the first in the new generation on zombies stories. The characters were okay and the story was okay.
This story is okay at best. It's older one of the first in the new generation on zombies stories. The characters were okay and the story was okay.
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