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Deadlands
The planet formerly known as Earth lies scorched and barren. Survivors live underground, ever on the defensive against rotters -- mindless corpses that troll the sweltering surface. A new menace has evolved, set on human annihilation.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Scott A. Johnson
28 books48 followersScott A. Johnson is the author of ten novels, three true ghost guides, a chapbook, and a short story collection, all in the horror genre. He currently lives somewhere near Austin, Texas, with his wife, daughter, four cats, a pug, a chihuahua, and a corn snake. He is an avid martial artist, rides a motorcycle, and enjoys watching hockey.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 17, 2010
The book is a fun enough read, almost like zombie bubblegum. But tries a little too hard to be different, and could have benefitted from a little bit of reservation in scope.
January 26, 2008
The world has been decimated. Its cities laid waste in a mysterious and all consuming war. The remaining denizens of this charred hulk of Earth reside beneath its barren surface in primitive subterranean cities awaiting the day when they may re-conquer the world that was once their inheritance. However, on immerging from the depths of their earthen domiciles, they discover that the devastation from the long forgotten war was complete, the very air so contaminated by its remaining pollutants that they are forced to retreat. However, this hideous war that destroyed the earth's surface, leaving it barren of plant and animal life, also unleashed another devastating atrocity. The dead have arisen, have clawed their way from beneath the ruble of a once thriving civilization and are seeking to sate their never ending hunger on the few remaining citizens of this planet of horrors. Is this infestation of the living dead and their seemingly intelligent destruction of the subterranean cities merely an accident of nature, or is a greater force propelling their ceaseless destruction? Will the answer be unearthed in time, or will the world that was once so civilized, so highly advanced in its technological purists, succumb to the dark forces of the Deadlands? The battle for Earth begins . . .
The enshrouding atmosphere of this novel was perpetually vivid; the numerous descriptions of the barren and heat scorched Earth were astounding in their surrealistic quality and easily conveyed the nightmarish perception of our planet gone awry. Despite the heavily laden atmosphere of morbidity and impending doom, the author still persisted in maintaining an aura of hope causing the characters' struggles to be more realistic and their personal dilemmas more relevant. Each elegantly worded phrase, each smoothly flowing sentence, conveyed the utter horror of the situation whilst maintaining an underlying tone of hope despite circumstances that are seemingly devoid of sanguineness.
The author refrained from employing stereotypical good and evil characters. Rather, each vivid character presented in this book, both the heroes and the villains, were thoroughly brought to life and contained both good and evil attributes causing them to appear more realistic and thus enhancing my reading experience. Although this novel boasts no great length (190 pages) and the author continually presented the reader with fast paced events never allowing the story to be pulled into a quagmire of inertia, the characterization was astoundingly complex thus lending an air of reality to an otherwise fanciful adventure. Instead of focusing on inconsequential details of the character's lives and uneventful circumstances inherent in their daily routines, their raw emotions - - - the very souls of the characters - - - were exposed to the reader revealing deep heartfelt emotions and poignant events causing them to become instantly endearing. I was completely immersed in the story and was able to feel deep concern for the plights of the individual characters and to understand their various emotions and actions. The main villain was chilling in his aura of haughty contempt and malignant intent. His actions and emotions were well detailed, although only briefly described, allowing the readers insight into his motivations and his devious machinations concerning the destruction of the human race.
The action in this novel was thoroughly described and the ceaseless adventures of the brave Guardsmen, attempting to save their brethren from another unmerciful onslaught of the gruesome atrocities that shambled across the sun scorched landscape, proved most stimulating. The author refrained from allowing uninteresting respites of trivia and thus, although admittedly short, the story conveyed an immense amount of action and a stunning display of poignant scenes within its mere 190 pages. I was pleased to note that no lull in the story was ever present thus this mesmerizing tribute to the horror genre maintained my full dedication until the last powerful sentence.
Although this novel was not replete with gruesomeness, there were numerous scenes where zombies were attacked and graphically decapitated therefore, I recommend that those who boast little tolerance for gore proceed with caution. Overall, I did not feel that the gruesome sequences detracted from the novel, nor were they over dramatized. Rather, they caused the story to have a distinct feel of urgency easily transmitting the character's fear laden emotions and doom laden premonitions to the entranced reader.
The most outstanding attribute of this consuming story of horror and hope was the highly original ideas that permeated every elegantly written page. The author expertly combined the crucial elements of extreme action, devastating sadness, shocking horror, uplifting persistence, and science fiction to create an outstanding story with extreme scope. As can be ascertained by reading the story synopsis this is not a typical tale of woebegone zombies mercilessly creating unessential mayhem. Rather, the unique plot and unfolding drama proved to be completely original and not only entertained the reader, but also caused serious questions to arise about modern warfare and unethical scientific endeavors thus lending this novel a chilling air of foreboding for the future.
Due to the original aspects of the novel, and the author's skill, further development in the story was never predictable causing me to be continually shocked by unfolding events as well as the numerous unexpected deaths of many of the characters. Be warned, the author does not follow the typical practice of allowing favored characters to escape death's grasp. Rather, he presents this novel in a more true to life fashion where the rain falls on both the just and the unjust.
As can be ascertained through my lengthy attempt to convey the surrealistic atmosphere and thoroughly mesmerizing plot of this novel, I was completely entranced and entertained throughout this poignant dedication to a world gone awry and the desperate struggle of its unfortunate denizens to bring peace and life to a decimated planet. Each aspect of this novel wove together like a brightly colored tapestry of great value to reveal the intricacy of humanity and the never ending struggle to right the numerous transgression of a corrupted world. I highly recommend this novel to those who appreciate grand scope and an all encompassing read fraught with drama and chilling realism.
(A NOTE ON THE BINDING) Unlike most paperback editions, this novel, although paperback is almost the size of a hardcover.
Ravenova
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where is my love?
Far under the earth---
Crowned by the worms
The mold gives birth.
"Who is my love?
The scion of Death---
Whose kisses drown me
With sweet, cold breath."
(A quote from Ravenloft's novel "Tower of Doom" page 198
The enshrouding atmosphere of this novel was perpetually vivid; the numerous descriptions of the barren and heat scorched Earth were astounding in their surrealistic quality and easily conveyed the nightmarish perception of our planet gone awry. Despite the heavily laden atmosphere of morbidity and impending doom, the author still persisted in maintaining an aura of hope causing the characters' struggles to be more realistic and their personal dilemmas more relevant. Each elegantly worded phrase, each smoothly flowing sentence, conveyed the utter horror of the situation whilst maintaining an underlying tone of hope despite circumstances that are seemingly devoid of sanguineness.
The author refrained from employing stereotypical good and evil characters. Rather, each vivid character presented in this book, both the heroes and the villains, were thoroughly brought to life and contained both good and evil attributes causing them to appear more realistic and thus enhancing my reading experience. Although this novel boasts no great length (190 pages) and the author continually presented the reader with fast paced events never allowing the story to be pulled into a quagmire of inertia, the characterization was astoundingly complex thus lending an air of reality to an otherwise fanciful adventure. Instead of focusing on inconsequential details of the character's lives and uneventful circumstances inherent in their daily routines, their raw emotions - - - the very souls of the characters - - - were exposed to the reader revealing deep heartfelt emotions and poignant events causing them to become instantly endearing. I was completely immersed in the story and was able to feel deep concern for the plights of the individual characters and to understand their various emotions and actions. The main villain was chilling in his aura of haughty contempt and malignant intent. His actions and emotions were well detailed, although only briefly described, allowing the readers insight into his motivations and his devious machinations concerning the destruction of the human race.
The action in this novel was thoroughly described and the ceaseless adventures of the brave Guardsmen, attempting to save their brethren from another unmerciful onslaught of the gruesome atrocities that shambled across the sun scorched landscape, proved most stimulating. The author refrained from allowing uninteresting respites of trivia and thus, although admittedly short, the story conveyed an immense amount of action and a stunning display of poignant scenes within its mere 190 pages. I was pleased to note that no lull in the story was ever present thus this mesmerizing tribute to the horror genre maintained my full dedication until the last powerful sentence.
Although this novel was not replete with gruesomeness, there were numerous scenes where zombies were attacked and graphically decapitated therefore, I recommend that those who boast little tolerance for gore proceed with caution. Overall, I did not feel that the gruesome sequences detracted from the novel, nor were they over dramatized. Rather, they caused the story to have a distinct feel of urgency easily transmitting the character's fear laden emotions and doom laden premonitions to the entranced reader.
The most outstanding attribute of this consuming story of horror and hope was the highly original ideas that permeated every elegantly written page. The author expertly combined the crucial elements of extreme action, devastating sadness, shocking horror, uplifting persistence, and science fiction to create an outstanding story with extreme scope. As can be ascertained by reading the story synopsis this is not a typical tale of woebegone zombies mercilessly creating unessential mayhem. Rather, the unique plot and unfolding drama proved to be completely original and not only entertained the reader, but also caused serious questions to arise about modern warfare and unethical scientific endeavors thus lending this novel a chilling air of foreboding for the future.
Due to the original aspects of the novel, and the author's skill, further development in the story was never predictable causing me to be continually shocked by unfolding events as well as the numerous unexpected deaths of many of the characters. Be warned, the author does not follow the typical practice of allowing favored characters to escape death's grasp. Rather, he presents this novel in a more true to life fashion where the rain falls on both the just and the unjust.
As can be ascertained through my lengthy attempt to convey the surrealistic atmosphere and thoroughly mesmerizing plot of this novel, I was completely entranced and entertained throughout this poignant dedication to a world gone awry and the desperate struggle of its unfortunate denizens to bring peace and life to a decimated planet. Each aspect of this novel wove together like a brightly colored tapestry of great value to reveal the intricacy of humanity and the never ending struggle to right the numerous transgression of a corrupted world. I highly recommend this novel to those who appreciate grand scope and an all encompassing read fraught with drama and chilling realism.
(A NOTE ON THE BINDING) Unlike most paperback editions, this novel, although paperback is almost the size of a hardcover.
Ravenova
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where is my love?
Far under the earth---
Crowned by the worms
The mold gives birth.
"Who is my love?
The scion of Death---
Whose kisses drown me
With sweet, cold breath."
(A quote from Ravenloft's novel "Tower of Doom" page 198
November 5, 2010
This is more of a short story than a full blown novel. Unencumbered by a lot of intricately drawn characters, it moves in, gets to the point, and seals the deal in rapid fashion. Because of that I can forgive a little bit of simplicity when it comes to the emotions and actions of the main characters. Neither was extremely compelling or fascinating but given the page count, it would have been hard to give them a lot more depth. Overall, it was an easy read and fun enough that I can recommend it to someone who is a fan of zombies.
There is a new and creative slant to the zombies of old here. I do feel that it works well in a nuclear devastated wasteland where this story takes place and makes it interesting. It does drive this tale along so is certainly worthwhile without overshadowing the story itself.
I myself have no preference for new vs. traditional zombies. Some folks might complain about more stories with the old Romero zombies, saying "its all been done before" but the best out there, in my humble opinion, are "Day by Day Armageddon," "World War Z," and "The Walking Dead" series, all of which deal with traditional Romero-esque type zombies. What makes any zombie tale great is the story telling and the characters that inhabit it. Of course, there are good stories where there is derivations from the traditional as well, such as Brian Keene's "The Rising" and "City of the Dead" as well as a plethora of short stories in the various anthologies out there. The derivation works here, but it does not elevate the actual story so much as move it along. It is fun and interesting, but not totally fascinating or outright terrifying.
Since this story was so fast paced, I did not invest too much in either of the main characters. They were pretty flat and lacked a great deal of depth. Their actions weren't necessarily always predictable, but how they react seemed pretty straight forward and simplified. This is not a sharp criticism...afterall, there is only 190 pages in fairly large print which doesn't give a lot of room for more indepth analysis of each individual's psychy.
The quick pace does have its failings. At one particuarly dramatic and critical point near the end of the book an action and its results are explained in all of one paragraph, which is tremendously anti-climactic. I refuse to play the spoiler here, but something so key to the story development is over and done before you know it and we are on to something else. I feel that a few more paragraphs could have been spared to detail things out a bit at that point.
Overall though, a creative zombie story that was fun to read and quick to finish.
There is a new and creative slant to the zombies of old here. I do feel that it works well in a nuclear devastated wasteland where this story takes place and makes it interesting. It does drive this tale along so is certainly worthwhile without overshadowing the story itself.
I myself have no preference for new vs. traditional zombies. Some folks might complain about more stories with the old Romero zombies, saying "its all been done before" but the best out there, in my humble opinion, are "Day by Day Armageddon," "World War Z," and "The Walking Dead" series, all of which deal with traditional Romero-esque type zombies. What makes any zombie tale great is the story telling and the characters that inhabit it. Of course, there are good stories where there is derivations from the traditional as well, such as Brian Keene's "The Rising" and "City of the Dead" as well as a plethora of short stories in the various anthologies out there. The derivation works here, but it does not elevate the actual story so much as move it along. It is fun and interesting, but not totally fascinating or outright terrifying.
Since this story was so fast paced, I did not invest too much in either of the main characters. They were pretty flat and lacked a great deal of depth. Their actions weren't necessarily always predictable, but how they react seemed pretty straight forward and simplified. This is not a sharp criticism...afterall, there is only 190 pages in fairly large print which doesn't give a lot of room for more indepth analysis of each individual's psychy.
The quick pace does have its failings. At one particuarly dramatic and critical point near the end of the book an action and its results are explained in all of one paragraph, which is tremendously anti-climactic. I refuse to play the spoiler here, but something so key to the story development is over and done before you know it and we are on to something else. I feel that a few more paragraphs could have been spared to detail things out a bit at that point.
Overall though, a creative zombie story that was fun to read and quick to finish.
February 24, 2011
Deadlands / 1-891799-30-4
Zombie fiction can typically be pretty hit or miss, but "Deadlands" is a fresh take on the genre. Where the "typical" zombie fiction focuses on the "when it all happened" aspect, often set in the very near future, "Deadlands" chooses to jump ahead to the dystopia future, and shows us a world where zombies are the norm and where the survivors simply try to eke out a living underground, where it is relatively safer than on the blistering surface of a ruined world. The decimated earth is patrolled constantly by hordes of undead, and the small pockets of humanity cling to life, wondering if it is worth it all.
I enjoyed this novel immensely. Though it is fairly short, the material is engaging and new, and the action was comfortably unpredictable without expecting the reader to suspend belief. The introduction of the "intelligent zombie" was done carefully and seemed well thought-out. I especially liked the inside perspective on being turned to a zombie, as well as the fascinating explanations for the zombies' erratic movements and irrational hunger. Also worth noting is that nearly every conversation in this book sounds like it might have actually come from a real person. I feel that is pretty noteworthy in 'fringe' fiction like this and I applaud the author for that.
The novel isn't perfect. For some odd reason, the three main characters all have "C" names - Cain, Christian, and Cadence - but my eye didn't get confused too often while reading. Another character, Tierra, has incredible potential as a jealous lover and a recipient of dreams and hopes she could never attain, and I was disappointed that we didn't see more of her. Also, somewhere around the last third of the novel, some of the more auxiliary characters seemed to become unrealistically stereotyped, but by that point I was sucked into the story enough that I didn't care enough to detract from my enjoyment. I was also a little bothered that out of a whole, varied group of women in a "pregnant by rape" situation, every single one of them was immediately in the staunchly anti-abortion camp; this seemed terribly unrealistic for such a large group.
All in all, I found "Deadlands" to be an entertaining read and I don't regret my purchase, although some might feel the price to be a bit high for such a short read. I guess it depends on how desperate you are for good zombie fiction. I hope we see more from this author in the future.
~ Ana Mardoll
Zombie fiction can typically be pretty hit or miss, but "Deadlands" is a fresh take on the genre. Where the "typical" zombie fiction focuses on the "when it all happened" aspect, often set in the very near future, "Deadlands" chooses to jump ahead to the dystopia future, and shows us a world where zombies are the norm and where the survivors simply try to eke out a living underground, where it is relatively safer than on the blistering surface of a ruined world. The decimated earth is patrolled constantly by hordes of undead, and the small pockets of humanity cling to life, wondering if it is worth it all.
I enjoyed this novel immensely. Though it is fairly short, the material is engaging and new, and the action was comfortably unpredictable without expecting the reader to suspend belief. The introduction of the "intelligent zombie" was done carefully and seemed well thought-out. I especially liked the inside perspective on being turned to a zombie, as well as the fascinating explanations for the zombies' erratic movements and irrational hunger. Also worth noting is that nearly every conversation in this book sounds like it might have actually come from a real person. I feel that is pretty noteworthy in 'fringe' fiction like this and I applaud the author for that.
The novel isn't perfect. For some odd reason, the three main characters all have "C" names - Cain, Christian, and Cadence - but my eye didn't get confused too often while reading. Another character, Tierra, has incredible potential as a jealous lover and a recipient of dreams and hopes she could never attain, and I was disappointed that we didn't see more of her. Also, somewhere around the last third of the novel, some of the more auxiliary characters seemed to become unrealistically stereotyped, but by that point I was sucked into the story enough that I didn't care enough to detract from my enjoyment. I was also a little bothered that out of a whole, varied group of women in a "pregnant by rape" situation, every single one of them was immediately in the staunchly anti-abortion camp; this seemed terribly unrealistic for such a large group.
All in all, I found "Deadlands" to be an entertaining read and I don't regret my purchase, although some might feel the price to be a bit high for such a short read. I guess it depends on how desperate you are for good zombie fiction. I hope we see more from this author in the future.
~ Ana Mardoll
October 3, 2014
This books starts off like a standard post-nuclear-war type tale with people living in bunkers while the majority of the world is an uninhabitable wasteland. However, in this case it wasn't (just) the usual military destruction of the world, but the conflict also involved the deliberate creation of undead armies that quickly got out of control. We pick up the story some years later when a few underground communities have survived but most people never see the surface.
We are soon introduced to the usual array of mindless shuffling zombies who pose little threat to the 'guardsmen' who protect the shelters. However, a new species of intelligent zombie emerges and begins to pose a real problem to the survivors. These 'necrosapiens' are similar to the demons/zombies in the Brian Keene books 'The Rising' and 'City of the Dead', if you're familiar with them.
The story doesn't feature too many new ideas but it is exciting and enjoyable for fans of this sort of thing (which you probably are if you're reading this). It's a fairly short book and features a couple of minor errors that I can live with in a work of fiction (for example the derivation of the name 'necrosapiens' isn't technically right and, without giving too much away, the item that's found at the bottom of the warm stairs couldn't exist - you'll know what I mean when you read the book). That said, these things don't detract from the story and I would recommend the book.
We are soon introduced to the usual array of mindless shuffling zombies who pose little threat to the 'guardsmen' who protect the shelters. However, a new species of intelligent zombie emerges and begins to pose a real problem to the survivors. These 'necrosapiens' are similar to the demons/zombies in the Brian Keene books 'The Rising' and 'City of the Dead', if you're familiar with them.
The story doesn't feature too many new ideas but it is exciting and enjoyable for fans of this sort of thing (which you probably are if you're reading this). It's a fairly short book and features a couple of minor errors that I can live with in a work of fiction (for example the derivation of the name 'necrosapiens' isn't technically right and, without giving too much away, the item that's found at the bottom of the warm stairs couldn't exist - you'll know what I mean when you read the book). That said, these things don't detract from the story and I would recommend the book.
May 19, 2008
I'd love for this author to go back and really give this a working over with a good editor -- it could be great and has all the raw materials present in this form.
August 20, 2008
An interesting take on the end of the world and zombies taking over. I must admit I enjoyed the strangness of it.
October 20, 2009
My second novel: Post-apocalyptic zombies! Now with two new short stories.
November 10, 2010
Kinda felt like Dune (at least the elemental challenges) but with Zombies :) A solid read.
July 2, 2013
Really enjoyed this book! Not your everyday zombie story..this is about being there for your friends and loved ones, never giving up in the presence of evil. Fight til the End and prosper!
July 9, 2013
Totally enjoyed this fast-paced, action-packed futuristic zombie story. It's an imaginative tale of an earth almost completely destroyed by human warfare, including biologically-created undead soldiers, a poisonous atmosphere, and deadly temperature extremes. Survivors struggle to defeat a newly-evolved species of zombies who are planning to wipe out the human race for good. Horror fans will revel in the gore.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews