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Inside the Perimeter: Scavengers of the Dead
In the middle of nowhere, the vestiges of an abandoned town are surrounded by inescapably high concrete barriers, permitting no trespass or escape. The town is dormant of human life, but rampant with the living dead, who choose not to eat flesh, but to instead continue their survival by cruder means. Boyd Broman, a detective arrested and falsely imprisoned, has been transferred into the secret town. He is given an ultimatum: recapture Hayden Grubaugh, the cannibal serial killer, who has been banished to the town, in exchange for his freedom. During Boyd's search, he discovers why the psychotic cannibal must really be captured and the sinister secrets the dead town holds. With no chance of escape, Broman finds himself trapped among the ravenous, violent dead. With the cannibal feeding on the animated cadavers and the undead searching for Boyd, he must fulfill his end of the deal before the rotting corpses turn him into an unwilling organ donor. But Boyd wasn't told that no one gets out alive, that the town is a death sentence. For there is no escape from Inside the Perimeter.
228 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2010
10 people want to read
About the author
Alan Spencer
73 books61 followersAlan Spencer is a freelance horror author from Kansas City. His most recent books are B-Movie Reels, B-Movie Attack, and Psycho Therapy (2013).
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 28, 2017
I guess I'm not with the normal crowd when it comes to how I felt about this book. It was good but I did not think it was great. I liked the different take on zombies. It is nice to see something different in this genre. I also liked the characterization. I didn't like a lot of the dialogue. It just didn't seem realistic at times. I didn't always care for the back and forth on the past and present. Would have liked to get Boyd's past out there and told and then just let it go. It did move at a fast pace most of the time but then it would just go on and on with details that were so unnecessary that I would end up just skimming. All in all it was a decent book.
July 23, 2011
Boyd Broman is an ex-cop who, after chasing an intruder down the street, accidentally kills him and lands himself in prison. That is until he is given a chance of getting his life back by going into a secure perimeter and apprehending a murderous cannibal, Hayden, who he helped to put away several years earlier.
But Boyd doesn’t realise his chances of escape are pretty thin. The perimeter he’s been put inside of is also filled with the walking dead, zombies who have been put together with different parts of different corpses.
His only possibility of escape is finding Hayden, but when there are a horde of blood thirst zombies on your back, finding an insane cannibal is never going to be easy!
First of all, I need to say that this book is not for the faint of heart. Not only are there pretty graphic descriptions of the zombies disembodying people everywhere, there are also some intense scenes in the book involving the carving, preparing and eating of human flesh. I have to admit, I did end up skim reading some of these parts, though the author did warn me it was pretty gruesome!
The main character, Boyd, is a likeable character—tough with a sensitive side. He has a family on the outside and is doing what he needs to in order to get back to them. He has moments of brawn, brains and sensitivity, a great combination for a hero and I was definitely behind him the whole way.
The cannibal, Hayden, is just plain nasty. He's actually eating the dead things (which had me near gagging point!) and he feels totally at home in his new surroundings. This guy has no redeeming qualities what-so-ever!
The book came together when Boyd meets Cindy, a young woman who has been put inside the perimeter after falling pregnant with (and then aborting) a high (married) government official’s baby. It seems the perimeter is somewhere the government puts people they want to forget about and in doing so also to keep the dead things supplied with fresh meat.
The story wouldn’t have worked without the relationship between Boyd and Cindy. Even though he is married, that little spark between them is like a light in the darkness and helps break up the constant action and bloodshed. I would have liked for the author to have maybe even made more of it, but perhaps that’s just the girly side of me coming out!
Alan Spencer does a good job on bringing a new twist to the world of zombies. The book is fast pace, violent and gory. If you don’t like your gore, then stay away, you won’t enjoy this one. But if you’re a fan of good old zombie books and movies and want something with a new twist, then you can’t go far wrong with 'Inside the Perimeter'.
But Boyd doesn’t realise his chances of escape are pretty thin. The perimeter he’s been put inside of is also filled with the walking dead, zombies who have been put together with different parts of different corpses.
His only possibility of escape is finding Hayden, but when there are a horde of blood thirst zombies on your back, finding an insane cannibal is never going to be easy!
First of all, I need to say that this book is not for the faint of heart. Not only are there pretty graphic descriptions of the zombies disembodying people everywhere, there are also some intense scenes in the book involving the carving, preparing and eating of human flesh. I have to admit, I did end up skim reading some of these parts, though the author did warn me it was pretty gruesome!
The main character, Boyd, is a likeable character—tough with a sensitive side. He has a family on the outside and is doing what he needs to in order to get back to them. He has moments of brawn, brains and sensitivity, a great combination for a hero and I was definitely behind him the whole way.
The cannibal, Hayden, is just plain nasty. He's actually eating the dead things (which had me near gagging point!) and he feels totally at home in his new surroundings. This guy has no redeeming qualities what-so-ever!
The book came together when Boyd meets Cindy, a young woman who has been put inside the perimeter after falling pregnant with (and then aborting) a high (married) government official’s baby. It seems the perimeter is somewhere the government puts people they want to forget about and in doing so also to keep the dead things supplied with fresh meat.
The story wouldn’t have worked without the relationship between Boyd and Cindy. Even though he is married, that little spark between them is like a light in the darkness and helps break up the constant action and bloodshed. I would have liked for the author to have maybe even made more of it, but perhaps that’s just the girly side of me coming out!
Alan Spencer does a good job on bringing a new twist to the world of zombies. The book is fast pace, violent and gory. If you don’t like your gore, then stay away, you won’t enjoy this one. But if you’re a fan of good old zombie books and movies and want something with a new twist, then you can’t go far wrong with 'Inside the Perimeter'.
April 14, 2014
This one's got all the horror and gore of a zombie novel, but with a refreshing twist. These zoms aren't infected or corpses-from-the-grave, they're a government experiment gone wrong. They don't want to eat you- they want you for your fresh parts as theirs rot away, and they'll take your parts while your heart still beats.
It's solidly in the horror vein, but with a good dose of thriller thrown into the mix. Not only are there the zombies to worry about, there's a live cannibal as well. He's somehow even more horrific than the living dead, given that he's 'human' and does what he does to satisfy his own sick, twisted desires. Throw in a dark government conspiracy and you've got yourself an enjoyably twisted tale.
The main character is believable and likeable. The back story that lands him inside the perimeter is well thought-out and well-executed. His relationship with his female companion-in-captivity feels a bit fake and contrived at first, but it comes to feel more natural as the story wears on. Once it gets rolling a bit, their decisions and actions feel more realistic. That's not to say it's all horribly false to start, but it definitely improves after a few chapters, to the point it feels natural.
I'm not sure what I expected for the end of this story, but not what happens. The horror, action and tension prevalent in this book run solid throughout, and the ending is no exception.
The writing is generally very good, but sometimes a little stale due to repetitive sentence structure. There's a LOT of 'Breaking the lock, he entered the building' or 'Pushing himself to his limits, he swung over the wall' type sentences (examples I made up, not direct quotes). While this was a very good read, a little more variety in structure would have pushed it up to an excellent read.
I recommend this one to any zombie fan looking for something 'outside the box' in the genre. This one won't disappoint!
It's solidly in the horror vein, but with a good dose of thriller thrown into the mix. Not only are there the zombies to worry about, there's a live cannibal as well. He's somehow even more horrific than the living dead, given that he's 'human' and does what he does to satisfy his own sick, twisted desires. Throw in a dark government conspiracy and you've got yourself an enjoyably twisted tale.
The main character is believable and likeable. The back story that lands him inside the perimeter is well thought-out and well-executed. His relationship with his female companion-in-captivity feels a bit fake and contrived at first, but it comes to feel more natural as the story wears on. Once it gets rolling a bit, their decisions and actions feel more realistic. That's not to say it's all horribly false to start, but it definitely improves after a few chapters, to the point it feels natural.
I'm not sure what I expected for the end of this story, but not what happens. The horror, action and tension prevalent in this book run solid throughout, and the ending is no exception.
The writing is generally very good, but sometimes a little stale due to repetitive sentence structure. There's a LOT of 'Breaking the lock, he entered the building' or 'Pushing himself to his limits, he swung over the wall' type sentences (examples I made up, not direct quotes). While this was a very good read, a little more variety in structure would have pushed it up to an excellent read.
I recommend this one to any zombie fan looking for something 'outside the box' in the genre. This one won't disappoint!
March 13, 2012
Inside the Perimeter: Scavengers of the Dead is by the far one of the best zombie novels I’ve read and one that has left me begging for a sequel. Alan Spencer has brought the traditional zombie into a new light, making them far more ferocious and blood thirsty then ever before. Humans are not just for feeding in Spencer’s adaptation of the zombie, its there survival as well. Fast paced and unfiltered, the reader is brought into a world of captivity where humans are the prey and zombies rule the encampment. Full of twists, government cover ups, and some of the most grotesque and morbid death scenes I’ve ever read, you’ve never witnessed anything like this before.
I cannot recommend this book enough and I encourage everyone to read it. I guarantee it keeps you thinking long after you finish reading it.
I cannot recommend this book enough and I encourage everyone to read it. I guarantee it keeps you thinking long after you finish reading it.
May 6, 2010
man, I can't say enough about how truly awesome this book is. Cannibal action, violent zombies, and living body parts. hell yeah! It's also a book I wrote, but that besides the point...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews