Undead

The Living Dead #1-2

by John A. Russo

Zombie Double Bill George A. Romero's classic 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead, launched a new era of gut-munching mayhem, relentelessly terrorizing the hearts of moviegoers and launching the zombie movie phenomenon. Screenwriter John A. Russo turned the flesh-eating frenzy into two horrific, blood-drenched novels. . . Night Of The Living Dead A cemetery in rural Pennsylvania. A brother and sister putting flowers on their father's grave. A strange figure shambling toward them--eyes dead and teeth gnashing. So begins a night of endless terror that would live on in infamy. Seven strangers locked inside a small farmhouse fight off an army of walking corpses. Who will survive? And who will have their flesh devoured. . .? Return Of The Living Dead Not long after the first zombie outbreak, a bus crashes in a small American town. Local churchgoers rush to the scene to save the living--and destroy the dead. But they're too late. A terrifying new plague of undead has been unleashed. A new horde of victims has been infected. And this time, they are ravenous. . . Two great, gruesome zombie thrillers in one volume! John Russo wants everyone to know he's a really nice guy even though he loves to scare people. He started it by co-scripting the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead, one of the greatest fright flicks of all time, ranked #18 on the Internet Movie Database's top 100 Scariest Movies. (In a fine example of showmanship and multi-tasking, Russo also played a zombie in the film.) He also wrote the screenplays and/or stories for Midnight, Santa Claws, The Majorettes, Return of the Living Dead, Bloodsisters, and Inhuman. Mr. Russo has authored fifteen terror-suspense novels, including Living Things, The Awakening, Voodoo Dawn, and Inhuman. His nonfiction books, Scare Tactics and Making Movies are considered bibles of independent filmmaking by film students and horror fans. Those who are not faint of heart will enjoy digging into this presentation of Night of the Living Dead and the original stark-and-dark version of Return of the Living Dead. Look for John Russo's upcoming cinematic shockfest Escape of the Living Dead, which is now in preproduction for a 2011 release. Mr. Russo resides in a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. To his knowledge, none of his neighbors are zombies, though "there is that one guy around the corner who is rumored to have devoured the mailman a few years ago." "Truly harrowing." --Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Fiction, Suspense, Literature, Novels

320 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

John A. Russo, sometimes credited as Jack Russo or John Russo, is an American screenwriter and film director most commonly associated with the 1968 horror classic film Night of the Living Dead. As a screenwriter, his credits include Night of the Living Dead, The Majorettes, Midnight, and Santa Claws. The latter two, he also directed. He has performed small roles as an actor, most notably the first ghoul who is stabbed in the head in Night of the Living Dead.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially I was tempted to give this book 5 stars for the cover alone! Wonderfully creepy to say the least. Undead is a two story collection: the written version of the movie Night of the Living Dead and a sequal of sorts, The Return of the Living Dead. Both are written by John Russo, who along with George A. Romero, wrote the screen play for the movie Night of the Living Dead. The Return of the Living Dead is not a product of George Romero, it is all John Russo’s creation. Since two separate stories are presented in this book, they will get two separate reviews:

Night of the Living Dead is awesome. It’s hard for me to write an objective review because I know the movie by heart and love it so much. The novella here follows the movie exactly. Although it’s not and never will be a product of fantastic literature, it does manage to convey the intense psychological horror and unease expected of a zombie apocalypse. In fact, the events in written form are slightly more powerful than the movie. But again, I’m biased. Another reviewer on here stated that reading this story is like visiting an old friend, and I couldn’t agree more. Loved it.

The Return of the Living Dead is unfortunately not so awesome. There are so many bad horror movie clichés such as axe wielding, bad hillbillies’ gone amuck, rape, old farm communities… I could go on and on. This is not a written adaptation of the film The Return of the Living Dead. In fact, it is a different story altogether. However, it still reads as if it is the written adaptation of a 1980’s slasher flick. Had this been a movie, the movie would have been fantastically gory and campy, or incredibly scary; depending on the whim and skill of the director, and of course the talent of the actors. But as a written story, this is a total fail. It has none of the subtle emotional terror presented in Night of the Living Dead. Blood and guts are meant to be seen, not read about.

Final verdict Horror/zombie/Living Dead fans should give this a try. I can’t help but recommend Night of the Living Dead. As far as The Return of the Living Dead, horror enthusiasts may be interested in skimming through it. Everyone else should probably pass it up.

[Squire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd never read an author who plagiarized himself so much. More than half of Return of the Living Dead was lifted word for word from Night of the Living Dead--which is funny, because Return of the Living Dead is the better story. Still, it was an interesting curio to read.

[M.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night of the Living Dead ☆☆☆☆½
Ben stood up. He had to use his foot against the dead thing's head to gain leverage to pull the jack-handle out and the dead skull flopped back with a thud against the living-room floor. And just the tiniest bit of fluid, white and not the color of blood, oozed from the wound made by the jack-handle in the dead creature's skull.

This novelization of the movie has several differences in minor details and background information. It maintains all the gore and flesh eating that made the original so intense when it first came out. While it's the same story, some details like Ben being bitten toward the end made for a more interesting read because it wasn't exactly the same as the movie I've watched umpteen million times. If you liked the movie, you'll almost certainly enjoy this novel.

Return of the Living Dead ☆☆☆
He heard the rustling sound of their movements and the painful wheezing of their dead lungs. Then they touched the wires and burst into flames, their skin much drier and deader than the ghoul who had burned on the wires earlier, because with a crackle of electricity and a mad dance of sparks these two were consumed in flames.

Prior to the movie of the same title, John Russo shopped around a script for Return of the Living Dead. This earlier version bears no resemblance to the horror comedy movie that was ultimately released and there is also a novelization of that movie with the same title. This is a novelization of that earlier script and is no comedy.

This story takes place after the original Night of the Living Dead, including the Sheriff from the it, years after the original outbreak was contained and thought eliminated. In a rather odd coincidence of timing with a religious group spiking dead bodies just in case (most people think it's unnecessary because the outbreak has been over for years) another outbreak occurs. The beginning of this was interesting and engaging. Unfortunately it rapidly devolved into a lackluster "man is the worst monster" story that didn't make a lot of sense in places. For example days after the new outbreak starts there are already roving bands of rapists, robbers and murderers, including a band of teenage boys that have gone all mad max carrying bows rather than the firearms rural kids would almost certainly have access to. A repeated premise is also that people in rural areas are less self-sufficient than people in cities. It was repeated enough that it makes me think Russo has never actually been outside an urban environment.

Oh and then, you'll never guess what happens to the main character (after we finally get focus on him about a 1/3 or more of the way into the book). Certainly he wouldn't also be shot by the sheriff's posse of ghoul hunters just like what ultimately happened to Ben in Night of the Living the Dead. Surely Russo wouldn't try using the same poignant demise for our hero a second time because he would realize it could only come across as hackneyed and lame when used a again. Yeah, well, that's exactly what happens.

While I'm griping a lot about the second story, it wasn't really that bad. It was an okay read, but was just disappointing immediately following the first novelization in this book.

[Edward Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved the Night of the Living dead series and the genre that it helped create. Reading this collection took me back to the time I discovered a dog eared copy of "Dawn of the dead" by Romero on my father's bookshelf. I dove right in and finished it in one intense sitting; shaking the whole time. The first of the two stories (Night) is the better (IMHO) of the two but Return does still stand to give some chills.

[Leninha · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A chama da vida arde por um tempo e então se apaga. As sepulturas aguardam pacientemente a hora de serem ocupadas. A morte é o fim de toda a vida.Viver é se remexer constantemente em um túmulo.As coisas vivem e morrem.Às vezes vivem bem, e às vezes mal, mas sempre morrem, e a morte é aquilo que reduz todas as coisas ao menor denominador comum. "

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two zombie novellas by a screenwriter who worked on Night of the Living Dead -- how could I not love this? Read on.

The Introduction: John Russo could be the Jack Kirby to George A. Romero's Stan Lee, but his introduction comes off as sour grapes. Apparently everything you love about the "Living Dead" franchise is due to Russo and not Romero, but who really knows? Russo could provide interesting insight, but he mostly downplays the roles of Romero and O'Bannon, telling us that his is the original "no-holds-barred" original.

Night of the Living Dead: I love Night of the Living Dead. Unfortunately Russo gives us a relatively straightforward novelization. There are some added details, like Ben's parental drive, but most readers would be better off watching (or rewatching) the movie. What's frustrating here is that there are always some details or aspects of character that don't make it to the big screen, but Russo fails to capitalize on the opportunity he has here. Avatar Press's comic book series does better work fleshing out the back-stories.

Return of the Living Dead: Russo points out that this isn't O'Bannon's "horror comedy, but stark horror." And it's best not to compare the two. Russo picks up the story ten years after the original Living Dead event -- essentially one horrible, unexplained night quelled by authorities. Now, in the shadow of the zombies, religious sects secretly stake the dead in the forehead while authorities assure the populace that the zombie menace could never rise again.

And then it does.

This is an interesting premise, but it essentially plays out the same way. However Russo reiterates that during zombie apocalypse (however short), the biggest thing you have to fear is other humans. Rapists and looters take the forefront, making any "stark horror" come from sexual violence.

------

I have no doubt the John Russo played a vital role in Night of the Living Dead. I'm also glad that Romero, and O'Bannon separately, took it from there.

[Jennifer Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m certain I watched the movies years ago, but I really don’t remember them, so this book was a treat. How terrifying that these zombies have rudimentary impulses to use “tools” like rocks and branches (and in one instance an actual gardening spade) as weapons to kill their prey or gain entry into things like cars & buildings. The fact that the majority of the main characters die became a bit irksome - only because I started expecting it to happen, so there was no longer any shock factor when it did. Other than that these novels were pretty solid 4 star ratings for me.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling, quick to read novelisation of the zombie movies. I enjoyed Night if the Living Dead more than its sequel. Worth a read for fans of zombie stories.

[Pidido Piquira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aqui temos o verdadeiro cruzamento entre cinema e literatura. Essa história funciona perfeitamente também no formato escrito, e mesmo já sabendo tudo o que ia acontecer — por já ter visto o filme antes — me peguei torcendo pelos personagens do mesmo jeito.

Como em toda boa história de zumbis, o que mais causa revolta não são apenas as criaturas, mas a crueldade e o descaso humano diante dos próprios semelhantes. Mais uma vez, os monstros, embora sejam a grande ameaça, acabam ficando em segundo plano, porque a maldade humana se mostra ainda maior. Isso fica especialmente evidente na segunda parte: O Retorno dos Mortos-Vivos.

Li o livro inteiro imaginando os cenários em preto e branco, como no filme. Foi como se eu estivesse dentro da televisão — se é que isso faz sentido kkkk.

Uma ótima história, super recomendo! Ainda mais agora, com o Halloween chegando. 🎃

[Deacon D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This signed limited edition from Cemetery Dance collects Night Of The Living Dead and Return Of The Living Dead.

Most horror fans are likely familiar with the classic low-budget shocker Night Of The Living Dead. The novelization sticks very closely to the film, so no real surprises. I dig the story.

Return Of The Living Dead, however, is nothing like the (awesome) movie of the same title, and while it borrows heavily from NOTLD, I think it's a pretty decent little sequel.

I may have given the collection itself only 3.5 stars, but this Cemetery Dance edition is pretty damn sweet (just look at that cover art!) so for this book collector, 4 stars it is!

[Juliana · Rating 2 out of 5]

O filme A Noite dos Mortos-Vivos é considerado um clássico das histórias de zumbis e precursor para muitas das séries, livros e filmes que acompanhamos hoje em dia. E apesar disso, eu nunca tinha assistido. Como eu já tinha comprado esse livro há um tempinho e quase sempre as histórias dos livros me envolvem mais do que dos filmes, resolvi ler antes de assistir. Porém, fiquei bem decepcionada.

O livro é a romantização do filme, mas eu sentia como se estivesse lendo basicamente uma transcrição do mesmo, quase como um roteiro. Achei a narrativa do John Russo muito "mecânica", como se ele tivesse assistindo ao filme e te falando o que estava acontecendo. Não consegui me envolver com o que estava sendo contado e achei que os acontecimentos eram descritos de uma forma muito rápida e sem emoção. Não dava tempo nem de ficar tenso antes e nem de se apegar muito depois de já ter acontecido determinado fato, porque logo ele já partia para o próximo, mesmo quando se tratava das mortes dos personagens.

Sei que a história se passa em um cenário de sobrevivência e é bem difícil parar um tempo para sofrer a morte de uma pessoa, mas acho que para o leitor isso deveria ter um impacto maior ou causar um mínimo de comoção para ficar mais interessante e eu não me importei com nenhuma morte desse livro. Provavelmente o que contribuiu para isso foi o fato de quase todos personagens serem chatíssimos e unidimensionais, não consegui me apegar a nenhum. A participação feminina é bem pobre também. No primeiro livro, Bárbara pode ser facilmente confundida com um móvel da sala e no segundo, as mulheres basicamente são objetos dos homens, seja de seu abuso, seja de sua proteção. Outra coisa que me incomodou foram algumas descrições da morte de mulheres e como os zumbis pareciam preferir certas partes do corpo, tendo uma conotação um tanto sexual e meio bizarra...achei bem desnecessário.

"Com um lampejo de lascívia nos olhos, ele mordeu a carne macia de seu pescoço e demorou-se ali. Depois suas mãos grosseiras desceram e arrancaram a blusa de seu corpo em um único movimento brutal. O morto-vivo inclinou a cabeça e cravou os dentes nos seios firmes da garota (...) Quando a criatura levantou a cabeça, rasgou um de seus mamilos. Mais determinado que antes, arrancou o resto da roupa da vítima e saboreou a carne macia e suculenta de suas coxas e de sua virilha até que as tivesse mastigado por completo."

O autor também é extremamente repetitivo, principalmente ao se referir aos zumbis. Perdi as contas de quantas vezes ele escreveu "zumbis canibais/comedores de carne humana". Acho que depois da décima vez, qualquer um era plenamente capaz de saber que eles comiam carne humana, mesmo se o leitor nunca tivesse ouvido falar de zumbis na vida. Mas o que realmente me deixou meio inconformada e confirmou as duas estrelas que eu pensava em dar na avaliação foi a repetição de trechos inteiros do primeiro livro no segundo. Várias páginas continham a cópia das transmissões televisivas que foram feitas em A Noite dos Mortos-Vivos para alertar a população sobre o perigo. Apesar de eu ter achado isso chato, porque tinha acabado de ler, considerei até compreensível para situar os leitores cujo primeiro contato com a história fosse esse, apesar de achar que o autor poderia ter feito de outra forma. Mas em um determinado capítulo em que está acontecendo uma situação semelhante ao passado, tem um Ctrl+C Ctrl+V descarado. Quase duas páginas iguaizinhas, palavra por palavra.

Apesar dos pesares (e dessa vez foram muitos), a leitura foi proveitosa no sentido de conhecer os primórdios do universo dos mortos-vivos. Ver como tudo foi pensado lá atrás e como algumas coisas mudaram e outras permanecem as mesmas. E se tem uma lição que podemos tirar de histórias de zumbis (e as apocalípticas no geral) é que sempre o maior perigo está nos próprios humanos.

[Phey Hoyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is difficult to rate honestly because there are two sides to it, but here it goes...

Night of the Living Dead reads exactly like the movie. If you enjoyed the movie, then you will enjoy the book for the sheer nostalgic feel to it.

Return of the Living Dead is written like a rough draft to try and get a screenplay. There are holes in the storyline and there isn't enough of anything given to any of the characters. There are moments that definitely make you say, "well why" or "what" or even flipping back a few pages thinking you missed something because of the holes in the plot...

However, to give this book a real review, I do what I usually do and try to mentally think what was available at the time the book was written. These were both written well before things like Resident Evil and The Walking Dead were common knowledge. Well before zombies were the flavor of the month. These books excel in laying the foundation for what we have now.

Night of the Living Dead sets the tone for the undead coming back to life and causing sheer panic and terror amongst the survivors. We are obviously desensitized to zombies and the idea of zombies, but one could see how terrifying this could be at the time it was written.

Return of the Living Dead is actually ahead of its time in that it shows the horror that can come from a disaster, which are the people taking advantage of the situation. The Walking Dead has transformed this idea and has made its money on the drama between the living. This book literally set the foundation for such a thing.

With all of this being said, I gave it 4 stars. I feel like it is a great nostalgic throwback and a quick easy read. I would recommend this to a friend, but I would remind them when the books were written. They are not perfect or masterpieces to say the least, but are quite enjoyable overall.

[Summer Seeds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Night of the Living Dead is a classic. Romero is the father of zombies. I love his work. It's B-horror at its best. I was excited for this book, because Mr. Russo co-authored the script for the movie! Unfortunately, this duology of short novels was a total let down.

I'm not sure how much Russo contributed to the original script. Perhaps he is an excellent writer of screenplays. He is no, however, talented novelist. The writing was bland. I was strictly being told a story, not living it between the pages. Everything was just so incredibly flat feeling. There was no terror, no fear. And the second story, Return of the Living Dead, was even worse than the first. He literally copy and pasted direct dialogue from the first story. Come on, not cool. Also, when writing a sequel, perhaps one shouldn't use names similar to those in the first story if they are not related. It's a small thing, but I found it irritating.

And shame on the editor of this collection! There were misused comas everywhere! In one instance several was spelt with an 1 instead of an L. Really? Come on. Spell check is your friend. The mistakes were embarrassingly frequent and obvious.

[Erica Robyn Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down!! I bought this on sale at a bookstore on impulse just because I saw zombies and I am SO HAPPY that I picked it up! I had no idea this was Night of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead in one book, neither of which I had read before. It was action packed throughout and so intense! My only complaint is that a few scenes seemed to be repeated between book one and book two. For example, theres a scene in the first book where the "ghouls" devour a person and the narrator describes that the ones that had gotten a piece of human meat take it off to the side to enjoy it in peace with the others looked on like a pack of dogs. This scene reappears in the second. I highly recommend this book to any zombie fan! Both endings are absolutely amazing, so prepare yourself for them! :)

[Rafael Gimenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminei o primeiro romance do livro. Esse review é apenas para "A noite dos mortos-vivos".

A noite dos mortos-vivos É sem dúvidas um "must read". Escrito pelo próprio roteirista do filme de mesmo nome. John Russo escreve demais!!! Esse livro me manteve ansioso e tenso por todo o decorrer da leitura. Esse é um livro que não dá trégua, e sua trama é completamente indecifrável. Sua trama não te dá nem respiro para tentar advinhar o que está por vir. Amei esse livro, recomendo principalmente para pessoas como eu que não tem muita afinidade com esse tipo de literatura.

[Bianca Peixoto · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://maisumleitor.wordpress.com/20...

[Gabriel Uchôa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ótimo livro, só fiquei um pouco chocado com a forma do autor narrar as mortes. Não dá tempo nem de se apegar ao personagem (isso pode ser bom por um lado rsrs).

[Ariela Mendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gostei desse livro... se eu pudesse mudaria algumas coisas na historia rsrsrs mas achei um livro bem legal de se ler...

[Claris Ribeiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro, que é uma adaptação do roteiro do filme de George Romero, chegou no Brasil em 2014 como uma edição especial de comemoração dos 45 anos do longa. Além da história original do filme, o livro conta com o texto da sequência que nunca chegou a ser filmada, A Volta Dos Mortos-Vivos.

Em A Noite dos Mortos-Vivos, conhecemos Johnny e Bárbara, que estão indo visitar o túmulo de seu pai em uma zona rural distante. Bárbara é uma garota comum e muito preocupada com a família, enquanto Johnny é um cara grosso e estressado, que estava nessa viagem até o cemitério contra sua vontade e só sabia reclamar.

Já estava escurecendo e Johnny aproveitou do local sinistro para fazer brincadeiras para assustar sua irmã, até que um homem de aparência estranha que andava pelo local ataca Bárbara. Johnny, desesperado, tenta ajudar sua irmã, mas acaba morrendo durante a luta. Assustada, Bárbara começa a correr loucamente.

O homem estranho continua seguindo Bárbara, até que ela consegue chegar em uma fazenda. O homem estranho, que mal consegue andar e parece não entender nada, continua do lado de fora esperando, até que novas pessoas com aparência estranha começam a aparecer e ficam do lado de fora da casa aguardando.

A história gira em torno da fazenda dos Miller e as pessoas que estão dentro dela tentando sobreviver desse ataque de seres mortos que, misteriosamente, voltaram à vida e que comem carne humana. Sem muitas informações, sem conhecer um ao outro, o livro conta uma história de luta pela sobrevivência e a relação entre pessoas dentro de um determinado grupo em uma situação de risco.

Confesso que achei o desenrolar da história um pouco lento, mas o final foi uma reviravolta só! Gostei muito de como foram apresentados os personagens, a criação de cada um e a sua importância na história, tirando a Bárbara, que de início gostei muito dela, mas no final acabou sendo apenas um peso para os outros personagens ali dentro. O final foi de tirar o fôlego, acabei essa primeira parte louca para assistir ao filme, e foi o que eu fiz e gostei muito.

A Volta Dos Mortos-Vivos acontece 10 anos depois da primeira epidemia. Com medo e por precaução, um grupo de pessoas de uma pequena comunidade rural decidiu que todos que morressem por ali, teriam seu crânio perfurado e destruído, pois essa era a única forma de acabar com esses mortos-vivos que haviam aterrorizado o planeta anos antes.

Essas pessoas acabam encontrando um ônibus acidentado onde todas as pessoas envolvidas morreram, e assim, elas começam a retirar os corpos e a perfurar seus crânios rapidamente, mas, as autoridades chegam antes de terminar o trabalho, e alguns desses corpos não foram marcados. Esses corpos, assim como muitos outros que haviam morrido a pouco tempo, retornam a vida de forma aterrorizante e sem explicação, sedentos por carne humana.

A história se passa na fazenda dos Miller, onde Bret Miller e suas três filhas, Ann, Sue e Karen, tentam se proteger dessa nova epidemia. Mas, diferente da história anterior que contava o que acontecia apenas em um determinado local, agora temos uma visão mais ampla de como outras pessoas estavam reagindo e o que estava acontecendo. Além de mortos-vivos, as pessoas também precisavam se proteger de bandidos e estupradores que estavam aproveitando da situação para causar desordem, já que as autoridades estavam ocupadas demais tentando cuidar da epidemia e de suas próprias vidas.

Achei que a segunda história flui muito melhor na leitura, por nos apresentar um espaço mais amplo com mais personagens e situações diferentes. Novamente o caráter do ser humano é posto à prova nas diversas situações criadas pelo autor, gostei muito da segunda história, uma pena não ter virado filme.

Falando em filme, fui conferir a comédia de mesmo nome, A Volta Dos Mortos-Vivos, com uma pontinha de esperança de encontrar uma boa história, porém acabei me decepcionando. O livro sim tem muito potencial, e para quem curte esse tipo de leitura, é um clássico que não pode faltar na estante, ainda mais nessa edição maravilhosa da DarkSide.

Postado em: http://www.plasticodelic.com/2018/02/...

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a fan of the living dead series, I was intrigued to find out about this book and give it a go. Apparently the original Night of the Living Dead started off as a novelization and they wrote the script off of it. Which is super apparent if you've ever seen the classic movie because it is beat for beat identical to the movie with minor differences, the biggest of these being more attention on the posse that is trying to get a handle on the situation. There is even a note of concern from the posse leader after Ben is killed by itchy trigger fingers.

The second book is way more interesting as Dawn of the Dead takes the theme but not the setting or characters and Return of the Living Dead did its own (brilliantly entertaining, imo) punk rock thing infused with gallows humor. The second book is again in a rural setting and watches as a father and his three daughters are first terrorized by the undead and then a gang of rapists and looters. A pair of local troopers are added to the mix and they do the best they can to save the day before the cruelty of the horror filled world takes its toll on them. So Dawn of The Dead wisely moved away from the more of the same rural setting into the shopping mall and made one of the biggest threats the biker gang that invades.

I thought the first book mostly a dud because it offered no new insights on the film it was made into, but the second book was pretty dang wild. It gave the zombies a little more menace with them being able to strategize and attack en masse and even wield crude weapons. Plus the amount of violence and gore caught me off guard, especially in amount and detail. It's pure chaos from the get go but there is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

[Vultural · Rating 2 out of 5]

Russo, John - The Undead

I don’t recall if this was part of a book club, or if I had actually ordered this.
If the latter, what an idiot. What was I thinking? I don’t even like “walking dead” anything. Mindless.

Two-fer collection of “Night Of The Living Dead” novelizations.

If you saw the 1968 film, then the first novel is needless. Russo presents a poorly written, scene for scene copy.
The writing, to be charitable, is that of a gifted high schooler.

“Return Of The Living Dead,” the second novel, is more interesting, though the writing remains puerile.
This was based on an unused screenplay, and is a nasty followup.
Social order is breaking down and villains run lawlessly through the backwoods.
The cadre of thugs, rapists, murderers, bullies, are sketched in broad strokes, and they are, by and large, the most interesting thing about either book.

We all make mistakes with books - buying and reading - this was one of mine,
Caveat emptor

[Celia Rabelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Noite dos Mortos Vivos
Infelizmente o livro não é nada empolgante, não me causou medo e muito menos prendeu minha atenção. Muito pelo contrário, o livro chegar a desapontar, frustrar mesmo, o que torna o filme bem melhor que a própria obra. O final é lamentável.
A Volta dos Mortos Vivos
Um pouco melhor que o primeiro, a obra conta a história de um pai que vivia em uma fazenda com suas três filhas, uma delas grávida, dez anos após o primeiro ataque inexplicável dos zumbis. A história é dinâmica, com bastante ação e ao mesmo tempo bem nojento. E toda essa nojeira de ataques detalhados, nos causa um certo mal estar, chegando a causar medo. O final não é a sétima maravilha do mundo, mas, é melhor que o do primeiro livro. Não recomendaria e me sinto feliz por não ter adquirido o livro físico.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth it for Return of the Living Dead

You get two novels in one. Night of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead.

If you've seen the film, Night is exactly what you'd expect. A novel of the film. Pretty standard, but enjoyable.

In my opinion, the whole (and my reasoning) reason to get this was to read Return. It's expensive to get on its own, as it's long out of print.

If you've seen the movie, Return (the novel) is NOTHING like the film. It's a totally different story (that ties into Night.) I enjoyed it. Worth picking up the book for.

My only complaint is a few chapters are in both stories. Pasted and edited a little. It seemed lazy to me. Complete pages word for word from the other story. It still fits, but it just seemed to be there to pad out the story length. But, don't let it discourage you in picking this up and checking it out.

[Gary Hibbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unread by John Russo. As always no spoilers.

This review is for Unread. A combination of Night of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead.

Night of the Living Dead:

After being attacked in a graveyard by a zombie, Barbara makes her way to a farmhouse where she and others fight against zombie hoards.

It's based around the the original black and white version with a few differences.

It's a short but very good story.

Return of the Living Dead:

Set ten years after NLD, this is NOT based around the film of the same name. Whereas the film was done as a comedy horror, the novel is a serious horror story.

It's about people trying to survive during another zombie outbreak (NLD is mentioned as 'events that occurred ten years ago.') So it is a direct sequel. There are a lot of characters but it doesn't get confusing. Short again but good.

Five stars from me.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The novelization of Night of the Living Dead is about what you'd expect it to be, but reading the original script for Return of the Living Dead was...interesting, I guess. I don't know how John Russo thinks the zombie apocalypse would be so easily contained *and he doesn't really explain how they did it other*, and there's no explanation on why it starts again, so that seems kinda lazy on his part. I think Mr. Romero had the right idea with not having it ever being solved. Also, the world basically falls apart in like, a day when the outbreak starts back up. Riiiiiiight. And the ending seems suuuuuuuper rushed. Basically, it's a retread of Night, so Mr. Russo was definitely in '80's Horror Movie Sequel Mode before that was even a thing.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed a short, uncomplicated book after a few disappointing larger reads.

Didn't expect much from this novelisation of Night of the Living Dead and a re-imagined sequel, but I was happy surprised.

Night was a decent read, it doesn't deviate from the film and also doesn't descend into a gore fest.

Return of the Living Dead is written much more to shock and appeal to those looking for a gore fest. Characters are killed very quickly and the treatment of the female characters is what you would expect from a b-movie written in the 1970s.

So overall, it served its purpose for me, Night scored a solid 4 stars while Return just gets a 3, so 3 stars.

[Tinta Póstuma · Rating 3 out of 5]

💬 Poxa… o livro começou super bem e depois deu uma caída. A primeira parte eu gostei muito, foi onde realmente engatei a leitura e fiquei animada com o rumo da história.

📚 Já a segunda parte… boa, é. Mas repetiu umas coisas do primeiro que me deixaram p da vida, sério. Aí já penso: reler? Jamais. Não teria paciência pra passar por isso de novo.

💔 E o final dos dois livros… olha, não gostei. O do primeiro é simplesmente idiota — final horrível DEMAIS. O do segundo até é mais interessante, mas aquela situação com o Dave foi de uma idiotice sem tamanho. No fim, nenhum dos dois valeu tanto assim pra mim, infelizmente.

[Dennis Elten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night of the living dead

Een boek versie van de klassieke film, dit verhaal laat een kant zien van de personages die je in de film niet ziet. Het blijft een spannend verhaal waar het tempo inzit.

Return of the living dead

Een bekende titel maar een ander verhaal. Dit verhaal speelt zich tien jaar na het eerste verhaal en laat een wereld zien die deels nog op hun hoede is. Het verhaal sleurt je meteen mee. Een aanrader.

[Juliana Costa · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A morte é aquilo que reduz todas as coisas vivas a um denominador comum"

Fico feliz de finalmente ter terminado de ler esse livro. Realmente não gostei da escrita, da história e principalmente do final. Essa edição apresenta os dois livros e achei o segundo mais dinâmico, visto que o primeiro demorou muito para ter ação propriamente dita.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, yes, the book is enjoyable. The story is well told in both stories, and it is overall very enjoyable. But it is also clear that this is the novelization of a movie, and not a novel the movie is based on. The book has no more depth than a movie would, and while it does a good job of portraying the movie, it doesn’t go beyond that.