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Necropolis Rising
It took thirty minutes for the city to die. But their hunger would last forever. The military has sealed the city. No one is getting in. No one is getting out. But a team of cyber-criminals have a job to do. A job that will see them receiving a huge payout if they succeed. Or a bullet if they don't. Once inside the city staying alive proves to be just as difficult as staying dead ...
The Amazon UK Horror #1 Bestseller!
"If the undead ever needed a shot of life, this is it!" Shock Horror Magazine.
The Amazon UK Horror #1 Bestseller!
"If the undead ever needed a shot of life, this is it!" Shock Horror Magazine.
156 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 10, 2010
6 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Dave Jeffery
75 books147 followers"Jeffery has a connoisseur's eye for the grotesque and mind-bending."—STEPHEN VOLK, writer of GHOSTWATCH and AFTERLIFE,
Dave Jeffery is a British Fantasy Award and The Bridport Prize Finalist. He is author of 19 novels, two collections, and numerous short stories. His Necropolis Rising series and yeti adventure Frostbite have both featured on the Amazon #1 bestseller list, while the A Quiet Apocalypse series continues to garner critical acclaim. His YA work includes the Beatrice Beecham supernatural mystery series and Finding Jericho. His screenwriting credits include award winning short films Ascension and Derelict.
Before retiring to write full-time, Jeffery worked in the NHS for 35 years specialising in the field of mental health nursing and risk management. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Studies and a Master of Science Degree in Health Studies. His novel Finding Jericho is an amalgamation of his experiences of working with service users who have experienced stigma and social exclusion due to their mental illness. As a novel, Finding Jericho (Demain Publishing) has featured on both the BBC Health and Independent Schools Entrance Examination Board's ‘Recommended Reading’ lists
Jeffery is a member of the Society of Authors, British Fantasy Society (also as a regular book reviewer), and actively involved in the Horror Writers Association where he is a mentor on the HWA Mentorship Scheme and recipient of the HWA Mentor of the Year Award, 2022. He was also co-chair of the HWA Wellness Committee for a three-year tenure.
Jeffery is married with two children and lives in Worcestershire, UK.
Forthcoming Releases:
SEPTEMBER 2025
False Prophet: A Novel (Eerie River Publishing)
This Way Lies Madness Anthology (co-edited with Lee Murray, Flame Tree Press)
MAY 2026
Screams & Whispers Collection (Horrorsmith Publishing)
Dave Jeffery is a British Fantasy Award and The Bridport Prize Finalist. He is author of 19 novels, two collections, and numerous short stories. His Necropolis Rising series and yeti adventure Frostbite have both featured on the Amazon #1 bestseller list, while the A Quiet Apocalypse series continues to garner critical acclaim. His YA work includes the Beatrice Beecham supernatural mystery series and Finding Jericho. His screenwriting credits include award winning short films Ascension and Derelict.
Before retiring to write full-time, Jeffery worked in the NHS for 35 years specialising in the field of mental health nursing and risk management. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Studies and a Master of Science Degree in Health Studies. His novel Finding Jericho is an amalgamation of his experiences of working with service users who have experienced stigma and social exclusion due to their mental illness. As a novel, Finding Jericho (Demain Publishing) has featured on both the BBC Health and Independent Schools Entrance Examination Board's ‘Recommended Reading’ lists
Jeffery is a member of the Society of Authors, British Fantasy Society (also as a regular book reviewer), and actively involved in the Horror Writers Association where he is a mentor on the HWA Mentorship Scheme and recipient of the HWA Mentor of the Year Award, 2022. He was also co-chair of the HWA Wellness Committee for a three-year tenure.
Jeffery is married with two children and lives in Worcestershire, UK.
Forthcoming Releases:
SEPTEMBER 2025
False Prophet: A Novel (Eerie River Publishing)
This Way Lies Madness Anthology (co-edited with Lee Murray, Flame Tree Press)
MAY 2026
Screams & Whispers Collection (Horrorsmith Publishing)
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 13, 2016
First paragraph: A fist bounced off of the window, rattling the glass in its frame. Beyond the doorway, Dennis Owen, the security guard sitting at the reception desk, looked up and scrutinized the two men standing outside in the rain.
"Necropolis Rising" is a nice change of pace in my zombie reading marathon this week - after wading through some muck of poor writing and a complete lack of editing, reading this book was like sipping from a tall glass of cool water. Refreshing, satisfying, niiice.
The book is set in Birmingham, UK, and has the standard gory details that are expected of good horror literature. What's nice is that the author takes the time to develop the characters and the world that they inhabit.
Sip, sip that water.
There are also enough unique plot elements that elevate this story beyond typical zombie story-telling. There's the group of cyber-criminals who are breaking in to a sealed-off plague city, unknowing of the horrors that await them. There are the 10,000 rats of Birmingham. And enough details of the city itself that anyone who's ever lived or visited there will smile a little at its destruction.
A fun read, and recommended for the genre.
"Necropolis Rising" is a nice change of pace in my zombie reading marathon this week - after wading through some muck of poor writing and a complete lack of editing, reading this book was like sipping from a tall glass of cool water. Refreshing, satisfying, niiice.
The book is set in Birmingham, UK, and has the standard gory details that are expected of good horror literature. What's nice is that the author takes the time to develop the characters and the world that they inhabit.
Sip, sip that water.
There are also enough unique plot elements that elevate this story beyond typical zombie story-telling. There's the group of cyber-criminals who are breaking in to a sealed-off plague city, unknowing of the horrors that await them. There are the 10,000 rats of Birmingham. And enough details of the city itself that anyone who's ever lived or visited there will smile a little at its destruction.
A fun read, and recommended for the genre.
June 12, 2011
ZOMBIE novels are ten a penny these days, often as not putting the lie into the claimed demand for originality by mainstream publishers, but every so often one of the undead slaughter-fests rears its head to moan a discordant note that puts it outside the dismal pack.
Necropolis Rising, by Dave Jeffrey, is just such a title. The book grabs hold like a zombie and won’t let go until you’ve finished it off. For all that, however, the plot goes far beyond the now standard fare of a small band of survivors seeking to stay alive and find a place of safety in the midst of a dead, zombie-infested civilisation.
Instead, the undead set the stage for an action-packed ride into mayhem, filled with intrigue and betrayal, where the characters have definite objectives beyond the immediacy of staying alive. The end is far from nigh; though it is always there, a lurking shadow of doom, waiting for one terrible mistake.
For Birmingham, the undead apocalypse has arrived, bringing its days as Britain’s second city to a terrifying end, but for the authorities the race is on to ensure that the Apocalypse fails to spread beyond its cordon sanitaire.
Nobody gets in; nobody gets out, but two covert teams are heading into the city nonetheless. Their respective missions are worlds apart, though no less shady in their purpose, but the fates of both teams will be become intertwined if any of them is make it out of the city alive.
O’Connell is a former Royal Marine, drummed out on a dishonourable discharge, who has forged a lucrative career in crime. Hired by an international cartel of organised crime, he’s tasked with a very specific cyber-crime: to make the police’s national DNA database a tool of the criminals rather than the police.
Success demands a covert raid to hack the computer direct, but there’s a problem – the mainframe is located in Birmingham. It’s an added complication to a job for which failure is not an option. Like it or not, he and his team have no choice but to sneak through the military cordon and face the undead.
Shipman on the other hand still serves Queen and Country, but in a darker, more morally dubious capacity, as a covert, special forces operative, used to missions that venture far beyond the pale. The Major’s team has a specific objective in mind: a survivor of the plague who holds the key to a cure and more – if he can be extracted alive.
Both O’Connell and Shipman are in a race against time, and to cap it all, there’s a traitor in their midst who wants the prize for private gain, but as they head towards their objectives, and their desperate need to survive overlaps, they find themselves working together to secure survival.
Behind the scenes, powerful forces are engaged in an internecine web of intrigue to profit and control a bio-weapon of fearsome potential, but their best laid plans depend on the two men leading their teams into the heart of Armageddon, where no plan can stay the course, and only wits and courage can see any of them through.
Jeffrey has written a novel that takes the standard zombie tropes and puts them to refreshing work in the service of the intrigue and deception that reveals itself as the story progresses. Quite how this combines to make for a refreshing addition to the zombie arena would conspire to create too many spoilers here; the surest way to reveal the originality at work is to dive into this action-packed thriller.
The author has revealed that zombie stories still have some life left yet.
Necropolis Rising, by Dave Jeffrey, is just such a title. The book grabs hold like a zombie and won’t let go until you’ve finished it off. For all that, however, the plot goes far beyond the now standard fare of a small band of survivors seeking to stay alive and find a place of safety in the midst of a dead, zombie-infested civilisation.
Instead, the undead set the stage for an action-packed ride into mayhem, filled with intrigue and betrayal, where the characters have definite objectives beyond the immediacy of staying alive. The end is far from nigh; though it is always there, a lurking shadow of doom, waiting for one terrible mistake.
For Birmingham, the undead apocalypse has arrived, bringing its days as Britain’s second city to a terrifying end, but for the authorities the race is on to ensure that the Apocalypse fails to spread beyond its cordon sanitaire.
Nobody gets in; nobody gets out, but two covert teams are heading into the city nonetheless. Their respective missions are worlds apart, though no less shady in their purpose, but the fates of both teams will be become intertwined if any of them is make it out of the city alive.
O’Connell is a former Royal Marine, drummed out on a dishonourable discharge, who has forged a lucrative career in crime. Hired by an international cartel of organised crime, he’s tasked with a very specific cyber-crime: to make the police’s national DNA database a tool of the criminals rather than the police.
Success demands a covert raid to hack the computer direct, but there’s a problem – the mainframe is located in Birmingham. It’s an added complication to a job for which failure is not an option. Like it or not, he and his team have no choice but to sneak through the military cordon and face the undead.
Shipman on the other hand still serves Queen and Country, but in a darker, more morally dubious capacity, as a covert, special forces operative, used to missions that venture far beyond the pale. The Major’s team has a specific objective in mind: a survivor of the plague who holds the key to a cure and more – if he can be extracted alive.
Both O’Connell and Shipman are in a race against time, and to cap it all, there’s a traitor in their midst who wants the prize for private gain, but as they head towards their objectives, and their desperate need to survive overlaps, they find themselves working together to secure survival.
Behind the scenes, powerful forces are engaged in an internecine web of intrigue to profit and control a bio-weapon of fearsome potential, but their best laid plans depend on the two men leading their teams into the heart of Armageddon, where no plan can stay the course, and only wits and courage can see any of them through.
Jeffrey has written a novel that takes the standard zombie tropes and puts them to refreshing work in the service of the intrigue and deception that reveals itself as the story progresses. Quite how this combines to make for a refreshing addition to the zombie arena would conspire to create too many spoilers here; the surest way to reveal the originality at work is to dive into this action-packed thriller.
The author has revealed that zombie stories still have some life left yet.
March 17, 2014
Zombie books have become so ubiquitous, that it really takes a very original story to really stand out. This wasn't one of them. The writing was solid and the author really took the time with backstory for even minor characters, which I really appreciated, but overall it was a fairly by the numbers rescue mission story with zombies. There was a slight twist to the story, but not enough to make it memorable. For fans of all things zombie, particularly with some military style action thrown in, this would be just the ticket. Otherwise it was a pretty average read.
May 15, 2017
A team of high class criminals have been offered 100 million by The Consortium to break in to and corrupt the National DNA Database. They are a dangerous group who know who is in the team and where to find them if the raid goes wrong or they are doublecrossed. There is a strict timetable for the attack...and just as the team are about to leave for the mission, a zombie outbreak quarantines the city, making a whole new set of problems for them...
The book starts with an animal rights protest group breaking into a lab of a rich scientist in his penthouse flat to deliver justice but instead they find that the scientist has been experimenting with something dangerous...something that has created a zombie. The hapless men manage to blow up the whole floor, leaking the zombie virus out into the city, starting an outbreak. I liked the idea of how this outbreak began.
This of course is going to cause havoc for the team as they don't know why the city has been quarantined, only that they must get through the police lines and use the chaos to their advantage. Of course they have no idea what has really happened or that the citizens are now turning into deadly zombies. As they approach police lines with a cover story, they do not know what awaits them.
Inside the burning building, a young man is battling to survive the fire and the zombies. He was a test subject for the scientist, who experimented on him with the virus in return for money and a posh flat below the penthouse and is kept around for more blood tests when needed-because he turned out to be immune. That is certainly lucky considering his current problems. Now he needs to find a way to get out and avoid being eaten but where does he go?
A military group are also on the move into the city with orders to find the boy who may be the only chance of a cure for the disaster. They know where he is but they are going to have to use the sewers to get in, unaware that the local rat population have been infected...
The action switches between each group as they try to move around the same small area of the city all with very different tasks to do. It was a bit different from the usual zombie story but had enough zombies to keep you happy, along with a conspiracy plot and the actual raid. I very much enjoy the writing of Dave Jeffery who has written a lot of excellent short stories that I've read over the last few years so it was fun to read a novella from him this time.
The book starts with an animal rights protest group breaking into a lab of a rich scientist in his penthouse flat to deliver justice but instead they find that the scientist has been experimenting with something dangerous...something that has created a zombie. The hapless men manage to blow up the whole floor, leaking the zombie virus out into the city, starting an outbreak. I liked the idea of how this outbreak began.
This of course is going to cause havoc for the team as they don't know why the city has been quarantined, only that they must get through the police lines and use the chaos to their advantage. Of course they have no idea what has really happened or that the citizens are now turning into deadly zombies. As they approach police lines with a cover story, they do not know what awaits them.
Inside the burning building, a young man is battling to survive the fire and the zombies. He was a test subject for the scientist, who experimented on him with the virus in return for money and a posh flat below the penthouse and is kept around for more blood tests when needed-because he turned out to be immune. That is certainly lucky considering his current problems. Now he needs to find a way to get out and avoid being eaten but where does he go?
A military group are also on the move into the city with orders to find the boy who may be the only chance of a cure for the disaster. They know where he is but they are going to have to use the sewers to get in, unaware that the local rat population have been infected...
The action switches between each group as they try to move around the same small area of the city all with very different tasks to do. It was a bit different from the usual zombie story but had enough zombies to keep you happy, along with a conspiracy plot and the actual raid. I very much enjoy the writing of Dave Jeffery who has written a lot of excellent short stories that I've read over the last few years so it was fun to read a novella from him this time.
November 13, 2010
Nowadays zombie books, like zombie movies, are ten a penny, so something really special has to come along before it stands knee head to the rest of the crowd, never mind head and shoulders above. The good news is Necropolis Rising, does indeed stand head and shoulders above the rest of the zombie fare. It’s like the zombie film you wish Romeo would make. Fingers crossed he, or someone else, one day will make a film of this one. Until then enjoy the class read.
March 29, 2019
The typical zombie book. I gavevread countless and this book offers nothing new to the genre. Hung ho military types, pretty ladies.. and lots of disposition and monologues to fill in character back stories. That’s the worst having to read the back story of a cookie cutter character
November 10, 2011
When two members of the Animal Activist League blow up the penthouse apartment of Dr James Whittington, they believe they’re striking a blow against a notorious vivisectionist. What they don’t realise is that Whittington is actually working on a gas which creates zombies and he’s just got a whiff of it - and their explosion is going to introduce the toxin to the good citizens of Birmingham. Once the action kicks off, the book takes in a crack squad of cyber-criminals, military officials determined to wipe England’s second city off the face of the earth and plenty of zombies (including marauding football fans) and barely pauses for breath. Jeffery writes in a brisk, easy style and is a dab hand at action scenes (of which there are several), throwing in some nice exchanges (especially between O’Connell, who’s leading the criminals and his gang) and some good gore set pieces. All in all, this is a solid novella that’s a real hark back to the pulpy, gory-glory of the Seventies (you could imagine James Herbert tackling this after “The Fog”) and it makes no apologies for that. If you like your horror as a straight-forward rollercoaster ride that’s a great deal of fun, this is the book for you and as such, I’d very much recommend it.
I should, however, add the caveat that the print edition has a fair sprinkling of typoes, which can get distracting at times.
I should, however, add the caveat that the print edition has a fair sprinkling of typoes, which can get distracting at times.
August 31, 2018
This book started off on the wrong foot for me with a misleading blurb about a team of elite cyber criminals surviving in a city overrun by zombies. What you get is a story about ex-military types shooting through a by-the-numbers zombie story. The first third of the book is interleaved with chapters that introduce an irrelevant character, give them a detailed back story, and have their face chewed off by a zombie. Those vignettes have no connection whatsoever to the larger narrative and are exemplary of my issue with the story overall which is "what's the point?". As another example, at around the 2/3 mark, a small plot twist is introduced which is then resolved a chapter or 2 later with no consequence.
The book is fairly short, but it took me months to finish because I was so intensely disinterested is how it unfolded and nothing about the ending made me want to explore this series further. I hate to trash someone's work, but even as a genre pulp novel, I can't recommend this.
The book is fairly short, but it took me months to finish because I was so intensely disinterested is how it unfolded and nothing about the ending made me want to explore this series further. I hate to trash someone's work, but even as a genre pulp novel, I can't recommend this.
August 12, 2018
Zombies and cyber crooks.
The Necropolis Rising story follows a group of cyber criminals as they enter
Birmingham to conduct their criminal affairs. Only thing is, Birmingham has been
sealed off due to a zombie infection. If you're after a story full of action, then look no further.
The Necropolis Rising story follows a group of cyber criminals as they enter
Birmingham to conduct their criminal affairs. Only thing is, Birmingham has been
sealed off due to a zombie infection. If you're after a story full of action, then look no further.
January 25, 2012
Dave Jeffery, Necropolis, vol. 1: Necropolis Rising (Dark Continents, 2011)
One of my favorite books of last year was Forrest Armstrong's The Deadheart Shelters, so I've started keeping my ear to the same ground that coughed that one up for me to see what it's rumbling about these days. The two books it most recently divulged were Matt Hults' Husk (elsewhere this ish) and Dave Jeffery's Necropolis Rising. The latter is not a bad little book, and I will admit that my rating of it is personal; I knocked it down from “slightly above average” to “dead average” because of a few personal grammatical-nitpicky quirks, which I'll get to eventually.
There's a solid premise here, and half of it you maybe haven't seen before. A genetically-engineered virus has gotten out of its lab and infected much of the city if Birmingham (UK, not US). The military think they've managed to contain it (and a competent military alone would be enough to set this story apart from most zombie tales), but there are a couple of skunks in the works. One of them is a small band of cyber-criminals being very well paid to get into Birmingham's crime lab and plant a virus. They're on a timetable, and if they don't deliver, they die. The other is a mole inside the military itself, planted there by the company engineering the virus to make sure that the one individual seemingly immune to the plague is evacuated and delivered to them.
Not bad, not bad at all. Jeffery combines the bits you do know all too well (ZOMGIMMUNESAVIOR!!!) with the Dave Jeffery Original Programming bits into a fast-paced survival-horror scenario that works most of the time. The problem is that the manuscript could have used a good editor to suggest to Jeffery when word substitutions would have been a good idea (“O'Connell was reviled by such a thought.”) or when he was using an incorrect form of a cliché (“worse case scenario” pops up once). And then there's the biggie. If I had a list of the ten golden rules for spelling and grammar, this would be on it, and if it doesn't bother you as much as it does me, than take this with a grain of salt. But please, Mr. Jeffery, and the hundreds of other writers who have done this: learn the difference between “phase” (a stage or aspect of something) and “faze” (to shock). In Mr. Jeffery's case: there is no such word as “unphased”. And yes, being the little grammar-Nazi bitch that I am, that was enough for me to dock this half a star. It's still getting a recommend, just not as strong as it would have gotten otherwise. ** ½
One of my favorite books of last year was Forrest Armstrong's The Deadheart Shelters, so I've started keeping my ear to the same ground that coughed that one up for me to see what it's rumbling about these days. The two books it most recently divulged were Matt Hults' Husk (elsewhere this ish) and Dave Jeffery's Necropolis Rising. The latter is not a bad little book, and I will admit that my rating of it is personal; I knocked it down from “slightly above average” to “dead average” because of a few personal grammatical-nitpicky quirks, which I'll get to eventually.
There's a solid premise here, and half of it you maybe haven't seen before. A genetically-engineered virus has gotten out of its lab and infected much of the city if Birmingham (UK, not US). The military think they've managed to contain it (and a competent military alone would be enough to set this story apart from most zombie tales), but there are a couple of skunks in the works. One of them is a small band of cyber-criminals being very well paid to get into Birmingham's crime lab and plant a virus. They're on a timetable, and if they don't deliver, they die. The other is a mole inside the military itself, planted there by the company engineering the virus to make sure that the one individual seemingly immune to the plague is evacuated and delivered to them.
Not bad, not bad at all. Jeffery combines the bits you do know all too well (ZOMGIMMUNESAVIOR!!!) with the Dave Jeffery Original Programming bits into a fast-paced survival-horror scenario that works most of the time. The problem is that the manuscript could have used a good editor to suggest to Jeffery when word substitutions would have been a good idea (“O'Connell was reviled by such a thought.”) or when he was using an incorrect form of a cliché (“worse case scenario” pops up once). And then there's the biggie. If I had a list of the ten golden rules for spelling and grammar, this would be on it, and if it doesn't bother you as much as it does me, than take this with a grain of salt. But please, Mr. Jeffery, and the hundreds of other writers who have done this: learn the difference between “phase” (a stage or aspect of something) and “faze” (to shock). In Mr. Jeffery's case: there is no such word as “unphased”. And yes, being the little grammar-Nazi bitch that I am, that was enough for me to dock this half a star. It's still getting a recommend, just not as strong as it would have gotten otherwise. ** ½
February 26, 2012
I read this after a recommendation from a friend – plus it was only 86p on Kindle (I think the price may be even lower now!). The same friend had recommended Hollowland, which I had really enjoyed. I do have a soft spot for a good zombie-esque book that’s a bit crap but doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The blurb sounded rather intriguing. The military have sealed off Birmingham completely – noone is getting in and noone (or nothing) is getting out…hopefully. However, there is a gang of crack cyber-criminals that need access, and nothing is going to stop them completing their mission and collecting their huge reward. Not even a military crackdown of the area they need to get to.
However, it’s not just the military that they have to contend with. A virus has swept through the city, and the inhabitants are just refusing to stay dead!
Great idea for plot, aye? Usually everyone is just trying to run away from the danger (although even in Hollowland, the heroine was trying to make her way somewhere specific).
Oh my GOD this was awful! The story was OK, but the writing could have been done by my daughter, and the proof-reading…well, that just hadn’t been done at all! There was so much that jarred against me about the writing, grammar, and glaringly obvious plot-mistakes that I couldn’t enjoy the story at all!
For example: “…at fifty nine years of age, George Mitchell had fallen in love…” but in the next paragraph “At 25 she was thirty nine years his junior...” Argh!! That’s simple maths!
Another plot mistake: “…the only child of Pauline and Arthur Everett.” but on the next page “…His mum, Joy, was anything but joyful...”. I’d wondered if he’d changed the mum’s name to Joy to avoid the same couple-name as the Fowler’s from Eastenders!
Other proof-reading errors included ‘is’ instead of ‘in’, ‘to’ instead of ‘do’, even ‘Universities’ instead of ‘University’s’ amongst many many more. And if you are going to use Robert De Niro’s name in your book – don’t spell it Nero!!
Awful!!! Perhaps later editions of the book will have all the mistakes taken out, but with them all in, reading this was such hard work I couldn’t even contemplate reading the follow-up!
The blurb sounded rather intriguing. The military have sealed off Birmingham completely – noone is getting in and noone (or nothing) is getting out…hopefully. However, there is a gang of crack cyber-criminals that need access, and nothing is going to stop them completing their mission and collecting their huge reward. Not even a military crackdown of the area they need to get to.
However, it’s not just the military that they have to contend with. A virus has swept through the city, and the inhabitants are just refusing to stay dead!
Great idea for plot, aye? Usually everyone is just trying to run away from the danger (although even in Hollowland, the heroine was trying to make her way somewhere specific).
Oh my GOD this was awful! The story was OK, but the writing could have been done by my daughter, and the proof-reading…well, that just hadn’t been done at all! There was so much that jarred against me about the writing, grammar, and glaringly obvious plot-mistakes that I couldn’t enjoy the story at all!
For example: “…at fifty nine years of age, George Mitchell had fallen in love…” but in the next paragraph “At 25 she was thirty nine years his junior...” Argh!! That’s simple maths!
Another plot mistake: “…the only child of Pauline and Arthur Everett.” but on the next page “…His mum, Joy, was anything but joyful...”. I’d wondered if he’d changed the mum’s name to Joy to avoid the same couple-name as the Fowler’s from Eastenders!
Other proof-reading errors included ‘is’ instead of ‘in’, ‘to’ instead of ‘do’, even ‘Universities’ instead of ‘University’s’ amongst many many more. And if you are going to use Robert De Niro’s name in your book – don’t spell it Nero!!
Awful!!! Perhaps later editions of the book will have all the mistakes taken out, but with them all in, reading this was such hard work I couldn’t even contemplate reading the follow-up!
August 25, 2011
"Necropolis Rising" stars out as your typical zombie fare, but Dave Jeffery does a great job of infusing it with memorable characters and - believe it or not - intrigue (not exactly a staple of the zombie genre).
Birmingham, UK is the site of the latest zombie plague and the military quickly has the city locked down. Good for England, bad for a group of cyber-criminals who have been paid to do a job there by people who aren't too keen on hearing about unforeseen zombie plagues. Faced with the daunting task of getting past a military blockade just to get to a zombie horde that they have to battle their way through, they plunge in headlong. Meanwhile, the military has their own team moving into the city on another mission that just may find both groups butting heads - all while the nebulous Phoenix Corporation plays their own little games behind the scenes. The story threatened to jump the shark and get cheesy, but stick with it, Jeffery takes the plot line to the cliff's edge and turns back masterfully.
The storytelling is phenomenal as Jeffery manages to write cliffhangers into the pages. It's not often that a book can surprise you with its twists and turns, but this one does it. The pacing is perfect and the characters really come to life with their own flaws, schemes and motives. The editing was surprisingly poor (a bizarre number of typos and errors) but even a stickler like me looked past them. The short prelude was a nice addition - I'm looking forward to the sequel, I'm wondering where he can go from here.
Birmingham, UK is the site of the latest zombie plague and the military quickly has the city locked down. Good for England, bad for a group of cyber-criminals who have been paid to do a job there by people who aren't too keen on hearing about unforeseen zombie plagues. Faced with the daunting task of getting past a military blockade just to get to a zombie horde that they have to battle their way through, they plunge in headlong. Meanwhile, the military has their own team moving into the city on another mission that just may find both groups butting heads - all while the nebulous Phoenix Corporation plays their own little games behind the scenes. The story threatened to jump the shark and get cheesy, but stick with it, Jeffery takes the plot line to the cliff's edge and turns back masterfully.
The storytelling is phenomenal as Jeffery manages to write cliffhangers into the pages. It's not often that a book can surprise you with its twists and turns, but this one does it. The pacing is perfect and the characters really come to life with their own flaws, schemes and motives. The editing was surprisingly poor (a bizarre number of typos and errors) but even a stickler like me looked past them. The short prelude was a nice addition - I'm looking forward to the sequel, I'm wondering where he can go from here.
May 25, 2012
Necropolis Rising has some unique points for a zombie book - mad scientists, bio-terrorism, bounty hunters, all in one book - should be any zombiephile's fantasy, right?
Unfortunately the focus of Necropolis Rising, for me, was just a little too Boys Own - heavy on military ops, conspiracy and loyalties that change more often than we change our socks, I spent most of this book either confused or feeling completely disconnected from the characters, who were all far too indistinguishable from each other. I wanted more zombies, and more character development - which is a big ask in such a short book, but Necropolis Rising could have easily accommodated another 50 pages to really pull me into the story.
But this is a well written story - despite multiple POVs, the action is intense and doesn't let up from the first page until the last. The story of Suzie and O'Connell is intriguing and real - this could have been a real heartbreaker with a little bit more flesh.
If you like some wierd science and conspiracy theory in your zombie books, you might want to try Necropolis Rising. But if you're looking to satisfy your zombie craving, this may not be the book for you.
Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie
Unfortunately the focus of Necropolis Rising, for me, was just a little too Boys Own - heavy on military ops, conspiracy and loyalties that change more often than we change our socks, I spent most of this book either confused or feeling completely disconnected from the characters, who were all far too indistinguishable from each other. I wanted more zombies, and more character development - which is a big ask in such a short book, but Necropolis Rising could have easily accommodated another 50 pages to really pull me into the story.
But this is a well written story - despite multiple POVs, the action is intense and doesn't let up from the first page until the last. The story of Suzie and O'Connell is intriguing and real - this could have been a real heartbreaker with a little bit more flesh.
If you like some wierd science and conspiracy theory in your zombie books, you might want to try Necropolis Rising. But if you're looking to satisfy your zombie craving, this may not be the book for you.
Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie
March 24, 2014
After finishing Necropolis Rising, I was overcome with one thought... 'I need to find out what happens next!' I didn't realise quite how much I'd invested in the characters until I turned the final page and there just weren't any more words.
Dave Jeffrey's treatment of a zombie outbreak in a city that I know fairly well was, at the same time, both horrifically accurate and strangely comforting. I will be buying the next volume, Necromancer, as soon as I have got my 'Stack of books that need reading next' down to a more manageable height.
If you're a fan of zombies, military procedurals or you just don't like Birmingham very much Necropolis Rising should be high on your list of books to read.
Dave Jeffrey's treatment of a zombie outbreak in a city that I know fairly well was, at the same time, both horrifically accurate and strangely comforting. I will be buying the next volume, Necromancer, as soon as I have got my 'Stack of books that need reading next' down to a more manageable height.
If you're a fan of zombies, military procedurals or you just don't like Birmingham very much Necropolis Rising should be high on your list of books to read.
January 17, 2013
I'm not sure if this book was slow in the beginning or if it just took me a little longer to get into the story but once things picked up (or I got into the story) I really did enjoy this book. There are some formatting issues as well as grammatical issues but those could be easily fixed in a second edition with a really good editor. If you are willing and can overlook them then give this book a read. No, it isn't the best ever written but this author has potential.
March 19, 2012
This was a different type of zombie book to the usual fare. It was set in the UK which I quite enjoyed and the first chapter got my attention and the rest of the book held my attention. Sure there were some grammatical errors but they didn't spoil my enjoyment of roaring along with the story. Good job - looking forward to the follow up novel.
April 2, 2017
To short to be a novel
Also do a little research, during an autopsy the skull is cut open and the brain removed. A chunk is taken for testing, the rest is placed in a biohazard bag with the leftovers from the other organs and placed in the stomach cavity. The body is then sown shut. A bunch of your zombies would never have become zombies due to this fact.
Also do a little research, during an autopsy the skull is cut open and the brain removed. A chunk is taken for testing, the rest is placed in a biohazard bag with the leftovers from the other organs and placed in the stomach cavity. The body is then sown shut. A bunch of your zombies would never have become zombies due to this fact.
May 16, 2012
a good straightforward story set in against the backdrop of an emerging zombie breakout.
my favorite part is the idea of a stadium full of City and Villa fans all been zombified on derby day then being let loose on the rest of the city! Genius.
my favorite part is the idea of a stadium full of City and Villa fans all been zombified on derby day then being let loose on the rest of the city! Genius.
June 13, 2011
Good tale of a zombie plague in Birmingham, UK let down in parts by typos and errors but still a hugely enjoyable read.
May 24, 2011
Interesting British zombie story with a bit of a twist. Very readable.
June 10, 2011
Not as original as I hoped, but readable. Waiting for part 2.
September 24, 2011
The Zombie Apocalypse starts in Birmingham.
Professional-quality writing, excellent characterisation.
Professional-quality writing, excellent characterisation.
October 6, 2011
i got really board with this book :(
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