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Dead Earth #2
Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road
When you’ve lost everything, the only thing left is vengeance.Invaders from another world have used demonic technology to raise an unholy conquering army of the living dead. These “necros” destroyed Jubal Slate’s home and everyone he loved. Now the only thing that matters to Slate is payback. No matter how far he has to go or how many undead warriors he must slaughter, Slate and his motley band of followers will stop at nothing to end the reign of the aliens.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 30, 2012
Review to come.
December 2, 2010
I have not read what I understand to be a novella that started the Dead Earth Series, entitled "Dead Earth: The Green Dawn", but the authors did a commendable job bringing me up to speed with what happened in the first story through much of this novel, without any need for a prologue. What that translates to for someone who does forgo the first book is an immediate jump into the action with a story filled with zombies controlled by an alien invasion force dubbed "Necros" (short for Necromancers), by the few surviving humans who remain.
There are two groups of survivors at the outset of this tale. One group is made up of bikers running free and trying to avoid getting eaten while roaming around the Mexican desert in Baja California. Lead by Luther Kemp, there is friction between him and another member of this ragtag gang, whose nickname is Mother...and he is one big Mother, that is for sure. Mother only wants company because there is safety in numbers, while Kemp has bigger plans. The other group is led by a former sheriff's deputy from New Mexico named Jubal Slate. Jubal is bound and determined to make his way up to Area 51 in Nevada, where the aliens apparently broke through into our dimension, started changing the atmosphere, and raising the dead to help in the take over of humanity.
It seems that those who have survived have some immunity from turning into zombies-they can be bit and survive, though if allowed to die, they to turn in the end. It is an interesting slant, and allows for a few gruesome scenes where I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
Not long into the story, Luther Kemp is bequeathed a gift from one of the Necros, who fly in glider-type machines, as his band of renegades is surrounded by a zombie horde. A metallic band that adheres to his head, giving him power over the undead and the ability to read the minds of the living, as long as he follows the commands of these New Lords over the Dead Earth. That is about the time that Mother realizes that he wants nothing to do with Luther or his little band of devotees, as Kemp decides that he is pretty tickled to serve his new alien masters, as long as he is given power over both the dead and the living humans.
The two groups clash throughout the rest of the story, with both sides making the trek north from Mexico up to Nevada. There is plenty of gory zombie action and interesting variations on that due to the alien influence on the story. The near future time frame add little hints about the earth technology left behind, and we get a big dose of it from one of the secondary characters, who has the ability to tap into the ever diminishing world wide web through a chip implanted in his head. I enjoyed the pacing of the story-it was a fun and easy read. My criticisms of it are mostly tied to whether or not this book is the final chapter in this saga or not. My belief is that based on a very revealing chapter near the end, when a lot of divulged about the aliens and their plans for earth, that this series will continue. Also, without providing a spoiler, I felt that one character's departure from the story was rather anticlimactic and my guess is that they will return in a future installment. If, however, this is where it all ends, I would be disappointed that there isn't more to be revealed. My guess is that isn't the case, though the authors certainly hit a dramatic stopping point which would allow them to leave things as is if that is the route they choose to go.
I felt that the three main characters in this story were all fairly well developed. Jubal taking the fight to aliens and undead was a refreshing change from what we typically see-there is rarely a main target to focus on during the zombie apocalypse, so seeing someone willing to do whatever it takes to undo the undead and the enemies of man was enjoyable to see-he was on his own personal Jihad. I liked the morphing Luther Kemp, as the necro technology he is gifted with starts changing and empowering him in twisted and devious ways. He goes from being a run of the mill sociopath to someone with an almost religious zeal and devotion to his new masters that is frightening. And my favorite character is Mother, the scarred, imperfect, reluctant hero that goes through hell and comes out of it looking for vengeance. He was the most developed and complex of the three, and also the most human of the bunch.
I do look forward to seeing where the Dead Earth series goes, and hope to hear about the promise of another installment from the authors somewhere in the not so distant future.
There are two groups of survivors at the outset of this tale. One group is made up of bikers running free and trying to avoid getting eaten while roaming around the Mexican desert in Baja California. Lead by Luther Kemp, there is friction between him and another member of this ragtag gang, whose nickname is Mother...and he is one big Mother, that is for sure. Mother only wants company because there is safety in numbers, while Kemp has bigger plans. The other group is led by a former sheriff's deputy from New Mexico named Jubal Slate. Jubal is bound and determined to make his way up to Area 51 in Nevada, where the aliens apparently broke through into our dimension, started changing the atmosphere, and raising the dead to help in the take over of humanity.
It seems that those who have survived have some immunity from turning into zombies-they can be bit and survive, though if allowed to die, they to turn in the end. It is an interesting slant, and allows for a few gruesome scenes where I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
Not long into the story, Luther Kemp is bequeathed a gift from one of the Necros, who fly in glider-type machines, as his band of renegades is surrounded by a zombie horde. A metallic band that adheres to his head, giving him power over the undead and the ability to read the minds of the living, as long as he follows the commands of these New Lords over the Dead Earth. That is about the time that Mother realizes that he wants nothing to do with Luther or his little band of devotees, as Kemp decides that he is pretty tickled to serve his new alien masters, as long as he is given power over both the dead and the living humans.
The two groups clash throughout the rest of the story, with both sides making the trek north from Mexico up to Nevada. There is plenty of gory zombie action and interesting variations on that due to the alien influence on the story. The near future time frame add little hints about the earth technology left behind, and we get a big dose of it from one of the secondary characters, who has the ability to tap into the ever diminishing world wide web through a chip implanted in his head. I enjoyed the pacing of the story-it was a fun and easy read. My criticisms of it are mostly tied to whether or not this book is the final chapter in this saga or not. My belief is that based on a very revealing chapter near the end, when a lot of divulged about the aliens and their plans for earth, that this series will continue. Also, without providing a spoiler, I felt that one character's departure from the story was rather anticlimactic and my guess is that they will return in a future installment. If, however, this is where it all ends, I would be disappointed that there isn't more to be revealed. My guess is that isn't the case, though the authors certainly hit a dramatic stopping point which would allow them to leave things as is if that is the route they choose to go.
I felt that the three main characters in this story were all fairly well developed. Jubal taking the fight to aliens and undead was a refreshing change from what we typically see-there is rarely a main target to focus on during the zombie apocalypse, so seeing someone willing to do whatever it takes to undo the undead and the enemies of man was enjoyable to see-he was on his own personal Jihad. I liked the morphing Luther Kemp, as the necro technology he is gifted with starts changing and empowering him in twisted and devious ways. He goes from being a run of the mill sociopath to someone with an almost religious zeal and devotion to his new masters that is frightening. And my favorite character is Mother, the scarred, imperfect, reluctant hero that goes through hell and comes out of it looking for vengeance. He was the most developed and complex of the three, and also the most human of the bunch.
I do look forward to seeing where the Dead Earth series goes, and hope to hear about the promise of another installment from the authors somewhere in the not so distant future.
October 22, 2018
Good sequel
I give it three stars because it was an enjoyable read. At times raucous and bloody, and at other times tender and sad. I liked this series.
I give it three stars because it was an enjoyable read. At times raucous and bloody, and at other times tender and sad. I liked this series.
June 16, 2014
The Vengeance Road is the second book in the Dead Earth series by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks. In this installment, the main character, Jubal, takes on a lesser role as more characters are introduced. Though his role is not as prominent as it is in Dead Earth: The Green Dawn, Jubal's determination to avenge those responsible for the death of his friends and family is stronger than ever. Jubal journeys back to the United States with other survivors who have the same objective: to do all they can to hinder the aliens and their undead army, no matter the cost.
Jubal and his group are not the only ones making their way north to Nevada-- a vile group of bikers led by a twisted individual named Luther Kemp is also making the journey. This group is not seeking revenge, however. Kemp's objective is to gain followers and soldiers for the alien lords. Those who refuse to follow as one of the living are forced into service as one of the walking dead. Kemp's ability to control the dead allows him to add more "soldiers" with each town he and his group encounter.
There is a lot to like about The Vengeance Road. I'm glad the authors added more characters to the story line as compared to the first book in the series. The characters are well-developed and believable. I found the protagonists to be endearing and the bad guys to be especially scary. There is plenty of action and some very tense moments in the story, making it an exciting read. There were a couple missing paragraphs in my copy of the book, which may be due to the format in which I received it. Aside from a couple minor errors, the editing is well-done.
There are a few things I did not like about The Vengeance Road. My biggest issue with this book has to do with inconsistencies in the story line. During a couple of the zombie attacks, one character is surrounded by the undead, engaged in the fight of his/her life. Meanwhile, the other characters in the immediate area are left alone by the hordes. How does that happen?!
The biggest inconsistency in the book involves the character, Mike. At one point, it's implied he is hiding a big secret from the rest of his group. I kept waiting to find out what this secret was, but by the end of the book, it was still a secret. I know there is a third book, but for reasons I won't get into, I doubt this character will be part of that story. It will be interesting to see if the third book addresses Mike's secret. If it does, I will revisit this review and remove this paragraph. If the paragraph is still here, well...
Overall, I liked Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road. I gave it four stars because it is well-written, exciting, somewhat original, and the characters are well-developed. The reason I did not give the book five stars is because of its inconsistencies.
Jubal and his group are not the only ones making their way north to Nevada-- a vile group of bikers led by a twisted individual named Luther Kemp is also making the journey. This group is not seeking revenge, however. Kemp's objective is to gain followers and soldiers for the alien lords. Those who refuse to follow as one of the living are forced into service as one of the walking dead. Kemp's ability to control the dead allows him to add more "soldiers" with each town he and his group encounter.
There is a lot to like about The Vengeance Road. I'm glad the authors added more characters to the story line as compared to the first book in the series. The characters are well-developed and believable. I found the protagonists to be endearing and the bad guys to be especially scary. There is plenty of action and some very tense moments in the story, making it an exciting read. There were a couple missing paragraphs in my copy of the book, which may be due to the format in which I received it. Aside from a couple minor errors, the editing is well-done.
There are a few things I did not like about The Vengeance Road. My biggest issue with this book has to do with inconsistencies in the story line. During a couple of the zombie attacks, one character is surrounded by the undead, engaged in the fight of his/her life. Meanwhile, the other characters in the immediate area are left alone by the hordes. How does that happen?!
The biggest inconsistency in the book involves the character, Mike. At one point, it's implied he is hiding a big secret from the rest of his group. I kept waiting to find out what this secret was, but by the end of the book, it was still a secret. I know there is a third book, but for reasons I won't get into, I doubt this character will be part of that story. It will be interesting to see if the third book addresses Mike's secret. If it does, I will revisit this review and remove this paragraph. If the paragraph is still here, well...
Overall, I liked Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road. I gave it four stars because it is well-written, exciting, somewhat original, and the characters are well-developed. The reason I did not give the book five stars is because of its inconsistencies.
September 28, 2011
The Earth has been invaded by aliens, who are using their advanced technology to raise an army of the living dead. Jubal Slate's home and everyone he loved was destroyed with this onslaught and he is out for vengeance. Along the way Slate takes on a small group of survivors who are willing to go with him to assist in taking out their enemy. As the small band trudges along they not only come have to fend off the flesh eating undead, but they learn that the aliens have bestowed some of their technology onto certain human survivors allowing them to control the hordes of undead. Now, the undead and their human leaders are heading to the same place where Slate and his crew believe to be ground zero.
Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road was a bit rough for this reader to get through, as I didn't really like any of the characters. Jubal Slate and Jewel were the most likable characters. For Slate having lost all he loved in life, his mission is not necessarily to survive in this world, but to seek out revenge for what has happened. He has hardened himself to caring about anyone for fear of losing them as he did before. Jewel was a doll with a lot of spunk and kindness. She knew her way around firearms and wasn't afraid to take up arms and defend herself or her makeshift family. Jewel's brother Mike could have been VERY interesting, but I don't feel he was used to his potential until entirely too late. (my opinion) Mother was a big burly biker who found himself an unlucky "member" of a gang who's already psycho leader is given the ability to lead the undead as well.
The undead in Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road were your typical slow moving, rotting pieces of flesh that just so happen to want to munch on you for dinner. The gore was pretty tame, but there were a couple of wonderfully written action sequences. Nobody did anything overly heroic...mostly they just did what any other person would do if in the same situation. While I know there are people out there who would not be able to function in this world, it irritates me to no end to read about them. I'm sorry, the world has ended, yes we are all scared...now stop hiding and screaming, grab a damn gun and shoot some zombies. The aliens, who are the creatures who brought all this death and destruction onto this world didn't play a big role at all. I found this interesting as I just figured that with them taking over the world and creating an undead army there would be a bigger role for them.
Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road was a bit rough for this reader to get through, as I didn't really like any of the characters. Jubal Slate and Jewel were the most likable characters. For Slate having lost all he loved in life, his mission is not necessarily to survive in this world, but to seek out revenge for what has happened. He has hardened himself to caring about anyone for fear of losing them as he did before. Jewel was a doll with a lot of spunk and kindness. She knew her way around firearms and wasn't afraid to take up arms and defend herself or her makeshift family. Jewel's brother Mike could have been VERY interesting, but I don't feel he was used to his potential until entirely too late. (my opinion) Mother was a big burly biker who found himself an unlucky "member" of a gang who's already psycho leader is given the ability to lead the undead as well.
The undead in Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road were your typical slow moving, rotting pieces of flesh that just so happen to want to munch on you for dinner. The gore was pretty tame, but there were a couple of wonderfully written action sequences. Nobody did anything overly heroic...mostly they just did what any other person would do if in the same situation. While I know there are people out there who would not be able to function in this world, it irritates me to no end to read about them. I'm sorry, the world has ended, yes we are all scared...now stop hiding and screaming, grab a damn gun and shoot some zombies. The aliens, who are the creatures who brought all this death and destruction onto this world didn't play a big role at all. I found this interesting as I just figured that with them taking over the world and creating an undead army there would be a bigger role for them.
November 27, 2016
Dead Earth: Vengeance Road is the second (and final?) book in Mark Justice and David Wilbanks' zombie series, which tells the story of Earth in the not too distant future. A military experiment has accidentally opened a gateway to an alien world, and the aliens have wreaked havoc on Earth by unleashing a plague that changes the infected into ravenous zombies.
Zombie 411: These are your basic Romero-style zombies. They're slow, rotting, mindless, and have an insatiable appetite for human flesh. There are some differences that may turn off some traditionalists, such as the fact that a zombie bite can, but doesn't necessarily have to, turn the victim into a zombie. There's also the fact that the zombies can be controlled by alien technology. That right there is typically a deal-breaker for me, but in this case it really did add to the story.
In Vengeance Road, we meet two groups of survivors. One is a gang of thugs and bikers, led by the charismatic but very unstable Luther Kemp. Kemp has been given dominion over the undead by the alien invaders, and is on a quest to make himself the master of an undead army. The other group of survivors is led by Jubal, a young man bent on vengeance for his slain family and determined to take the fight to the enemy. Naturally these two bands cross paths, fighting a bloody path to the source of the plague - the legendary Area 51.
I missed the first book in the series (Dead Earth: The Green Dawn), but there was surprisingly little catching up to do. Jubal's band obviously had a back story, but the story in Vengeance Road didn't depend on it. It's extremely easy to get drawn into these characters and lost in the story before you even realize there is some missing back story. And by that time, you pretty much know what you need to plow through to the epic finale.
It's not your typical zombie tale, but I enjoyed Dead Earth: Vengeance Road. It had enough of the genre's trademarks to be familiar, enough innovation to keep things fresh (well, not the walking dead, of course), and the combination of vibrant characters and exciting action sequences kept my interest from start to finish.
Zombie 411: These are your basic Romero-style zombies. They're slow, rotting, mindless, and have an insatiable appetite for human flesh. There are some differences that may turn off some traditionalists, such as the fact that a zombie bite can, but doesn't necessarily have to, turn the victim into a zombie. There's also the fact that the zombies can be controlled by alien technology. That right there is typically a deal-breaker for me, but in this case it really did add to the story.
In Vengeance Road, we meet two groups of survivors. One is a gang of thugs and bikers, led by the charismatic but very unstable Luther Kemp. Kemp has been given dominion over the undead by the alien invaders, and is on a quest to make himself the master of an undead army. The other group of survivors is led by Jubal, a young man bent on vengeance for his slain family and determined to take the fight to the enemy. Naturally these two bands cross paths, fighting a bloody path to the source of the plague - the legendary Area 51.
I missed the first book in the series (Dead Earth: The Green Dawn), but there was surprisingly little catching up to do. Jubal's band obviously had a back story, but the story in Vengeance Road didn't depend on it. It's extremely easy to get drawn into these characters and lost in the story before you even realize there is some missing back story. And by that time, you pretty much know what you need to plow through to the epic finale.
It's not your typical zombie tale, but I enjoyed Dead Earth: Vengeance Road. It had enough of the genre's trademarks to be familiar, enough innovation to keep things fresh (well, not the walking dead, of course), and the combination of vibrant characters and exciting action sequences kept my interest from start to finish.
March 21, 2012
For those who love books about zombies and/or post-apocalyptic fiction, you might want to read Dead Earth: The Green Dawn and Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks. I read DE:TGD twice since I didn't get to read it all at once the first time around and I enjoyed it even more on the second reading, then I read DE:TVR and just finished it... LOVED IT! Left me wanting more, as any good story should! Fans of The Walking Dead tv series, or of any zombie or post-apocalyptic movies will enjoy the books, too! I have one in Kindle ebook format and the other in trade paperback format, but I plan on buying DE: TVR in ebook format soon, so I can read it anytime/anywhere and I'm sure I'll be reading them both again at least once before the next book in the series comes out... Looking forward to it, guys!
January 16, 2023
Fun all-out apocalyptic zombiefest continues where the authors’ "Dead Earth: The Green Dawn" leaves off. This time around, the authors greatly expand the cast and scope of their story, to good effect. Strong and novel sci-fi elements help separate this from run-of-the-mill zombie fare.
November 21, 2012
Good book. The way it ended it needs a follow up book
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