The Dead [Paperback]

I am a big fan of zombie fiction. I have read most of what Amazon has to offer and will continue to seek out more as more product is produced. After reading some of the reviews of this book, I was pretty prepared to be disappointed in this novel as a real diversion from standard zombie fiction that gets preachy and rather annoying. I was happily mistaken in that presumption.

Certainly, this book utilizes christianity as a background with which to play with. The dead here are angry, vicious, damned souls that want nothing more than to destroy the rest of humanity, to pull them down to their own cursed level instead of being mindless flesh eaters. They rip and tear at people but do not devour them-it is not their purpose to consume the living but to have them join them in their agony.

Unlike "The Rising" and "City of the Dead" by Brian Keene, you do not get the sense that these cursed souls from the abyss or their demon overseer are being forced to act like Romero zombies because the author wants to bridge the gap between Romero and the Bible. At least that is not the sense I got. I am not saying that Brian Keene didn't do a good job of it, but this felt more biblical, more epic in nature. I got the feeling that the Mark Rogers created these creatures and felt no need to slap an added layer of "varnish" on them to make them more like other similar creatures in other works.

I would agree that the main characters do fit into some stereotypical molds-the agnostic, the atheist, the religious zealots, etc. It did not detract from the overall story though. They were only stereotypes on the surface-the character development was still satisfactory and individualized these people quite well. The ones that must fight to live after the "rapture" have to find ways to escape the ever increasing army of the dead and find ways to come to grips with this new reality-that they must change their beliefs, their attitudes if they want to transcend it. Survival here is not the true goal, at least not on this plane of existence.

Obviously, this is not your typical zombie work and if you go into it expecting that, like some other reviewers, you will probably be upset and feel you were jipped. Especially if you feel like the author is somehow getting all "high and mighty" with his message. In my view, it was very well done though. You don't have to agree with the christian view points or perceptions of the apocalypse to find this work interesting to say the least and quite an fun action adventure to boot. The action sequences are well written and keep things moving at a rapid pace.

Some have said there was a lot of editing errors in this book. I just read "Zombies in my Hometown" and I can say with all honestly this book is infinitely superior as far as the editing is concerned to many of the books out there in the genre. Yes, there were spelling errors and I got the sense that the font was changed before the book went to press and some of the words were jammed together because of it, but unless you cannot tolerate a few mistakes here and there, you should be able to get through it with minimal anguish. After all the self published zombie works I have read lately, I consider this book towards the higher end of the scale as far as editing is concerned. Of course, compared to highly polished works produced by big publishing houses it is lacking, but again it is nothing that will really bog you down.

I am a person who enjoys a lively debate; a good argument about religion and philosophy. While some of the conversations going on in this novel did seem a bit contrived they still brought up interesting points of view and commentary that was stimulating to read through. I don't have to agree with everything put in print or get angry at someone for speaking out for something I might disagree with so none of it upset me. I honestly did not feel that the author was preaching but was posing different ideas and giving his characters the passion to state them.

I will state for the record that my opinions are influenced by the fact that I grew up Catholic-went to Catholic schools, the whole nine yards. As I grew to adulthood I spent a great deal of time questioning my own and other religions and am not a practicing Catholic or a member of any other churches at this time. Despite that, I am always interested and open to various view points on both God and religion and so reading this book was, for me, an interesting exploration of both of those topics.

As I stated in the title of my review, this book is fun, fast paced, and different than a "normal" zombie novel. If you are generally open to seeking out something a little different in the undead realm that has some religious undertones to it you might enjoy it, but if you are looking for just a traditional undead tale with no hint of the "wrath of God" then this book might not be to your taste.

From the man who brought the world the genius of the Samurai Cat series comes this horror novel about the Rapture. Written in the late 1980s, this was reissued in 2000 by a small print-on-demand publisher who clearly have no editors to catch spelling errors. That quibble aside, the book is pretty well-written. It tells the story of two brothers in a seaside NJ town, back there with family to bury their father. Suddenly the sun gets ulcerous, the righteous vanish from the Earth, and the dead rise from their graves and form an army to take over the planet from the living. Hunted through the houses and sewers of suburban Jersey, the family blows away walking, talking corpses while simultaneously having long, drawn-out discussions with a priest about faith, God, the Bible, and other religions. It is precisely these monologues which grind the narrative to a halt. It's great that the book has more on its mind than a gorefest, but I found myself getting frustrated when the characters kept acting like one-dimensional props (e.g. "I am a militant atheist, hear me roar!") and treading the same ground in their arguments, over and over. Still, this is a fun book and its short length means you can plow through it in a couple of days. It's definitely worth checking out for fans of the fear-based book genres and zombie tales in general.

I met Mark Rogers at a fiction convention. Bored and sensing a kindred spirit, I hung around Mark's table, a little lost in the swirl of all the agents, publishers, and hopeful authors like myself.

When I mentioned that I write book reviews, Mark offered me not just one book, but all of them - literally, the entire pile of books he had on his table. I just couldn't do take him up on his offer; as much as I'd love to write reviews for all of his books, the odds of me finishing any of them in a reasonable period of time (say, before I see him again in a year at another convention) were low. So I only picked up a few. Then he asked me the magic question: "Are there are any in particular you're interested in?"

I pointed at The Dead, with its disturbing cover of a wicked-looking dead man. And thus I became acquainted with Mark's style of horror.

Mark is what I like to call a double-threat. Mark's not just an artist; he's an amazing talent reminiscent of Frank Frazetta. After reading The Dead, it's apparent that he's also an exceptional author. It just isn't fair!

When I picked up The Dead, Mark warned me "there are typos." That's not entirely true. I found only one actual misspelling. But something happened during layout, such that every few paragraphs two words run together. Somehow, these kinds of errors offend me far less than misspellings.

I expected a zombie book. In fact, I was intrigued how one writes a zombie-themed novel. After awhile the zombies have to get a little boring, right? What I got instead was something completely different: a good old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone tale of the apocalypse, complete with the dead walking the earth to claim souls for Hell.

The Dead is basically a morality play, detailing the efforts of a few tough characters strong enough to survive. All the familiar apocalyptic elements are here, from nature reclaiming technology to good people suddenly spirited away to Heaven, from preachers touting the end of the world to survivalists loaded with artillery. They're all front and center in The Dead, and Mark gleefully kills them off one by one.

Mark's greatest skill is in his imagery. He has an artist's talent for visualizing the indescribable; his description of the palpable evil that one of the zombies gives off, like "that scene in Indiana Jones where the Nazi pugilist is about to hit the whirling blade" will stick with me for the rest of my life. Mark doesn't just describe events; he actually paints pictures of them in your mind, filling in every color and texture.

The book isn't perfect, however. Some characters (notably the wife of the protagonist) seem undeveloped, while others (Steve) show up out of nowhere. The events of the world are summarized in narration rather than left a mystery, which detracts from some of the horror. For those seeking definitive answers as to which side Rogers comes down on philosophically, he dodges the question: what happens to all those folks who aren't Christian? Good question...

Still, The Dead is a terrifying tale, especially so for Roman Catholics with a healthy dose of Italian guilt. You'll never look at your zombies the same way again.

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