Zombies.
I used to love them. Ever since I first watched Night of the Living Dead, way back in the mid-1970s. It came on an off UHF channel and the picture was snowy. The movie seemed like a bad transmission of a news bulletin in the midst of a societal breakdown. It scared the hell out of me.
Dawn of the Dead? Yeah. I saw it on a midnight show, back in the days when there was unbridled chaos at theaters. Wild movies, deranged audiences, open use of drugs and alcohol. It was an amazing experience, and saying that I loved Dawn of the Dead is a massive understatement.
And yes, Day of the Dead. Perhaps the movie wasn't what George Romero hoped it would be, but I thought, and continue to think, it is great. I caught up with this one on VHS.
Three groundbreaking movies, each a scathing portrayal of the times in which they were made.
The imitators came along, an outbreak in its own way. The Italians were quick to follow Romero's lead, and Lucio Fulci's gorehound classics, Zombie and The Beyond, remain the very best. Sequels ensued, as well as turgid but entertaining affairs like Burial Ground, Night of the Zombies, Apocalypse domani, Oasis of the Zombies, Hell of the Living Dead, Nightmare City, Zombies Holocaust, Zombie Lake. I must have seen them all.
Zombie fiction got a later start. I remember how amazing it was when John Skipp and Craig Spector unleashed The Book of the Dead onto the horror scene. An anthology of zombie-themed short stories, and it was full of heavy-hitters. Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Laymon, and Joe R. Lansdale graced its pages. What genre author would not have wanted to be in such a book in 1989? A sequel to The Book of the Dead hit the stands a few years later, and it was just as good as the first volume. Maybe even better.
In 1993 Philip Nutman expanded his short story from the first Book of the Dead, Wet Work, into a full-length novel. I don't believe he is given enough credit for it.
Then, years later, after the turn of the century, a few catalysts occurred. Danny Boyle directed 28 Days Later, a movie that featured fast zombies. In 2004 a very successful remake of Dawn of the Dead was released. Brian Keene wrote a zombie novel, The Rising, which came out in 2003.
I enjoyed all of them, but the aftermath was a true pandemic of zombie movies and books. You couldn't swing a corpse in the horror genre without smacking numerous stories of the walking dead. Zombies became mainstream. There were some good books and movies. And there were a lot of bad ones.
And, yes, as everyone knows, George Romero did another trilogy of zombie movies. The results were, unfortunately, not as successful as the early Night, Dawn, Day movies George directed.
I was on board for Land of the Dead, seeing it twice in theaters. Of course it wasn't even close to the delirious highs of the early movies, but I liked it. I was even reasonably entertained by Diary of the Dead. I tried not to be too critical. Then there was Survival of the Dead, which I hated. I believe I need to go back and give this one another chance.
Now we are here in the bleak days of 2020. Zombie books and movies have died down in popularity. Just in time for a behemoth of a novel from none other than George Romero and Daniel Kraus called The Living Dead.
I had been rabidly waiting to read The Living Dead, and I received an advance copy back in January. Yet 2020 had some nasty surprises of its own for us. I was reluctant to read a book about a zombie apocalypse when the planet was in the grip of a medical pandemic. Being "essential" I had to continue to work while so many others were furloughed. It was frightening and stressful, and so I held off on starting The Living Dead. Then came a racial crisis in America. So much pain, so much outrage, so much heartbreak. A whole lot of fear. That's been the first half of 2020.
After having The Living Dead in my possession for around four months, I finally jumped into it.
The first question on horror fans' minds will be this: Can The Living Dead be as good as George Romero's original Dead trilogy? The answer is, no, it isn't.
It's better.
High praise indeed, and I am trying to avoid overselling this novel. I can't help it. I have nothing but raves for The Living Dead.
George's movies reflect the times in which they were made, and The Living Dead is almost unbelievably timely. This book could not come out at a more appropriate time. The authors tackle big themes like race, the media, dependence on gadgetry, guns, religion, gender, and countless other timely issues.
And satire? Whoo boy, The Living Dead is a searing look at today's culture, and the living death of so many lives.
Gorehounds will be amply rewarded by endless scenes of zombie carnage, yet the novel goes into directions few could predict. It's philosophical. I'm still, days after completing the book, contemplating many of the concepts in the complex story.
The second half of The Living Dead is less concerned with zombified violence. It focuses on the development of a more ideal society. I'm reminded of Swan Song. The Stand. Maybe George R. Stewart's Earth Abides most of all. This is the book Justin Cronin's The Passage could have been.
There is a tapestry of richly drawn characters. This is a vastly moving book, as powerful and emotional as a great Robert McCammon novel. It might even be better than that.
Romero fans will be delighted by various nods to his earlier works. These passages added layers of fun to an often somber narrative.
Another question arises. Where did George Romero leave off and at what points did Daniel Kraus jump in? Collaborations are often choppy affairs. This book is seamless. I am not wasting a minute's effort trying to figure it out.
I'm sure a lot of horror writers, most perhaps, would have given various body parts to have a chance to complete a George Romero zombie novel. I do not believe anyone could have done a better job than Daniel Kraus. I've been a fan for a long time, and he is one of the best writers working today. It's time more horror readers became aware of how good he is.
I've lost most of my faith in the Stoker process. If The Living Dead does not win Best Novel, I will lose all of it. This is the horror novel of the year. If not the entire decade.
Written by Mark Sieber
I used to love them. Ever since I first watched Night of the Living Dead, way back in the mid-1970s. It came on an off UHF channel and the picture was snowy. The movie seemed like a bad transmission of a news bulletin in the midst of a societal breakdown. It scared the hell out of me.
Dawn of the Dead? Yeah. I saw it on a midnight show, back in the days when there was unbridled chaos at theaters. Wild movies, deranged audiences, open use of drugs and alcohol. It was an amazing experience, and saying that I loved Dawn of the Dead is a massive understatement.
And yes, Day of the Dead. Perhaps the movie wasn't what George Romero hoped it would be, but I thought, and continue to think, it is great. I caught up with this one on VHS.
Three groundbreaking movies, each a scathing portrayal of the times in which they were made.
The imitators came along, an outbreak in its own way. The Italians were quick to follow Romero's lead, and Lucio Fulci's gorehound classics, Zombie and The Beyond, remain the very best. Sequels ensued, as well as turgid but entertaining affairs like Burial Ground, Night of the Zombies, Apocalypse domani, Oasis of the Zombies, Hell of the Living Dead, Nightmare City, Zombies Holocaust, Zombie Lake. I must have seen them all.
Zombie fiction got a later start. I remember how amazing it was when John Skipp and Craig Spector unleashed The Book of the Dead onto the horror scene. An anthology of zombie-themed short stories, and it was full of heavy-hitters. Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Laymon, and Joe R. Lansdale graced its pages. What genre author would not have wanted to be in such a book in 1989? A sequel to The Book of the Dead hit the stands a few years later, and it was just as good as the first volume. Maybe even better.
In 1993 Philip Nutman expanded his short story from the first Book of the Dead, Wet Work, into a full-length novel. I don't believe he is given enough credit for it.
Then, years later, after the turn of the century, a few catalysts occurred. Danny Boyle directed 28 Days Later, a movie that featured fast zombies. In 2004 a very successful remake of Dawn of the Dead was released. Brian Keene wrote a zombie novel, The Rising, which came out in 2003.
I enjoyed all of them, but the aftermath was a true pandemic of zombie movies and books. You couldn't swing a corpse in the horror genre without smacking numerous stories of the walking dead. Zombies became mainstream. There were some good books and movies. And there were a lot of bad ones.
And, yes, as everyone knows, George Romero did another trilogy of zombie movies. The results were, unfortunately, not as successful as the early Night, Dawn, Day movies George directed.
I was on board for Land of the Dead, seeing it twice in theaters. Of course it wasn't even close to the delirious highs of the early movies, but I liked it. I was even reasonably entertained by Diary of the Dead. I tried not to be too critical. Then there was Survival of the Dead, which I hated. I believe I need to go back and give this one another chance.
Now we are here in the bleak days of 2020. Zombie books and movies have died down in popularity. Just in time for a behemoth of a novel from none other than George Romero and Daniel Kraus called The Living Dead.
I had been rabidly waiting to read The Living Dead, and I received an advance copy back in January. Yet 2020 had some nasty surprises of its own for us. I was reluctant to read a book about a zombie apocalypse when the planet was in the grip of a medical pandemic. Being "essential" I had to continue to work while so many others were furloughed. It was frightening and stressful, and so I held off on starting The Living Dead. Then came a racial crisis in America. So much pain, so much outrage, so much heartbreak. A whole lot of fear. That's been the first half of 2020.
After having The Living Dead in my possession for around four months, I finally jumped into it.
The first question on horror fans' minds will be this: Can The Living Dead be as good as George Romero's original Dead trilogy? The answer is, no, it isn't.
It's better.
High praise indeed, and I am trying to avoid overselling this novel. I can't help it. I have nothing but raves for The Living Dead.
George's movies reflect the times in which they were made, and The Living Dead is almost unbelievably timely. This book could not come out at a more appropriate time. The authors tackle big themes like race, the media, dependence on gadgetry, guns, religion, gender, and countless other timely issues.
And satire? Whoo boy, The Living Dead is a searing look at today's culture, and the living death of so many lives.
Gorehounds will be amply rewarded by endless scenes of zombie carnage, yet the novel goes into directions few could predict. It's philosophical. I'm still, days after completing the book, contemplating many of the concepts in the complex story.
The second half of The Living Dead is less concerned with zombified violence. It focuses on the development of a more ideal society. I'm reminded of Swan Song. The Stand. Maybe George R. Stewart's Earth Abides most of all. This is the book Justin Cronin's The Passage could have been.
There is a tapestry of richly drawn characters. This is a vastly moving book, as powerful and emotional as a great Robert McCammon novel. It might even be better than that.
Romero fans will be delighted by various nods to his earlier works. These passages added layers of fun to an often somber narrative.
Another question arises. Where did George Romero leave off and at what points did Daniel Kraus jump in? Collaborations are often choppy affairs. This book is seamless. I am not wasting a minute's effort trying to figure it out.
I'm sure a lot of horror writers, most perhaps, would have given various body parts to have a chance to complete a George Romero zombie novel. I do not believe anyone could have done a better job than Daniel Kraus. I've been a fan for a long time, and he is one of the best writers working today. It's time more horror readers became aware of how good he is.
I've lost most of my faith in the Stoker process. If The Living Dead does not win Best Novel, I will lose all of it. This is the horror novel of the year. If not the entire decade.
Written by Mark Sieber
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