THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

The undead have risen and are sweeping across the United States of America like rats fleeing a sinking ship. Only a handful of the military division sent to defend New York City survived the merciless wave of dead that descended upon the urban jungle. Led by Captain Hastings, the group head for Fort Indiantown Gap; a remote national guard training facility in the woodlands of Pennsylvania. Joining forces with the other civilian and military communities there, Hastings and his men must hold back the remaining walking corpses before they devour the entire continent. All the while, thoughts to rebuild the once great nation and continue civilised life, weigh heavily on their minds.

MY VERDICT:

At over four hundred pages, These Dead Lands: Immolation, is one of the longest Zombie novels I've read and, after spending countless hours reading, the story could definitely be shortened - speeding things along to keep the pace. What happens is that the book starts off well, kind-of slow with little peaks of activity to up the sense of tension, but then, fairly quickly, gets stuck in a 'preparing for the undead assault' phase. The climax is good and image-provoking though I was starting to get bored during the middle part of the narrative. Part of that boredom comes from confusion. The authors of the book clearly love their military speak, posting acronyms and outlandish phrases with feverish pace, often simply expecting the reader to understand. One example is the requirement leave options open in a combat plan "in case Murphy shows up during the operation" - is this a character called Murphy that has not entered the narrative yet or some weird military speak for things not going as planned? With that being said, it is a welcome change to read a book that delves into the whole 'organized army versus roaming Zombies' concept in more detail, one that has obviously been well-researched.