THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

When an Emergency Broadcast is sent to the citizens of Witherton, no one knows what to believe but the advice it gives is simple; "Lock your doors, cover your windows and avoid making noise. Do not, for any reason, go outside.". For the peaceful townsfolk that live there, this message, designed to save lives, was the first ominous sign of the Earth-shattering horrors to come.

MY VERDICT:

Emergency Broadcast is a typical Zombie story of a city gradually being overrun by the ravenous undead and, while there are some minor niggles keeping it from a truly high-score, I do recommend it as an entertaining read. The narrative is simple; initially an emergency message is received by some townsfolk and not others. No one really knows why this short, life-interrupting message has been sent but, after a while, it becomes apparent that something unnatural is happening in the city, then things escalate as people start attacking each other... the situation is very confused early on and, as time progresses, through the eyes of multiple different characters, we learn more and more, just stopping short of the whole picture. I love this; it's like a thrillride - always building up, piling on the pressure, pushing forward whether you are ready or not. It is not just head-long action though as the characters themselves have believable backstories which draw you deeper into the plot; one adult has an autistic younger sister - requiring her to think differently about survival, and not always about them both staying alive. Another; a soldier who grew up in the town that is the epicentre of this outbreak, is sent on a mission back into that town despite his hatred of it after suffering abuse at the hands of his parents. However, this 'thrillride'-ethos can be as much a curse as a blessing, thanks mainly to the brevity of the book. Every short and snappy chapter keeps up the pace wonderfully but does give the sense that they stop just before the conclusion; a rollercoaster climbing the to the top of metal track hill, slowly, slowly, inching its way higher and higher, ramping up the fear-factor, the anticipation, only to abruptly cut out when the exhilarating drop comes into view. Considered as a whole, the book feels very much like a beginning of a larger tale - not surprising given that there are plenty more volumes in the series - but I really do not appreciate having to purchase another book just to realise the conclusion of the first. In addition, a minor secondary mistake comes at one chapter, and thankfully it is limited to only a couple of chapters, the author decides to make the Zombies capable of simple-word speech and intelligent behaviour such as knocking at doors. This decision is especially odd given the Zombies behave like regular sprinting, extremely aggressive 28 Days Later Zombies at all other points in the novel.