Lincoln Crisler

Rot tells an entirely different sort of zombie tale. There’s no zombie apocalypse, and the streets aren’t awash with the flesh and blood of humanity. Instead, the type of society Lee describes kind of makes you wish it would be consumed: people raise their dead loved ones because they can’t stand the thought of them being dead, and then foist them off on what’s basically a nursing home for the undead. Dean, hired by the company that runs the nursing home to re-kill zombies when they inevitably lapse into savagery, falls in love with one of the residents, a zombie lass named Amy. Another zombie, a dead gay man named Patrick resurrected by his parents in order to save his soul from Hell, also has a special place in his heart for Amy. When she goes missing, Dean and Patrick team up to find her, and in the process uncover a hideous plot that further condemns the already damned and unwanted living dead.

I was really enthusiastic about Michele’s approach when I first heard about the book; I’m a big fan of Brian Keene, so I already have my zombie apocalypse fix covered. Instead, she uses the classic monster to tell a different type of story. My biggest gripe about Rot is that it’s too short; I definitely think Michele could have delved deeper into the various pits of depravity created when mankind raises it’s dead to live among them again. She only scratches the surface slightly with an offhand mention of a woman brought back to life to provide milk for the baby she died birthing and the merest hint of the horrors of a zombie escort service. I definitely think she should shoot for a novel-length adaptation of Rot; the small taste she gives us with the novella is executed so well, it’s hard to be satisfied with fifty pages knowing the untapped potential that’s out there. I also wish there had been more of the relationship between Amy and Dean; yeah, falling in love with a zombie is kinda disgusting, but the way Michele describes her it doesn’t sound outside the realm of possibility.

Bottom line: pick up a copy of Rot and then hound Michele en masse to finish what she started. And tell her Lincoln sent you. 8.5/10

My days have been pretty much filled to the brim between work and school. I’ve gotten a little writing done, but not much. I still have my novel that I’m working on, and three novellas in progress that I will likely pitch as a collection unless they each really blossom into something worthy of individual publication (meaning each one of them can justify the cover price on their own… if people are going to have to shell out $9 a piece, they’re going to have to be a certain length or I’ll be packaging them together).

I’ll be getting back into my review reading soon, but man did I need a break. I still have leisure reading piling up, but you can expect reviews of recently published and upcoming works from Leisure, Bloody Books, Skullvines and Raw Dog Screaming in the near future. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been reading for fun:

Pressure by Jeff Strand — I’ve been waiting to read this one since I heard about it’s impending mass-market release. I’ve heard lots of good things about Strand and he definitely lives up to the hype. Pressure’s a good balance of humor and horror and follows a very disturbed individual and his ‘project’ through childhood, college and fatherhood. Highly recommended.

Origin & The List by J.A. Konrath — Joe wrote something like nine novels before getting one published, and he’s offering a lot of this early work for free on his website. The two I’ve read dealt with some pretty farfetched situations (the first one features Satan being held in a secret government facility and the other is about clones of Einstein, Joan of Arc, Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln and other famous people trying to kill each other off and defeat a political plot), but they were fast, fun reads that killed a few hours. I’ll definitely be looking into his ‘Jack’ Daniels series of books when time permits.

Star Trek: New Frontiers by Peter David — I really didn’t want to like these. A Star Trek series that didn’t start off as television, with pretty much all-new characters. I pride myself on my willingness to try new things, though, so I cracked open the first one, fell in love, and am now on # 3. If you like Star Trek novels, these are a good way to get your fix; they really feel like Star Trek and David, as always, writes a good book.