Delicious Spaghetti Western Zombie Fest

Wanted: Dead or Undead

by Angela Scott

*****

Wanted: Dead or Undead was such an entertaining novel. I might have to rave about this one. So, as you might guess it’s a five star read.

It was just like watching a movie, only better. From the moment I started reading it I felt like I could have been watching an old western. Only it was a western with zombies. It was so visual.

Set in the old west, the novel begins as any western might. There’s a crisis. A little boy calls to his sister for help. Immediately the sister drops everything and rushes to his aid. Little does she know, it’s already too late...

It’s heart-breaking. It’s violent. It’s a western. With zombies.

First off, the action sequences were superb. Be it on the cold unforgiving ground or in the back of a covered wagon, body parts flew and blood was splattered. True to a zombie thriller, there were scenes of dismemberment, biting and even ninja like zombie decapitation. In places it was just plain gruesome. Yet it all fit so very seamlessly into the western genre. There was plenty of gun slinging. Desperate shootouts and fingers poised on triggers. There were stone cold, poker faced death stares shared between characters and ...

Ah yes, the characters. They were such personalities. Individual, yet timeless. And as the makeshift posse of zombie plague survivors forms, the reader gets  introduced to several of them.

Elizabeth Storey is a hardened zombie killing cowgirl in search of her brother. Trace Munroe is something of a shiftless gambler with a talent for talking his way out of a situation. Both have secrets. Neither are very hard on the eyes. So when the two team up to further their own goals, it’s not surprising when a complicated romance develops. The romance is developed slowly over the course of the story, but it’s well paced.

What amazed me the most was the author’s ability to create images the reader can pull off the pages. I’m not saying there’s an excess of description. On the contrary, the visual quality was created with a perfect use of tone and skillful choice of words. I was amazed.

Currently the Kindle version is available for $4.99 on Amazon. It’s well worth every penny. I recommend it to readers in many age groups who enjoy a good story, a little humour, gore and romance.

On a personal note, while I do enjoy a few zombie thrillers a year, my experience with westerns and cross genre novels has been more limited. Of course I have read the odd Louis L’Amour, and watched movies like True Grit and The Warrior's Way. However, Wanted: Dead or Undead was just so much fun it really made me think. Could every genre be improved just by adding zombies?

Two Thrillers and a YA

Savannah Jade - Sandra Cimadori (YA)
*****
I found this to be a wonderful YA read that made a nice change from the paranormal romances that have recently enjoyed such popularity.  While it's not a thriller - it's a very satisfying story that follows a young woman - Savannah Jade - as she struggles with the death of her mother, life in high school, personal relationships and taking care of her family. Faced with incredibly difficult circumstances, the heroine rises to challenges, makes mistakes, and matures over the course of a school year (and beyond). In fact all of the characters are so well developed they could almost step off the pages. I even found eerie similarities to real young people I know.


Although the novel was written with older teens in mind, I believe it has plenty to offer parents and an older audience in general. I feel the author has dealt with several issues facing young people today very skillfully.


It also has one of the best opening lines I've read in quite a while. From there, the story unfolds beautifully. It's very well written yet keeps true to the target older teen audience. 


Five stars. I can't believe it's only $0.99 on Amazon. It should be more.


 
Sundered - A Zombie-ish Apocalypse (Book 1) by Shannon Mayer (Zombies, Horror, Romance)
****
There's always time in my reading schedule for a zombie apocalypse it seems. Although to be honest - it is more of a zombie-ish apocalypse as the sub title reads. However, it was still quite entertaining. I'm always surprised when an author can pull off zombies and romance in the same novel - particularly if it involves the zombies in any way. (Of course these aren't undead rotting zombies - but they are still very frightening, hideous cannibals). The other nice change was that the novel begins with the romance already in place - a young twenty something couple trying to have a baby. What should have been a simple trip to the doctor's office for a shot of the latest miracle drug to remedy their infertility problem (as well as a host of other disorders)... Well let's just say... Leave it up to a pharmaceutical company to change all that and bring about the end of the world.


What really stood out for me about the novel was the likeability of the characters. They came across as realistic for a displaced city couple trying to make it in the country. For the most part, the writing was smooth. Although it was shorter than what I normally like to read. Nice cliffhanger at the end. Just be prepared - there's also an excerpt from the next novel/novella included at the end to appease all those readers who hate cliffhangers. All in all I give it four stars.



The Saints Go Dying - Erik Hanberg (Mystery, Detective Thriller)
****


A very interesting detective/ serial killer suspense. In the story, Detective Beautyman must track a serial killer that targets very selfless do-gooding people referred to as modern day saints. The beginning was great and easily got me hooked. However, as the story moved a long - I found I got a little confused in places and - maybe it was just me but - it felt like there were a few surprises just thrown in all of a sudden. The hacker ability of the detective for example. Like I said - it might just be me. It was still a pretty good story. I would give it three and a half stars - but halves don't show up so it gets a four with rounding.