Connect with us

Books

Book Review: ‘The Living Dead’ by George A. Romero and Daniel Kraus

Published

on

The Living Dead

There’s a lot to say about The Living Dead. So much to say, in fact, that I’m not entirely sure where to begin.

As many of you may already know, this novel was started by George A. Romero. The godfather of modern zombie cinema with a healthy dose of social commentary decided to write a story that might actually be too big for one movie beginning at square one: the dead no longer stay dead.

Sadly, Romero died before he was able to complete the novel and sometime after his death, his widow reached out to Daniel Kraus and asked if he would consider finishing the work. Kraus had established himself not only as an author, but also as something of an expert on Romero’s career, and of course, he said yes.

The result is an epic, character driven 630-plus page novel that is as moving as it is terrifying.

A bit of clarification before we really get started, this is not a novelization of the Romero’s movies. There seems to have been some misunderstanding about that online so I want to be clear on that. This review also contains what some might deem very light spoilers. 

What Romero and Kraus give us is a modern story set in a world of cell phones, social media, and 24 hour news. Unlike any of Romero’s previous work in film, we actually get to see the first reported case of the dead rising as medical examiner Luis Acocella and his diener Charlie Rutkowski meticulously perform an autopsy on a homeless man who was killed in crossfire on a city street.

The prose here is poetic and gory. The details are laid out in front of us in minute detail. The man’s organs have been removed and Charlie is actually holding the man’s heart when his eyes suddenly open. The doctor and the diener watch as the dead man manages to slip from the table and attempts to attack them. Though they manage to re-kill him, they suddenly realize that they are standing in a room connected to cold storage where a hundred more bodies are stored and they begin to hear noises from inside that room. Noises that echo those they just heard from the dead man in front of them.

This is the beginning. From the morgue, we jump to a rural trailer park, then to a cable news network station, and finally to a naval aircraft carrier. Each location comes with its own fascinating cast of characters.

Honestly, there were times when my mind would slip to Stephen King’s epic The Stand. That’s the scale of storytelling that The Living Dead reaches for and ultimately attains.

What I found most fascinating, however, through all of the character interactions and beautifully plotted chapters is the moment when the authors decided to take us inside the mind of the zombies when they began to turn. We’re shown time and time again how people, some of whom we have come to know, change.

Their higher thinking gives way to instinct. They are controlled by the hunger, but they also recognize each other, learn from each other, become more adept at cornering and killing the “fast-moving ones” as a group. There is still the tiniest part of them that recognizes places and things, but they view them through the lens of that all-encompassing hunger and the desire to spread the collective.

It’s a clever device, but it also serves a purpose.

As the plague spreads and more of the dead rise, humanity is quickly broken down into “Us” versus “Them.” In giving us the zombie POV, we see both sides of that divide. Two camps of “Us” versus two camps of “Them.”

Now of course, this novel was begun by Romero, so there is plenty of his special brand of social commentary on a variety of issues. Perhaps more naturally than we would sometimes like to admit, the human camp of “Us” breaks down into smaller groups. Racism, dangerous religious fundamentalism, and a whole host of other societal ills rear their heads as the people look for reason and on a much more primal level, someone to blame for what has happened.

This will no doubt turn off some horror fans, mostly those who argue that horror isn’t about social issues and have never recognized how heavily they play into films like Night of the Living Dead.

While The Living Dead is undeniably a well-written character study, there is also plenty of gore to go around for those who like a healthy dose of brains and blood on the wall. Some scenes in this book are stomach churning, especially in those moments when the story begins. The level of detail is quite frankly unnerving, and the authors space those scenes out through the course of the novel in such a way that they never quite lose their edge.

As far as the writing goes, I could not tell where one author’s writing stopped and another’s began which proves Kraus’s talent as an author. It is a daunting task to co-author a long narrative when both parties are living. I can only imagine what it was like to not be able to call up George and ask, “So where were you going with this particular plot point?”

Will everyone who loves George Romero’s movies love this book? That’s hard to say. For me, it was captivating and I loved the storytelling and the sort of deep-dive that can only happen in novel form, but I could see where some might be thrown off by the novel’s length and attention to detail.

I will say this, The Living Dead is a visceral and cerebral experience that will draw the dedicated reader into its arms just close enough to take a bite.

The Living Dead is out today, August 4, 2020. You can order your copy by CLICKING HERE!

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Books

‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

Published

on

Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Books

Holland House Ent. Announces New Book “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Published

on

Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983’s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the film’s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Holland’s own personal archive – Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the film’s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), I wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the film’s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklin’s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. I’d had no idea he’d written them before he passed in 2007.”

“Reading them,” continues Holland, “was like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.”

“So, step back with me forty years and let’s see how it happened.”

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Books

Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

Published

on

It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as “better than I am now” and “a lot more energetic.” But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Embed Gif with Clickable Title