BelEdit Book Reviews
I read a lot of Z novels but I’m getting oh so tired of the sad military/gun porn that so many American Z novels deliver. I like my Z novels more down to earth and (to me) realistic! Mostly, that means British. And Brinson’s Dead South is realistic in spades.
Excellent and realistic British zombie novel
The zombie apocalypse has come, and we’re in London. Nobody has a gun so the fight gets hand-to-hand dirty really soon. This is action-packed, gripping, funny and tense.
I love the fact that lots of people die, and not just the ones that “don’t matter to the story”. And that when they do, people get really, really upset, as they would. The group of characters is like a real group drawn randomly from family and neighbours; some are strong and good, some are jerks, some are mean and bad, some are opportunistic and selfish… you get the point. They’re human.
Brinson is not a great writer, not by a long shot — that’s why I dropped a star. The writing in Dead South is weak in many parts, and at times it’s hard to picture what he is trying to describe. Here’s a writer desperately in need of an editor. But no matter: he’s good on people, on dialogue and on pacing. Can’t wait for the next one. (Update October 2020: looks like he never wrote a sequel. Pity!)
I think it is only because I am such a fan of zombies that I want to discover all the variations on the theme that are out there — and this one is different enough to be interesting. So, if you’re a diehard zombie fan, you might want to add it to your collection. If you’re new to zombies, there are way better books out there. Check out Rhiannon Frater’s trilogy and – of course – World War Z.
You might enjoy my essay on why I like zombie novels, which includes links to reviews of some of them.