Aftermath of the Dead [Paperback]

To give the reader of this review a complete appreciation of this book, I have decided to write my review in the form used by the author, including tense and structure:

Aftermath of the Dead, sits on my hard drive a download, from the internet. I realize this book is upsettingly, bad. I read it in shock at, how bad the editing. Is. I move from page to page, watching as the author intersperses opinions. The dialogue.

Is bad and, stilted. I read along and say passionately "I embarrass I am from Missouri, original"

I say with emphasis. This book is terrible. I am in the moment the, present, tense. Commas fly like (insert bad metaphor here). I think of other books I read in genre "Zombies in My Hometown". I am thinking that, was bad but this is much, worse, for, the horrible, editing. At least. That author keeps the story cohesive.

Patrick gets, up from, his desk, wondering, why he thought it was a good, idea to read, this book, in the first place. Slowly he, slams, his, head on the desk and realizes he is doomed for read the book, be bad. Key after key is struck, logging this review on his computer. He wonders about his, sanity. What lies ahead for him? What is his fate? And the bigger subtext is what is the fate of the world and its readers? The answer to those questions is one in the same and unbeknownst to him and the world, as well is there is not one. He is reading on time that is quickly evaporating away.

Ok, Ok. I have to stop. This hurts my head! Anyway, the above passages are a prime example of how this book is written. If the other reviews so far have not turned you off enough, perhaps my review including misplaced commas, sentence fragments, half formed ideas, and half baked dialogue will do the trick.

Honestly, I feel sorry for the author. He probably felt it was a good idea to try something like this and the idea itself-zombies spreading outward from the original zombie in a rapid fashion is interesting enough, but he not only makes trudging through it all with the complete lack of editing bad, but the present tense used was ridiculous and his occasional asides (where he expresses his opinions...for example he comments on how people just don't seem to care about each other anymore amongst other things) make this book more of an editorial commentary than a novel.

Ok, so I am being extra harsh here. I don't have anything against someone who has the gumption to get up and write a book. I admire that. I would just beg Mr. Smith to take the time next time and let someone...ANYONE read it before he submits it to the publisher. Almost anyone would have realized that he needed to probably spend at least a couple more weeks fixing this thing so that it is somewhat readable.

Set in the very near future (28th October 2006, to be precisely), AFTERMATH OF THE DEAD deals with a zombie invasion of St. Louis, Missouri, and the desperate efforts of several cardboard characters to survive the ensuing carnage.

A prologue establishes that two hospitals in the area try to develope an anti-ageing drug, and their research demands the transportation of some chemical by a medical delivery van. The unlucky driver, Michael WHITMAN (or Michael FITCH, as he is refered to only some pages later), manages to crash his automobile and dies on the scene of the accident. The crash has released the chemical, which has the unfortunate side effect of causing the dead to rise (but of course). First one is Michael WHITMAN (or FITCH), who sits up on the stretcher (causing a medic to enquire, "Sir, are you okay?") and bits the nearest medic ("Let my arm go, now!") Within minutes, medics, police men and bystanders are zombified and flood the highway in their hunt for human flesh. The zombies spread faster than bird flu, and soon St. Louis is overrun by the living dead. The remainder of the trashy "novel" concerns the efforts of several inhabitants to either escape or board up, while the world as we knew it, comes to an apocalyptic end (which the author shows us mainly via endless and tiresome descriptions of jammed highways, abandoned vehicles and pile-ups.) In a nod to George ROMERO's DAWN OF THE DEAD several characters take shelter in a ... no, not a shopping-mall, here it is a supermarket (one of the very few scenes in the book that actually work). An abusing scumbag and his girl friend try to escape on a stolen motorcycle, while two cops try to get away on foot. An elderly woman and her two grandchildren attempt to board up their posh house. Several characters are introduced, only to never be heard of again.

It was a real chore to finish this book. I can forgive that the plot is of the usual run-of-the-mill type, but it is stylistically extremely poorly written. Sure, the novel is gory, but due to the author's poor writing skills, the splatter looses all impact. The writer is so inept, that sometimes he has to resort to comic book style onomatopoeic sounds (example:

"WHAM! She is slammed into by a speeding Dodge pickup truck." p.10; "BAMM!BAMM! He misses both of this shots."p.148)

Annoyingly, the book is riddled with spoofs:

* I already mentioned the Michael WHITMAN/Michael FITCH confusion. Another character, a troubleshooter for the local authorities, is introduced as Ellis BISHOP (p.63), later on he is refered to as Ethan BISHOP (p.119)

* The SUV, in which the BISHOP character and his partner try to escape, is refered to as a 3 ton vehicle (p.116), while on the following page it is a 3 1/2 ton SUV.

* After the accident the medical delivery van stops "on its side halfway down the Kingshighway exit ramp" (p.5), some chapters later we learn that the car "fell off of the exit ramp"

* Joan BENNETT and her grand children live in an "early 1920ies home" (p.44), while on page 90 a lightning bolt "shakes the foundation of Joan's 105 year old home".

These goofs not only show that the author did not even bother to proof read his novel, but they also take you constantly out of the narrative, as do the countless spelling and grammatical errors. I usually do not comment on misspellings in a review, since English is not my native tongue, but here I have to make an exception. It really appears that the author does not have a good command of the English language.

The cover art is cool and the ending is effective (although almost ruined by a silly epilogue), but I really can not recommend this novel. Save your money, it is not worth the purchase!

A proofreader would have made this a bit more readable. I could only get to the third chapter before I gave up. The constant unrelenting use of commas made me think that some mysterious medical company was doing research on commas and then they transported the results , but the transport got in an accident and the commas started ravaging ,normal,sentences.

I would have like to enjoy it, Mr Smith. It takes guts to release a story. And while you may have my money, I at least have my dignity. This will go unfinished.

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