Author Bio:
This is Robert Tozer's first novel. He graduated from the school of hard knocks, has written award winning fiction in his mind, and was not responsible for the viral outbreak which has decimated the planet. He lives in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. Along with other the survivors, he plans on acquiring a caravan of RVs and relocating to a different clime in order to escape the bloodthirsty zombie hordes.
Synopsis:
The world is at the mercy of the dead, and the dead have no mercy.
Time has run out for the human race. A virus has decimated the planet, returning the dead back to life. Groups of displaced people gather together and roam the countryside searching for a sanctuary. But what happens when the living dead aren't the biggest threat to their survival? What happens when the living people are actually The Dead ?
Spencer has a singular goal: Travel with his companion, Lexi, to the west coast, find a seaworthy boat, and sail away to a tropical island—hopefully, without any of the dead occupying it. Along the way, the two of them get conscripted into a ragtag band of survivors, and together they travel across America with conflicting goals. Half the camp wants to travel city to city, liberating any survivors and ridding the US of the menace that is the dead; the other half wants to escape, finding a safe haven away from the killing and horror. A political power struggle is created and Spencer is forced to choose sides; but will he lead the group to safety or will he return to his original plan and abandon the camp to strike out with Lexi once again? Spencer battles against his nature as he leads a fighting force into a small city for life saving supplies. But in this new world, the hungry and murderous dead aren’t the only things to be feared. Sometimes the biggest threat to humanity’s survival is the living.
Time has run out for the human race. A virus has decimated the planet, returning the dead back to life. Groups of displaced people gather together and roam the countryside searching for a sanctuary. But what happens when the living dead aren't the biggest threat to their survival? What happens when the living people are actually The Dead ?
Spencer has a singular goal: Travel with his companion, Lexi, to the west coast, find a seaworthy boat, and sail away to a tropical island—hopefully, without any of the dead occupying it. Along the way, the two of them get conscripted into a ragtag band of survivors, and together they travel across America with conflicting goals. Half the camp wants to travel city to city, liberating any survivors and ridding the US of the menace that is the dead; the other half wants to escape, finding a safe haven away from the killing and horror. A political power struggle is created and Spencer is forced to choose sides; but will he lead the group to safety or will he return to his original plan and abandon the camp to strike out with Lexi once again? Spencer battles against his nature as he leads a fighting force into a small city for life saving supplies. But in this new world, the hungry and murderous dead aren’t the only things to be feared. Sometimes the biggest threat to humanity’s survival is the living.
Review:
The Dead by Robert Tozer started off promisingly, but quickly went downhill. I have to say that the prologue was the best part. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it was the only good part.
The prologue, although a bit dry, was really good. Tozer started by describing how the epidemic started as a normal virus, which then spread throughout the world before mutating into the zombie virus. Part of the reason that I felt this segment was so good is that I read it during the time when the Ebola panic was just starting in the U.S. It kinda freaked me out, because almost the exact same circumstances Tozer described were happening all over the news. It had me all set to sit back and enjoy the rest of The Dead.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book was nowhere near as good. My excitement plummeted early in the first chapter, which is why I’m only able to give it two stars. I would really like to give it three stars. Unfortunately, six and a quarter pages of goodness just can’t make up for 319 pages of painful dialogue and narration. My eyes are threatening to glaze over just thinking about it.
You might think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. Read it and you’ll see that the dialogue and characterization were extremely lacking. Every conversation fell flat. I kept catching myself saying, “Nobody talks like that.” It was like Tozer had no understanding of how real people think and act. Has he never been to Starbucks, work, or even a Walmart? This book probably would have been a lot better if he had picked up a psychology book, attended a lecture, or just taken a moment to observe real people before attempting dialog and characterization. Character after character came across as one dimensional, and there were so many of them that it turned into a big bowl of character soup. I legitly resorted to making a cheat sheet in my notebook just to keep track of them all while I was reading. It didn’t help.
Dialog and persons in The Dead, although tedious, was not the worst of it. My biggest problem, was Spencer, the protagonist and main character. He’s written like some teenage boy’s fantasy of his grownup self. Everybody bows down to him and worships the ground he walks on. Women all but literally throw themselves at him. His totally hot girlfriend’s one and only desire is to be with him, and make him happy. He’s Rambo tough, and an amazing military strategist. But, the thing is, he’s not actually that awesome. Sure he can shoot stuff, but so can I. He’s doesn’t come across as very intelligent. He has horrible social skills (like everyone in the book). He’s not nice, or even a little bit likeable. Overall, he’s not someone who would inspire extreme loyalty anywhere except inside the author’s fantasies.
Just to be fair, The Dead wasn’t all dry sentences, clumsy wording, and flimsy characters. It had its good points. The imagery was AMAZING. Tozer describes scenes and settings in such detail that it’s almost like watching a miniature movie. I really enjoyed that. It’s too bad the rest of his writing fell so flat, because I really wanted to like this book.
So to sum it up: Prologue = good, rest of the book = suckish.
The prologue, although a bit dry, was really good. Tozer started by describing how the epidemic started as a normal virus, which then spread throughout the world before mutating into the zombie virus. Part of the reason that I felt this segment was so good is that I read it during the time when the Ebola panic was just starting in the U.S. It kinda freaked me out, because almost the exact same circumstances Tozer described were happening all over the news. It had me all set to sit back and enjoy the rest of The Dead.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book was nowhere near as good. My excitement plummeted early in the first chapter, which is why I’m only able to give it two stars. I would really like to give it three stars. Unfortunately, six and a quarter pages of goodness just can’t make up for 319 pages of painful dialogue and narration. My eyes are threatening to glaze over just thinking about it.
You might think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. Read it and you’ll see that the dialogue and characterization were extremely lacking. Every conversation fell flat. I kept catching myself saying, “Nobody talks like that.” It was like Tozer had no understanding of how real people think and act. Has he never been to Starbucks, work, or even a Walmart? This book probably would have been a lot better if he had picked up a psychology book, attended a lecture, or just taken a moment to observe real people before attempting dialog and characterization. Character after character came across as one dimensional, and there were so many of them that it turned into a big bowl of character soup. I legitly resorted to making a cheat sheet in my notebook just to keep track of them all while I was reading. It didn’t help.
Dialog and persons in The Dead, although tedious, was not the worst of it. My biggest problem, was Spencer, the protagonist and main character. He’s written like some teenage boy’s fantasy of his grownup self. Everybody bows down to him and worships the ground he walks on. Women all but literally throw themselves at him. His totally hot girlfriend’s one and only desire is to be with him, and make him happy. He’s Rambo tough, and an amazing military strategist. But, the thing is, he’s not actually that awesome. Sure he can shoot stuff, but so can I. He’s doesn’t come across as very intelligent. He has horrible social skills (like everyone in the book). He’s not nice, or even a little bit likeable. Overall, he’s not someone who would inspire extreme loyalty anywhere except inside the author’s fantasies.
Just to be fair, The Dead wasn’t all dry sentences, clumsy wording, and flimsy characters. It had its good points. The imagery was AMAZING. Tozer describes scenes and settings in such detail that it’s almost like watching a miniature movie. I really enjoyed that. It’s too bad the rest of his writing fell so flat, because I really wanted to like this book.
So to sum it up: Prologue = good, rest of the book = suckish.
Excerpt:
The inhabitants of the camp were just lighting the bonfires when Spencer returned. Tom, the leader of the group, leaned forward, his lawn chair creaking under him. He‟d watched Spencer‟s slow progress from his position atop an RV, and he gave a short whistle, signaling the sentry below to unlock the gate. Spencer quickly glanced up at Tom but avoided his questioning gaze. Tom stared down eagerly at Spencer, his large, pudgy frame leaning precariously over the edge of the roof. The balding crown of his head was sweating profusely in the heat and reflected the setting sun brilliantly, creating a halo.
Impatient for news, he yelled, “Any luck?” His broad, genuine and friendly, pale blue eyes normally made people feel at ease, but his expression now made Spencer feel miserable. He stopped for a second before continuing to stride into the camp, and his silence was all the reply Tom needed. The mission had been a washout. “Well, the least he could do is say hello,” he muttered.
Tom was used to Spencer‟s silence, but the recent increase in dead gathering around the camp, along with their shortage of supplies, had his nerves on edge, and small things like impoliteness bothered him. Nonetheless, Tom was grateful for Spencer‟s efforts and shrewdness. At thirty-nine, Spencer was not only a cunning strategist, he was a master of hand-to-hand combat and was proficient with numerous weapons. He reminded himself that Spencer‟s plan of attack had led to an overwhelmingly successful raid on a large town entrenched with the dead. Even vastly outnumbered, Spencer and his team had managed to gather enough RVs to create a traveling caravan that had, to date, kept the camp safe. Spencer had also engineered countless other successful raids during their travels, though, when he had been asked to lead the group, he had declined without explanation. Tom had been asked next, mainly because he was among those closest to Spencer, and the camp expected Spencer would help him out with the tough decisions.
Impatient for news, he yelled, “Any luck?” His broad, genuine and friendly, pale blue eyes normally made people feel at ease, but his expression now made Spencer feel miserable. He stopped for a second before continuing to stride into the camp, and his silence was all the reply Tom needed. The mission had been a washout. “Well, the least he could do is say hello,” he muttered.
Tom was used to Spencer‟s silence, but the recent increase in dead gathering around the camp, along with their shortage of supplies, had his nerves on edge, and small things like impoliteness bothered him. Nonetheless, Tom was grateful for Spencer‟s efforts and shrewdness. At thirty-nine, Spencer was not only a cunning strategist, he was a master of hand-to-hand combat and was proficient with numerous weapons. He reminded himself that Spencer‟s plan of attack had led to an overwhelmingly successful raid on a large town entrenched with the dead. Even vastly outnumbered, Spencer and his team had managed to gather enough RVs to create a traveling caravan that had, to date, kept the camp safe. Spencer had also engineered countless other successful raids during their travels, though, when he had been asked to lead the group, he had declined without explanation. Tom had been asked next, mainly because he was among those closest to Spencer, and the camp expected Spencer would help him out with the tough decisions.