George L. Cook’s Scout Survive the Night is set in a future time, a time where the dead have risen and swept the world as a gray army. Humans, those that are left uninfected, have regrouped after years of being pushed out of the cities and formed into a ragtag army now combating the undead menace or what is referred to as the Grays.
Set in a time similar to James Cameron’s Terminator universe, mankind has advanced to a point where they are using laser assault weapons but still have to rely on a human scout or runner to send messages to other units engaged in fighting the dead.
Richards, the main character that the story follows is tasked with making his way through a dead infested city with a message for another unit on the far side. The story is about his adventures moving through the ruins of Newark.
Cook’s storytelling is smooth and ties in past events like the firebombing of the cities in the first few days of the Dead War with events that are happening in present time. Richards is a well rounded out character that knows the risks and is well aware of his surroundings. The futuristic, infected and devastated world that Cook paints within his story places the reader well into the plot and gives them a vested interest in the outcome and survival of Richards.
Scout Survive the Night portrays a bleak outlook for a world ravaged by the undead menace. Cook writes it with rich detail and depth of character. The decisions and situations that Richards faces while trying to deliver a message are edge of your seat intense. The ending to book 1 leaves it open for the rest of the series and inserts something that I haven’t seen or read in other books and films. The potential of this series is virtually unlimited. If Cook can keep up the momentum that he’s already established in this first book then he has a sure fire best selling ongoing serial.
With a future world tainted by the undead, humanity hanging on by its’ fingertips, Scout Survive the Night sits within two genres, Horror and Science Fiction. This is a worthy story for both of those fields and one that needs to be extrapolated upon and as Cook has done, flesh out this brave new world.
With the success of this first novel, there is no wonder that George Cook has created a series set within this universe of future war and enemies.
Look for George L. Cook’s Dead War series, you won’t be disappointed.
