A few months ago, I wrote an essay that did everything it could to convince you why English author David Moody was someone that you should be reading. Well, due to some recent feedback, I’m going to do the same thing again. I’m going to introduce you to an author who you should be reading. Right now.
Some day (hopefully in the not-too-distant future), someone will create an Author Hall Of Fame. In this Hall, authors will be celebrated for what they did best. Stephen King would highlight the Horror hall, David Morrell and James Ellroy would enter and lead the Thriller hall, and in the canon of Zombie literature, we need to make sure Joe McKinney is there.
Joe McKinney highlights a growing group of writers who treat the Zombie genre as legitimate literature, rather than pulp junk. This, in itself, is no easy task. It’s easy to just re-hash the same style of zombie storytelling (Run-Scream-Munch-repeat), and after a few books, that theme tends to grow stale. For those of us, like myself, finding stories that break that mold is often difficult and tiresome. If you find yourself in this predicament, allow me to help.
Here is everything you need to know about Joe McKinney. He is a Police Officer in the San Antonio area, which to begin with automatically makes him a badass. It also gives his zombie novels a blue-collar, working man vibe. His action scenes are authentic and his characters feel like they come straight from the streets that he used to patrol, and if you want realistic and honest dialogue, who better to craft it than a policeman? His ear for dialogue is on the same level of fellow genre mainstay and NYT Bestseller Jonathan Maberry.
What really makes Joe McKinney a must-have for your shelf is his handling of tension. Not his action sequences so much, as they are generally well-crafted but he laces his narrative with an underlying tension that just permeates every page. It’s a delightful slow burn that builds and builds until the zombie carnage explodes, and the tension meter resets and it all begins again. Reading a Joe McKinney novel is essentially kissing a large chuck of your day goodbye because you will find it difficult to put it down.
There are four books that make Joe McKinney a BuyZombie.com approved author. DEAD CITY (his first zombie novel), APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD (a Zombie epic that rivals King’s The Stand in scope), FLESH EATERS, AND MUTATED. If you have not read these, kindly turn in your zombie geek union card at the front door and wait for Security. It’s quite simple, and I’m surprised more people don’t know this. If you love zombie literature, and I’m talking about real novels and not books masquerading as zombie torture porn, then Joe McKinney is an absolute core necessity for your shelf. All four of his books are must owns.
Now, Joe has had a little recognition of his work as of late, as his novel FLESH EATERS won the Bram Stoker award for best Horror novel in 2012. The Stoker is essentially the Horror Writers’ Oscar award, which means his inclusion to my BuyZombie.com Hall of Fame is completely warranted. Now, just go and find his books. Buy them. Read them. Trust me when I say you WILL thank me later.
