The world is dead, devoured by a plague of reanimated corpses.
Cahz and his squad of veteran soldiers are tasked with flying into abandoned cities and retrieving zombies for scientific study. Deep in infected territory, hundreds of miles from their support vessel, the ever present dangers weigh heavily on Cahz’s mind as he shepherds his team to make quick, clean extractions.
Then the unbelievable happens. After years of encountering nothing but the undead, the team discovers a handful of dishevelled survivors in a fortified warehouse with dwindling supplies.
Surrounded by hordes of ravenous corpses, Cahz is faced with the terrible responsibility of determining the five passengers who will escape in the helicopter. While those left stranded must continue to fight off the infected and starvation long enough to be rescued.
After reading the excellent zombie novel, Domain of the Dead, I have been waiting anxiously for the arrival of its sequel. After the long wait, it finally arrives, and it delivers one of the most intense stories about survival I have seen in the genre.
Before I get to the review, I have comment on the extraordinary cover art to this novel. Craig Paton is an excellent cover artist and even as I write this review I look over and see the cover art and how superbly detailed it is. Well done Craig. The greatest zombie novel cover of 2011? I’d say so.
This novel was a joy to read from the flick of the first page to the last. Domain of the dead was such a powerful tale and I regard it as one of the best in the genre. With this in mind, I was worried that the sequel wouldn’t be as good …well, have no fear, because not only does it hold its own, it lunges at you, pins you to the ground and makes you plead for mercy.
Gore: Iain McKinnon’s descriptions of the undead are grotesque, down to every minute detail. The way he describes the undead is powerful and compelling, each zombie was given its own personality through the precise detailing. The author doesn’t tell you that the undead were once people with their own lives; he brings you into the world and lets you see for yourself. Iain’s descriptions of the undead— ranging in stages of decay—are realistic and just plain morbid. Not very many authors can describe the undead without drowning in a pool of clichés, but Iain’s voice is fresh and I still can’t shake off some of the images that this novel stamped into my mind.
Writing: Iain McKinnon has a masterful control of language. Throughout reading this novel, I was tantalized by his vision of the corroding environment and how nature responds to the fall of mankind. For a moment I thought that Iain McKinnon’s descriptions have improved since Domain of the Dead, but the more I think about it the more I realise that his descriptions in Domain were restricted to the boat. In Remains of the dead, Iain’s writing is given a chance to flourish beyond the constraints of the boat. What confuses me is why this book doesn’t have over 100 reviews on amazon, but it seems that most of the zombie novels that do receive a lot of reviews are flashy, full of shock and awe action. Remains of the dead isn’t about shock and awe; it’s a gritty and realistic hell on earth. Then I got to thinking about Steinbeck. Steinbeck has written some great classics such as ‘Of mice and Men’ and ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. But it seems that a lot of people I talk to aren’t fans of Steinbeck because he gets too heavy with description, or they have trouble grasping what the author is trying to project. But fans of Steinbeck understand the finer points to his writing, understand that it isn’t meant to be flashy, it’s just real and raw storytelling. Those who have read Remains of the dead know that it is a well written adventure, and that it isn’t about shock and awe; it’s about raw emotion and real people. Does that make Iain McKinnon the Steinbeck of the zombie genre? Get a copy and judge for yourself.
Characters: Remains of the dead gives you real people, with real emotions and real fears. Throughout the story Iain McKinnon lets you get to know these characters and the strong dialogue really gives them life. This book will mess with your head, trust me, you will see what I mean. Throughout the story, you can see Cahz’s frustrations build as he continues to survive out in the rotten world, which made this story seem very real.
Overall: This is by far one of the best novels in the genre. Iain McKinnon tantalizes you with his magnificent control of language and you can really feel the world crumble around you. The action scenes are well orchestrated, mix that with the excellent descriptions of the undead and you have a real nightmare on your hands. It’s good to see Iain McKinnon developing a cult following, more people are realising how strong he is as a writer. The genre is in need of more novels like this, and his writing helps the genre’s image. Buy it, read it and I guarantee it will remain in your head long after you put it down.
Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
