Dead Man's Song [Paperback]

Jonathan Maberry (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 1, 2007

From the powerful imagination of a new horror master comes a bone-chilling tale set in a small town where good and evil are joined in a terrifying, deadly battle...

Evil Endures
Once an idyllic Pennsylvania village, Pine Deep awoke one morning to find itself bathed in a massive bloodletting. Twice in thirty years the townsfolk have endured the savage hungers of a murderous madman...but if the residents think the death of serial killer Karl Ruger put an end to the carnage, they're dead wrong.

The Nightmare Never Ends
Bodies mutilated beyond description, innocents driven to acts of vicious madness. A monstrous evil is preying on the living--and the dead--and turning the quiet little town into hell on earth. Their only hope is to find the source. But the secrets that lurk in the heart of Pine Deep are twisted into its very roots. This time the townspeople aren't just fighting for their lives, but for their very souls...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mayberry takes us on another chilling roller coaster ride through the cursed town of Pine Deep. Really." --Laura Schrock Emmy Award-winning writer/producer

From the Publisher

"Maberry takes us on another chilling takes us on a roller coaster ride through the cursed town of Pine Deep. You might want to keep the night light on for this one. Really." --Laura Schrock Emmy Award-winning writer/producer

"A fabulously written novel that grips you from its first line to its last. Jonathan Maberry's writing runs from dark and beautiful to sharp and thought-provoking, and his books should be on everyone's Must-Read list." --Yvonne Navarro author of Mirror Me, AfterAge, Hellboy, Elektra, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tempted Champions, Species, Species II, Aliens: Music of the Spears, and Ultraviolet

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books; 1st edition (July 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078601816X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786018161
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. His books have been sold to more than a dozen countries.

He writes in several genres. His young adult fiction includes ROT & RUIN (2011; now in development for film; named in Booklist's Ten Best Horror Novels for Young Adults, a Bram Stoker and Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading winner; nominee for several state Teen Book Awards; winner of the Cybils Award, the Eva Perry Mock Printz medal, Dead Letter Best Novel Award, and four Melinda Awards); DUST & DECAY (winner of the 2011 Bram Stoker Award; FLESH & BONE (September 11, 2012; and FIRE & ASH (2013). His thrillers include The Joe Ledger Thrillers from St. Martin's Griffin (PATIENT ZERO, 2009, winner of the Black Quill and a Bram Stoker Award finalist for Best Novel; THE DRAGON FACTORY, 2010; HE KING OF PLAGUES, 2011; ASSASSIN'S CODE, 2011; EXTINCTION MACHINE, 2013; CODE ZER0, 2014, and JOE LEDGER: THE MISSING FILES, 2011 from Blackstone Audio.

His horror novels include The Pine Deep Trilogy from Pinnacle Books (GHOST ROAD BLUES, 2006, winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel; DEAD MAN'S SONG, 2007; and BAD MOON RISING, 2008), as well as DEAD OF NIGHT, 2011 and its forthcoming sequel, FALL OF NIGHT, 2014. And the movie novelization, THE WOLFMAN, 2010, winner of the Scribe Award for Best Adaptation.

He is also editor and co-author of V-WARS, a shared-world vampire anthology from IDW.

Jonathan was an expert on the History Channel documentary, ZOMBIES: A Living History. He will also be featured in That $#(!'ll Rot Your Brain: How the Monster Kids Transformed Popular Culture, a forthcoming documentary on horror movies directed by Robert Tinnell.

His many nonfiction works include VAMPIRE UNIVERSE (Citadel Press, 2006); THE CRYPTOPEDIA (Citadel, 2007 -winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction; co-authored by David F. Kramer); ZOMBIE CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead (Winner of the Hinzman and Black Quill Awards and finalist for a Stoker Award; 2008); THEY BITE! (2009 co-authored by David F. Kramer); WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE (2010; Bram Stoker finalist; co-authored by Janice Gable Bashman); THE VAMPIRE SLAYERS FIELD GUIDE TO THE UNDEAD (2001, written under the pen name of Shane MacDougall); ULTIMATE JUJUTSU (Strider Nolan, 2001); ULTIMATE SPARRING (Strider Nolan, 2000); JUDO AND YOU (Kendall Hunt 1991); and many others.

He writes a variety of projects for Marvel Comics involving CAPTAIN AMERICA, BLACK PANTHER, DOOMWAR, WOLVERINE, DEADPOOL, THE X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR, the NY Times bestselling MARVEL ZOMBIES RETURN, MARVEL UNIVERSE vs THE PUNISHER. MARVEL UNIVERSE vs WOLVERINE and the upcoming MARVEL UNIVERSE vs THE AVENGERS. All of Jonathan's comic book collections are released as Graphic Novel collections within a month or two of individual comic publication.

Recent short stories include "A Footnote in the Black Budget" (MADNESS OF CTHULHU, 2013), "Pegleg and Paddy Save the World" (HISTORY IS DEAD, Permuted Press 2007), "Doctor Nine" (KILLERS, Swimming Kangaroo Press, 2008; and reprinted in THE STORIES (in) BETWEEN Edited by Greg Schauer, Jeanne B. Benzel, and W.H. Horner. Fantasist Enterprises, 2009), "Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Greenbrier Ghost" (LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN STATE 2, Bloodletting Books, 2008), "Clean Sweeps" (AND SO IT BEGINS, Dark Quest Books, 2008), "Family Business" (THE NEW DEAD, St. Martin's Press, 2010), "Like Part of the Family" (NEW BLOOD edited by Patrick Thomas and Diane Raetz, Padwolf Press, 2010), "Zero Tolerance" (THE LIVING DEAD 2, Night Shade Books), "Flint and Steel" (GI JOE: COBRA WARS, 2011), "Saint John" (THE MONSTER'S CORNER, 2011, St. Martin's), "Spellcaster 2.0" (An Apple for the Creature, Ace Books, 2012), "Jack and Jill" (21st Century Dead, St. Martin's Griffin,2012), "The Death Song of Dwar Guntha" (Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom, 2012, Simon & Schuster), "The Wind Through the Fence" (an original e-story available for all e-readers), "Property Condemned" (scheduled for the premier issue of NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE), "Chokepoint" (included in THE UNINVITED, Vol 2), and many others. His essay, "Take Me To Your Leader" is included in the nonfiction book, TRIUMPH OF THE WALKING DEAD: Robert Kirkman's Zombie Epic on Page and Screen edited by James Lowder (BenBella Books/Smart Pop, 2011).

In 2012 Blackstone Audio released two collections of Jonathan's short stories: Tales from the Fire Zone and Hungry Tales.

All of Jonathan's novels are available on audio, including the audio-only collection, JOE LEDGER: THE MISSING FILES (Blackstone), which includes the short stories "Countdown", "Zero Tolerance", "Deep Dark", "Material Witness" and "Dog Days". Another Joe Ledger short, "Mad Science", will appear in the audio anthology LIAR LIAR from The Liars Club.

Jonathan is the co-creator (with Laura Schrock) of ON THE SLAB, an entertainment news show in development by Stage 9 for ABC Disney / Stage 9. He was also a 'blog correspondent' on Sony's zombie-themed web show 'WOKE UP DEAD'; and was a recurring character on Laura Schrock's 'IT'S TODD'S SHOW'.

Jonathan's Big Scary Blog (www.jonathanmaberry.com) focuses on the publishing industry. Jonathan's interviews include Sandra Brown, Gayle Lynds, Alafair Burke, Charlaine Harris, James Rollins, Harlan Coben, Jeff Abbott, John Saul, Jonathan Kellerman, Barry Eisler, CJ Box, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jack Ketchum, Tom Piccarilli, Dale Brown, Kevin J. Anderson, Joe Lansdale, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, Carrie Ryan, and many other best-selling authors.

He is a frequent keynote speaker, guest of honor and workshop leader at genre cons, libraries, writers conferences and publishing industry events, including KeyCon, ThrillerFest, Zombie Fest, Heather Graham's The Writers for New Orleans, Central Coast Writers Conference, NeCon, NY Comic Con, Texas Library Association Annual Conference, Sisters in Crime, BackSpace, PennWriters, Dragon*Con, PhilCon, Horror-Realm, Boucher Con, HorrorFind, Monster Mania, Philadelphia Writers Conference, Balticon, Romance Writers of America, American Library Association, The Write Stuff, Hypericon, AnthoCon, KillerCon, NAIBA, LunaCon, and many others.

Jonathan has sold more than 1,200 feature articles and 3,000 columns; as well as greeting cards, song lyrics, poetry, technical manuals, call-floor scripts, and two plays, including Tales from the Fire Zone. He is developing a psychological thriller novel based on that play.

Jonathan is a Contributing Editor for The Big Thrill (the newsletter of the International Thriller Writers), and is a member of SFWA, IAMTW, MWA, SCBWI, SFWA and HWA, as well as a jurist for the Edgar and Stoker Awards.

Jonathan was the Executive Director of the Writers Room of Bucks County (2005-06) and co-owner of the Writers Corner USA (2006-2009). Jonathan regularly visits local middle schools, high schools and colleges to talk about books, reading, publishing and the writing life. He is a board member of the River Union Stage, a professional equity theater based in Stockton, New Jersey.

Jonathan is a founding member of The Liars Club, a group of networking publishing professionals that includes celebrated authors Merry Jones, Gregory Frost, Jon McGoran, Ed Pettit, Dennis Tafoya, Keith Strunk, Don Lafferty, Kelly Simmons, Marie Lamba, Solomon Jones, Stephen Susco, Chuck Wendig, Sara Shepard, William Lashner, and Laura Schrock. The Liars Club works to support booksellers, raise awareness and support for public libraries, and cultivate a joy of reading and books. The late NY Times bestseller L. A. Banks was a founding member of the Liars Club.

On the last Sunday of every month Jonathan hosts the Writers Coffeehouse, a free three-hour open-agenda networking and discussion session for writers of all genres and levels of skill. The event is held at the Barnes & Noble in Willow Grove Pennsylvania. The Liars Club has begun launching additional Writers Coffeehouses throughout the region.

Jonathan has been a popular writing teacher and career counselor for writers for the last two decades. He teaches a highly regard series of classes and workshops including Write Your Novel in Nine Months, Act Like a Writer, Revise & Sell, Experimental Writing for Teens, and others. Many of his students have gone on to obtain representation and/or publish in short and novel-length fiction, magazine feature writing, nonfiction books, TV, film, and comics.

In 2004 Jonathan was inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame largely because of his extensive writings in that field.

Jonathan lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Sara Jo, to whom he dedicates all of his published works, and their dog, Rosie. His stepson, Sam West-Mensch, serves a general manager of Jonathan's writing business.

Visit his website/blog and sign up for his free newsletter at www.jonathanmaberry.com
www.facebook.com/jonathanmaberry, www.twitter.com/jonathanmaberry

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#47 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#47 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep 'em Coming August 24, 2007

By Charles Gramlich

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved Ghost Road Blues, which won the Stoker award, and was looking forward to the sequel, Dead Man's Song. I wasn't disappointed. It was good to reconnect with characters like Crow and Val and The Bone Man. It was good to see again heroes who are heroic and villains who are evil.

Maberry's greatest strengths lie in mixing action with atmospheric suspense. He does the spooky woods thing as well as anyone out there. It just so happened that I was alone in the house for a few days when I finished Dead Man's Song. I may be staying up late tonight with all the lights on.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More problems for Pine Deep September 29, 2007

By Kim Paffenroth

Format:Paperback

In this follow up to Ghost Road Blues, the problems keep piling up for the citizens of Pine Deep. The evil in their midst is growing stronger, while those who have the strength and resolve to fight it are either unaware of it, and/or unaware of their own power, while most of their fellow residents are infected or cowed by the evil. Fortunately, the bad guys aren't that organized, either. (Maberry's strongest gift, I think, is to depict both the mesmerizing and potent evil when one bad guy is on terrible display by himself, but how their cowardice and backstabbing derail them whenever they try to get together, while the good guys get stronger whenever they come together; if you've seen the Legion of Doom vs the Super Friends, you know the dynamic and how entertaining it is to watch.) My only complaint is that the pacing here is glacial until the last five chapters. And the "red shirts" are introduced a little too obviously, before being torn to bloody bits. But it definitely built a lot of suspense and sympathy for our heroes, and I can't wait to find out what happens in the third installment.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Springboard for Bad Moon Rising, but good enough in its own right February 15, 2011

By Child King

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dead Man's Song is the middle filler for Maberry's good, often great and occasionally exceptional, trilogy about the haunted town of Pine Deep. It's not as crisp and riveting as Ghost Road Blues (there is a love scene that goes on for a dozen pages), and a good editor could could have sliced 75 or a hundred pages without missing an iota of important story. Alas, you take the good with the bad sometimes. I wouldn't trade Maberry for a bushel load of most suspense/horror writers nowadays. He's entertaining and creative. I've come to care about what happens to Crow and Val and Mike and several other characters. The blood-letting is ever flowing, but believable in the story's context. Great villains and conversational dialogue help keep the story fresh. One of the things Maberry does well is maintain and switch between several different plotlines with relative ease. Dead Man's Song moves the story along and is a worthwhile read. I'd say it's the weakest of the trilogy, but it's still better than most of what's available. 3 1/2 stars for this one.

Jan 2013 update: I'm a Maberry fan no longer. I read snarky, juvenile, embarrassing posts by Maberry right here on Amazon belittling reviewers opinions of his work. That someone with his (now lack of) credibility and stature would troll reviews and attack people who put money in his pocket is inexcusable. I deleted his books from my wish list and will not buy his work again. As an author, your readership is the only thing that enables you to do what you do. To attack them is foolish and ultimately detrimental to your bottom line. A far more appropriate response would have been to say, "Thank you for posting. I'm very sorry you didn't like this book. I hope you will try one of my other works. Cheers. JM." That I could have respected.... Being a jerk to your fan base, I cannot. I'm done with you sir. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read December 23, 2007

By Robert

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I never write reviews, but I almost didn't buy this book after seeing some of the negative reviews. I liked the 1st book, so I broke down and ordered it, figuring that it would be more of the same as the 1st book and I would probably get bored of it(not that the 1st book was bad at all, but I couldn't imagine what more could happen). It is nothing like the 1st. Yes, the same people and town, but now it really picks up momentum and we are getting into the supernatural on a big scale. I could not put it down. Yes there are a couple of typos that did not get found when edited, but give me a break, it's over 500 pages. Anyway, if you are really caught up in the story, you never notice the small stuff. I can't wait for the next. In spite of the person raving about it not having an ending, I am so glad it didn't. Now I have the rest of the story to look forward to.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Blah June 4, 2012

By C. Hines

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book could have easily been combined with the first book, dropped 200 pages and we wouldn't have missed anything. NOTHING gets accomplished here. The few big revelations we got weren't a big surprise as they were all broadcast very loudly in the first book. Where the first book starts to flesh out characters, this one seems to be dialing them back and leaving them flat.

Not sure I will read the third book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Didn't seem to go anywhere February 8, 2011

By Lorilee

Format:Paperback

It just didn't seem to go anywhere from start to finish. I wouldn't really say this feels like a horror book personally and I've had a better horror experience from many other books. Maybe I just didn't get the right book this time.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Derailed at Mid-point July 13, 2007

By Chuck Wilson

Format:Paperback

Mayberry isn't inventing the wheel but he clearly loves horror and for the first 200 or so pages of this new novel, I was with him, particularly in the stand alone sections he calls "Interludes", which are reminiscent of the set pieces from "Salem's Lot". He also write short scary moments describing approaching evil, which in turn reminded me of similar bits in "Ghost Story". I stayed up late reading those initial pages, which hardly ever happens for me with this genre any more. But Maybeerry badly needs a new editor. He can't stop writing, and hinting at apocalyptic things to come. There's a pathologist in this novel who figures out there the town is under siege, but it takes him a week in the book's time scheme to tell anyone. He keeps setting up appointments with the hero that never come to pass. When there are demons afoot, you don't make appointments, you run screaming to the hero! There's also a nearly 7-page love scene (I counted) more than half way thru that's lovingly graphic, well written and utterly pointless. I kept expecting a demon was going to crash thru the door for the ultimate coitus interruptus, but no, Mayberry just loves his lovers and wants them to be happy. That's nice, but in a 500 page book, you want mayhem to have ensuded by page 300, not excess human feeling (Dean Koontz disease). Finally, "Dead Man's Song" just comes off as a long set-up for a third book, "Bad Moon Rising", the first chapter of which is included here. It's pretty good. Maybeerry can do beginnings. But he's got to learn to cut to the chase. When he does (or gets a real editor), he may write a great book.