Customer Reviews

The Dead Shall Inherit The Earth

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this book with a bit of anticipation. Sci-Fi horror? Cool! Zombies? Cool! So Sci-Fi horror + Zombies? AWESOME!!!

I knew going into this that it was the first work of Vince Churchill plus it was self published (not 100% sure, but pretty positive on both counts). So I was going to forgive him some gramatical grenades as long as there were plenty of grenades being lofted at the undead. At 184 pages I figured our merc heros would be hip deep in undead space zombies no later than 75 pages in. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.

As far as writing mechanics, the one thing that really bugged me was that on several instances the author would put one person's actions in the same paragraph with another speaking. Normally that is ok, as long as there is some clarity as to who is speaking...otherwise I just assume it is the same person who is doing something. Not the case here. Usually it is the person from the previous paragraph speaking and the actions are from another character. I spent more time than I cared to re-reading a few paragraphs here and there to make sure I had it straight who was saying what. Other than that, I felt it was fairly easy to read. Not great, but not painful either.

I have always loved the idea of terror in space; a distant planet or a starship. Either way you are far removed from the rest of humanity usually and the evil that stalks you is generally unavoidable. You can't run, you can't hide. I was hoping that this feeling of claustrophobia would be rampant in this book. Give it the flavor of Aliens along with a bit of Event Horizon with a creepy evil ghost ship as the setting and you get some real chills and thrills.

Instead, the majority of this book is spent in character development. We get an indepth analysis of Jefferson Gale, the leader of the Mercs. Through pre-mission experiences and flashbacks, we learn more and more about him. Honestly, quite a bit more than was necessary for what amounts to a action adventure tale. Certainly, if this was the first book in a series on the exploits of the professional soldiers of Omni Corporation, the volume of detail spent on getting to know the characters might be acceptable. But this is a stand alone story and I generally tend to like to spend more than about 30% of a horror/action adventure getting scared or getting a rush.

Vince did a good job describing the zombies and the 50 pages or so of action at the end of the book was pretty scary and I enjoyed that, but it just was not enough. In addition, the back cover of this book gave the impression that if this crew did not stop the zombie menace, all of humanity might be in jeopardy. Not at one point in the entire book did I ever feel that humanity was truly at risk. Instead, there is some political deception and revenge motives uncovered. How that is dealt with is decidedly unsatisfactory to me-after all these guys are mercs, not politicians themselves. The end result of that just left me disapointed.

I still give this book 3 stars because even though the zombie action was brief, it was pretty entertaining. I could see this author getting stronger and improving his skills and coming back with another book that gets to the point a lot faster and keeps me glued to the page. I think he could have cut out a lot of the character development and flashbacks and made a 100 page book that would have been a real hoot here. So I liked certain parts enough that I wish there just had been more of that instead of feeling it was a blown effort.

This debut by Vince Churchill combines elements of the above films and impales them together for a giddily gruesome, supercharged action/horror novel. A team of potent mercenaries are hired on a mission that ends up with them against a society of virus-infected people acting on their most violent, vile actions. Matters only worsen when the killed are resurrected as zombies. While the storytelling does sometimes played fast-and-loose to cater to the plotting, this is nevertheless a fast-paced, rousing read with plenty of scares and suspense. In particular, the author thrives with occasional glimpses into the debauched acts of the crazed. A flashback to the grotesque, prolonged death of a former crew member is also quite memorable. After completing DEAD, I look forward to reading Churchill's latest novel, THE BLACKEST HEART.

Vince Churchill's "The Dead Shall Inherit the Earth" amalgamates the best elements of science fiction and zombie horror to form a nasty, little tale of alienation and despair in the modern world.

After the outbreak of a terrible virus (reminescent of the one that sweeps through England in "28 Days Later") on a distant off-world colony, the Earth world government arranges for a group of mercenaries to retrieve bodies, samples and some of the living infected, if possible, for study. Once the mercenaries arrive and begin their task, things quickly go awry as they tend to do in zombie fiction-- human errors, technological failures and the overpowering will of the disease to spread all lead up to an action-packed, frenetic, disturbing climax.

While Mr. Churchill's writing and research are fully up to the task of expounding this wonderful, tried-and-true tale, the real high point of "The Dead Shall Inherit the Earth" is in his running treatment of the theme of the alienation throughout the novel. For fans of zombie horror, alienation is a topic oft-discussed and considered (albeit often sub-consciously, as readers are often unable to articulate what exactly about zombie horror appeals to them). Almost every zombie novel is fueled by juxtaposition of a few lone human survivors holding out against wave upon wave of undead conformity. However, extreme advances in science, vast interstellar distances and the subsumation of the shared bonds of humanity in the lonely discipline and terrifying rigors of space duty immeasurably heighten the reader's sense of isolation, alienation and despair in the face of zombie assault.

The characterizations of the space mercenaries themselves constitute the high point of this examination of alienation. Though many readers have previously lambasted Jefferson Gale and his Omni Corp. hired muscle as "stereotypical","cardboard", or one-dimensional, I think Mr. Churchill's choice and development of the characters was well-played. These "cardboard" characters (i.e. hulking, super-assassin males and chesty, muscle-bound fems for the most part) must face such quintessential human situations as the desire to have and raise children, love and tragic loss throughout the course of the novel. Their very super-specialization and sublimation, coupled with the terrifying diminishment of their abilities/powers in the face of an almost unstoppable zombie menace (a science fictional themes also interestingly dealt with in films such as "Blade Runner" and "Aliens"), is tested against these normal human urges.

The results of this narrative/literary collision provides important lessons on the meaning and value of being human that all readers might enjoy.

When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was thinking, "oh great put zombies in space, We put Jason in space and a Leprechaun in space, yeah lets do this in literature as well and ruin the zombies.' Well I ate those thoughts after reading this. Churchill made it work wonderfully blending the worlds of Sci-fi and horror with awesome characters and action. I love his descriptions of the zombies and could easily visualize what was happening. Now I am waiting for the film!!!!! Where is it?

Vince Churchill deserves your money. With his novel "The Dead Shall Inherit The Earth", Mr. Churchill takes up where classic films like "Aliens" and classic horror novels like "I Am Legend" leave off: with an absolutely blazing and dangerous novel combining space travel, rag-tag mercenaries, political deception, and the newly awakened (and coldly hungry) dead. Vince's writing is top notch, his pacing like a runaway freight-train, and his delivery an ice-cold knife in your awaiting guts -- do the right thing and buy this book NEW.

Great read. The characters are well developed and the entire book was a joy to read. From the beginning the reader is drawn into a sexy and dark futuristic earth. Fast paced and action packed, the book is well worth a read by any sci-fi or horror genre fan. Down to earth dialogue and a plot that weaves politics, revenge and heroics into a non-stop thrill ride. A great first novel from an author who delivers an entertaining and thought provoking tale. I can't wait to read his newest novel The Blackest Heart!

A distant planet, a virus that drives you mad and a cloud that brings mutilated, decaying corpses back to life what more could you ask for. Oh, a little romance too. This campy thriller keeps the action rolling. One of the few books I have read that makes me close my eyes before I turn the next page. The dialogue can be a bit too machismo at times. But the gore is great! I am looking forward to this authors future blood soaked adventures.

I really wanted to like this book, I read it cover to cover and as I finished the last page I closed the book, tossed it into the nearest corner and said - and I quote "That book sucked."

The premise is rather encouraging. Crazy space virus that frizzles your brain and makes you go ravenous. Throw in some sort of governmental conspiracy to shake things up a bit. Mix it with a group of tough as nails hardcore, highly trained professional killers (with a troubled past*gasp*) to clean up the disaster. It's more than a bit formulaic, but you come to accept such things from the zombie genre. That alone wouldn't have made the book bad.

First, despite the author's attempts at creating engaging characters, I found I couldn't care less about any of them. They were all very shallow, stereotypical mercenaries. It felt like a lazy attempt at character creation. You did get a healthy description of how everyone looked though. Muscles with bulging veins, tattoos and scars for the main character. Every living female is at least moderately attractive, but the majority are beautiful. You can also expect a description of almost every female's breasts, yes, that includes the zombies. To top it all off, we get a sex scene between a main character (not THE main character) and his wife. This provides absolutely no benefit to the reader other than to display the author's prowess at using euphemisms for the pieces and parts.

Aside from a brief introduction to the zombies in the beginning, we didn't see them again until the last quarter of the book. That is where the characters broke the mold and instead of acting like the battle hardened mercenaries they were, they acted like horror movie idiots. The only thing that was really of any interest as the authors attempt to give us a look into what some of the zombies were thinking. Other than that, there wasn't much that was memorable about the zombie assault. I never really did feel the suspense or fear that I've come to expect from the genre.

Finally, the wrap up of the story was reminiscent of a bungee jump without the cord, abrupt and messy. It was like he had reached his assigned word count and slapped THE END at the bottom. It only succeeded in furthering my dislike for the book. I would not recommend this book to anyone, and am currently trying to find the most fitting way to dispose of it.

Bravo Vince Churchill for taking a cool concept one step further. Let me start by saying I am a fan of Zombies and have read my fair share of genre books on the subject. This book takes us to a place we really haven't seen before in a zombie book, space. Take the best parts of 28 Days Later, Event Horizon, and add a dash of Joss Whedons Serenity, and you will have Mr. Churchill's story. It's wonderfully written with such a visual gritty style you really get great imagery from it. I would definetly pick up another book by Mr. Churchill, this is his first I beleive and it is self published which is why it is a little more pricey than your average paperback, but very much worth it. It's a fast read and it sticks with you a hell of a lot more than most other fast reads. Some of the scenes are so mind blowing it may stick with you forever. One scene in particular (not involving zombies)had the mercenary group fighting blood sucking plants to a very disturbing and gruesome finish. When it comes to the gross out factor this book pulls no punches. My only real complaint with this book is I wish it was longer. I could have chewed up more of this fantastic idea. Perhaps Mr. Churchill will read this review one day and think sequel. If you like the things I mentioned above I guarantee you'll like this too.

I have read a few zombie books. Reign of the dead, reign of the dead: Apocloypse but this book is the best of them all. The story is so well written it keeps you interested throughout. Yes there are gramtical errors but the way he details things and explains the story is well written - unlike the reign of the dead books. Also, this book is very different than those other books. Those books are straight up "dawn of the dead" type books. This is a "twist" to the genere.

if you are looking for a book that can be turned into an Oscar award winning movie, look elsewhere. This book should appeal to people who like zombie type books and are looking for something different.