Deadlands [Paperback]

Scott A. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2005

The planet formerly known as Earth lies scorched and barren. Survivors live underground, ever on the defensive against rotters -- mindless corpses that troll the sweltering surface. A new menace has evolved, set on human annihilation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott A. Johnson was born and raised in a swampland coastal town in Texas that was rife with folklore and ghost stories that greatly influenced him as a child. While most children were content to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings, Scott watched "Chiller Theater" with his brother, reveling in the performances of Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi and Borris Karloff. In junior high school, he discovered a deep love for the written word when he was introduced to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." He excelled in his English classes all through High School, though he did not begin writing fiction until he reached college. Scott attended Texas State University-San Marcos (then Southwest Texas State University) and received his BA in Mass Communication-Advertising. He decided he loved the school and took a full-time position, working as a Media Technician for the Department of English. It was at this time that he was exposed to many great authors, both faculty and visiting. During a class on short-story fiction, he began to put his childhood memories and imagination to good use, bringing praise from his instructors and fellow students alike.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Harbor House; 1st edition (September 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891799304
• ISBN-13: 978-1891799303
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,212,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Scott A. Johnson writes horror, dark fantasy, and horror-themed pulp-noir. A native Texan, Scott grew up in a small swampland town near the Gulf of Mexico that was culturally rich with ghost stories. It wasn't until he was in college that he decided to try writing, and discovered that he had a knack for disturbing fiction.

Over the years, he's continued to grow as a writer while working at a variety of interesting jobs. He has been a waiter, bouncer, salesman, professional musician, actor, model (really...he used to be much thinner), baker, teacher and computer technician. In 2007, he picked up his family and moved to Pittsburgh, where he took a teaching position at Waynesburg University. Two years later, he returned to Texas for a better job, and continues to live there, though he does continue to teach at Pennsylvania's Seton Hill University in the innovative Masters in Writing Popular Fiction program.

Scott is married to Tabatha, and together they have two children and three cats. When he's not working for Texas State University-San Marcos, he is writing. In his spare time, he teaches Kajukenbo Karate, hunts ghosts, and plays golf. For more information on him, visit his website.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly entertaining zombie read, December 13, 2005

By 

CreepyT "CreepyTendencies" (Colorado, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Deadlands (Paperback)

Generations have passed since a war ravaged the world, leaving nothing but barren, fallout-ridden countryside in it's wake. But power-hungry fiends were not content to stop at utter desolation. The fallen have been raised from the dead in order to create an army dead-set on continuing the destruction. A handful of lucky survivors have lived in various underground cities, creating a new way of life more primitive than that of their predecessors, desperately trying to restore some semblance of humanity.

Christian and Cadence have lived in such an underground city, known as Down-Town. The brother and sister work as guardsmen, protecting the city from the "rotters" who wander the barren wasteland aboveground, seeking the flesh of the living. When word gets out of other underground havens being ravaged, the guardsmen head out into the light to gather information. However, what knowledge awaits them on the surface shatters what little security they may have salvaged during those years in their burrows, as a new threat preys on what little remains of the endangered human race.

Scott A. Johnson has managed to breathe some new life into a worn out genre with his novel Deadlands. Many of the elements used are highly cliched, but Johnson places a rather intriguing spin on the plot as a whole, building upon the foundation laid by previous zombie genre authors. The plot builds quickly and doesn't loosen it's cold, decayed grip until the very end, and then you'll wish it wasn't over. I would have liked the book to be a little longer, and perhaps the ending a little less rushed, but this was still a great read, and I recommend Deadlands to other fans of zombie, horror, or sci-fi fiction. I look forward to anything Scott A. Johnson has to put out in the future!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Up and coming!, January 3, 2006

By 

Dena M. Martin "Dena" (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deadlands (Paperback)

Honestly speaking, the first half of this book reads like any other Zombie novel. Although clichéd, the story is still interesting and Mr. Johnson has created a few memorable characters that carry you through this post-apocalyptic zombie wasteland.

But, just as you are starting to think that you've read it all before, Johnson pulls the rug out from under you with a unique plot twist and keeps you reading until the end.

With each book, Johnson's prose and character development are getting stronger and stronger and he may be a very strong voice in the future of horror.

The book could benefit from a little editing as there are a few mistakes that pulled me right out of the story. (For example: instead of saying that something wasn't to be taken lightly, it said that it wasn't to be taken likely.) However, such errors were few enough that they didn't really stop my enjoyment of the tale.

In addition, one of the characters, Tierra, seemed more silly than sympathetic. I'll admit Johnson lost me a bit with this one. I just didn't believe in Tierra at all.

However, as a whole, the book is worth reading and I'm looking forward to Mr. Johnson's next offering!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Short, August 7, 2006

By 

Michael (TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadlands (Paperback)

This novel was a good read, what there was of it. The actual story part of the book is only 183 pages. The character development was pretty good but most of the scenes felt too rushed. IMO it is not worth $17. If you can find it cheap or get it as part of one of amazon's deals then i recommend it. Otherwise I wouldn't pay the amount they are asking for it.