Domain of the Dead [Paperback]

Iain McKinnon (Author), David Moody (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2009

The world is dead, devoured by a plague of reanimated corpses. In a crumbling city Sarah, Nathan, and a band of survivors barricade themselves inside a warehouse surrounded by a sea of shambling putrefaction. Days in seclusion blur by, and their food is nearly gone. The group is faced with two possible deaths: creeping starvation, or the undead outside the warehouse. As Sarah stands on the edge of the warehouse roof preparing to step out into oblivion she spots a glimmer of hope. In the distance a helicopter approaches the city ... but is it the salvation the survivors have been waiting for? And do they dare attempt to fight their way through the mass of infected dead to reach it?

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Permuted Press (November 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934861278
• ISBN-13: 978-1934861271
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Iain McKinnon was born in Scotland in the early seventies and lived a happy well balanced childhood, with the exception of being forced to wear flares and the 1978 World Cup. Iain is a Sci-Fi geek with a macabre streak currently writing for Permuted Press. He lives and writes from his home just outside Edinburgh.
You can follow Iain on is web page www.iain-mckinnon.com ot on Facebook www.facebook.com/iain.mckinnon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked Fun!, October 23, 2011

By 

Jonathan Maberry -NY Times Bestseller (Bucks County, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Domain of the Dead (Paperback)

DOMAIN OF THE DEAD is one of those zombie novels that balances nail-biting action with finely-drawn characters. You care about these people. The author also has a deft hand in balancing common tropes of the zombie genre with new twists that keep the story fresh and exciting. Highly recommended.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Undead in the Head book review, January 29, 2010

By 

Lyle L. Perez "Author and zombie book reviewer" (Anza, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Domain of the Dead (Paperback)

For some reason I really wanted to read this book. It might have been the cover, I remember stumbling across it on Amazon saying "now that's a cover." I had to get it as soon as I could and now that I've read it I wasn't that disappointed.

We follow a group of survivors holding up in a Costco like warehouse. Sarah, our main survivor, was standing on the roof of the building one morning. She started having thoughts about jumping off the roof to the undead down below, she has lost all hope to live when out in the distance she heard a faint noise. A helicopter comes into her view, excited for seeing the first other group of survivors in years she goes to wake up the rest of the survivors. The big group of survivors decide risking their lives running across the infected town to reach the helicopter in hopes they will be saved.

When only some of the survivors reach the helicopter, they are rescued and taken to a near by military base. The base is located on a military ship known as The Ishtar. When Sarah and the few survivors left land on The Ishtar they are welcomed by Commander Patterson, one of the men in charge. The survivors learn of the true purpose of The Ishtar, it is a research lab looking for any useful information on the virus. A breakthrough was thought to be found but ended up being horror for the remaining survivors. In order to find out what happens to Sarah and what this breakthrough is you'll have to read the book.

One of the real good things about this book is the dialogue. As I was reading I could imagine myself standing next to these characters and listening in. I said this before and I'll say it again I loved the cover. The zombie looks great, the bitten off nose was a real great touch. The zombies are the traditional zombie which is something that I enjoyed, they were slow and would creep up behind you tearing flesh out of your neck.

Domain of the Dead isn't a bad book but it just couldn't really catch my attention the way I thought it would. Yes the dialogue was well written but the story itself was lacking a little. (SPOILER START) This story would have been better if you would have followed Cahz and the rest of the marines when they gave up their seats to the survivors in the helicopter. I thought the book would follow them as they tried to stay alive in the city over run by the dead. That was not the case, the book follows Sarah and the other survivors. We don't really hear anything on Cahz and the marines until the end. (SPOILER END) The characters were mostly two dimensional and I couldn't get a good visual on them. The beginning was great but most of the book was a bit dull and lacking something.

Over all it was a good book, I would have liked it more if the story line was a little different. There's wasn't as much action as I would have hoped. I'll have to give Domain of the Dead 3 Undead Heads out of 5.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Domain of The Dead, February 22, 2011

By 

Chip Fehd "buyzombie dotcom" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Domain of the Dead (Kindle Edition)

Finding high quality Zombie literature is akin to waiting for your favorite song to come on the radio; sometimes,you have to sift through some garbage before you can find the good stuff. Iain McKinnon's DOMAIN OF THE DEAD is good stuff. It's a thunderclap of a novel, taut and lean. McKinnon's spare prose is effective in carrying the reader along at breakneck speed, while still giving you characters to care about. All killer, no filler if you will.
The story starts well after the Zombie uprising, so the characters are already weary and hardened when we first meet them. This allows for a more steamlined action narrative. The action in DOTD is tight and vicious, and doesn't skimp on the zombie goodness. Mr.McKinnon has a good ear for dialogue, giving you characters who seem like they could be your neighbors.
Any drawbacks to this zomie enchilada? Well, yes, but they were minor. The descriptions of what the World's governments looked like after the uprising were unique and some more insight into them would have been welcome. That's the only gripe I really had.
Overall, this is a novel that needs to be in your zombie library. I purchased this book based on the recommendation of a friend, and I can honestly say I was pleased with my buy. I eagerly look forward to getting my hands on more of Mr. Mckinnon's work.