Customer Reviews

Empire: A Zombie Novel

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Empire takes place a century from now, long after the rise of the plague that caused the dead to rise. These zombies are a bit different than what we have seen in other works though: the dead have always had the ability to rise up when near places that are a "source" of supernatural power, but the plague came because the power of the source was laced with a deadly virus that allows their bites to transfer their infection, allowing them to perpetuate it and carry it through the entire human population. These zombies are tougher--some are faster, stronger, and continue to regain near living physical capabilities as they feed on the living. You can't just shoot 'em in the head and walk away, you need to sever the head and burn them...always burn them.
The story takes place in Jefferson Harbor, Louisiana near one of the sources of supernatural undead energy and likely the origin point of the plague. The military has pulled out, giving up on yet another coastal community as the remnants of the US government continues to consolidate its shrinking power to the north inside walled in cities. A few citizen's choose to remain behind, ignoring the goverment's pleas to go with them as the city is abandoned. Those that choose to stay include a cop who wants to protect those who have decided to stay, a rock group that has traveled the country trying to offer a bit of a distraction from the plague for the troops and citizens who struggle onward, a man who believes he understands the true power behind the source and wants to tap into it for his own evil purposes, and a dark visitor, the grim reaper, who wants to put a stop to the undead who have defied his scythe for far too long.
David Dunwoody has created a vibrant and creative tale of the undead, fresh with new ideas and yet still unleashing the vast flow of gruesome goodness a fan of zombie fiction craves. The grim reaper is by far one of the most traditional symbols of death but tying him into this story was definitely interesting and unique amongst the zombie tales I have read over the past few years. That this story takes place over a century beyond the inception of the plague also provides us with a different viewpoint than the traditional outbreak tale, with the entire cast of characters having lived with the undead their entire lives--death is all around them, waiting for them everywhere they look. They have a resigned nature to them, an acceptance that they are living quite possibly at the end of days. Most of the characters just want to hold on to what little life they have left, even if they know their end is coming soon.
While I liked the creativity of this plot, I guess my one issue would have to be with what I would call the grand delusions of Baron Tetch. A mad genius communing with old world powers that ooze out of the swamp close to where he lives, he cuts a disturbing figure of man who wishes to control the dead and create his own empire where he stands supreme above them. His desire for power should have been more sweeping, more awe inspiring. Somehow I felt he was more of just a puny madman than a wicked sorcerer communing with the old gods in a way that would bring down the wrath of Death himself. But this is a minor issue and does not take away from this gritty tale of life, death, and afterdeath. We have characters that feel real and complicated--they understand what they face and that more than likely they won't make it out alive but they keep on fighting, clinging to every bit of living they have remaining in them while the world around them crumbles. I particularly liked the character Vorhees, who seemed tenacious and determined, willing to sacrifice himself to salvage the unsalvageable, to save anyone he could regardless of the massive odds stacked against him.
A good read and a new and creative slant on the traditional zombie tale.

First off, great concept. I love horror/living dead novels and this one took it in an interesting direction. The Grim Reaper getting down to buisness reclaiming the world of the dead one walking corpse at a time, awesome. Only snippets of him throughout the novel, not so much. The other survivors of the zombie apocalypse were just throw away characters or lunch for the undead hoardes. I had a hard time caring about the Baron and his minions as well. They just did not feel to threatening. (One exception, Sawbones. He was cool.) I just kept waiting for more about the reaper. Both his walking corpse elimination, interatction with the dying and a little girl were entertaining and facinating. The good stuff, lots of gore, some chills and cool concept. The bad stuff, too short, none of the human survivors serve any real purpose other than lunch (Lilly is the exception), a lot of stuff thrown at you that feels kind of tacked on (virus zombie vs. source zombie vs. well fed zombie vs. ferals) I like the idea of different classes of zombie, but this did not feel right. Plus, how do you take away the head shot???? That is zombie 101!!! I hope David expands his reaper character in future stories (if he reconects with Lilly or not). I will reccommend this to fans of the living dead novels such as The Rising, Cell, City of the Dead. As to regular horror, eh, you might be put off.

This could have been a really good book. The author is a competent writer, and has a strikingly original idea about how the Grim Reaper would deeply resent being cheated out of his task by an undead virus. Could have been . . . but isn't. Here's what went wrong.
- Uses the cookie-cutter "guess who is going to die next" formula. Like countless bad slasher movies, here you have a cast of characters, and have to try to guess who gets killed off next, and who will live to the end.
- Characters appear with no real purpose. Most of the action takes place in town, but there is a small Army group that stayed behind after the main force left, and spends most of its time outside town. They have no place whatever in the main story. It's like an additional short story that got chopped into pieces, and a piece inserted into the novel every chapter or so.
- Logic hole #1. The zombies here are propagated by getting bitten by another zombie, which passes along a virus. (Except zombies who are caused by exposure to "the Source", but that is pretty much an unexplored distinction.) Zombies gain energy by eating people, and the more they eat, the more energetic and "healthy" they become. But unlike the prototype Romero zombies, these zombies can't be killed with a head shot, because their flesh regenerates. So, a virus gives people the ability to regenerate flesh, bones, and organs? Say, that's a pretty good trick. And once a zombie is shot in the head, and the brain is gone, how does it function? Is the virus intelligent?
- Logic hole #2. The story is set 100 years after the outbreak. But the zombie virus is a cross-species one. It affects people, animals, fish, and amphibians. It may affect insects; that's hinted at but not really clear. With the food chain pretty much wiped out, and humans serving as a food source for an endless horde of zombie humans, birds, rats, dogs, mice, etc, is there any chance there would be life on earth after 100 years? Nope, maybe 10-20 years max.
- Death makes an innovative character, but is pretty much a bit player. The twist on Death's fate near the end is ingenious, but the author doesn't really do much with it.
- Sadly, like many zombie books, this is clearly part 1 in a multi-part series of books. When you're paying for a fairly short book (280 pages, but large type on small pages), at twice the cost of a normal paperback book, you have the right to expect better.

With every zombie novel, like horror or sci-fi, you have to suspend disbelief to an extent. But once you establish the parameters for your little corner of hell, then the rest of the story should logically fit within your constraints. That doesn't happen here. It makes an OK read if you can find it at a library, but just isn't worth the cost to buy a copy.

This isn't a bad book. However, I expected more of the battle between the grim reaper and Baron. I was a bit disappointed that every character you got to know died as soon as you really got to know them. The writer defiantly lets you get to liking a character and just as that happens, kills them off. I think in the entire book there were maybe 6 chapters dealing with the grim reapers, this was disappointing. Also, even though there are several characters with very strong beliefs in God, he doesn't show his hand but once in this book. I was a bit let down with the ending.

******SPOILERS BELOW******

The reaper will become human because of his love for Lily, but again as the book has the reader believing he's the big bad boy on the block turning him human and then not really involving him was frustrating. Also I'd like to know what becomes of Voorhees and Lily and the Reaper. None of them die in the end and their stories are just cut off. I'm not sure if there is a sequel, if there is great, I'll read it. If there isn't, there should be. As this is my second zombie novel it's by far the best I've read but was disappointed as I expected more. Less people eating and more warring with the reaper.

Despite the above, this is page turner and very hard to put down.

David Dunwoody certainly aimed high with Empire, an ambitious debut novel of zombie survival. The year is 2112 (a nod to the classic Rush album perhaps?) and the zombie infestation has ravaged Earth for more than a century. The military is still trying to protect pockets of American survivors, but in the Louisiana swampland a madman is ready to launch a plan that will make him the Emperor of a dead Earth. Meanwhile, Death is walking the Earth on his pale horse, cutting down the "rotters" who are an affront to his sacred mission.

In Dunwoody's tale of the apocalypse, zombies are the result of Cthulu-style intervention in Earth's affairs as well as plain old human error. His zombies run, can regenerate after feeding and retain a certain intelligence level. There are also zombified animals wreaking havoc on the population. I prefer the straight-up Romero-style zombies, but I'm always interested in a new zombie tale.

Despite its potential, Empire is just too unfocused to really be an effective zombie novel. It reads like a second book in a series, with disjointed subplots, characters that come and go before you can get to know them, and a sense that there are a couple of different books worth of ideas jammed together. If Death himself is a main character, then make the story about him. He was so seldom featured that his inclusion almost seemed secondary. The subplots about the fanatical soldier group and serial rapist also seemed irrelevant and unnecessary.

Empire could have worked as a "Death against the Mad Scientist" story or a simple tale of a band of survivors trying to make it to safety. By trying for both (plus throwing in everything but the proverbial kitchen sink), Dunwoody made a mess of what could have been a great zombie tale. I enjoyed the premise and the action sequences, but the best I can give Empire is a 3-star rating.

100 years after the dead start to rise the military is abandoning Jefferson Harbor to consolidate their forces inland, leaving the few remaining residents to take care of themselves in a city that is almost completely out of resources. The story follows a police officer as he tries to protect the residents, a female singer who has been left behind, a holy woman as she tries to maintain a shelter, an undead as he hunts through the city with his trusty shovel, a madman who is trying to form the dead up into his own personal servants, and Death himself as he tries to deal with an anomoly that is making his job most frustrating.

David Dunwoody's novel isn't your typical zombie story. First, there is the variety of zombies. As they feed they become stronger and faster so there are zombies ranging from the Romero type of lumbering idiot to the fast and deadly variety. Also, there are two distinct types of zombies. One who is risen by the powers of the universe itself, and another type who is infected and can infect others. Another thing that separates this novel from others is the appearance of Death. He is almost like batman in the city of Gotham, a legend come to life. His frustration is obvious and his unique perspective on the situation separates this novel from other zombie works even more. The zombies aren't the only evil within the book. There are also callous men who are only looking out for themselves, a rapist among the few survivors and the Baron's civilized evil gives the book a nice twist.

If you are looking for something new and refreshing in the zombie horror genre then Empire is certainly it.

I went into EMPIRE fairly sure it was going to be another typical zombie story, the kind that's flooded the horror market a lot in recent years. There's only so much you can do with zombies, right?

Wrong.

Dunwoody puts such a fun unique spin on the old genre that I read this like a kid again. I hated putting the book down for the night. Each chapter added another piece to a puzzle while it solved another. EMPIRE kept me turning pages, shifting between fear and giggling with delight.

Who would be the natural enemy of a world now overwhelmed by zombies? Death. Why hasn't anyone else thought of that yet? Death comes to save the living so people can die once again instead of shambling around on Earth as brainless flesh eaters. Wow.

Only critique I would give is a lot of characters are thrown at the reader and often it takes a moment to remember who is who. But Dunwoody solves that problem by letting you know that no one is safe for very long.

I highly recommend this book. By nature, I am a horrible reader. Most books have me turning pages as if they are made of lead. But not this one. I hope Dunwoody continues with the cutting edge originality he's created here.

-Gregory L Hall

Ok, as you can tell I am not impressed by this book at all. Of all the zombie books I have gotten from Amazon, I felt that this was the worse (that being Day by Day Armageddon, Dying to live, Morning star strain - both, World war Z) So here is a break down:

Pros: It's a zombie book; zombie lovers will love another authors ideas about the zombie plague. Has the grim reaper. Zombies are...different then your usual zombies.

Cons: Not entirely well written. Often left with scratching my head trying to figure out whose perspective the author is trying to write from. That is because in one paragraph you have the view point from one character and the second it is the other character. It would have been nice to stick with one through out the chapter and switch from point of views from chapter to chapter. Next point, Grim Reaper. Shows up in spurts and appears to have a persona of an emo kid which is such a let down. If you are expecting the avatar of death to be the equivalent of Neo from Matrix, this book will let you down hard.

After Thoughts: The book is called Empire...Why? I have no clue. If you think ruling a house equals an empire, sure I guess it can be called as such. Otherwise the name of the book feels extremely inadequate.

This book started off with a great premise: have the grim reaper take care of all the worlds remaining undead zombies. I guess it was too much to ask to have the reaper mowing down hoards of the undead side by side with the world's remaining survivors. The reaper doesn't even show up very often in the early chapters. This was a HUGE disappointment since this author was such a talented writer! This book showed so much promise it's a shame it took a left turn and never got back on the road! To make matters worse this author leaves huge gaps unanswered, as he expects the "sequel" to be written. Sorry, zombie lovers; I suggest you look else ware for a better read.

Before I wrote my review I check some of the 1-star and 5-star reviews and people either loved or hated it for the same reason. I was torn between the two.

First, the negative. Thinking about this book as a whole I was strongly considering giving it two stars, writing a quick, toss-away review and being done. The biggest problem I had here was the cinema quality of the book. I feel like I could turn on the Sci-Fi...sorry, Sy-Fy channel on any given Saturday at 3:00 P.M. (or 3:00 A.M.) and watch this book unfold in all it's cheesy, B-movie horror. The terrible special effects where, when they shoot a handgun or rifle, you just see little flashes instead of the actual muzzle flash because the studio wouldn't cough up the budget for actual ammunition. The horrible dialogue. The gratuitous and poorly done blood. The smart-people-doing-stupid-things. The hot girl who looks like she just came from a jog in the suburbs despite the post-apocalyptic nature of the environment who absolutely MUST walk into the dark basement alone, etc. etc. etc.

There were also some gaping plot holes and several of the Point of View characters just seem totally undeveloped and unneeded. Like the military team who continue to roam around the city where the book takes place despite never actually doing anything except for a quick mop-up near the end of the book. The two cops out on a small boat off the coast of the city who observe some of the action from afar but don't really ever do much else. A scene near the end where a zombie bites Death and becomes something...greater than a zombie (very Agent Smith from The Matrix) In the end though, this book felt like it had been specifically written to be turned into a bad movie. It's like a campy, low-budget version of the original Resident Evil without any of the originality that movie brought to the genre.

However, there is an upside. I really enjoyed the way Death was portrayed in the novel. Instead of being an omnipotent being, he's somewhat vulnerable character trying to do his job. I think the novel could have been a lot better if it had focused on this instead of the campy never-ending action sequence that lasted 150 pages (give or take). Without giving too much away, I'll also say that I loved Death's conversation with 'a higher power.' For the same reason some hated it, I liked the new zombie strain. Its a move away from the "head shot kills it" meme that's been done to death in the genre.

So overall, not a bad read. More focus on the originality and less focus on the stereotypical zombie action sequence could have produced a very good book. I gave this book both the original and unoriginal tags...which in itself is original.