The Gathering Dead (A Zombie Apocalypse Novel) [Kindle Edition]

Stephen Knight (Author)

Book Description

The Horde Is Always Hungry...

The zombie apocalypse has begun, and Major Cordell McDaniels is given the most important mission of his career: lead a Special Forces team into New York City to rescue the one man who can stop the ghastly virus that reanimates the dead.

But as a growing army of flesh-eating corpses takes over the streets and a violent storm renders airborne extraction impossible, McDaniels struggles to find a way out of the Big Apple. The odds of anyone getting out alive plummet further when slaughtered members of his own Special Forces team join the ranks of the gathering dead... with their military skills intact!

THE GATHERING DEAD series consists of the following works:
THE GATHERING DEAD
LEFT WITH THE DEAD
THE RISING HORDE: VOLUME 1
THE RISING HORDE: VOLUME 2

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Gathering Dead is a full-blown military action/horror novel that hits the ground running from page one... Knight does a terrific job of balancing action and tight plotting against a vast amount of military detail and terminology...a highly engrossing and enjoyable narrative... 

--NecroScope, September 12, 2011

The Gathering Dead should be assigned reading for everyone who loves a good zombie tale...

-- Bricks of the Dead, October 4, 2011

About the Author

Stephen Knight is the author of the bestselling zombie apocalypse tale The Gathering Dead and the follow-on novella Left With The Dead, as well as the horror thriller City of the Damned and the action-adventure Hackett's War. Together with Derek Paterson, he wrote the erotic thriller White Tiger. Knight lives in the New York City area.

Product Details

• File Size: 557 KB
• Print Length: 276 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004SYAY2S
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,479 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #23 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Occult
  • #25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Occult

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story with minor issues May 28, 2011

By B. Beard

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Gathering Dead by Stephen Knight is centered on Major McDaniels and his entourage of military cohorts. Although a good book over all, there are several smaller problems that lead to some issues that detract from an otherwise well-written book. McDaniels and his men must safely transfer Safire, a scientist with the knowledge vital to fighting the zombie epidemic, through a zombie-infested New York City to an aircraft that will take them to a more secure location. Trouble at the transport center leaves the group trapped in a building with several new characters and yet more troubles to deal with.

Cover art: 3 stars
The cover is very much like many other zombie book covers--red coloring and a font evocative of blood. There's nothing really to make it distinct or depict any additional source of conflicts aside from the zombies.

Characters: 3.5 stars
The main character McDaniels is very thoroughly developed. There are a few times when it felt like the inconsistencies with his behavior had less to do with true internal conflict and more to do with fitting a plot need.
I also wasn't buying the accent given to Earl, the black building repairman. His accent and his mannerisms often seemed more like something you might find from some 1930s share cropper and not a middle-aged black man living in the 21st century in New York City. On occasion, his diction seemed to adjust itself between scenes, but, for the most part, it just felt entirely too old school for this age.
However, I did feel that I was able to make connections with all the characters and they all served a purpose in the story.

Plot: 4 Stars
The plot, over all, was very good. Scenes had a good flow, and besides Earl's speech patterns, there were no continuity issues. I especially liked the use of a different kind of zombie. I think that people sometimes want to see the same type of thing in this genre and that can lead to stagnation.
There were a few things that sometimes distracted me during the story. One was the overuse of POV changes, particularly unnecessary ones. There was an instance where the story shifted to the POV of Ragenia Safire, the scientist's daughter, but nothing of importance happened during those scenes. I was also thrown off with some of the sexual language and descriptions that served no purpose. I'm far from a prude, but their use in this novel came out of left field and served no real purpose. This would have been fine if a potential romantic connection was later made, but as used, it seemed gratuitous.
My other issue was with a flash back to a previous conflict between McDaniels and one of the men. This may been intended to help establish the animosity between the two, but overall, it brought me out of the story and left me wondering why this couldn't have been summed up in an argument between the two in the present situation.
There were also a few issues with telegraphing of plot points. Sometimes a little uncertainty is necessary in maintaining a tense atmosphere. There were also a few plot points that bordered on contrived. There is only a certain amount of good luck the reader can tolerate and this can't be stored up for one big hooray.

Writing: 4.5 Stars
I was amazed with how well written this book was. I think this was the key to being able to forgive some of the other mistakes I mentioned. As a matter of fact, the book was on the longer side of things, but despite that, it never dragged. This reader engagement was a sign of the quality of the writing.
As for editing, I did notice about 5-10 times where a word was missing or misplaced, but there weren't major issues that truly distracted from my enjoyment of the story.

Overall: 4 Stars
Despite the few issues I might have had with the book, it was very well written, and the things I mentioned only niggled at the back of my mind as a minor annoyance. Enjoyment was defiantly a factor in my rating. Not only was the book well thought out and thorough in its military references, it also was easy to understand despite my non-military background. Curious about the accuracy, I did find myself asking my veteran husband several questions, but each time, the author was spot on.
In the end, I would highly recommend this book and plan on checking out Knight's other books.

Happy reading!
My indie, my tea and me

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense story! March 25, 2011

By Joe_L

Format:Kindle Edition

This is an intense story - one of those which makes you feel you're part of the action. I found myself rooting for the special forces team through their ups and downs (there are many!). It's got a powerful ending - certainly not what I expected. This is the second story I've read by this author and I enjoy his writing style. He provides enough detail to involve the reader, yet maintains a fast pace. This is the type of story I could envision becoming a great movie!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars buy this book ! April 8, 2011

By D. Dustin

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book grabs you on the first page and doesn't let go. A great zombie novel with real, well written characters and great action. As another reviewer noted it's the best $.99 deal ever on Amazon and that's absolutely true. Since I bought my Kindle a year ago I've read as many of the books offered here in the zombie genre as I can find and this is clearly one of the best. If you have read Craig Dilouie and a few other new authors then you know how good a lot of the new zombie novels are and The Gathering Dead stands with the best. I was very impressed with the character devolpment but the attention to detail with regard to the Special Forces operators was also first rate and that goes for the aviation sequences as well. This is just a blast. It's not often I finish a book and feel like just starting at the beginning all over again but I did here. I really hope to see more like this from Stephen Knight. Now I have to pick up his other books. I think we'll be hearing alot more about him. I hope others that like this genre as much as I will buy this book and enjoy it as much as I did and support these great new writers. Hooah!

More About the Author

Stephen Knight is the author of the bestselling zombie apocalypse tale The Gathering Dead and the follow-on novella Left With The Dead, as well as the horror thriller City of the Damned and the action-adventure Hackett's War. Together with Derek Paterson, he wrote the erotic thriller White Tiger. Knight lives in the New York City area.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#32 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#32 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror