Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective: Book One: WRATH 2012 [Paperback]

Calvin A. L. Miller II (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2009

Written entirely from the perspective of a zombie named Hetfield Madden, the story follows Het from normal life, through infection, and then to his subsequent transformation into a monster. When he realizes that he's become something less than what he was, he struggles to come to grips with his new reality. The biggest challenge confronting this transition? Accepting the fact that he is now a zombie. Rather than merely the mindless, gruesome ghouls so often depicted in movies, Het and his fellow zombies view themselves as infected outcasts burdened by a sickness from which they can't seem to heal. Compounding their troubles is the fact that the government and society at-large ("Healthies") have completely rejected them, preferring to herd them into internment camps than help them recover their humanity. In light of everything confronting him, Het is forced to undergo a lot of spiritual reflection if he ever hopes to regain everything he's ever cared about. The age-old doomsday scenario of a post-apocalyptic world is twisted and told from the perspective of the diseased masses. it is written to inspire empathy in readers and invite them to consider just how it would feel to be afflicted by such a horrendous twist of fate and come face-to-face with society's prejudices and hypocritical leanings that effect even the slightest of our everyday decisions. There are also spiritual, religious, and political undertones woven throughout. Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective CalvinALMillerII.com [e-mail]

Editorial Reviews

Review

Raw Energy, Savage Storytelling, Bloody Good Writing."
-Lucas Cole, Resurrection Planet.

"Gross and I loved it!"
-Lisa Phillips, Obsession Everlasting and Knight Everlasting.

"This book could kill you! Don't read it, BUT READ IT!"
-Etienne DeForest, The Zombie Survival Guide: How To Live Like A King After The Outbreak.

From the Author

This book is best read on an empty stomach...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Zilyon Publishing; 1st edition (November 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615308775
• ISBN-13: 978-0615308777
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Calvin A. L. Miller II is a horror author/publisher/cartoonist whose books include "Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective", "The Zombie's Survival Guide, Thrive In The Zombie Apocalypse AFTER Your Turn", "Cold Blood: The End", "The Undead Nation" and "Rhonny Reaper's Creature Features".

Cal likes to write from different angles and his first book, "Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective", is written entirely from the perspective of a zombie who retains his intelligence in a post-apocalyptic society. His second effort, "The Zombie's Survival Guide, Thrive In The Zombie Apocalypse AFTER Your Turn", is written to guide the reader through the Zompocalypse AFTER he or she becomes a zombie. It even provides the best ways to turn in order to ensure you'll be the best zombie you can be.

Cal started Zilyon Publishing in November 2009 with his buddy Greg Bogle as a way to keep total creative control and get his books published his way, to publish other people's work, and also to do some good wherever possible. Today he's published 12 books, including novels, charity anthologies, graphic novels, and comics. The charity anthologies have allowed over $1000 to be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (bcrfcure.org) and Zilyon also donated money to help the kids at Hugs Foster Family Agency (hugsffa.org) have a better Christmas in 2010. Soon donations from their latest anthology will be given to fight diabetes.

Cal also does a web comic, "Ted Dead, Just Your Everyday Zombie", for ZombieFiend.com. Check out his site at CalvinALMillerII.com or ZilyonPublishing.com or email him at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw Energy, Savage Storytelling, Bloody Good Writing, January 14, 2010

By 

Lucas Cole "Author, "Resurrection Planet:... (U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective: Book One: WRATH 2012 (Paperback)

The 5 stars for this review are strictly for horror fans. All others should venture with caution into this graphically violent story told from a monster's perspective. This is a well-written tale of an innocent victim becoming a mutated flesh-eater in the midst of a virus-induced plague. I felt sorry for the main character--but my sympathy quickly shifted to his poor victims. The real horror of Het Madden is the compulsion that drives Het and his fellow zombies to dine upon their victims while recognizing the terror and pain the zombies inflict in their struggle to survive. The author has a raw, Hemmingway approach to punching out sentences and getting to the "meat" of the story. He has a highly visual style that I envy and a dark sense of humor that plays well in Het Madden's journey. The author has the ability to portray a world-wide collapse while simultaneously taking us through an action-filled horror-drama on a street level with the bluntness of a Mickey Spillane novel. I would like to see the author try his hand at a more mainstream thriller because he has the right talent for it and because this zombie book pretty much leaves nothing else on the blood-stained table for other "zombie writers" hoping to match the "I, monster" approach.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gross... And I loved it!!!, May 15, 2010

By 

Lisa Phillips (Seymour, TN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective: Book One: WRATH 2012 (Paperback)

I am an author and fan of the paranormal romance genre, so this novel was a definite walk on the wild side for me! However, I found Mr. Miller's portrayal of an average Joe waking up to find himself a monster from his most terrifying nightmares caught up in a world gone insane captivating and heartbreaking. Zombies are mindless beings we cheer for the hero to slaughter...right? Not so in this exciting tale! Het is the perfect combination of hero and monster, who kept me turning pages to see what was next. I found myself pulling for the undead, and looking forward to another story from this talented, imaginative author!

Lisa Phillips ~ Author of Obsession Everlasting
Knight Everlasting

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mad about Madden, November 14, 2010

By 

Andrew V. Marino "Andrew Valentine" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Het Madden, A Zombie Perspective: Book One: WRATH 2012 (Paperback)

Every time I took a break from reading Cal Miller's Het Madden: A Zombie Perspective (Book One: Wrath 2012), I was overcome with a strange mixture of joy and depression. The book's subversive humor, casual gore and raw "sick, twisted" imagination were a delight to the reader in me; but the book's unique central conceit--a zombie tale told by a zombie--was so brilliant in its simplicity that the writer in me wishes he came up with it.

You might think an entire story told by a zombie would be a single, groaned word ("...brains...."), but Miller packs it with wry observations, lots of twists and surprises and even a little romance, like a candlelit dinner whose main course is a living man, bound and gagged.

But it's not all demented fun and games. There are religious overtones, such as direct quotes from the Bible and subtler references to it (a darker character who appears toward the end named Legion, which a demonic, biblical reference) and occasional forays into the complexities of morality that don't slow down the plot.

When Legion shows up, Miller states his book's theme: "with God gone, Heaven and Hell went with him, and so did any devine order." It's an existential message that says right and wrong are relative. It suites his story perfectly: how else could you root for a cannibalistic monster, no matter how charming?

This is Miller's impressive debut, and it's definitely not for those with weak stomachs!

--Andrew Valentine
author of Bitter Things