Customer Reviews

Praise the Dead: A Zombie Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was a good book with an interesting take on the whole zombie genre. Two kids, a boy and a girl, end up on opposite sides of an ugly zombie apocalypse. One of them is able to control the living dead and make them do his bidding, and the other has been brought up to stop him. Lots of gore and a quest ensue.

This is a well-written book, very descriptive and quite enjoyable. It would make a great movie (if someone could wrap their head around kids doing some of the things these kids do.) My only real complaint is that I wish the author had spent more time developing the characters of our two leads before they got thrown into the action. The boy in particular seemed one-dimensional. But it didn't really distract from the overall fun. If you're looking for a quick read with a healthy dose of zombies and guts, you could do a lot worse than this.

Praise the Dead is of the classic good vs. evil, showdown at the end story structure. Yes, there are zombies. No, they are not the focus. Instead, it's about a frightened girl, destined for something greater than herself. If you're already a fan of Gina's writing, you'll dig this one. If not, this one is a great start.

This ain't the first Ranalli book I've read, and it certainly won't be the last.
A pre-apocalyptic tale, this is a very unusual zombie novel, but really, the whole shambling corpse thing is getting a bit over-run with Brian Keene wanna-be's anyway.
This is not one of those...
I do think it could have been longer, as there was room for more development of plot and characters. Still a very enjoyable and satisfying read.
The two central characters are both children, and each bears an unusual power. The antagonist wields the power to raise the dead, while the female protagonist has the ability to communicate with birds.
For a zombie novel, there are plenty of undead, but the zombies are not as central to the tale as you would expect. There is an over-riding theme of good vs. evil, of the manipulation of mankind towards its own self-destruction.
The characters are well-written, if a bit under-worked, the pace is steady, and Ranalli once again exhibits her unique voice and narrative style.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in an unusual but very good read.

4.5/5

Praise the Dead: A Zombie Novel

I read a lot of zombie novels and I must say this book was a refreshing change. It's about good vs evil. Andrew discovers at an early age that he has the power of resurrection. Lindy can talk to birds and they have been telling her that something bad is going to happen. The character development was excellent in this book. I read in almost one sitting because I could not put it down.

I don't want to give too many details of the book away and would love to tell you every single thing that was awesome in it. So just buy this book and read it, you'll not be disappointed. Like always Ranalli delivers another great novel.

Two teenagers, one good one evil. They go to war with zombies in the middle.
A different sort of zombie story but very well done. This would make a great movie.
Good read!

If you're thinking about purchasing this book, you're probably saying to yourself, "Do I really want to read ANOTHER zombie story?" My answer to you would be: 1) "Praise the Dead" is not just another zombie story and 2) Yes!

Gina Ranalli takes the usual zombie fare, molds it, twists it, and bends it into a original tale of good versus evil, boy versus girl, child versus adult, living versus dead. The strength of the story lies in these contrasts and the dichomoty of parallel storylines is executed brilliantly. Ranalli engages the reader in a character study of two very different children--Andrew, the antagonist and wielder of the powers of resurrection, a sadist of a boy hell-bent on ruling the world. Lindy, the protagonist and reluctant heroine, who possesses the power to speak with birds--and sets them on an inevitable collision course with the other.

Fans of Wrath James White's "The Resurrectionist," apocalyptic horror, and zombie stories in general will appreciate Ranalli's unique style, unflinching story, and punch-in-the-gut prose.

'Praise the Dead' is not your average zombie book. The protagonist and antagonist are children. A boy who can resurrect pitted against a girl who can talk to birds. Things get apocalyptic fast. I thought Lindy and her birds a nice unique touch to the genre. I loved this book.

This is the second book I've read by Gina Ranalli and I will be checking out her back catalogue.

Gina Ranalli, <strong>Praise the Dead</strong> (Coscom Entertainment, 2010)

I read Ranalli's <em>Wall of Kiss</em> last year, and while I was amused by it, it didn't really blow me away as I'd expected from much of what I'd read about her. But I did note when I bought it that she'd written a zombie novel. I'm a sucker for zombie novels, so picking this up was a given. And once again, I wasn't blown away, but I think I got a better sense of what Gina Ranalli is capable of from this book than I did with the last one. It's got a much wider scope to it, a larger cast of characters in the center rather than on the perimeter, and Ranalli handles that well, most of the time.

Plot: two children are born with special gifts on opposite sides of the country. Andrew has the power to raise the dead. He starts experimenting with local pets, and then, as so often happens, moves on to humans. But he's frustrated by his inability to bring them back exactly the way the were before they died... far, far away, Lindy has the ability to understand the language of birds. And the birds are telling her about Andrew, and that she's the only one who can stop him...

The strong points: Ranalli has a pretty awesome hook here, and she carries through with it without things being <em>too</em> predictable. I'm sure you already have an idea in your head given the synopsis above of Hitchcock vs. Romero; I certainly did when I first read the Amazon product description. Ranalli, however, is not going to take the cheap route, and that is a wonderful thing. Also, as I mentioned, give her a cast of characters who are forced to interact for a hundred-odd pages, and their personalities develop a great deal more than did the nameless protagonist of <em>Wall of Kiss</em>.

The weak point is the book's brevity, which leads to some odd elisions I would have liked to see more fully explored. When we first meet Lindy, for example, she considers her gift a curse, and the incessant chattering of the birds almost drives her to a nervous breakdown. By the third or fourth time we see her, when she's approaching adolescence, we're simply told that she's learned to deal with it. Come on, I want to <em>see</em> that! Also, at least one formerly-important plot point simply vanishes into thin air (can't tell you what without spoilers, but again it involves Lindy).

In short: there's a lot to like about this book, and a lot that will leave you wondering what happened during the editing process and/or wanting this book to be a great deal longer than it is so you can fill in the gaps. It's strong stuff, and quite likable. I just wanted more of it. ***

An inspired and original tale of good vs. evil with plenty of undead action. A great addition to any zombie collection.