Road Trip of the Living Dead [Paperback]

Mark Henry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2009

Celebrity party girl Amanda Feral is back from the dead, and hungrier than ever for a good time. With her zombie gal pal Wendy and vampy gay sidekick Gil, this stone cold fox is dressed to kill, on the prowl, and ready to take a big juicy bite out of Seattle's supernatural nightlife. But what's a zombie chick to do when her 'Mommie Dearest' gets sick? If you're Amanda Feral, you can either ignore the wicked old witch - or bury the past by visiting Ethel before she kicks it. Amanda's not thrilled about the idea of crossing three states just to be criticized. But Wendy, who's always looking for fresh meat, is up for the adventure. And Gil, who just launched his 'luxury' resurrection business, needs to disappear because a pissed-off client is out for his blood. First, they pack their stiletto pumps and plasma into a skeevy rattrap on wheels that used to be a Winnebago. Then, with a little help from a Korean-ghost hood ornament, a masochist named Fishhook, and a slew of 'moderately accurate' psychics, they hit the highway - their way. Of course, they'll have to navigate past some neo-Nazi skinheads, a horny dust devil, a hunky werewolf cop (who could pass for an underwear model) and an unsightly horde of supermarket shoppers. But for this glamorous gang of ghouls this trip is about to take a dangerous detour that could give road kill a brand new meaning.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two fashionista zombies on the lam leave a trail of carnage from Seattle to Rapid City, S.D., in this unabashedly raunchy sequel to 2008's Happy Hour of the Damned. Narrator Amanda Feral, who sneers at the poor fashion sense of her victims before eating their brains, coaxes fellow zombie Wendy Miller to accompany her on a visit to Amanda's dying, abusive mother. They pick up the pace when their vampire friend, Gil, offends a strip club owner, who chases them with a pack of werewolves. Someone also keeps beheading members of Amanda's pickup entourage, but it's hard to credit her outrage given her own homicidal proclivities. Casual browsers drawn in by sarcastic, hip comments may be taken aback by deliberately filthy incidents involving genitalia and excrement; this is not a tale for the weak of stomach. (Mar.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books; Original edition (February 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758225245
• ISBN-13: 978-0758225245
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,260,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark traded a career in the helping profession to scar minds with his fiction. He attributes his ideas to premature exposure to horror movies, and/or witnessing adult cocktail parties in the '70s. His development has been further skewed by surviving earthquakes, typhoons, and two volcanic eruptions. Despite being disaster prone, he somehow continues to live and breathe. Residing in the oft maligned, yet not nearly as soggy as you'd think, Pacific Northwest, with his wife and two furry monsters that think they're children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Road Trip is a fantastic read and you will not be disappointed., February 24, 2009

By 

Rachel P. Smith "BittenbyBooks.com" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Road Trip of the Living Dead (Paperback)

The fearsome threesome is back in Road Trip of the Living Dead. When Amanda gets a letter stating that her mother is dying, her first instinct is to pitch the letter and forget about it. After all, what did her mother ever do for her? Wendy and Gil appeal to the softer side of Amanda's conscience. When things go wrong with a client in Gil's new resurrection business, off they go to the middle of nowhere to pay one last visit to the woman who gave birth to Amanda. Along the way, they encounter some unusual characters. And of course, they also manage to encounter more trouble. Will Amanda be able to keep from bashing in her mother's head with a bedpan? Will she be able to retain her youthful good looks while in the middle of danger?

I have to admit, I had bought Happy Hour of the Damned about two days before meeting Mark Henry at RT last year. It was nowhere near the top of my reading list, but when I came home, I sat down and started to read it. As I read the first chapter, I was not sure I wanted to keep reading the book, but by the time I finished it, I was glad I did. I knew I could not wait until he finished the next book. To find out that it would not come out until the following year was pure torture. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I got my hands on a copy for review. I loved it! Road Trip of the Living Dead is definitely worth 5 tombstones.

Amanda Feral is not your typical zombie and if it were not for her eating habits, you would never guess that she was anything but a diva. Road Trip is very snarky and, at times, very funny. Mr. Henry uses footnotes throughout the book as well as playlists and various other little unexpected surprises. By the time you finish the book, there is almost no way that you can dislike Amanda, Wendy and Gil, even if they do seem shallow and selfish at times. I do caution the faint of heart to read this a little bit at a time, as reading about zombies does tend to be a little...gross at times. Pick up Mark Henry and give his series a try. Road Trip is a fantastic read and you will not be disappointed.

Reviewed at Bitten by Books Paranormal Fiction Review Site by Virginia

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zombie Glam in the Savage Suburbs, February 24, 2009

By 

Alana Abbott "Author of Into the Reach and De... (New Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road Trip of the Living Dead (Paperback)

This is no club opening. Zombie Amanda Feral, gal pal Wendy, and vamp cohort Gil are on the road, making a mad dash away from the newly-vamped gangster who is out to end Gil's unlife. Facing such savage threats as werewolf thugs, vengeance seeking girls with guns, overly-polite cultists, and K-Mart shopping, the gang makes their way to the deathbed of Amanda's mother. Amanda's not interested in closure, but she wouldn't mind making sure her Mommy Dearest is ushered off into the next world permanently. Besides, what better way to let a gangster cool his heels than flee town? But of course, things are never that simple, and we lucky readers get to delve not only into Amanda's past (showing some depth beneath that shallow exterior), but get taken along for the chaos of the road trip of an after-lifetime. Read my full review at http://www.flamesrising.com/road-trip-living-dead-review/

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate in ZombLit, November 30, 2009

By 

Jessica Blanche - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Road Trip of the Living Dead (Paperback)

Look out Max Brooks and Candace Bushnell here comes Mark Henry with his leading lady Amanda Feral. It's a glorious read for the fashion minded, action loving set with a thing for the undead.