Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines [Paperback]

D.L. Snell (Author), Z.A. Recht (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

Zombies have devoured mankind. And the few survivors would be better off dead because a clan of vampires, bloodthirsty and vicious, have captured the remnants of humanity for livestock. In an apartment building barricaded with wrecked cars, concrete rubble, and snarls of barbwire, the vampires breed lobotomized amputees. Ann, the secret blood slave of the maternity doctor, has evaded this fate, yet her sister Ellie has not. Though she longs to escape, Ann cannot abandon her sibling and unborn niece. But she may have to if she wants to survive. The living dead have found a weak spot in the barricade and are quickly invading the building. Shade, the vampire monarch, defends her kingdom, while Frost, Shade's general, plans to migrate to an island where they can breed and hunt humans. In their path stands a legion of corpses, just now evolving into something far more lethal, something with tentacles--and that's just the beginning.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A marvelous dark fantasy---filled with ruthless vampires, flesh-eating zombies, and enough action to leave you breathless. Intense, gruesome, funny, and fast-paced---it has all the ingredients needed to satisfy even the most jaded fan of horror fiction. -- Jonathan Maberry, Author of "Ghost Road Blues"

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Permuted Press (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978970713
• ISBN-13: 978-0978970710
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

D.L. Snell has been writing and editing for over five years. As an author, he has sold three novels, six novellas, and eighteen short stories. Anthologies include Pocket Books' BLOOD LITE series, edited by best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson and co-authored by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Heather Graham, Kelley Armstrong, and many other great authors. Snell's novella "Mortal Gods," published in Permuted Press's THE UNDEAD: HEADSHOT QUARTET, garnered an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, VOL. 1, and his first novel, ROSES OF BLOOD ON BARBWIRE VINES, also attained critical acclaim from popular novelists such as New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry and David Moody.

As a freelance editor, Snell has edited six novels, four anthologies, and two single-author collections. Edited works include Kim Paffenroth's DYING TO LIVE from Gallery Books/Permuted Press, and also the Permuted Press edition of David Wong's JOHN DIES AT THE END, which was later bought by St. Martin's Press and has been adapted to film by director/producer Don Coscarelli. In addition, Snell once provided a constructive critique of Joe McKinney's epic zombie thriller APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD, published through Kensington's imprint Pinnacle.

For his blog, dlsnell.com, Snell interviews editors at book publishers, magazines, and anthologies to help writers tailor submissions for specific markets.

NOVELS
ROSES OF BLOOD ON BARBWIRE VINES (ISBN-13: 978-0978970710)

SHORT STORIES
"Pale Moonlight" -- THE UNDEAD (ISBN-13: 978-0976555940)
"Present Tense, Future Imperfect" -- MONSTROUS (ISBN-13: 978-1934861127)
"Blood Bags and Tentacles" -- CTHULHU UNBOUND 1 (ISBN-13: 978-1934861134)
"Mouser" -- Chimeraworld #3 (ISBN: 1411670930)
"Limbless Bodies Swaying" -- COLD FLESH (out of print)
"Beneath the Rug" -- MONSTERS INK (out of print)
"Bullet Solitaire" -- RAW MEAT (out of print)
"Tooth Decay" -- Halloween 2.0 (out of print)
"Smashing Pumpkins" -- Halloween 3.0 (out of print)
"A Story To Tell" -- THE DREAM PEOPLE
"King of the Mountain of Corpses" -- POTTER'S FIELD 2 (out of print)
"Suzy Polenski's Panties" -- ZOMBOLOGY (ISBN-13: 978-1442125445)
"Meat Drippings" -- Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths (ISBN-13: 978-0980133806)
"The Father and the Skull" -- SHROUD MAGAZINE Issue 7, Vol. 2
"Love Seat Solitaire" -- BLOOD LITE (ISBN-13: 978-1439148402)
"Dick and Larry" -- BLOOD LITE: OVERBITE (ISBN-13: 978-1439187654)
"Dick, and Larry Too" -- Kindle Single
"Brians!!!" -- BLOOD LITE: AFTERTASTE (coming Oct. 2011)

NOVELLAS
"Skin and Bones" -- THE UNDEAD 2: SKIN AND BONES (ISBN-13: 978-0978970741)
"Mortal Gods" -- THE UNDEAD: HEADSHOT QUARTET (ISBN13: 9781934861004)
"Remains" -- ELEMENTS OF THE APOCALYPSE (ISBN-13: 978-1934861509)
"Ghostwriter" (out of print)
"Hourglass" (out of print)
"MirrororriM" -- CTHULHU UNBOUND 3 (coming 2011)

EDITED ANTHOLOGIES
THE UNDEAD
THE UNDEAD: SKIN & BONES
THE UNDEAD: FLESH FEAST
BEST TALES OF THE APOCALYPSE (coming 2011)

EDITED COLLECTIONS
MADMEN'S DREAMS
SEASON OF ROT

EDITED NOVELS
IT'S ONLY TEMPORARY by Eric Shapiro
BESTIAL by William Carl
DYING TO LIVE by Kim Paffenroth
DYING TO LIVE: LIFE SENTENCE by Kim Paffenroth
DYING TO LIVE: LAST RITES by Kim Paffenroth
JOHN DIES AT THE END by David Wong

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Metaphors and an overused vernacular make for a difficult read, March 20, 2008

By 

Kurt (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines (Paperback)

I'm on a zombie book kick right now and want to read what people rate as the best. DL Snell tried to be a literary genius by making each descriptive sentence into some metaphor or simile. I'm an educated person and I can grasp and understand these, but it does require one to think, thus making it a slower read.

Another complaint is that each chapter is about 3-4 pages long. It would seem that instead of trying to link each scene change with some words, he'd rather just end the chapter.

Complaints aside, it is a gruesome tale of vampirism and their quest for survival. I just wish the author would use common language instead of trying to come across as a pompous know-it-all. I was misguided by the rest of the reviews, thinking this would be a great and easy read. I was wrong, sadly.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 50 pages is enough, September 14, 2008

By 

Kenny Waryn "Kenny" (North Arlington, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines (Paperback)

I tried. I really did.

I can't remember the last book I stopped reading before finishing it, but this one, I couldn't make past 50 pages. Actually, 48 pages. 8 Chapters.

I tried, but I just can't read it anymore.

First, I hate to give bad reviews, and will only do when a book or movie really deserves it. And this one does.

When I bought the book, I had high hopes. Zombies AND Vampires. What could be better? I love zombie fiction and have read a ton of zombie books over the past few years, some good, some great, some awesome, but this is the first stinker that I've read....or attempted to read.

My complaints are similiar to the other criticisms of this book. One, it's way too over descriptive, to the point I had to re-read a few things because I wasn't sure what the hell the author was talking about. Being descriptive is good, but being overly descriptive in every sentence of every paragraph on every page is not just annoying, but very distracting. Instead of adding to the story, it takes away, and makes it a hard read.

Second, instead of a horror story, the book comes off as a poor romance novel. There is very little in the way of action or zombies in the first 50 pages, but plenty of overly described sex and masturbation that adds zero to the story. It seems the only reason all the sex was in the book is it must've got the author all hot and bothered writing it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have the same effect on the reader.

And, 50 pages in, all I know that's going on is one vampire wants to go someplace else, and some woman kinda would like to escape, but doesn't want to leave her pregnant sister. Not much of a story to keep you hooked, but a whole lot of meaningless filler.

I probably won't try reading this book again, since I won't have that 'I wonder how it ended' question lingering, since there really wasn't much of a plot in the first 8 chapters.

Maybe the book gets better, and I'm missing out. Somehow I doubt it though.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Sci Fi Reader Loves It., September 22, 2007

By 

Joseph Calderon "IamJoe" (Grants Pass, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines (Paperback)

Length:: 0:58 Mins

I am new to science fiction and I loved this book. I was hooked after the first few pages and couldn't put it down. I thought it was going to be like all the other Vampire stories, but I was pleasantly surprised. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. I hope to read more of D.L Snell's books in the future. Keep up the good work.