The Devil's Plague: Tomes of the Dead Series (Tomes of the Dead (Abaddon Books)) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Mark Beynon (Author) "The unrelenting sun baked the blood red sand of the battlefield, forming a burgundy coloured mirage that seemed to shimmer across the wasteland..." (more)
Key Phrases: Tomes of the Dead, The Devil's Plague, Sir William (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
England, 1651-The Battle of Worcester. To help him attain a victory over the Royalists, Oliver Cromwell has made a pact with the Devil. In return for his soul, he has been given a fearsome army of the dead - a blood-thirsty platoon of ancient evil. the Kryfangan! But whoever these demons slay, rise from the dead. And soon the country is overun by the zombie horde.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Abaddon Books (October 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905437412
• ISBN-13: 978-1905437412
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,087,793 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A historical British Zombie yarn. 3.5 stars., March 20, 2008

By	Patrick S. Dorazio "Sloggoth" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Devil's Plague takes place during the English Civil War (British Civil War?) and Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the Parlimentarians, has made a deal with the Devil (aka Mr. Cipher...perhaps a nod to Louis Cipher, from the movie "Angel Heart"?) that unleashes the Kryfangan, a demon army that looks somewhat like giant amphibians, upon the Royalist army, led by Charles Stuart, the heir to the English throne. They also were around in the time of Gengis Khan, who also signed up to have them fight for him. It seems they have been around since the dawn of humanity, getting greedy men to sign over their souls for the chance for them to fight for them.

The catch is that those killed by the Krynfangan rise from the dead, thus the undead tie in with this novel. The strange thing about the undead that rise is they have a real hate for the Kryfangan as well as all humanity. I guess I would figure the Kryf would lead the undead army to humanities entire destruction but instead, they seem forced to go to war with the undead after they all die by their blades or the undead kill all the human beings around them.

Overall, this story is well written but I really did not think it was all that compelling of a zombie story. Most of our time is spent with a rag tag band of actors who team up with Charles in an effort to stop Cromwell and then the Kryf and undead menace. The characters are somewhat interesting but not fascinating enough to have held my attention for the entirety of the book.

The writing is polished and the story is reasonably entertaining as a form of alternate history, especially if you are interested in British history, but as for a zombie story, I could take it or leave it. There was not enough of a sense of ominous forboding throughout the story that I really look forward to from a undead tale to make it something that really draws me in. Perhaps another reader will find it to be a more intriguing tale than I did.