REVIEW: Morgue of the Dead by: L.A. Taylor
What would you do if the town you lived in was invaded by flesh eating zombies?
What would you do if a loved one turned out to be one of them?
What started off as an experimental drug used to improve the food grown on a local farm, was now the reason behind why the dead were rising up and feasting on the living.
The small town of Clifton Falls had been caught up in a gruesome battle between good and evil, as the recently deceased stalked their prey. In the space of a few days, the local police force had to battle the strange beings in the hospital, the cemetery, the forest and finally, ending up at the holiday village.
Before anyone could work out what was happening, humans were falling down and being devoured by the hungry, brain-eating creatures.
Could the local police chief find a way to eliminate the un-dead before the virus spread into the CITY and BEYOND??
I got to say, right off the bat that this book was a little difficult to read.
Plot: I had some high hopes for this story. I like stories that feature small town living because it hits right at home, and usually makes for a strongly character driven story. (Because small Towns always have the greatest characters!) The plot wasn’t bad at all; he did have an interesting way of telling a story of a small zombie outbreak in a small town. This story didn’t really bring anything new to the genre, but it did make for a humorous read. (Due to the ‘cheeky’ personalities of the zombies) This was not intended to be a very serious story considering the amount of humour incorporated into the story. Although, when he did try to write a horror scene, it was a little predictable and lackluster.
Characters: This is where I have a few issues concerning dialogue and personalities. The author isn’t too bad when writing dialogue, but the problem is that all of the character’s way of speaking is the same. There are no distinctions between characters when they speak. The author should have made the characters more personable dialogue. (Mannerism of speech, diction and reaction are 3 key ways to reflect a character’s persona through dialogue) But overall, all of the characters were basically the same person. I’m afraid that the lack of engaging, relatable and personable characters really hurt this story. He did try and make the characters human by displaying sympathetic emotions for the loss of their loved ones, but in some cases, it just didn’t seem relatable and failed to make a connection to the reader.
Writing: I am afraid to say this, but more problems arise. The writing was a little choppy, and it lacked a certain flow to it. The impression that I got from this book was that it was intended to be more of a screenplay than a novel. The writing needed a lot of tuning and just needed a bit of augmenting to make it a much more appealing read. The biggest thing that could have helped this story was that if the author had made a rewrite. It is critical for authors to sometimes rewrite their work, and a fair bit of authors do this, because it’s the best way to iron out the kinks of a story while augmenting how the story flows.
Pace: I did like the pace of the story! He managed to keep the story going at a strong pace, and he does manage tension fairly well. Like he did a pretty good job at building the tension, the only problem was that: he was good with building tension, but failed to deliver due to the predictability of the story.
Gore: The author does come up with a lot of creative ways to show gore in this book. Some of the gore scenes will even make you laugh (which seemed to be intended) Usually, I don’t really have a strong affinity for too much gore in a story, but the majority of the gory scenes in this story were laced with humour, which made it appropriate for the story.
Overall: The book serious needed a rewrite and edit job to help make it a fluid and unstilted read. The character’s needed to be a lot more personable and he direly needed to make a stronger bond between reader and characters. The author did a good job at building tension throughout the story, but just needed to make the story a little less predictable. If you want to read a zombie story with a few laughs in it, give this book a shot. He does have a few humorous moments that lightened the mood. (and he does have a few creative ways for displaying gore) If you are looking for a quirky and humorous read, than look no further.
Available on Amazon
