The kids in the UK have a problem: all of the adults have been infected with a nefarious, rather disgusting disease that makes them look like a bunch of whacked out zombies with extreme complexion issues. Anybody under the age of 16 is unaffected by the disease, which can only mean one thing. It's kids versus adults. Children versus zombies. And what ensues is part Lord of the Flies, part World War Z, and part terrifying. Or should I say MOSTLY terrifying?"Charlie, a big fan of horror movies, is hoping to give readers many sleepless nights with this novel."Leave to it to me to read Charlie Higson's biography AFTER I finished reading The Dead. Because yes. He did exactly that.
I liked The Dead because it followed the stories of several different characters and then threads all of them together using one central protagonist, a good-hearted kid named Ed. It was a non-stop thrill ride. Every single page was exciting, and the characters were diverse and eclectic enough to keep you entertained during the short lulls between action scenes. It was ALSO absolutely terrifying, and I probably won't be sleeping for a week. Some of the scenes were so realistically written, and so over-the-top scary that I actually stopped to look up from the book and assure myself that yes, I was still alive. And no, I hadn't actually been trapped in a cricket stadium with a million zombies.
Really.
Charlie Higson is certainly a master of the horror genre - although I wouldn't call this horror so much as it is an action/adventure novel - and some of the stuff had me skipping to the next page because it was so gross. Then again, my "scary threshold" is substantially lower than most folks', so yeah....
