June 1, 2012

Dead Meat Virtual Book Tour: Review

Welcome to Wickedly Bookish's stop on the Dead Meat Virtual Tour brought to you by Innovative Online Tours. I'm excited to share this bone jarringly kick-ass survival horror novel with you all. What better way to kick off June than with some zombies? On this stop, you will find my review, an author bio, and a link to pick up your own copy.

Review
Dead Meat
Patrick Williams & Chris Williams
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Zombies
Rating: 5

"Beliefs or anxieties, they don't matter. One way or another, death comes in the shape it wants and doesn't guarantee a pretty ending."

Tragedy, horror, and the instinct to survive will do crazy things to a person, but how will they effect two young men who have barely struck out into adulthood? Dead Meat follows a small group of survivors as they discover the true extent of their recently ravaged world and find out first hand that the promise of living another day will make you do things you never imagined were within your nature.

This was how I interpreted the tone of the book as there are moments you start to second guess the sanity of the main  characters Benny and Gavin. As a psychology major, I was immediately taken by the depth of each character and the range of development they go through. The action scenes are well thought out and spectacularly executed, but the true achievement of Dead Meat is in its characters. The Williams boys have obviously taken great pains in bringing the main characters to life and exploring the depths of human emotion, both light and dark, and it absolutely shows. What books have you read lately where you met a character who disturbs and terrifies you one moment, charms you the next, freaks you out again, and then heads straight into becoming one of your favorite, albeit slightly douchey, anti-heroes of all time? The anti-hero is a difficult character to pull off, but when done right, these characters always top my list, because we don't often get to see authors really push the limits with the classic hero. I can't even begin to describe how perfectly Benny both fit and exceeded my expectations. I hated Benny. I loved Benny. He frightened and repulsed me and with a turn of the page, he was being charming and heroic. WTF Benny? Why are you so crazy awesome? I haven't had a character mess with me like this...well...ever! 

"'Open the door,' I whisper. I swallow to moisten my throat and say it again, this time much louder. 'Open the door.'"

And that ending? Obviously I won't spoil it for you, but HOLY CRAP! I never saw it coming and I usually have the story figured out fairly early on when I read. I will say that I'm fairly heartbroken over it, but satisfied all the same. 

I think the only complaint I have about this book is the female characters. There are only two, and both are fairly underwhelming. Not that they aren't well developed, they are, but one only makes a short appearance and the other is truly vile. I wanted at least one good, strong, female character, but didn't find it here. However, I can't exactly hold it against the authors as again, through the depth and realism of these characters, they show important aspects of how humans can experience and react to life and death situations.

The Final Verdict
Dead Meat is gritty, stunning, character driven zombie horror fiction that asks readers, what would you do to survive when you have everything to lose? Another edition to my must read zombie fiction list.

FTC Disclosure
I was provided a copy of this book by the authors and IO Tours in exchange for an honest review. I have received no compensation for my review. All opinions stated are my own.

About The Authors 
Chris Williams and Patrick Williams are southern-bred boys with a diehard passion for horror, primarily horror films. Dead Meat is Chris and Patrick’s first adventure into the world of prose, as Chris is a graphic artist and Patrick focuses more on poetry. The success of Dead Meat has led to the planning of numerous other projects that will be announced in the near future. Both Chris and Patrick live with their wives and children in North Carolina’s Triangle area.

Twitter- @DeadMeatNovel

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dead-Meat-A-serial-novel/120042249197  

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Meat-ebook/dp/B007J6W7DG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top  

Barns & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dead-meat-patrick-williams/1039647708?ean=9781618680242

Don't miss the other stops on this tour!





 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

These 2 men do write a great read!