Dead City

By: Joe McKinney

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Texas? Toast. Battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks, the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State is reeling from the worst devastation in history. Thousands are dead or dying - but the worst is only beginning. Amid the wreckage, something unimaginable is happening: a deadly virus has broken out, returning the dead to life - with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. The nightmare begins....

Within hours, the plague has spread all over Texas. San Antonio police officer Eddie Hudson finds his city overrun by a voracious army of the living dead. Along with a small group of survivors, Eddie must fight off the savage horde in a race to save his family.

Hell on Earth. There's no place to run. No place to hide. The zombie horde is growing as the virus runs more rampant. Eddie knows he has to find a way to destroy these walking horrors... but he doesn't know the price he will have to pay.

©2006, 2010 Joe McKinney (P)2011 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"A merciless, fast-paced and genuinely scary read that will leave you absolutely breathless." (Brian Keene)

Excellent, but.....

A very well written story for someone new to this zombie genre it is perfect. To the seasoned Zombie reader you will find the pace a bit slow and drawn out. Is it worth the credit , sure but you've been warned :)

Ok but I've listened to better.

Would you try another book from Joe McKinney and/or Michael Kramer?

Already listening to Apocalypse of the Dead.

Any additional comments?

This was an ok zombie novel. I kind of nodded off in a couple of spots. It had its great thriller spots and then started going off in to left field for a moment or two.

I have had quite a few cop friends and you could tell this was written by a police officer. Everyone is out to get the main character or he thought that was the case. Granted during this time of crisis you would only try to trust a select few but to me in an end of times scenerio I would want some one watching my back.

I'm going to listen to Apocalypse of the Dead (the next novel) and give this author another shot. Hopefully he will earn another star or two from me.

Very shallow - feels like reading a video game

I was very disappointed, and about 2/3 of the way through decided it wasn't worth my time to finish it...better things out there to listen to. There is just no depth to the story. Also, I was expecting an interesting weather-disaster story up front, but there is barely a mention of the 5 hurricanes and none of the action even takes place in Houston. The story starts with some zombies fighting a cop in front of a house in San Antonio and goes downhill from there. This very much felt like reading a zombie video game.

Monotonal Reader

The reader was terrible and the story wa borig. Hard to do with a zombie story. This book never connected with me on any level. Sorry to say it was a waste of time.

Lacking!!

What could Joe McKinney have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Climax, story, plot, character development, story development.

What character would you cut from Dead City?

Eddie (the progtagonist)

Any additional comments?

I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking of how I want to describe, as well as define this book. This is the second book I’ve read by this author, the first being “Apocalypse of the Dead”, and I didn’t give that one a good review either. The book was plagued with irrationality and illogical performances. There was absolutely no character development so you don’t understand why Eddie is doing the things he is doing, they make no sense. Character development and a plot would really give context and meaning to this story. I always note the length of the book, this gives me an idea of what to expect. If it is broken into two downloads the book may be interesting, or at least have time to make up for its shortfalls. This book was only 7hrs 35mins 30 secs long, and there is a reason. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I wouldn’t recommend it if you were stuck in a tunnel covered by snow on both sides of your exit. I don’t think this book would justify wasting battery life on whatever you are reading it on. I wouldn’t even recommend this book on a long plane or train ride, save your money.

Good story-tellers paint the scene with words. This ability allows the reader to visit the story through imagination. Authors like Mary Higgins Clark, Dean Koontz, Steven King, or J. L. Bourne (just to name a few) are really good at this. This story lacked that. Also, I wasn’t scared at all. I’ve listened to Z. A. Recht’s “Morningstar Strain” series and J.L. Bourne’s “Day by Day Armageddon” series and they are very good. So good, that I’m reluctant to listen to these stories at night. There were climatic moments that had me on edge, wanting to yell out to the character to warn him. In this story I wanted it to be over with and for Eddie to just go on and become a zombie. I don’t like starting a book and not finishing it, which is terrible when I have a story this lacking.

First Class Zombie Tale

Dead City is a very good zombie story. It contains everything you want from a story like this. Its full of action and suspense, but its tempered with adept character building and introspective musing.

This story starts off on a raw foot. It jumps right into melee. It follows a cop, 'Eddie' through a night where he first responds to calls for help and then as civilization falls, it follows Eddie through a series of adventures as he struggles to find his family and a means to cope with what is going on around him.

The narration by Kramer is great. I think telling stories in the first person often create limitations, but McKinney does a fine job here with this structure. McKinney shows his strength as an author by jumping from deep thoughts to quick violent passages and back. It took a little while for this book to grow on me, but after an hour or so, it clicked and flowed in a fine fashion.

A Willie K Review

Good read…With the zombie craze in full swing I found this book entertaining but a little redundant. It was a bit slow to start and then seemed to switch gears and even seemed like a different author had written the last half of the book, but it a good way, both halves were good. The ending took me by surprise it seemed to just end and I feel a little more time could have been taken in it, but it would have had to be considerably longer to continue at the pace he was going. All in all I was satisfied

Entertaining, but not the best zombie book.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it's about zombies, and there just can't be enough books on the matter.

If you’ve listened to books by Joe McKinney before, how does this one compare?

N/A

What does Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Audiobooks are just better in general. You get more of the book into your head with someone actually reading it to you.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The zombie apocalypse was a very brief one... probably close to how a real one would play out.

Any additional comments?

It's worth the listen

Not bad but not great.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, it wasn't among the better of the zombie genre.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It seemed to end too abruptly, as though the writer was still in the middle of the story but then just decided to end it.

Did Michael Kramer do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, the narrator did a good job.

Was Dead City worth the listening time?

Yes, but only if your really a fan of the zombie genre

Sophomoric writing

Really would benefit from a proper editor. Language is generally flat and repetitive. Descriptions are super generic and character motivations flit between super generic to cliche. Feels like written by an advanced AI because it lacks a personal voice which makes it hard to get invested in the characters. Also plot is too fast paced, while also being sort of boring (contradictory I know). That is to say, the characters plot furiously through each scene so that the action passes without leaving any impact.