Handling the Undead

By: John Ajvide Lindqvist

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

In his new novel, John Ajvide Lindqvist does for zombies what his previous novel, Let the Right One In, did for vampires.

Across Stockholm the power grid has gone crazy. In the morgue and in cemeteries, the recently deceased are waking up. One grandfather is alight with hope that his grandson will be returned, but one husband is aghast at what his adored wife has become.

A horror novel that transcends its genre by showing what the return of the dead might really mean to those who loved them.

©2005 John Ajvide Lindqvist; Translation copyright 2009 by Ebba Segerberg (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“A unique and humanistic take on the undead that has a place alongside thoughtful horror novels like World War Z.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“The first fresh take on the zombie since [Dawn of the Dead].” —Chud.com

“Sophisticated horror that takes the genre to new and exciting levels.” —Suspense Magazine

Wrong Expectations but Pleasant

This is the 2nd book I've 'read' from this author, the first being Let The Right One In, and it's the 2nd time I've went into it expecting horror and came back with a drama. I like that the author always seems to twist the genre from what you expect and are used to into some different and more interesting. I just feel it lacks _something_. I enjoyed the book while I listened to it but I likely wont pick it up again for a relisten.

All that being said, its enjoyable and odds are good I'll get more from this author in the future.

Perfect performance!

I really enjoyed the performance. The story is a novel approach to zombies. That's hard to do. It was full of emotion...actually made me look at my 4 year old differently and marvel even more about how amazing it is to be alive and to have people to love. Thanks!

love this book!

this is one of my favorite books. it is so well written and it's such an interesting twist on the zombie genre. Sad and emotional. There were a few points in this book I caught myself crying.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

What would have made Handling the Undead better?

If the Zombies had started eating people

Any additional comments?

This is not a zombie book. I listened to this god awful piece of crap just thinking "at any moment the zombies are gonna go crazy and start eating people..." Nope. Never happens. They wake up, they walk around like idiots, everyone feels bad for them, then they die again.

Not a very satisfying book

When you read a story, you kind of want to find a character you can empathize with.. or at least tolerate. There are none of those here. Not a single one of the lead characters in the various plot lines is someone I could bring myself to care about. Not a one. And that makes for a fairly painful read. But I persevered to find out how it would all end, only to find the ending as unsatisfying as the rest of the book. If you think this book will do for the zombie story what Let Me In does for the vampire story, you are sadly mistaken. Don't brother, save your credit for something better, which shouldn't be too hard to do..

alot of writing, but nothing really hapened

I feel I wasted several hours listening to this book, waiting for something to really happen...but it never did. Too bad, author was on to an interesting twist for zombie books, but never really took it anywhere. Somewhere in the middle of the book I thought that "here we go" things are going to start moving...but no. The writing was nicely done, but the story just never really developed.

A waste of time

The story was weak, most of the characters were annoying, and the ending was lame. Steven Pacey’s narration was fine. He didn’t have much to work with.

Shouldn't be listed as a zombie novel

First off, I am an avid audiobook listener. I go through about one every week or two (gets me through long work days in a research lab).I really hate writing negative reviews, especially about the zombie genre. I just don't know what to write about this that would be good. I don't want to spoil the book but I feel obligated to throw out a couple of details that might have saved me from buying this audiobook. First, it has a bunch of funky Stephan King "The Cell" kind of stuff (i.e. telepathy with zombies and humans). Second (contrary to one of the other reviewers statements), gore NEVER happens. During the entire listen, the first bit of horror related anything does not occur until the last hour and a half! This "suspense" is quickly let down in an M.Night Shyamalan style of disappointment. The zombies in this book are almost completely lifeless (no pun intended). They literally just sit motionless. Total body count in this book---1. This book has more feelings moments than anything else. I really don't know what more to say. By the time you think something is finally going to happen, it doesn't. If you buy it, good luck and prepare to be as scared as if you were reading Forest Gump.

Booooring!

Classic zombie fans - Beware!
Slow-paced and anti-climactic. The zombies are not stereotypical brain-eating zombies, either. I'm really wondering if this did translate well, because this was just plain boring. The "climax" was so disappointing - the whole story left me with a bunch of questions but without any real interest in indulging in sequels.
Seriously, I should have ordered ordered Book Yourself Solid. This was a waste of time. And credits/money.

I am only here for Steven Pacey.

Steven Pacey is my favorite narrator. if it were not for him I know I would not have been able to make it through this story. The premise is great but, for me, it leaves too many unsolved mysteries and unresolved story threads. There's no clear protagonist in the sense that you don't have a main character to believe in and root for. The vague impression of the supernatural is somehow not satisfying and doesn't seen to follow it's own rules. I can imagine a version of this story that is excellent but it never got there.