Return of the Living Dead

De: John Russo

Narrado por: Jeffrey Lynn Hutchins

Return of the living dead...

A decade after the first zombie outbreak, a bus crashes in a small American town, killing everyone on board. Local churchgoers rush to the scene to save the living and destroy the dead. But they're too late. A terrifying new plague of living dead has been unleashed. A new horde of victims has been infected. And this time, they are ravenous.

In 1968, the classic Night of the Living Dead changed the face of horror. The film was based on the screenplay by George A. Romero and John Russo. The original novel written by John Russo was followed by Return of the Living Dead in 1978, a very different sequel than 1985 film directed by Dan O'Bannon.

©2012 John Russo (P)2021 Capricorn Literary

MUCH more of a sequel to "Night..." than the film.

Much more grounded and based in the mythology of Night of the Living Dead, than the comedy that Dan O'Bannon ended up giving us.

Overall, I think it's better than many give it credit for. There are a few parts that sensitive readers might find distasteful; but I don't think the book puts distasteful focus on them...definitely no more graphic or exploitative than any OTHER zombie film that comes to mind, from this period.

The "Return" that we got in theaters is one of my very favorite movies of all time. But, if we'd gotten this movie as a legitimate sequel from Russo, I don't think anyone would have been disappointed.

simple but good

I dont know why but I expected a deeper character driven novel. it was for a lack of better word " simple". I enjoyed it though.

Enjoyed

This was a perfect true sequel to The Night of the Living Dead. Even though both film franchises split (which both are good), I think we would've enjoyed Russo's sequel in moving form.

Great book

The book overall is quite good, however it's not based on the movie.

It's more of an extension of the first movie.

The graphic details

Loved it. Thank you Mr. Russo!!! It's true horror that rocks!!! 🤘 Truely terrified me. Can't wait to read more .

Interesting alternative to its adaptation

The book is, overall, a fun read, but this book's film adaptation is much more enjoyable, mainly because it doesn’t take itself too seriously and wants you to have a good time.

it was ok. just ok.

it wasn't as bad as many others, but it also didn't hold me riveted like mountain man and a few others. this is my genre; and rated on a 1-10 I'd say a 6. Reader was clear which I really liked as a few on here are so hard to follow

Not at all like the movie, but definitely gives you a zombie fix.

Rounded up from 3.5 star review.

So I am a big fan of the Night of the Living Dead and the Return of the Living Dead franchises. When I read that the Return franchise was headed by John Russo, one of the co-creators of the original Night film, and that it was based on his novel, I had to read this.

SPOILERS:

The narrative of this novel has nothing to do with the story presented in the Return film. The creators of the film created an entirely different narrative and set of characters, probably to appeal to the 80's horror fans who were mostly teenagers and college students.

All of that being said, the book presents a large cast of characters dropped in a very tense and claustrophobic atmosphere, much like the original Night of the Living Dead film. In the original Night film, we see that human fear and our strive for survival can be every bit as dangerous as the advancing horde of cannibalistic ghouls. Russo continues that theme here, but ramps it up quite a bit. Not only do the protagonists have to contend with the living dead, but there are those living devils who race, pillage, and plunder any time there is social chaos...

So trigger warning: sexual assault and rape are very much a recurring element in this short novel.

I enjoyed the narrator as well. Not much to say there. He's not overly dramatic to the point of being a distraction. In my opinion his delivery is perfect for this bleak little tale of terrors.

All-in-all, I found this novel to be a competent successor to the Night of the Living Dead film. It is short, brutal, and bleak right up to the conclusion. If you're looking for standard zombie fair that plays all the hits, it's right here. The novel is short and the entire story is here, but I felt that the author could have expanded this novel by 50 - 75%. You know... rub our noses in it a little bit more.

Anyway, that's it for me. This is going into my Halloween playlist rotation.

Happy listening, Dead Heads! 🎃

A Missed Opportunity

This was a difficult listen. Don't go in expecting a proper sequel or even spiritual sequel to Night of the Living Dead. I wanted to get into it but it was very dull.

This was not Return of the Living Dead

The book that played was not Return of the Living Dead. It played another story. There’s no way to get my money back.