Brian Keene Double Bill! ''Dead New World' and 'Earthworm Gods: Selected Scenes from the End of the World'

Welcome to another Monday you lucky, lucky people... ;o) Did you have a good weekend? I hope you did. Mine was pretty busy but you knew that already... There was time for a little reading here and there though and what with it being Monday and all... You get to take another dive, with me, into all the Brian Keene books that I've been reading (and re-reading). I finished the 'Earthworm Gods' series with 'Selected Scenes from the End of the World' but it was a much shorter read than it's predecessors so I thought I'd give you a little something extra to kick Monday off on. You're welcome... ;o)

'The Last Zombie Vol 1: Dead New World' – Brian Keene & Joseph Wright (Antarctic Press)

Follow the frantic journey of a man seeking his one ray of hope in a post-apocalyptic nightmare United States. The zombies have come and (mostly) gone, but the disease is still out there, threatening the survivors. The country swarms with roving packs of wild animals -- and worse, desperate humans -- ready to do whatever it takes to survive. Through it all, Dr. Ian Scott must travel from Colorado to Washington D.C. to reunite with the woman he loves...before it's too late for either of them!

I'm not what you'd call a collector as such; I'll just read as much as I can, by my favourite authors, in whatever format I can find it in. That said, even I knew it was a big deal when I finally turned up a copy of 'Dead New World' on eBay. Physical copies of 'The Last Zombie' aren't easy to come across here (although that's more than likely down to my being really late to the party, again) so I made sure this copy went home with me and I finally got to read it over the weekend.

And what a read it was... I'll admit that I wasn't sure how my eyes would handle a post apocalyptic world of muted greys but not only does Joseph Wight's superb art shine through (honestly, he makes it more than clear that the post-apocalypse is just as deadly was what came before) but it's also a really clever way of making us look at this hellish landscape in a slightly new way. As with all the best zombie tales, 'Dead New World' isn't just black and white, it's all the shades of grey in between. Which brings us onto Keene's plot with a compelling premise that soon becomes a look at just how unfair post apocalyptic life can be, especially when you think you're over the worst of it. I won't say too much (because I think that if you're a zombie fan, this is a comic you need to read if you haven't already) but there are a couple of huge twists here that turn things upside down and the rest of the series into a race against time. If the zombies were still around and capable of appreciating the irony... ;o)

'Dead New World' ended up being a great way to kick things off. 'll be looking out for more of these books or if I get a decent bonus in the summer, upgrading my Kindle so I can read the comics online.

'Earthworm Gods: Selected Scenes from the End of the World' (Deadite Press)

Earthworm Gods: Selected Scenes From the End of the World is a collection of short stories set in the world of Earthworm Gods and Earthworm Gods II: Deluge. From the first drop of rain to humanity's last waterlogged stand, these tales chronicle the fall of man against a horrifying, unstoppable evil. And as the waters rise over the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere-brand new monsters surface-along with some familiar old favorites, to wreak havoc on an already devastated mankind.

After reading two fairly sizeable novels, it made for a nice change to have a series of short stories to work through instead (by the weekend, it was all my shattered attention span was good for). Not just any old short stories either, these were written for people who paid to be a part of the 'Earthworm Gods' setting ('The Rising' too but that's a post for another day) and these stories also tied into a number of plot strands from the first two books. They're stories that will resonate most strongly with those people who star in them, and that's the way it should be, but they're also stories that give the likes of me a little extra insight into certain places and characters (I'm looking at you Mark Sylva, you poor bastard...) and really flesh out this waterlogged world. I loved the previous two books so that was just what I was after from 'Selected Scenes' even if, being a Dad, the stories featuring kids were a little too close to the mark for me, beautifully written though. And I will always be grateful for the little bit of hope I now have that the people on the Ark may have escaped. And yep, that's a big if but I'll take it.

There's enough story here that you could pick up 'Selected Scenes' first, and read it, but honestly, why would you when the first two books are right there and begging to be read in order? 'Earthworm Gods' first, then 'Deluge' and then round it off with 'Selected Scenes from the End of the World'. Well worth your time and money.

And now it's onto the next read which may be 'Castaways' but could just as easily be 'King of the Bastards'. We'll see...