Empire by David Dunwoody

Empire

by David Dunwoody

Permuted Press/Gallery Books (a Simon & Schuster imprint)

A zombie apocalypse is nothing new in our current generation of horror books. Dunwoody put a new spin on it by showing his readers how Death himself would feel about his charges roaming free in the world. Personally, I loved it.

There’s the typical staple of characters (military, selfish and damaged civilians, power hungry madmen) but it’s Death and his growing affection for a young girl that give this book real dimension; taking it beyond the tired tropes. Many of us contemplate the true nature of Death, and while Dunwoody has fun playing with the Reaper image archetype, the character’s personality takes on an existentialist twist. Death questions his own existence, his origins, and his purpose. At first he comes across as distanced from the situation, until a zombie attacks him and then the gloves come off. In a land being overrun by the living dead the pale rider quickly becomes the ultimate weapon.

The new player in the battle does not make the madman happy. The adopted child of a mad scientist, the demented little brat looks to carry on his father’s work by enslaving zombies. At the beginning of the outbreak he and several other children were taken in and experimented on. Now several of his adoptive siblings have become his undead servants – with the exception of one sister he has an unhealthy obsession with. The girl also happens to be the one person who touches Death’s heart.

There’s a bit of Resident Evil inspiration in the book with the introduction of Sawbones; a sort of super-zombie. Dunwoody describes the unstoppable beast with finesse and I found myself wishing this book had a few illustrations just so I could get an actual glimpse of this killing machine.

The remainder of the book capitalizes on how human nature takes over the survivors and the rapid collapse of society. The large cast of characters came across realistically enough during their brief scenes, and I enjoyed how Dunwoody either brought their story arcs together in the finale or destroyed them along the way. I hate it when a multi-cast book doesn’t package everything with a neat little bow by the end. You’re left with the feeling of a convoluted plot. Dunwoody is too skilled a storyteller to leave his readers with that impression.

Though I didn’t care for the character as much, there is also an ally for Death among the survivors. A cop who stayed on in the town of Jefferson Harbor to protect the innocent and uphold the law. The man is flawed but with enough Dudley Do-Right in him to create a likeable and believable last vestige of mankind’s humanity.

If you’re a fan of the zombie sub-genre that is sweeping the nation and eating up shelf space, then Empire is just the hunk of literary meat to satisfy your hunger pains. Entertaining and thought-provoking it brings something new to the killing field. But you better get started reading now because he’s just released the sequel, Empire’s End. You can read an interview with David Dunwoody about the book at The ZombiePhiles by clicking here

I’m eager to get my hands on the sequel so I can review it here for you, but if you’ve read it leave me some of your thoughts in the comments below. Have you read Empire? What did you think of it?

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