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mvasso's review
4.0
The Maberry books I've read most recently are young adult titles "Rot and Ruin" and "Dust and Decay," and he has such a great teen voice that I'd forgotten how well he does darker adult novels as well. In my opinion, "Dead of Night" certainly lives up to the high standards of his other work. Maberry does a great job developing his characters by showing rather than telling. I liked and related to the them almost instantly, even Dez with all her flaws. I also enjoyed the action; it's written so clearly that I could almost see it, like a movie. My favorite thing, though, is that this book made me think, as do many of Maberry's novels (and some other zombie authors as well). I was left wondering who is worse: the actual zombies, or the politicians and scientists who create them and then try to deny their responsibility. We'd like to think that no government would do such a thing in real life, but history has shown that it does happen. On a more personal level, it's interesting to speculate what would happen to individuals in such a massive crisis. As other disasters have shown, desperate times bring out the best in some and the worst in others. Maberry realistically portrays characters from both camps, in a pretty darn entertaining way. I say this is a must-read for zombie lit fans.
discreetpuppet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
samanthas92's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
zombie fun, emotional roller coaster, but does leave you with a cliff hanger
blessedwannab's review
3.0
What an interesting way for the zombie apocalypse to start. It actually reminds me a bit of a documentary my husband and I watched explaining how the zombie apocalypse is possible. A strain of disease that's aggressive... do I think it's possible, nah... but what was fun about watching it/reading this, was maybe seeing how the science of it was completely possible.
I won't get too much into it. Let's just say that this zombie is created in a lab, by a man filled with vengeance.
Dead of Night actually takes you through the very first bitten, through the desecration of the entire town. One bite after another, all in the course of one day. Despite how fast paced it sounds, the first half was rather slow. There are many POV's but for the most part were following Desdemona Fox and her ex Billy Trout. Dez is a cop with the Stebbens PD, and Trout is a respected journalist. (Shades of Feed, huh? Dez would be your Irwin and Trout would be your Newsie.) I personally enjoyed reading about Trout, because that's where you got your backstory. Dez was where the action was. The second half was action packed, and even brought out the waterworks.
Overall, good book. Not quite as good as Rot & Ruin... but a fun Zombie Apocalypse.
I won't get too much into it. Let's just say that this zombie is created in a lab, by a man filled with vengeance.
Dead of Night actually takes you through the very first bitten, through the desecration of the entire town. One bite after another, all in the course of one day. Despite how fast paced it sounds, the first half was rather slow. There are many POV's but for the most part were following Desdemona Fox and her ex Billy Trout. Dez is a cop with the Stebbens PD, and Trout is a respected journalist. (Shades of Feed, huh? Dez would be your Irwin and Trout would be your Newsie.) I personally enjoyed reading about Trout, because that's where you got your backstory. Dez was where the action was. The second half was action packed, and even brought out the waterworks.
Overall, good book. Not quite as good as Rot & Ruin... but a fun Zombie Apocalypse.
twilightreads's review
5.0
no no no no no, is there a second book?. I just have to read it, I can't believe it left me hanging. I hate homer and that damn doctor. I love des, billy and JT and his hero ways. I wished he wasn't bitten but he was. I love the whole content of the book. It was different, a compound made by a doctor back then injected into the killer for revenge but instead made the monster more powerful of himself, it got injected to a death role killer and he spread it like wildfire. It wasn't airborne like other books or a spill. But I want the second book now. I can't breathe without knowing what's gonna happen next. Read you won't be disappointed.
erinbirnel's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
kate4ez's review against another edition
3.0
Dead of Night is fast-paced and deals with the political aspects of stopping a zombie plague in an interesting way. The gore was a too much for me, but I'm sure it would appeal to others. The description of the plague vector (parasites) was just gross, as were graphic descriptions of zombies eating people. This book was so disturbing that I couldn't read it before bed.
One annoying thing occurs over and over in the book. Characters are introduced in a page or two, they notice something strange going on, go to check it out, realize too late what it is, and get eaten. Sometimes they fight first. I understand how the plague is spreading. I don't need to read about the death of 50 random characters to grasp the horror. Also, Dez comes across less as a strong, dangerous woman than as a man with breasts. I never really identified with her.
Although the ending was left wide open, I took that as more of an invitation to imagine the worst than as an opening for a sequel, but who knows? He also left unanswered an obvious question when he described zombies attacking a deer. Can other animals act as hosts for this parasite, as well?
One annoying thing occurs over and over in the book. Characters are introduced in a page or two, they notice something strange going on, go to check it out, realize too late what it is, and get eaten. Sometimes they fight first. I understand how the plague is spreading. I don't need to read about the death of 50 random characters to grasp the horror. Also, Dez comes across less as a strong, dangerous woman than as a man with breasts. I never really identified with her.
Although the ending was left wide open, I took that as more of an invitation to imagine the worst than as an opening for a sequel, but who knows? He also left unanswered an obvious question when he described zombies attacking a deer. Can other animals act as hosts for this parasite, as well?
heathercottledillon's review
4.0
The Maberry books I've read most recently are young adult titles "Rot and Ruin" and "Dust and Decay," and he has such a great teen voice that I'd forgotten how well he does darker adult novels as well. In my opinion, "Dead of Night" certainly lives up to the high standards of his other work. Maberry does a great job developing his characters by showing rather than telling. I liked and related to the them almost instantly, even Dez with all her flaws. I also enjoyed the action; it's written so clearly that I could almost see it, like a movie. My favorite thing, though, is that this book made me think, as do many of Maberry's novels (and some other zombie authors as well). I was left wondering who is worse: the actual zombies, or the politicians and scientists who create them and then try to deny their responsibility. We'd like to think that no government would do such a thing in real life, but history has shown that it does happen. On a more personal level, it's interesting to speculate what would happen to individuals in such a massive crisis. As other disasters have shown, desperate times bring out the best in some and the worst in others. Maberry realistically portrays characters from both camps, in a pretty darn entertaining way. I say this is a must-read for zombie lit fans.
mrschy's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Solid zombie book. Could definitely see it as a movie and I'm looking forward to continuing the series. There are some chapters from the zombie POV which was interesting, and the science was wild.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death