Plague of the Dead: The Morningstar Saga
by Z.A. Recht
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Book Summary Information
Author: Z.A. RechtEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-12-29
ISBN: 1439176736
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Permuted Press
Book Reviews of Plague of the Dead: The Morningstar Saga
Book Review: Undead in the Head book review
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first started reviewing zombie books, Permuted Press was the publisher that had the biggest selection at bookstores. In my opinion they are the biggest independent publisher of zombie literature out there. I'm not saying they are the only ones, but the biggest. I stumbled onto Plague of the Dead online months ago, maybe even a year. It took me a while to read and shortly after I started, I heard about Mr. Recht's passing. Now that I'm writing this review, I really wished I could have had some contact with him to let him know how much I enjoyed his book.
A virus known as Morningstar has found its way out of the remote African jungles. Before anyone could contain the disease, it spread across the continent, and then across the globe. The carriers would suffer from a high fever and suddenly go insane, killing anyone in their path, until someone kills them. But that's only the beginning. Soon after a Morningstar carrier is slain, their eyes reopen and seek the flesh of the living. Not for nourishment, but as a way to spread the disease.
Lt. Colonel Dr. Anna Demilio of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (acronym USAMRIID) is the leading expert on the Morningstar Strain. She tried desperately to inform the leaders of many African countries about the severity of Morningstar, but her claims were dismissed. She warns her friend and colleague, General Francis Sherman, who then must fight his way out of Africa along with his men and refugees to the United States where they think its safe... But little do they know that the dead are stalking around every corner.
Plague of the Dead is the kind of book that I didn't expect much from until I started reading it. Once I got passed the email exchange in the beginning and the meat of the story was revealed, it turned out to be one heck of a zombie novel. It's probably one of my favorites. I loved the characters; each one of them had some uniqueness to their personality that made them stand out. General Sherman was an excellent character; I honestly felt that if he was a real person I would follow him into battle.
The zombies in the book were something that I've never seen before. I loved the idea that first, the infected are somewhat like the rage infected in the films 28 Days/Weeks Later, and once they're killed, they come back to life as the shambling slow zombies we all love. There were a lot of fun plot twists and surprises that kept the book interesting until the last page was turned.
Some of the writing was a bit hard to get passed. I hate it when writers have very noticeable "shock" moments. For instance, there's a scene where a coroner is reviewing some autopsy reports. A corpse stands up behind him and approaches. All while the coroner has his back to him. When he finally realizes that the infected man is behind him, the line, "And his mouth dropped open in awe!" or something to that effect, is there. It reminds me of old time radio when a shock moment happens the listener hears, "dun dun DUN!" to give it more effect. There were a ton of "dun dun dun" moments. There's nothing really bad about it, it just made me laugh.
But all kidding aside, I really enjoyed Plague of the Dead. It's the kind of book that doesn't come around very often. It had me hooked and wouldn't let me go. It still hasn't let me go. I want to start reading the sequel, Thunder and Ashes, but I'm waiting on it. Mr. Recht passed away while writing the third installment and I heard that a ghostwriter is going over his notes and putting together the final book. When that one is close to being released, I'm reading Thunder and Ashes and then diving into the third book. But for now I will give Plague of the Dead, 5 Undead Heads out of 5. It's an excellent story that was well written by an author who will be missed.
Summary of Plague of the Dead: The Morningstar Saga
The ?zombie apocalypse,? once on the fringes of horror, has become one of the most buzzworthy genres in popular culture. Now, in Plague of the Dead, Z.A. Recht delivers an intelligent, gripping thriller that will leave both new and die-hard zombie fans breathless.The end begins with a viral outbreak unlike anything mankind has ever encountered before. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, a dramatic increase in violent behavior, and a one-hundred percent mortality rate. But it doesn?t end there. The victims return from death to walk the earth. When a massive military operation fails to contain the living dead it escalates into a global pandemic. In one fell swoop, the necessities of life become much more basic. Gone are petty everyday concerns. Gone are the amenities of civilized life. Yet a single law of nature remains: Live, or die. Kill, or be killed. On one side of the world, a battle-hardened general surveys the remnants of his command: a young medic, a veteran photographer, a brash Private, and dozens of refugees, all are his responsibility?all thousands of miles from home. Back in the United States, an Army colonel discovers the darker side of Morningstar virus and begins to collaborate with a well-known journalist to leak the information to the public...and the Morningstar Saga has begun.
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