Sunday, April 17, 2011

Resurrection by Tim Curran: This ain't your daddy's zombie novel.


I have read a few books by Tim Curran. Skin Medicine was a great horror western, one of my favorites in the sub-genre. Biohazard was ok, but I found it a bit repetitive, overall. Moments ago I finished Resurrection, and all I can say is WOW!


If you want to read about slow, shambling, groaning zombies, look somewhere else. Curran's undead are wet, bloated, smart(ish), and a bullet to the head won't stop them. And it's not just flesh-munching corpses you have to worry about. Curran throws in everything but the kitchen sink. Non-stop rain, flooding, ex-cons, the army, worms, bugs, a pedophile clown, literal acid rain, and, now that I think about it, I believe the kitchen sink is in there, too.


A huge cast of diverse characters populates this waterlogged world. You have the usual douchebags, whom you can't wait to see tortured and killed (I'm looking at you, Jacky Kripp.), as well as people you will fall in love with. But don't get too attached. Everyone is in danger, and every page is filled with tension. This is literally a "white knuckle" novel.


Scenes of over-the-top gore are mixed with scenes of creepiness and dread. If Curran has no problem describing eviserations, melting bodies, exploding heads, etc., what is so horrible that he can't tell us? (I know that he can show us, it's just a literary device. I'm trying to go with the flow here). Curran has great style and can go from subtle to 60 in two sentences flat.


As usual, I don't want to give away any of the story. I want you to go in fresh. Whether you are looking for oceans of blood or a shudder up your spine, I can't recommend Resurrection enough.

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