Dead Sea
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Dead Sea

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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82  ·  rating details  ·  1,038 ratings  ·  107 reviews
With zombies taking over the cities, a group of humans escapes the carnage by taking a small Coast Guard ship out to sea, but there's no getting away-even in the wide ocean.
Mass Market Paperbound, 318 pages
Published July 31st 2007 by Leisure Books
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Community Reviews

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Nancy
Brian Keene’s Dead Sea is a little different from his earlier zombie stories. In The Rising and City of the Dead, the zombies carried rifles, were intelligent, and drove cars. In Dead Sea, they are the more traditional shambling, empty-eyed, mindless variety. The end of the world began in New York City, when people were attacked by swarms of undead rats. The infected died and came back to life. Once the infection (known as Hamelin’s Revenge) spread to the city of Baltimore, Lamar Reed, Mitc...more
Kasia S.
This was such a delightful book to breeze through, well delightful if you like icky zombies laced into an apocalyptic theme with no signs of victory. Fast paced and exciting, the novel was a fun break from anything else on my mind, I liked the characters and feared for their safety as the author took charge in making them run for their lives. I haven't read Keene's previous zombie books but I didn't feel that it took away from this story, on the contrary it makes me want to revisit his older boo...more
Rich
Rich rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: horror
Ghoul</a>, was a mixed bag of sorts. At it's worst points, it came off as an overblown love letter to the 1980's. That, in and of itself, it not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that Keene felt the urgent need to over-explain his '80s pop cultural references -- so much so, that expository paragraphs began intruding on the narrative pace of the book, taking attention away from the characters and the dilemmas they faced. On the other hand, Keene had accomplished some interesting things ...more
Ken Heard
If you want to read the best book ever on zombies and social complaints about prejudism toward blacks, gays and poverty, this one is it. I found it to be too preachy and schizophrenic.

The premise is simple: something has caused people to die and turn into zombies. Then, in their bloodlust for human flesh (don't all zombies go through that?) they kill others and convert them into zombism.

The narrator, a black gay man in Baltimore, befriends two children and helps them esc...more
Sizzlin Miss Kenjii
Sizzlin Miss Kenjii rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: fans of survival/zombie horror, smart horror
Shelves: horror-zombies
Right away the action begins and the fight for survival is do or die. Rats pour out of the sewars already infected and start infecting humans and the zomification starts.

The characters are never typical but at least have sense enough to have a plan. Will it work? Or will they end up surrounded by zombies and have to come up with something fast.

Ok, this is zombie survival, but I think Brian Keene wrote it in the most likely way possible, given the circumstances. Human su...more
Jason
Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: e-books, read-2011
4.5 Stars

This is a tried and true straight up zombie horror novel. There is nothing really new, no unusual twists on the theme, and definitely no fantastical type ending. It is however very well written. Fast paced and filled with horror, action, and a bit of the human spirit too. I really enjoyed Keene's writing and felt that he created a top notch zombie book.

Our protagonist Lamar, is a likable gay, African American, that has worked his whole life attempting to never gi...more
Merci
Merci rated it 3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: zombie fans
Shelves: zombies, quick-reads
I enjoyed this little romp through zombie land. Keene built up a main character (Lamar) whom I enjoyed following along. This book paints a very bleak and desperate portrait of the zombie virus (Hamelin's Revenge) as it spreads across species, infecting humans, animals, and keeps spreading. Some of the zombified species felt a little off to me, as if they were shoehorned in there for the sake of making any/all animals zombified.

The supporting cast was enjoyable, even if they were onl...more
Patrick D'orazio
The very first review I posted on Amazon was for City of the Dead, but it was a combination review of that book and The Rising, since I had read them back to back. Although Brian Keene did not introduce me to zombie books his were the first mass market paperbacks that I had read in the sub-genre. Since then I have read and reviewed numerous other titles. Brian is certainly one of the more polished writers working with the rotting buggers but I have to admit that in some ways his books are ones t...more
Andre Higgins
This was entertaining but not overly original. Once again the approach to the zombie dilemma is a virus/plague, it seems every modern take goes that way nowadays. The characters are nice though. I felt that the story whizzed by me very quickly, I was really getting into the characters and the storyline and then, bang, the end. Although it is a well written ending I was left wanting.
There is one little thing that bugged me as I'm really into annoying details..... There is a reference in this...more
Guillermo
Guillermo rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: zombie
Keene's novel records the tale of Lamar Reed, a gay, black man from Fells Point (can we say three strikes against the narrator in the real world?) who finds himself down on his luck before Hamelin's Revenge spreads across the nation, bringing the infected dead back to life - human and animal alike. After gunning down his friend and only surviving neighbor, Alan, Lamar is pushed out of his hiding place by a wild fire, spreading throughout the neighborhood and city. Upon his escape, he comes acros...more
Colleen
Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: zombies
I've read this book several times for some reason (there's a zombie tiger!) and out of all of Brian Keene's books I like this one the best (Conqueror Worm isn't that bad either though). Needed something light to read at doctor's office and this one fits the bill, gruesome enough to take your mind off any troubles, and can be read in just a few hours.

Plucky orphan children? Check! Menacing law enforcement? Check! Priest gone insane and helping the zombies? Check! Every country's gove...more
Martin Belcher
This is the story of Lamar Reed; a man fighting for survival when a strange new virus nicknamed "Hamelin's Revenge" infects humans from rats and causes them to become the walking dead.

Lamar battles his way out of downtown Baltimore trying to keep himself from being eaten by the living dead. He is joined by a young boy and girl, Malik and Tasha who have lost their mum to the dead.

They have an idea to make it to the Baltimore waterfront and marina to get on a bo...more
Noah Murphy
This thing could've been a lot more inventive than it is. Yes there are zombie animals, but they take second fiddle to the human zombies. Yes there is a great scene involving undead marine life at the end but its too short. Also The undead fish thing mostly exist as a plot device so the humans on the boat can turn into zombies and normal zombie fare ensues. Heck, he spends more time going into the escape from a burning zombie-filled Baltimore than he does with the book's supposed main hook. Not ...more
Kelleynotlp
Dead Sea is a zombie apocalypse survival story told through a first person narrative. The narrator, Lamar, is an African American Gay man living in the ghettos of Baltimore when "Hamelin's Revenge" a disease that reanimates both human and animals from death into bloodthirsty, rotting corpses, spreads across the world. The book details how Lamar fights his way through the city streets of Baltimore avoiding the undead and crazy, panicking live people till he ends up at the apartment bu...more
William Thomas
William Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: horror
By far the most cohesive of his zombie novels (although this one is not connected to Rising or City). Told from the first person perspective gave the book a tighter feel, asking more of the existential and metaphysical questions I had wanted to be broached in The Rising. However, there was quite a bit of downtime, offset by the increase in quality of prose, it's a fair trade to land it back at 3 stars.


What I would like Horror fiction writers to do more often is approach their ...more
Dan C.
Dan C. rated it 4 of 5 stars
The only other book of Brian Keene's I have read is The Rising, but I enjoyed his take on zombies in that book, so I looked forward to reading this. Even better, in this book you get Romero-ish zombies - slow, shuffling hungry undead vs. the intelligent ones in The Rising.

This book paints a pretty bleak picture of the world after Hamelin's Revenge, a virus originating in rats that kills and then reanimates the dead. I enjoyed the main character who filled the "everyman" rol...more
Dustin Reade
This is the first of Keene's Zombie books that I have read, and it is doozy. Full of intense gore, non-stop action, and amazingly well developed characters (everyone has a believable back story), this is one of the finest works of zombie fiction I have so far read. I see now why he is often referred to as a "Master of the genre". He earned the title with this one alone, I'm telling you.
First off, in this book, Brian Keene does something I have always admired in the work of Philip...more
K.Z. Snow
Phrew! First things first. This story must be appreciated for what it is: popular fiction meant to appeal to readers within a certain niche.

That said, I can't imagine any writer portraying a zombie takeover more convincingly than Brian Keene. Sharp-as-gunfire prose that doesn't skimp on (delightfully gruesome) detail, fast pace interrupted only briefly to make some interesting observations, likable and believable characters, and a satisfyingly ambiguous ending. Nary a hint of romance...more
Nelson
Nelson rated it 4 of 5 stars


Brian Keene’s Dead Sea is a post-apocalyptic novel that features a motley crew who each fight their way through Baltimore to the harbor, where they board a retired Coast Guard cutter, and head to sea. The hero, Lamar Reed, is a gay, black man from the ghetto, who lived his life on the straight and narrow until he lost his factory job, and the outbreak of Hamelin’s Revenge, which turns its victims into zombies.

Lamar encounters two orphans during his escape; they team up with a...more
Chris
Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: horror
I think one of the things I really like about reading these mass market horror paperbacks is that (provided you're a fan of the genre) you can really see good writers improve over the course of several novels. I don't know how often you get to see that these days... a novelist might get one or two shots to wow and audience, but if s/he doesn't connect with a solid hit early on, they're kind of left in the dust. Horror novelists seem to have a longer shelf life- they can get a couple of books und...more
Amber Carson
This was a really good book! it was really suspenseful and full of emotion! This differed from most of the other zombie stories i have read in the fact that virus (hamelin's revenge) wasn't just limited to people it jumped species and spread to dogs, cats, horses, rats and eventually aquatic life as well. The story was told from the viewpoint of Lamar, a Gay black man. He told his story in a way that was exciting and interesting and kept me totally engaged through the whole story! I highly recom...more
Bjeff121
Brian Keene has become one of my favorite horror authors because his stories are always about these end of the world, apocalypse scenarios that make you wonder...what if that really happened?

Dead Sea is different from other zombie books because no one is immune to being infected, which includes animals and sea life. The endings of his books always keep you guessing and make you wonder what will happen to the characters.
Kristen
Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: horror
Shockingly, I preferred this to it's two predecessors. My only issue with this book is that, it comes across as a third in the series... Frankie is mentioned as well as the scene in the zoo, which would imply that this takes place concurrently with City of the Dead, however these Zombies are completely different... sure they are still Zombies, but rather than the intelligent, tool using, car driving zombies of the first two books, these are slow moving stupid zombies, which I was entirely okay ...more
Scott Morrison
I never would never have thought about reading a book about fighting zombies at sea, but I am glad I did. Brian Keene is one of my favorite authors. His characters are well developed, and his whole series of zombies books cross reference each other, much like many of Stephen King's novels, but can be read in any order. A future giant of horror.
Joey Cruz
Another decent zombie tale, though not in the same universe as The Rising and City of the Dead. This one starts a little slow and doesn't really reach much further than executing a concept. Keene seems to have said everything he really wanted to say with those first two books. Here he's just playing around, but it's fun nonetheless.
Robi
Robi rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for: Zombie fans
I liked the book moreso because of the characters. Especially the main character. It's refreshing to see a homosexual as a main character. He dispells all the stereotypes about being gay and also those about being black.
The Zombies in this book are not like the one's in his previous books, where the dead are inhabited by evil and intelligent entities from another realm. Instead, the zombies are very Romero-styled. Mindlessly shambling about and infecting others with bites. The one...more
Carl I.
Fun, light read. Nothing takes the reader by surprise with the book, but it does serve as a fun and entertaining read. My biggest complaint was the killing off of the two most interesting characters, and the fact that the most boring character is supposed to be our hero. It's the world and people around Lamar that keeps the reader turning pages, not him.
Robert
Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars
Again, Keene writes horror with the best of them, but I'm really getting tired of the weak endings. They don't have to be happy endings, but it really shouldn't feel like you petered out and just decided, hey I guess I'll end here. This would be a 4.5 star book with just a slightly more solid ending, and I'd round up to 5 stars, but the ending is so weak I only gave it 3 stars.
Trevor
Trevor rated it 5 of 5 stars
I thought this continued Keene's other two zombie novels, but after finishing City of the Dead I realized this was something a little different. Yes, it's zombies, and it is traditional, slow ghouls all the way! I loved Lamar, Mitch, and the kids, who unfortunately had to up right before our eyes in the span of only a week. Better yet is a discussion of Joseph Campbell, and a continued thoughtful examination of his archetypes while our survivors are out at sea. Brian Keene is quickly becoming o...more
Brian Fagan
I think I might be the only Keene fan that thinks this is superior to The Rising (but, i think i'm one of the few fans that prefers his non-zombie novels too).

Slow zombies, crazy priest, the water, and a gay black protagonist...it's just a great book!
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BRIAN KEENE is the author of over twenty-five books, including Darkness on the Edge of Town, Take The Long Way Home, Urban Gothic, Castaways, Kill Whitey, Dark Hollow, Dead Sea, and The Rising. He’s also written comic books such as The Last Zombie, Doom Patrol and Dead of Night: Devil Slayer. His work has been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French and Taiwanese.

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The Rising City of the Dead The Conqueror Worms Ghoul Dark Hollow

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