The outbreak began in 2007. It's now 2112.
The crippled U.S. government is giving up in its fight against an undead plague. Military forces and ...
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reviews
Oct 15, 2008
Thee_ron_clark
rated it: 
This is an interesting novel about my favorite film and literature object; the living dead. The story takes place over fifty years after an outbreak of the living dead. America is losing the war against the walking corpses and continues to move all its citizens to more populated and secure areas.
Outside of the main plot, the story follows a few groups: a spoiled and crazy young man and his pack of domesticated zombies, a group of people who were stranded in a community or chose to re More...
Outside of the main plot, the story follows a few groups: a spoiled and crazy young man and his pack of domesticated zombies, a group of people who were stranded in a community or chose to re More...
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Dec 21, 2008
Erin
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Jan 05, 2012
Degeorgetown
rated it: 
I gave this three stars because although I did enjoy the book and loved the concept of Death showing up in a zombie infested world... it just wasn't done well enough. The best parts were of course when Death showed up, but it wasn't often. Most of the story switches between survivors I just didn't care all that much about.
My biggest complaint would be the unnecessary serial rapist plotline. It did nothing for the story as a whole. It was like the author wrote a Law and Order: SVU fanf More...
My biggest complaint would be the unnecessary serial rapist plotline. It did nothing for the story as a whole. It was like the author wrote a Law and Order: SVU fanf More...
Nov 05, 2010
Patrick
rated it:
Empire takes place a century from now, long after the rise of the plague that caused the dead to rise. These zombies are a bit different than what we have seen in other works though: the dead have always had the ability to rise up when near places that are a "source" of supernatural power, but the plague came because the power of the source was laced with a deadly virus that allows their bites to transfer their infection, allowing them to perpetuate it and carry it through the entire h
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Oct 20, 2010
Julia
rated it: 
I’m not, generally speaking, a zombie-lover, but the premise of Empire just sounded too good to pass up:
The year is 2112 and for over a century a hideous virus has plagued mankind, transforming almost every man, woman, and child into the living dead. And while that’s certainly a problem for humanity, it’s an even bigger problem for someone—or something—else, i.e. Death. That’s right. Death. The Grim Reaper, the Fourth Horseman, the Collector of Souls himself is about to start a war on More...
The year is 2112 and for over a century a hideous virus has plagued mankind, transforming almost every man, woman, and child into the living dead. And while that’s certainly a problem for humanity, it’s an even bigger problem for someone—or something—else, i.e. Death. That’s right. Death. The Grim Reaper, the Fourth Horseman, the Collector of Souls himself is about to start a war on More...
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Mar 30, 2009
Joe
rated it:
During the profusion of low-budget horror films that was the late 70's came a film called "Death Bed: The Bed That Eats." The film's premise and indeed its summary can be found in its title. Some clips of this film exist on YouTube. It is pretty bad.
Empire is the "Death Bed" of zombie novels. Set one hundred years after an apocalyptic zombie outbreak, survivors still live off of old bags of chips and hundred-year old stale food. Death himself shows up as a hapless ch More...
Empire is the "Death Bed" of zombie novels. Set one hundred years after an apocalyptic zombie outbreak, survivors still live off of old bags of chips and hundred-year old stale food. Death himself shows up as a hapless ch More...
Apr 12, 2010
Rhiannon
rated it:
4.5 stars
I devoured this book in two days. I was hooked from the very beginning. I am a big fan of David Dunwoody's works via the two short story collections I recently read by him. I have also enjoyed his short stories included in anthologies, but had yet to read the novel he is praised for. I own both editions of Empire. The original Permuted Press edition was personally signed for me at Horror Realm, and I ordered the new S & S Gallery version as soon as it went on pre-order. More...
I devoured this book in two days. I was hooked from the very beginning. I am a big fan of David Dunwoody's works via the two short story collections I recently read by him. I have also enjoyed his short stories included in anthologies, but had yet to read the novel he is praised for. I own both editions of Empire. The original Permuted Press edition was personally signed for me at Horror Realm, and I ordered the new S & S Gallery version as soon as it went on pre-order. More...
Sep 04, 2011
Kelli
rated it:
It started out pretty well, but i think that the author just tried to put too many things in the book.Adding the Death character wasn't terrible, having a serial rapist around wasn't too much...but then also adding the family in the swamp...I just didn't think it all gelled together. by the end, and in true zombie fashion almost everyone dies, I just was not with it. I guess I was so disappointed in the book and the end of it because so much of the book had so much potential that was just wasted
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Aug 17, 2011
Brian
rated it:
Blech.
Not my kind of thing, and frankly, the blurb on the back doesn't match the book. See, (spoiler, stop reading now!)
Death gives up being death to whack the zombies, after whacking zombies earlier in the book, I guess they "don't count". So Death actually isn't around in the last half of the book, just the nameless-dude-formerly-named-Death. And any involvement by "Death" is in the last twenty or so pages where for some un More...
Not my kind of thing, and frankly, the blurb on the back doesn't match the book. See, (spoiler, stop reading now!)
Death gives up being death to whack the zombies, after whacking zombies earlier in the book, I guess they "don't count". So Death actually isn't around in the last half of the book, just the nameless-dude-formerly-named-Death. And any involvement by "Death" is in the last twenty or so pages where for some un More...
Oct 18, 2010
Taylor
rated it:
It took me a little while to get into but overall I enjoyed this book. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars instead of 4.
The premise of this post-apocalyptic zombie novel is that on earth there are sources of dark energy capable of bringing the dead back to life. The U.S. government tried to harness this power to use to their advantage but ultimately ended up creating a mob of "afterdead" capable of transmitting the virus through bites. The "afterdead" whose sole purpose is More...
The premise of this post-apocalyptic zombie novel is that on earth there are sources of dark energy capable of bringing the dead back to life. The U.S. government tried to harness this power to use to their advantage but ultimately ended up creating a mob of "afterdead" capable of transmitting the virus through bites. The "afterdead" whose sole purpose is More...
Nov 11, 2011
Bandit
rated it:
This was a pretty good zombie book. The pacing was fast and the action was gory. The thing that I didn't really like was how many characters there were, I found it to be overwhelming and at times tough to keep track of, especially characters with last names that sound like first names, since both were used. There was a nice twist midway through I didn't see coming and I really enjoyed the character of Death. SO much so that I would be interested in checking out the sequel. Recommended for zombie
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Jun 24, 2008
Gabrielle
rated it: 
I'm a gothic romantic at heart, which means I can easily lose myself in flowing, self-indulgent horror prose (if it is well written) that reaches up through the pages and slowly drags you into its world with thorny tendrils of darkness. However, there is another aspect of my personality, the analytical, eccentric, left-brained lover of hardcore science fiction, especially of the post-apocalyptic sort. I tend to be quite the stickler for details when it comes to any novel set on a futuristic war-
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May 04, 2010
Tony
rated it:
Having finally gotten around to finishing this book, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will admit, when I first started reading the book I couldn't get into it. I have since gotten to know the author and felt compelled to give it another try. I did, I finished it and I truly enjoyed it.
It gives an interesting twist on the zombie genre, with the darkness from the swamps and so forth. The having to completely destroy them with fire is a different twist, but it worked with the s More...
It gives an interesting twist on the zombie genre, with the darkness from the swamps and so forth. The having to completely destroy them with fire is a different twist, but it worked with the s More...
Mar 19, 2011
Dan
rated it:
Despite reading a lot of books loaded with action and/or violence, I usually skip most of said action and/or violence due to getting the point quickly. ÊThis book had probably the most interesting, best-executed action/violence I've read. ÊI'm not totally sure how I felt about the part-zombie-fiction, part-weird-parable-with-death-walking-around-on-Earth thing, but overall a novel take on zombie fiction and a fun read.
Sep 20, 2010
Akaria
rated it:
I love zombie fiction and speed read through several books in the genre back to back some years ago. Usually that means details in the stories get mixed up with each other. Rarely does it mean I totally forget what happens in a book. Let's just say this book is so unmemorable I forgot I read it. Do yourself a favor and do a re-read of World War Z or Day By Day Armageddon instead.
Jul 30, 2011
The story was good, but I didn't like the writing style. Very skippy and back and forth. I didn't flow very well. We'd be in one part of town in one paragraph and in the next be somewhere completely different, without any spacing breaks. Bad editing? I don't know. I think it would make a decent movie, with all the cuts and breaks, but as a book, it didn't work for me.
Jan 13, 2012
Xarah
rated it:
Something was a little off with this novel. I think it had to do with the manner in which it was written. There were numerous times when the author would suddenly change the subject on what was happening to a character or to characters. One paragraph would be about so-and-so, then it would suddenly change to what was happening with someone else not directly involved with the previous incident. There were a number of time when I would have to re-read something to understand what just happened.
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Jul 24, 2011
David
rated it:
Fun read. Having Death as a main character (and a fairly cleverly imagined & written character at that) helps set this book apart from the endless smorgasbord of other zombie fiction. Fantastic book. I'd highly recommend it to any fan of zombie/horror/science fiction.
Jul 24, 2011
Matthew
rated it:
This was a good read. An easy break from some of my other more challenging books I'm currently reading but a good read nonetheless. It was a typical zombie book but also atypical as well. The zombies weren't your run of the mill undead, these had a semblance of life beforehand. Hard to explain for those who haven't read it but if you're into zombie books and sometimes tire of the same old same old, then I tell you, pick this book up for a fresh breath of zombie literature. I enjoyed it and
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Aug 01, 2010
Jimmyjo
rated it:
If you feel like reading the synopsis of a video game then this book is for you!!! Otherwise this book is a big piece of shit and anyone who isn't sexually attracted to the dead should not read this.
Jan 13, 2011
Brad
rated it:
this is supposed to be a masterpiece of zombie fiction. I got 3/4 of the way through it and just stopped giving a crap. I have too little reading time to read books that dont engage me.
Jun 10, 2010
Todd
rated it:
Zombies, post-apocalyptic world and the Angel of Death. What else could you want? Seriously, I liked the treatment of the character of Death. This was a good zombie novel, too. Good action, good story, good gore.
Jan 22, 2012
Amy
rated it:
Just plain stupid! I have to finish a book when I start reading it...always, no matter how much I dislike it. Yet I won't be finishing this one. It's that bad!
Jul 24, 2011
Schnaucl
rated it:
This supposedly takes place about 100 years after the zombie apocalypse but it certainly doesn't feel that way. It doesn't feel like the first few days of an outbreak but it doesn't feel more than months after the start, maybe a few years at most. If you want to see life after people got used to zombies done right, read Mira Grant's Feed.
I just couldn't really get into it. There was too much skipping around and the characters didn't really click for me. More...
I just couldn't really get into it. There was too much skipping around and the characters didn't really click for me. More...
Dec 09, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
Someone on the el platform asked me if my book was good yesterday and I said without hesitation, "Absolutely not." Having Death as a character could be cool and a book about a zombie apocalypse could also be cool. Putting the two together should be as well, but in the case of this book, not even close. So glad I paid less than a dollar for it. Now to be rid of it...
May 13, 2008
Trevor
rated it:
Plenty of action, horror, and suspense and good writing to boot. From the description, I figured the spectre of "Death" would play more of a role against the undead, but he plays more of a minor role. This ended up working very well. Recommended to fans of the genre!
May 11, 2008
Monster
rated it:
New and interesting take on the zombie genre with the physical manifistation of Death as a character. There was a lot put into this book, and it felt like Dunwoody might have been able to take some of the plot threads and have them as seperate titles.
