Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Dead City (Dead World #1)

by Joe McKinney (Goodreads Author)

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 2,414 ratings · 214 reviews

"A relentless thrill ride... Break out the popcorn, you're in for a real treat." Harry Shannon, author of Dead and Gone

Texas? Toast.

Battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks, the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State is reeling from the worst devastation in history. Thousands are dead or dyingbut the worst is only beginning. Amid the wreckage,

...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published November 1st 2006 by Pinnacle

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Walking Dead, Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman

Zombies!

62nd out of 837 books — 2,548 voters

Best Zombie Books

43rd out of 413 books — 892 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Oct 17, 2011 Lucy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, anti-feminist, horror, how-did-this-get-published, zombies

Oh, zombie books, how I love you and how you hurt me. Some of the worst books I've read this year have been zombie books. Apparently walking dead allows you to substitute out character development, which is such a shame because I believe the best character development can come out of stressful life or death situations. You can get right down to the core of a character with simple actions at the right moments. Maybe I'm looking for too much from the genre.

Dead City is a first person POV told by a...more Oh, zombie books, how I love you and how you hurt me. Some of the worst books I've read this year have been zombie books. Apparently walking dead allows you to substitute out character development, which is such a shame because I believe the best character development can come out of stressful life or death situations. You can get right down to the core of a character with simple actions at the right moments. Maybe I'm looking for too much from the genre.

Dead City is a first person POV told by a police officer named Eddie Hudson as a zombie outbreak occurs during his evening shift in San Antonio, Texas. The reasons for the outbreak are kind of loose, which isn't really a problem for me. I'm not the sort of person who needs to see the infected monkey in a cage spitting at the janitor who through some weird twist of circumstances ended up trying to clean a room he had no clearance to be in on his first day of the job. Besides, you can't get that level of explanation from a first person narrative, but I still wasn't a fan of how the outbreak supposedly came about in this book. There was a hurricane, people got sick from living condition, and evacuations of people who were carriers but not yet totally infected spread it. I didn't take a star off for this because you can't expect a better virus evolution from an average first person zombie narrative.

The first round of stars came off because I didn't quite believe Eddie would do half the things he did. After an infected cop Eddie rescued kills himself rather than let the infection progress, Eddie goes to let the cop's family know he died. When he gets there the baby is half eaten and the dead cop's wife is clearly the culprit. If he'd gone to the house to assume responsibility for the other cop's family, like evacuate the wife and child right along with his own wife and child then I would've better understood it. With his motivation being a simple matter of notification I felt like this was meant to scare the audience into thinking the exact same thing could happen to Eddie's own wife and child. Blah. I wasn't impressed.

On his way to his home where he hopes to find his family, Eddie gets distracted several times -- the outing to the dead cop's family included. The sense of urgency and even my belief that he really cared about what happened to his family as diminished by all his 'ooh gunshot! I should check that out!' It's a zombie outbreak. There's going to be a lot of gunshots. Pretty much everyone that has a gun is going to shoot it that day. What was the goal there? To make me question how bright Eddie is or to think he was a big swaggering hero? The only thing achieved was making me think his family was so-so on the list of important things.

Eddie also seems to think his wife is brain dead. He repeatedly tells himself she's a "smart girl," but he says it in a way that seems like the kind of blanket and meaningless reassurance you give yourself when it really can't get any worse. Besides, in just about every scene his wife is presented as a shrill shrewy thing. The book opens with her arguing with him on the phone about switching his shift, refusing to understand he doesn't get much of a say in it, and demanding help with the baby. It's never said whether or not April, the wife, has a job, but she seems to believe that the kid needs TWO STAY AT HOME PARENTS AT ALL TIMES. She's bothering him while he's on patrol because she can't handle the baby on her own. She comes off as ridiculous, needy, and unlikable. It's a fun start for female characters that doesn't get much better.

The next female character solidly introduced is a reporter who flags down Eddie and a cop demanding to know what they're going to do about civilians holed up in a building who need evacuation. Basically the whole city is over run with walking dead and this is the largest pool of living people Eddie's seen. He's only encountered a couple of living cops, all his ranking or lower. He's essentially on his own with one other cop who might be a little crazy. The reporter is deliberately trying to make our intrepid hero look bad. She is then distracted by the better looking and slightly psycho cop and proceeds to thrust her boobs out and flutter her eyelashes at him. We'll call her Bambi. When the inevitable zombie outbreak occurs near this cache of survivors Bambi turns into a whimpering teary mess. The cops save Bambi, but she gets eaten anyway because she sits in the car sniffling while they work to clear a path to drive it down.

As if that wasn't enough the next female to occupy pages gives up fighting, sits down, and allows herself to be eaten when the cops are out of reach to rescue her. She literally chooses to die when those big strong men folk can't hop the fence and take care of her. I wouldn't have read too much into her gender had it not been the third female character with absolutely no sense of self-reliance.

To go back to the wife, when Eddie finally meets up with her again she tries to shoot him and he has to talk her into believing he's not a zombie. He points out zombies can't speak and she cries because he's yelling at her. She shot at him and then cried when he was upset about it. Poor baby. Honestly, I kept wondering if the woman the author is married to was really okay with how every woman in this book was portrayed? We never find out where April has been or what she's been doing but apparently she's heading back to the house because she left without packing baby food and diapers. Wtf. Did she think she was going to stop at CVS to refresh her supplies?

There's very little character development. I read another review where the reviewer said it was basically the plot of a video game and I agree. One obstacle course after another. Anyway, if the book had only been a shallow story I still would've given it two or three stars, but the fact that all female characters were too stupid to live was too difficult for me to tolerate for 288 pages. One star; I don't recommend it to anyone.(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Oct 16, 2011 Wendy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Completely enjoyed this book. I stayed up late into the night to finish it because I did not want to put it down.

I enjoyed the fact that the author even made us think about the ethical side of zombies. What if zombies were living human beings who had caught a virus and turned into cannibalistic killers? That is the question that we are left to consider after reading this book.

Over all a great read and I am really looking forward to more books by this author.

7 likes · like · see review

May 06, 2012 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie, series, texas, 2012-read, updated

You know how clothing addicts have those 'I've nothing to wear!!!' tantrums whilst standing in front of an overflowing wardrobe? Well the other day I had a similar moment, replacing the wardrobe with my bookshelf, stamping my feet and saying 'I've nothing to read - I want zombies!!!!'. So I picked up my trusty e-reader and Dead City caught my eye.

Dead City is what I call a proper zombie book. Why? Because its action packed, gory, scary and creepy, the main characters are tough but flawed and peo...more You know how clothing addicts have those 'I've nothing to wear!!!' tantrums whilst standing in front of an overflowing wardrobe? Well the other day I had a similar moment, replacing the wardrobe with my bookshelf, stamping my feet and saying 'I've nothing to read - I want zombies!!!!'. So I picked up my trusty e-reader and Dead City caught my eye.

Dead City is what I call a proper zombie book. Why? Because its action packed, gory, scary and creepy, the main characters are tough but flawed and people die. A lot.

Eddie is a cop, and whilst trying to deal with some problems at home, receives a call to investigate a disturbance in a local neighbourhood. When arriving he finds a whole bunch of people acting strangely....but within minutes the true cause of the disturbance becomes apparent - it's zombie time!

While he struggles to survive and move through the city he meets a bunch of different people who are also trying to ride out the zomb-apocalypse and get the hell out of town - but the zombies obviously have other things on their mind, and his journey is fraught with intense, life-or-death situations.

This is an action-packed book, there's very little 'down time' or intense dialogue - most conversations take place on the fly, whilst dodging zombies but the relationship building between the characters is done well considering the circumstances. I liked that Eddie wasn't super-cop, he screwed up and got scared, wasn't a crack shot with a pistol and had to rely on hard work and guts to get himself out of trouble. There is some information on the zombie-virus itself, but it's more the catalyst to the story than a part of it.

There are some slightly sexist connotations - the vast majority of the characters are male, and have some badly-disguised condescension for women, but it didn't bother me. There's also one slightly stereotypical moment involving a group of survivors that Eddie meets along the way, but again it was quite mild.

Did Dead City satisfy my zombie craving? Totally! It was everything I was hanging out for, but now that I've got a taste for it, I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Favourite Quote: ''I refuse to let a bunch of zombies ruin the end of the world for me.''

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie (less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 30, 2011 Julie Suzanne rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish

Could not finish this book. With so many books I want to read, I couldn't justify continuing on with this one. Way too formulaic - typical zombie stuff you've read many times before. The story jumps right into the action, with minimal character development to keep the reader invested in the story. I found myself just skimming pages while the action sequences just kept going on and on and on. Might make a good generic slasher/zombie movie, but as a book it's lacking. I do not recommend this one -...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 21, 2008 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Zombie Lovers

Shelves: zombie-stuff, 2007

Dead City by Joe McKinney is an action packed zombie novel and a strong first novel. Dead City has all the action you could want out of a zombie book and the main character is pretty well fleshed out. If Dead City has any true weakness, it's the lack of depth in the setting and the story may be a little bit too straight forward.

The story follows Eddie, a San Antonio cop, as tries to survive the zombie hordes and tries to get home to his Wife and child. Along the way he has to overcome some hard...more

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 11, 2012 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

According to the blurb on the front of this book, "These are not your mother's zombies."

I was never aware of my mother having had any zombies, and since she passed away several years ago I will never be able to clear this question up. I will say, however, that the zombies wreaking havoc in San Antonio, Texas, in Dead City are not unlike the zombies I have seen in the approximately 100 zombie movies I have watched over the past 40 years. They have no consciousness beyond their desire to feed, the...more According to the blurb on the front of this book, "These are not your mother's zombies."

I was never aware of my mother having had any zombies, and since she passed away several years ago I will never be able to clear this question up. I will say, however, that the zombies wreaking havoc in San Antonio, Texas, in Dead City are not unlike the zombies I have seen in the approximately 100 zombie movies I have watched over the past 40 years. They have no consciousness beyond their desire to feed, their bites are infectious, their numbers spread quickly, only a bullet to the brain can stop them. McKinney solves the classic issue of "slow" vs "fast" zombies by mixing in a few fast ones with the shambling hordes. Also, these zombies are not the reanimated dead. They suffer from a hemorrhagic viral infection, like a really nasty form of ebola that rather than killing you turns you into a killing machine.

Dead City follows cop Eddie Harris through the first night of the new Zombie America. Houston and much of the Gulf Coast lies under many feet of water following a series of five hurricanes in as many weeks. This is where the first reports of evacuees attacking their rescuers surface. Officer Harris answers and early evening call to investigate what sounds like a drunken brawl in an unlikely neighborhood. From the time he arrives at the brawl until the last chapter of the book, all hell just won't stop breaking loose.

This is the first zombie novel I have read, but I am aware that it is its own genre, much of it aimed at the teen market. I am not really its demographic. Zombie movies, both good and bad, are over in about 90 minutes. Dead City is a quick read, but I probably spent five or more hours with it. Every situation was familiar from one movie or another. Whatever shock value there once was in seeing people eat one another on screen has long since worn off, and reading about people eating one another brings nothing new to the experience. McKinney creates some good minor characters, but the one policeman who provides comic relief is so obnoxious I would have fed him to the first hungry mob we encountered. Assuming I had first secured all his guns and ammunition.

Harris narrates the novel, so you know he is going to survive. He is not much given to introspection, and when he comes up with a line like, "Nothing is as protean as a woman," you realize that might not be a bad thing. It's more important that he is a good shot and he doesn't stop moving. The plot line that involves his search for his wife and child is, like so much else in the novel, beyond predictable.

This was McKinney's first novel, and I plan to read his second even though it has the uninspired title Apocalypse of the Dead. It takes place in flooded Houston, a much more promising setting that San Antonio. It was also nominated for the Stoker award, which makes he think, or hope, that McKinney is getting better.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 02, 2011 Eduardo Fernandes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Eu adoro filmes e jogos sobre zumbis. Fato. Provavelmente vêm daí as três estrelas, por que este livro não é assim nada de mais. Não é que seja mau. Não é. É daqueles livros que a gente lê, até se diverte, mas que não vai ficar lembrando por muito tempo.

Vocês sabem, é como aqueles filmes que passam na televisão, na tarde de natal, em que a gente não tem mais nada a fazer.

Enfim, é um livro sobre zumbis. É como os filmes: quem viu um, viu todos. Continua-se a ver na mesma por que gostar de toda aq...more

like · see review

Oct 21, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

For the first time you get the story from a cops position. Zombies not just any kind of zombies but , the kind that are different fast slow, torn apart not torn apart. It all comes together in this book . You feel everything that the cop is going through and you hate it for him. Eddie goes through a night of hell while on shift. Not only does he loose his first partner but it continues on to go that almost everyone he tries to save along with him is lost eventually. While Eddie fights his way th...more

like · see review

Oct 16, 2011 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

(Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com)

"These aren't your mother's zombies!" cries the tagline on the front of Joe McKinney's 'Dead City.' Which leads me to believe that reading the book is not actually a part of a tagwriter's job description. To me, 'these aren't your mother's zombies' is a way of saying, 'check it, these zombies are new and different and unlike the zombies of your mother's day.' Except that I can't remember the last time I encountered a zombie story as old school a...more (Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com)

"These aren't your mother's zombies!" cries the tagline on the front of Joe McKinney's 'Dead City.' Which leads me to believe that reading the book is not actually a part of a tagwriter's job description. To me, 'these aren't your mother's zombies' is a way of saying, 'check it, these zombies are new and different and unlike the zombies of your mother's day.' Except that I can't remember the last time I encountered a zombie story as old school as 'Dead City.' These are your mother's zombies. Your mum went to high school with these zombies, and when she sees them in the supermarket she stops to catch up for, like, hours.

But it's not a bad thing! In fact, the "tradionalness," if you will, of Dead City was probably my favourite aspect of the book. It seems that as zombies have grown increasingly fashionable authors have been trying to put a new spin on them. It's like zombies alone aren't enough any more, it has to be steampunk zombies (Boneshaker), or blogger zombies (Alison Hewitt is Trapped) or thinking zombies (Warm Bodies) which is fine and good, but you know, sometimes you just want to read about zombies.

And on that, McKinney delivers. The book is set in San Antonio and follows policeman Eddie through the first night of a sweeping zombie invasion. He wants to get back to his wife and kid, and there are a bazillion zombies to get past first.

What can I say about this book? If you like zombies, you'll enjoy it. If you're sick of zombies, you probably won't. McKinney's skill lies in writing tense and effective action scenes. He doesn't fall into the repetitive traps of some zombie novels, instead he thrusts Eddie into a number of different situations that keep things interesting and exciting.

McKinney is also very, very skilled at scene setting. He has that rare ability to paint a detailed mind picture in your head with just a single sentence. I can't remember the last time I encountered such vivid scenes in any book. McKinney has a knack for capturing quiet moments amidst all the zombie carnage, I really can't praise his descriptive skill highly enough.

He's less skillful when it comes to dialogue. Nothing the character's said ever rang entirely true, and he had a habit of using characters as an excuse to launch into hamfisted philosophising. (Are zombies people too? Did mankind bring them on themselves? Blah, blah, get to the brains!) There were also some inconsistencies in his plotting. Some things just seemed too convenient or easy, there were a few ideas that just didn't go anywhere, and the ending was way sudden.

Really, the ending didn't seem like the end of a book so much as it did the end of a really long prologue. Which normally I would hate like nothing else (it's the reason I never read beyond Charlie Higson's 'The Enemy...'), but by the end of Dead City I found myself more intrigued than annoyed and I can easily see myself picking up the next book in the series.

McKinney may not has written a book that offers a new twist on zombies, but that's exactly what I liked so much about it. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.
(less)

like · see review

Jun 29, 2011 William M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

3 AND 1/2 STARS

"Dead City", the debut horror novel by Joe McKinney, is a worthy read, equally impressive as a first novel as it is an intense zombie book. The first few chapters have a nice buildup as the reader experiences the outbreak through the eyes of a San Antonio police officer. The action explodes very early on and never really stops, and while I did enjoy the intense sequences, I think the violence would have been more effective if it was balanced with more suspenseful and quiet moment...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 05, 2010 Patrick D'Orazio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eddie Hudson is a police officer in San Antonio dealing with something his years of training and time on the streets could never prepare him for. In this story by Joe McKinney we are thrust into Eddie's world as he is just discovering that the hurricanes to the south that ravaged Houston have uncovered some sort of virus that causes the dead to walk.

The story is told in first person as Eddie relates the challenges he faces in not only trying to get back to his wife and infant son but just survi...more Eddie Hudson is a police officer in San Antonio dealing with something his years of training and time on the streets could never prepare him for. In this story by Joe McKinney we are thrust into Eddie's world as he is just discovering that the hurricanes to the south that ravaged Houston have uncovered some sort of virus that causes the dead to walk.

The story is told in first person as Eddie relates the challenges he faces in not only trying to get back to his wife and infant son but just survive as he battles through the night just trying to deal with and comprehend the onslaught of the living dead that want to tear him and every other living soul to pieces.

This is a very fast paced read and the gore is quite vivid. This book, more so than many others I have read in the genre, lends itself to becoming a movie because we smoothly cut from one action sequence to the next and the images are bright, raw, and easy to see in your mind. At a rapid fire pace we are taken from scene to scene and Eddie is joined by different secondary characters who are detailed but never overshadow him or his goal to save his family.

The book strikes the right chord for a story told in first person form. We are drawn into Eddie's world and the emotions he is feeling. From the sense of helplessness he has with one co-worker who is bitten and dying to exasperation with another who seems to be almost unphased by this incredible disaster.

Perhaps some of the secondary characters are not tremendously complex but given what type of story this is their depth is more than adequate. We do get some nice touches, such as a small part of the story where Eddie faces off against another cop whose father (also a cop) has been turned into a zombie. The son not only refuses to kill his father, he is willing to fight off Eddie to protect someone who means so much to him. Elements such as this make zombie stories so incredibly intense for me. The author understands some of the genuine terror we feel towards zombies is because they are simply not just alien monsters, they are us. They are our families, our friends.

While the ending of the books slows things down to an abrupt halt I cannot say it did not necessarily work here. Certainly the author could have kept the breakneck pace until the very end but at least in this way we are granted a complete conclusion to this story, for better or for worse.

If this is in fact Joe McKinney's first book as some of the other reviewers have mentioned I have to say it is certainly an auspicious start to what I hope will be a long and exciting career. This was a good and fun read and I look forward to more to come from this author.(less)

like · see review

Oct 05, 2010 Schnaucl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, horror, library, october, read_2010, zombies

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The actual zombie infection I thought was very well done. It makes sense that the first responders would be among the first and hardest hit. The chaos throughout the city is also entirely believable.

I liked that McKinney referenced zombie movies. It made the setting grounded in the real world. I also really liked that there was a character who was a member of something like the Zombie Research Society.

The fact that some people held onto old prejudices also helped ground the story in reality. S...more The actual zombie infection I thought was very well done. It makes sense that the first responders would be among the first and hardest hit. The chaos throughout the city is also entirely believable.

I liked that McKinney referenced zombie movies. It made the setting grounded in the real world. I also really liked that there was a character who was a member of something like the Zombie Research Society.

The fact that some people held onto old prejudices also helped ground the story in reality. Sure, in the face of imminent danger people might work together, but when there's breathing room I don't think it's at all surprising that some people would retreat into their old prejudices. Prejudice is familiar at a time when everything around them has changed. People might band together against a common threat but that doesn't mean they're all going to become best friends. Maybe there will be more understanding after, but maybe not.

The chaos and the horror felt very real to me. I enjoyed seeing how different people reacted to what was happening and it was great that not everyone survives.

The book is well done, probably 4 stars, right up until the end where it goes off the rails. The ending is a cop out. Our hero survives one night and then the military shows up and magically everything is not precisely normal, but much, much closer to it than it has any right to be.

I don't know why the military would be able to eliminate the threat any better than the police. American tools of war are not meant for individual head shots, they're meant to maim and explode. (For a better perspective on the modern military's problems against zombies I highly recommend Max Brooks' Word War Z). I simply don't buy that in less than a day the military could mostly contain the threat. Not happening.

I understand that the book had to end at some point and apparently it's not part of a series. But the ending simply doesn't make sense. Zombie outbreaks do not make for quick happy endings.

(less)

like · see review

Apr 24, 2013 Jocelyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have read a lot of zombie books.
Not a lot.
I have read several zombie books.
About fifteen.
I’m not the expert on them, but still. I know some things.

Like I know this : Dead City doesn’t have it.

“It” – something new, something fresh, something worthwile, something gut wrenching heart stopping mind gasping WHAT.

Eddie Hudson is the officer on duty. Night duty. San Antonio night duty. He’s also got a wife at home and a 6 month old baby. The wife’s a real nagger, the baby is his pride and joy, and th...more

like · see review

Feb 26, 2013 William Freedman rated it 4 of 5 stars

I bought "Dead City" to help me pass the time as I crossed over two oceans. An unexpected benefit is that, as we ended up in a non-Anglophone, TV-deficient country, I found myself with four 11- to 13-year-olds going through Tube withdrawal. A late-night, two- or three-chapter reading-by-flashlight from "Dead City" was just the substitute they needed. I couldn't get them to listen to a complete sentence from me the whole week, but they listened to McKinney without interruption for at least 20 min...more

like · see review

May 24, 2011 Alyssa rated it 5 of 5 stars

**THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

I chose to read this book for two simple reasons: I adore the zombie/apocalypse genre and I had never really read a zombie novel before. I did some research over a few books I could possibly choose from, and this one seemed to catch my eye. I wanted a book that would give me zombies, but I wanted a more traditional story about them; not a story about super-powered zombies, zombie teenagers, or anything like that. I prefer the Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of t...more **THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

I chose to read this book for two simple reasons: I adore the zombie/apocalypse genre and I had never really read a zombie novel before. I did some research over a few books I could possibly choose from, and this one seemed to catch my eye. I wanted a book that would give me zombies, but I wanted a more traditional story about them; not a story about super-powered zombies, zombie teenagers, or anything like that. I prefer the Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead-esque genre of zombies, and this book seemed to deliver just that.

The novel starts out with a run-of-the-mill cop named Eddie Hudson. Having a spat with his wife over the phone, he gets a call from headquarters and he and another officer speed off towards what was reported to them as a riot. Unfortunately, he finds himself in deep trouble when the "rioters" he faces can take multiple gunshots without even flinching. The rest of the book follows Eddie as he races from various locations around San Antonio in an attempt to find his wife and 6-month old son who seemed to have gone missing, all the while fighting off the undead hoard with the other survivors.

One reason that this book is great is because Mr. Mckinney (the author) knows his stuff when it comes to policing, as he has actually worked as a policeman himself. So the main character, Eddie, is a truly believable representation of an officer of the law, and all of the decisions he makes seem to be what a cop would do in the situation he is thrust in. The novel itself is a quick read and the action is paced fairly well, transitioning from situation to situation accordingly. There are some tear-jerking moments and some humor peppered throughout the book at times, giving it a sense of variety in character interactions and situations.

The only things I truly found wrong with this book was the fact that

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**
It seemed as though some characters weren't fleshed out enough, and anyone Eddie seemed to meet died about 20 pages into the book after meeting him each and every time (except for a few characters and scenes). I guess that's normal since they are in a zombie apocalypse, but characters such as the "hot" reporter lady didn't seem important enough to really need to be included in my opinion. It also felt as though the ending was really rushed, especially since it seemed as though Eddie ironically met his wife and son again to only have everything in the world go back to normal and the zombie infection eradicated within the chapter right afterwards. I was also a bit miffed when my favorite character, Marcus, ended up dying out of the blue.
**END SPOILERS**

Other than that, I honestly enjoyed this book, and I've even thought about picking up the other few novels in this series. If you're a fan of the zombie genre, this book is recommended, especially if you are looking to find a fairly believable and simple portrayal of the zombie apocalypse. Be warned though; there are tons of vulgar language used between characters, a large amount of blood and gore described, and some questionable jokes exchanged. Even so, it did not turn me off from this book and it shouldn't turn you off either. I highly enjoyed "Dead City" by Joe Mckinney and recommend it to the zombie fans at heart, or anyone looking for a fantastic horror story.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 04, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dead City is the first book in the Dead City series by Joe McKinney and a novel of Fiction from Pinnacle.

Book Blurb:

Texas? Toast.

Battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks, the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State is reeling from the worst devastation in history. Thousands are dead or dying - but the worst is only beginning. Amid the wreckage, something unimaginable is happening: a deadly virus has broken out, returning the dead to life - with an insatiable hunger for hum...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 26, 2012 Brooke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, books-reviewed

This book is definitely one for zombie lovers. As a zombie fan myself there were certain aspects of the book that I loved for example I liked that 99% of the people our main character Eddie met ended up dead because that seems very realistic to me. I mean seriously it’s a zombie-ridden city of course all of the people aren’t going to survive and a lot of zombie novels most of the main characters do survive and I hate that. So that’s would made Dead City original.

I can’t really say much about th...more

like · see review

Feb 20, 2012 Janet Whalen-Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Sep 24, 2011 Dustin Reade rated it 3 of 5 stars

meh. Not much happening here. A pretty typical zombie novel, really. The author tried messing with our preconceived notions of what a "zombie" actually is, but it barely worked, and in the end, made no difference to the outcome, or change the plot in anyway from that of a typical zombie book.
Also, there were numerous problems with continuity. Like, at least three times the main character ran out of bullets and discarded his gun, only to have it again on the next page. And at one point the main c...more

like · see review

Jan 03, 2013 Elaine Wong rated it 3 of 5 stars

For the zombie literary connoisseur, it's worth a read. It's a difference perspective that focuses on the basic instinct to find what's precious to you and protect it. For the average reader, I'd suggest a pass, as it's not a particularly unique story.

I liked it. After reading stories of heroism when the shit hits the fan (World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War) or changing the basic make-up of zombies to something a little too supernatural (The Zombie Chronicles: Outbreak) it's refreshi...more For the zombie literary connoisseur, it's worth a read. It's a difference perspective that focuses on the basic instinct to find what's precious to you and protect it. For the average reader, I'd suggest a pass, as it's not a particularly unique story.

I liked it. After reading stories of heroism when the shit hits the fan (World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War) or changing the basic make-up of zombies to something a little too supernatural (The Zombie Chronicles: Outbreak) it's refreshing to read how the average man is trying to cope with the disaster. Eddie Hudson's just one police officer out of hundreds trying to make sense of what's going on and has just one priority: find his wife and son.

What caught my attention was that I never knew if someone was going to make it. Characters that meet or join Eddie don't automatically survive or die; there are unexpected twists whenever Eddie meets someone else. The first major death really surprised me - it just felt like a random death that anyone could've been dumped into. It made the disaster much more realistic to me, watching people cope in different ways. Nobody in this book was gunning to be a hero; everyone was waiting for someone else to ride in and save them.

And that's what made me like this book. Ever experienced a blackout or loss of services in a major city? Sit tight and wait for someone to fix it. Even petty crimes sometimes end up with people just bystanding, waiting for someone else to interrupt. (Or perhaps this is my casual Canadian way of thinking; I haven't personally witnessed gun-wielding vigilantes.) Everyone's just trying to get by long enough for someone else to save the day, which in all honesty I'm expecting to happen if a zombie apocalypse does run rampant in real life.

Downside: it isn't groundbreaking work. It isn't particularly riveting or explosive. Eddie doesn't meet any wannabe heroes or marauders taking advantage of the situation. Eddie himself isn't any more heroic than the other characters - he's abandoned the 'serve and protect' mandate to find his family. Because of his uniform, however, the groups he does meet automatically assume he's got a plan somewhere, and Eddie tries to pull himself out of things before he gets nailed down.

Another minor beef: how did the epilogue occur? What happened? Zombie survival enthusiasts know that the odds of the epilogue actually occurring are slim. I would've like to read what happened for the rest of the USA between the disaster and the epilogue.

Overall, it's a rather pedestrian account of an average Joe's survival. But it's a nice breath of fresh air.(less)

like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Leslee rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalypse-dystopia, zombies-like-more-than-brains

I picked this one up because the third book in the series managed to win a 2011 Bram Stoker award. I realize that this was McKinney's first ever novel so I cut him some slack but this novel has that distinct and unsubtle scent of Eau de Video Game which was slightly annoying and exhausting to read at times so I found myself skimming a lot of pages. You spend a lot of the first half of the book following the cop protagonist and narrator running around finding ammo for his gun or 'leveling up' by...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Siew Ee rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Dead City” is like a book version of the Walking Dead TV series. There’s no argument that such books usually provide action-packed no-brainer entertainment. For this sub-genre, you know even before reading the book that there will be a main character who will probably stay alive until the end; other than him, there will be companions who will either stay alive, die gruesome deaths or become zombies. The whole story will revolve around how they dodge zombies and travel from one place to another...more

like · see review

May 27, 2012 Cc rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found myself craving a new zombie story and did I find it in Joe McKinney! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I am not a person, whether watching movies, tv or reading books, that feels the need to laugh out loud (even at incredibly funny parts, which this book has none btw) or cry out or speak at all for that matter. However at multiple places in this book I actually gasped! That's a big one for me. If you're a fan of anything zombie I highly suggest you read this book.

After readin...more

like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Zybahn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

For my full-length review, please visit Casual Debris .

Nothing earth-shattering, McKinney nonetheless manages to fuse his book with violent urban zombie adventure and a few scattered comments on the decline of modern society. There were elements I liked and elements I liked less, but I appreciate his attempt to cover so many elements common to zombie fiction. Besides the violent action and social touches, we are given a narrow geographical setting, philosophical brooding, scientific speculation,...more For my full-length review, please visit Casual Debris .

Nothing earth-shattering, McKinney nonetheless manages to fuse his book with violent urban zombie adventure and a few scattered comments on the decline of modern society. There were elements I liked and elements I liked less, but I appreciate his attempt to cover so many elements common to zombie fiction. Besides the violent action and social touches, we are given a narrow geographical setting, philosophical brooding, scientific speculation, episodic scenarios, varied characters of varying race and gender, character tensions, dialogue, family drama, a range of arsenal, slow deaths and quick deaths, and slow zombies and quick moving zombies. Surprisingly the end result is not a mess.

My preferred elements included the focus on police procedure, and the personal character elements which heightened the overall drama. McKinney was once a police officer and is clearly comfortable writing from the point of view of a young cop trying to survive a zombie uprising. The knowledge of everything from weapons, police vehicles and police procedure make the read interesting and somewhat educational. In fact, protagonist and narrator Eddie Hudson is believable as both cop and brand new father. The attention to Hudson's concern for wife and son are not at all sappy, but are rather welcome in the midst of zombie gore.

A few things I would have done without. The early references to zombie movies mar the suspension of disbelief as they place the story in a fictional context. Moreover, if the characters are familiar with the dead of Romero and others, they would immediately shoot at the zombie heads rather than their chests. Anyone familiar with the genre would instinctively go for the head shot.

SPOILER ALERT. There are some missed character opportunities, particularly with Channel 9 reporter Sandy Navarro. There is a three-way tension built into the story when the sexy reporter appears, and I was getting psyched up for some character tension amid the urban chaos, yet it doesn't go anywhere, and when the three drive off from their meeting, Sandy becomes a non-character (as though leaving the church turns her into a zombie), and she sits quietly in the back seat until she's devoured. Literally.

While the first person narration is surprisingly good, with consistent and fluid sentences, the dialogue is at times weak, particularly with the bantering between cops Hudson and Marcus. The humour also doesn't work as it feels forced.

Finally, the occasional typos and grammatical errors were irritating. Copy editors should learn the proper use of lay and lie.

The good outweighs the bad and at some point, when the mood grips me, I'll likely pick up its sequel.(less)

like · see review

Feb 25, 2012 The Reading List (Megan) rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found Dead City and Flesh Eaters (the third book in this series) in a secondhand bookstore. I'm not sure why their previous owner would want to part with them, but for my sake, I am so glad they did.

This. Book. Was. Awesome.

While the plot isn't the most original (there's only so many times authors can write about the zombie apocalypse before some of the stories start to blur together), the story is chock-full of action and suspense. I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this novel....more

like · see review

Aug 31, 2009 Rhiannon Frater rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-zombie-books

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it within days. First off,
the plot is not only realistic (a man trying to get to his family), but full of non-stop action, kick ass zombie gore, and fantastic characterization. It was very hard to put this book down and get some sleep at night. I was so hooked it was hard not to keep reading to find out what came next.

Joe McKinney is a real life police officer (he is a homicide detective) and fellow Texan. He brings the flavor of Texas to the novel and...more

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2010 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've started to become a much more avid zombie genre fan. This offering by joe mckinney is a great example of why I love the topic. Great adventure and suspense along with some scary situations. Nothing in this book completely sets it apart from other books I've read, which is why it gets 4 stars and not 5, but if you love zombie books and the great human nature issues that go with it, you'll like dead city.

One strike against it is the main characters friend (marcus) who treats the whole thing...more

like · see review

Oct 19, 2011 Dustin Gaughran rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a good, solid zombie story. It focuses on one man suddenly caught in the middle of the outbreak, and the night he spends fighting his way through the horde trying to find his young family. However,the story doesn't go into any detail at all concerning how the outbreak actually begins. You're told about a series of hurricanes that batter the gulf coast, and you get to come to your own conclusions about how the virus is born from the waste of the disaster. It doesn't detract from the stor...more

like · see review

Aug 24, 2011 Gerritt rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was a little underwhelmed - by the time it finished, I barely realized that there had been enough story to warrant an ending. The pacing did a great job of emulating what I imagine it would feel like to be a police officer on duty the night a zombie apocalypse breaks, with barely a break in the running and panic from the first encounter to the safe escape.

But - are we supposed to feel genuinely worried that our leading man won't be able to save his wife and baby when we never meet the baby and...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 03, 2012 Jonathan rated it 3 of 5 stars

When a routine domestic disturbance turns out to be anything but, a San Antonio cop finds himself in the hospital with his hometown overrun by zombies--and sets out to fight his way back to his wife and young son. Sound familiar? Dead City in fact plays almost like an outtake or side story from The Walking Dead; this could be a snapshot of what was happening in Texas while Rick Grimes was riding towards Atlanta. McKinney, a San Antonio cop with experience in disaster management, definitely write...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Genres

Horror > Zombies

165 users

Horror

136 users

Science Fiction > Apocalyptic

12 users

Apocalyptic > Post Apocalyptic

9 users

Science Fiction

8 users

Fantasy

6 users

Adult Fiction

4 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

4 users

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

4 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Joe McKinney

Joe McKinney has been a patrol officer for the San Antonio Police Department, a homicide detective, a disaster mitigation specialist, a patrol commander, and a successful novelist. His books include the four part Dead World series, Quarantined and Dodging Bullets. His short fiction has been collected in The Red Empire and Other Stories and Dating in Dead World and Other Stories. For more informati...more

More about Joe McKinney...

Books by Joe McKinney

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Dead City

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Dead City

“... Have you considered that maybe this is the birth of a new world, that what happens next is a golden opportunity to change the nature of man in a fundamental way?”
“Those are brave words, Tiresias.”
“New parents can’t afford to be anything but brave, Eddie.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Dead City
avg rating	preview: Dead City Goodreads rating: 3.73 (2414 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90574.Dead_City?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348748007l/90574.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/90574.Dead_City?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Dead City by Joe McKinney[/url]

Dead City (Dead World #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website