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Play Dead

by Ryan Brown (Goodreads Author)

3.34 of 5 stars 3.34 · rating details · 193 ratings · 70 reviews

Today’s #1 New York Times bestselling thriller writers agree: Ryan Brown’s compulsively readable first novel is unbeatable—a darkly humorous, rich and pungent zombie shocker that melds our national obsession with football and the newest wave of fascination with the undead.For the first time in Killington High School history, the Jackrabbits football team is one win away fr...more

Paperback, 352 pages

Published October 19th 2010 by Gallery Books (first published May 4th 2010)

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Sep 17, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As promised in a blurb, this debut novel by former TV and film actor, Ryan Brown, is very much like Friday Night Lights meets Romero's Dead films, but with a healthy dash of satire. Just imagine the works of Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey, Christopher Moore and you'll get what I mean. But toss in a spicy dollop of Texas horror-meister Joe Lansdale and you'll see what I mean. While the zombie-action doesn't begin to take place until about halfway through the novel, I found this novel easy to get through and...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Wendy Hines rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cole Logan is the star quarterback of the Killington Jackrabbits, the high school football team. And for the first time in their history, they have a real shot at taking the district championship. But right before the big game, Cole is attacked behind his trailer and two of his are fingers hacked off.

Not to let that stop him, he gets the town behind him in a pep rally to beat the rival Elmwood team on the field. But the Elmwood team has their own thoughts. They've been juicing up all season for...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Morgan Thomas rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's a mix between sports and zombies, it's a sports horror.
The story begins explaining the rivalry between two schools, Elmwood heights badgers and Killington high jackrabbits, which have been at each other’s throats since the schools were built. The main characters are Savannah Hickham, the coach’s daughter, and Cole Logan. Both enlisted to Killington high. Mr. Logan is the star quarterback for the Killington high jackrabbits. The protagonist of this book is the head quarterback of the opposit...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Ed Dexter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: zombies, horror

Another reviewer hit on something when they said everything is pretty much revealed to you up front with this book. On one hand, you have to know what it's about, otherwise, why would you want to read it? On the other, you can probably guess what's going to happen along the way from reading the jacket summary.

While reading this, it kept playing out in my head as a movie from the 80s as a low budget cousin of Return of the Living Dead. If it were a movie, I'd rank it as something you find while f...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, humour

(3.5 stars)

This review originally appeared at

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Jul 22, 2011 ALPHAreader rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Killington High School and Elmwood Heights have a long, nasty history. Their rivalry goes back to the town’s founding fathers – but in recent years the animosity has been taken out on the football field between the rival high schools.

Tensions are running especially high when victory is in sight. Three teams are left and for the first time in a long time the Killington Jackrabbit’s are close to a win, after a long dry spell. But the rumour around town is that the Elmwood Heights Badgers have a l...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Patrick D'Orazio rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Play Dead is a story about a down and out Texas football team that has never been much to talk about...until a new Coach and a new quarterback turned their luck around. Now, with the help of Coach Hickman and Cole Logan, the renegade QB, the Killington High Jackrabbits are one game away from the District Championship and a meeting with the hated Elmwood Heights Badgers.
But apparently, the steroid guzzling badgers, led by Line Backer Booker Flamont, have decided that it would be best if they jus...more Play Dead is a story about a down and out Texas football team that has never been much to talk about...until a new Coach and a new quarterback turned their luck around. Now, with the help of Coach Hickman and Cole Logan, the renegade QB, the Killington High Jackrabbits are one game away from the District Championship and a meeting with the hated Elmwood Heights Badgers.
But apparently, the steroid guzzling badgers, led by Line Backer Booker Flamont, have decided that it would be best if they just took Killington out of the equation. So they take a hatchet to Cole's fingers and sabotage the Killington High pep rally. When that doesn't work out as expected, they decide to wreck the football bus on its way to Killington's last game before they're to meet up with Elmwood. Instead of wrecking the bus, their prank goes terribly wrong and the bus plummets over a bridge into a river where the boys and all the assistant coaches drown. Only Cole, who wasn't on the bus, and Coach Hickman, who escaped through a window, survive. That's where Mona, Cole's neighbor and a practitioner of Black Magic, comes in. Mona is a huge football fan and wants revenge as much as Cole does, and with the help of the Quarterback and Savannah, the Coach's daughter, the trio raise the team back to un-life so they can play their revenge game against the Badgers.

As a big fan of zombie stories, I have to admit that this one was different. The challenges faced by authors of zombie genre fiction these days are to not only create compelling characters but to also perhaps make the zombies either different or the story surrounding them different enough to keep the audience's attention when they've seen a lot of the same type of zombies apocalyptic tales. Ryan Brown certainly does that with his pack of voodoo cursed zombies that have a peckish side to them, just like the traditional Romero zombies, who also seem to still know how to play football despite the fact that the only other thing they're capable of is eating. The idea of zombies playing football is pretty interesting, and the author lines them up against another football team that is so jacked up on performance enhancing drugs that they're are almost inhuman in their blood lust. It makes for an interesting setting to play a football game. Overall, the concept is played both as scary and humorous, and I think it worked out pretty well.

I do wish that the game played a bigger role in the story. It is played near the end of the story, with the build up being highly entertaining as Cole and Savannah prickly but romantic relationship begins as Booker Flamont plots mayhem against Cole and the Jackrabbits while taking enough illegal juice to turn him into a raging maniac. I would have liked to see the game a lot darker or even more humorous way than it was portrayed. A vision of a game played on the precipice of hell, with players fighting for their very souls, would have been interesting, or the zombie players taking the occasional bite out of the opponents could have been rather funny. Still, the book as a whole doesn't suffer much for the brevity and straight forward nature of the game. This is an entertaining and unique read, especially for the zombie fans out there. If you are craving something different, this is definitely the ticket. I was never a big fan of high school football, but I love the college and the pros games so I could appreciate some of what transpires here and the passion that teams elicit in their towns...even to the point where some folks don't seem to notice or even care if their players are undead. They just want them to win.

Overall, a fun read and one to check out if you are looking for some new zombie stuff.(less)

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Oct 11, 2010 Bookish37 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A football rivalry between two Texas towns turns into mayhem and murder, when a quarterback is viciously attacked and then a school bus full of players is killed on the way to a district qualifier. Cole Logan, the quarterback who was assaulted, and the coach's daughter team up with a local witch, who loves football, to resurrect the team and exact justice from the rival players. Only what they bring back from the dead is very, very hungry and not just for a victory on the field. Though a victory...more

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Jul 08, 2010 D. Eric rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Zombie football, how can you not like it (if you like zombies and football)? That being said, I just liked this book. It seems to be written by someone without firsthand experience of playing football (or he forgot what it was like) who ignores the powerful groups that control high school football--especially in Texas. And, zombies aside, it just pushes the boundaries of possibility too far. Here is the May Publishers Weekly review. It gives a good idea of the storyline but makes the book out to...more

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Jul 02, 2010 Mary Kennedy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brad Thor called you the "new Stephen King." Can you give us a quick description of PLAY DEAD? PLAY DEAD is part sports satire and part horror-comedy. Set in Texas, it’s about a high school football team that dies in a horrific prank gone wrong and comes back from the dead as zombies. Only a victory over their vicious district rivals (who also happen to be their murderers) can save the their souls. Think FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS meets DAWN OF THE DEAD.

You have a fantastic resume; starring roles in Th...more Brad Thor called you the "new Stephen King." Can you give us a quick description of PLAY DEAD? PLAY DEAD is part sports satire and part horror-comedy. Set in Texas, it’s about a high school football team that dies in a horrific prank gone wrong and comes back from the dead as zombies. Only a victory over their vicious district rivals (who also happen to be their murderers) can save the their souls. Think FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS meets DAWN OF THE DEAD.

You have a fantastic resume; starring roles in The Guiding Light and The Young and The Restless. How do you manage to juggle your acting career with your writing career? There is less juggling between acting and writing than there was before I sold PLAY DEAD, and was contracted for a second book. I’m still doing the odd acting job, but most of my focus now is on writing. I usually write between 10am and 4pm (the hours my son is in school) Monday through Friday. I also try to get in two or three hours over the weekend.

Any advice for aspiring authors? Read, read, read! I cringe to hear authors say they don’t read. I read all over the map. Fiction, non-fiction, history, biography... I do a great deal of reading outside of the genre that I write. It works for me. I learn not only from the content, but also from seeing all of the different writing styles.

What was the toughest part about writing PLAY DEAD? The toughest part about writing PLAY DEAD was justifying the time it took to do so. It took two years, which is a lot of time and work to put into something when there’s no guarantee of publication (much less payment). I am of course very grateful for the way it turned out in the end.

Very exciting that May 4th is the release date, Are you doing a book tour or a blog tour? Can your fans find you at signings at Manhattan book stores? I will have some tour dates following the May 4th publication of PLAY DEAD. They are being finalized as I write this. The dates will be posted on my website: ryanbrownauthor.com.

How are things going on book two? Easier than book one? Or does each book present its own challenges? Book two is coming along. It’s harder in many ways than the first one. It’s the first time I’ve had to write under deadline, which certainly changes everything (perhaps for the best). With PLAY DEAD I had the benefit of writing without expectations (self-imposed and otherwise). Such is not the case anymore. But it’s a good problem to have. I feel blessed just to have the opportunity to write a second one.

Glad to see you have two rescued cats. Amazing how many authors have cats. Do they keep you company in your office as you write? I was a dog lover. I married into the cat thing, but I must admit I’m a convert. My wife already had a rescued cat when we met ten years ago. That cat is still with us. Last October we went out for groceries and came home with another rescued cat. They’re both completely mad…but we love them.

Is there anything you'd like to be asked, that you've never been asked? I’ve never been asked my favorite Stooge. It’s Shemp.
What would your fans be surprised to know about you? My fans might be surprised to know that I’d trade a decade’s worth of paychecks for a decent Tex-Mex restaurant in New York.

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Jun 01, 2010 Patrick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What we have here is a zombie vs. steroid high school cheaters football game. I looked at the photo of the author and decided that I didn't want to like this book. (He is blond and all American and has a cocky charming smile that makes teenaged girls tempted to buy this book only to sleep with the image of his face between their legs. Qualities I wish I have.)
But I do.(Not the qualities but the fact I liked this book)

The beginning is creepy with the description of the undead preparing listlessl...more

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May 29, 2010 Kristi (Books and Needlepoint) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs

My Thoughts: I enjoyed reading this book. To me, it was a very tongue-in-cheek jab at football in Texas - where one team is taking enough steroids to choke a horse and the other team is brought back from the dead for "one last game". And the fact that the opposing team would try to take out Cole by injuring him and when that didn't work try to take out the team. At the same time there was a lot of gore (they are zombies) and a lot of humor.

"But did you get a good look at those guys, Logan?"
"So t...more

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May 18, 2010 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Killington’s high school football team, The Jackrabbits have played a good season. They are only one win away from becoming district champions. The town and the boys are pumped.

Cole Logan is the quarterback for the Jackrabbits. He is accosted by several of the Badgers. The Badgers are the Jackrabbits rivals from Elmwood Heights. Two of Cole’s fingers are hacked off. Cole refuses to go to the hospital. Savannah, the sheriff’s daughter drives Cole home.

Black Mona is rumored to be a witch. When on...more

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May 18, 2010 Cinnamon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review

I know what you're thinking. Football and zombies? A fantastic and energetic sport combined with the gruesome and not so energetic undead? Well…yeah! When you think about it they're actually pretty similar. In football, players try to kill each other to get control of the ball; zombies…well, they may try to rekill each other to get control of your brains. Stick them together and you've got a winning combination.

PLAY DEAD by Ryan Brown was fascinating mainly because I wasn't expecting it, yet it...more I know what you're thinking. Football and zombies? A fantastic and energetic sport combined with the gruesome and not so energetic undead? Well…yeah! When you think about it they're actually pretty similar. In football, players try to kill each other to get control of the ball; zombies…well, they may try to rekill each other to get control of your brains. Stick them together and you've got a winning combination.

PLAY DEAD by Ryan Brown was fascinating mainly because I wasn't expecting it, yet it combined two of my favorite things. I love football and I love zombies. I've read a number of stories where the paranormal has been thrown into something pretty well known but this is the first time I personally have seen football hit with the paranormal bug. I'm loving it.

The plot for this is pretty straightforward. The Killington High School football team ends up drowning in a river after their bus decided it needed a little bath. Cole, the quarterback and star of the team is the only survivor. Something just isn't right though. Cole has a feeling the accident wasn't truly an accident and he believes that their rivals, Elmwood Heights, is behind the tragedy. So what's a quarterback to do when a major game is coming up and his entire team is dead? Turn to black magic of course!

That is some serious commitment to football! The football scholarship on the line may have influenced Cole a bit as well.

Successfully risen from the dead, the football team must not only hide their secret from their parents and rest of the town, but fight to actually claim victory in their beloved game as well. There's more than reputation at stake here - their very souls are on the line. Add in a little romantic touch with the coach's daughter, Savannah and Mr. Brown has created a fantastic read.

For those readers out there who may be shying away because the book involves football, I'll tell you up front that there are football references within the story. Plays and penalties are explained; famous players are described. I understand the references so I can't make too much of a judgment call as to how easily someone unfamiliar with the sport would be able to understand these references. What I can say, however, is that the general plot of the book will not be lost if you simply skip over the technical passages within the story.

Aside from the awesome idea behind this story, my favorite aspect of PLAY DEAD was the writing. The game scenes were described in such a way that it was easy to visualize what was going on. The main characters were developed well and there were even a few side characters that became pretty memorable.

Fair warning time: There is a decent amount of cussing throughout the book. Normally that bothers me in a story but oddly enough, it actually flowed well in PLAY DEAD. Who knows, perhaps I’m just predisposed to accepting cussing in football or from the undead.

I would recommend this book to any thriller fans out there (and no, I don’t mean Michael Jackson’s Thriller), football fans, or zombie fans. This is a great book for lovers of the game or those who get a certain tingly thrill from reading about decomposing undead.
(less)

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May 17, 2010 William Bentrim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Play Dead by Ryan Brown

My first reaction to this book was, oh brother another zombie story. You can’t swing a dead body around without hitting a zombie or vampire book. To my surprise I enjoyed the book. This would be an entertaining Friday Night Lights book exhibiting the gritty competitive football played in rural Texas without the zombies. With the Zombies this is an Urban Fantasy.

For those of you who grew up in a more suburban atmosphere, you will have difficultly believing the depths of pa...more

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Jun 03, 2010 Karin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-reads, zombies

PLAY DEAD by Ryan Brown is NOT a YA novel. However, that being said, it definitely could be. The only thing that would keep this off of my middle school shelf would be the language. Other than that, this would be the perfect book for the boys in my school. It is filled with football rivalry and gory zombie scenes.

PLAY DEAD is the story of high school football rivalry gone terribly wrong. The Killington Jackrabbits are one game away from winning the District Championship. If they win, it will be...more

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Jul 15, 2010 Nichole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: zombie fans

Shelves: odd-but-good, read-2010

I picked up this book after a friend of mine brought it back from a thriller writer's conference. This was the first I decided to check out after sorting through the stack of books he had acquired. I really didn't know what to expect from a book that was described as a thriller/comedy about zombies. I personally am not a zombie friend but decided to give it a go. I easily read through the first 100 pages enjoying the storyline, bit different from the other thrillers I read. It is a fast and fun...more

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May 17, 2010 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one entertaining book. I quickly became interested even in the football aspects of this book, mainly because he referenced two good QB players. Elway (hey, I am a die-hard Bronco's fan!) and Flutie (my second fave team is the Patriots). So, right there, I knew I would enjoy this book. I also love the cover of this book. Zombie football players. Heh... 101 jokes here people! Oh, and for those not that into football, do not worry. There really is a story around football more than the footb...more

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May 19, 2010 Theresa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Older teens to Adult

Shelves: humor, horror, review-copy, fiction

When I read the synopsis for this novel, how could I resist? Take a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, throw in a football team of zombies, add some dark humor and it promises to be an entertaining read. I was certainly not disappointed.

"Play Dead" had an interesting story line that held my interest and kept me in suspense. I found myself not only engrossed and wondering what would happen next, but chuckling and laughing out loud at times.

I found myself really liking the main character and h...more

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May 18, 2010 Mindy Detweiler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My Take: Ok so Football and Zombies. Football is usually not my cup of tea but I love the movie and series Friday Night Lights and this said that it was set in Texas amongst all that football hysteria ( hey I grew up in Indiana and know about hysteria (basketball). I have read several books about zombies lately (Forest of Hands and Feet, Dead Tossed Waves) and lets face it the author is really cute. (I know that this has been mentioned several times). So I thought I would take a chance.

I wasn't...more

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May 18, 2010 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Play Dead by Ryan Brown is frightening, fast and flat-out funny. Definitely not a book you want to take seriously. I was a little concerned half way through that the plot had gotten a little flat and more horrifying than hilarious- not that horror is a bad thing. Football isn't for everyone. Neither are zombies... but combined? Brilliant!

The Killington High Jackrabbits has never had a successful football team, but their time has finally come. They have two games left to claim the district champi...more Play Dead by Ryan Brown is frightening, fast and flat-out funny. Definitely not a book you want to take seriously. I was a little concerned half way through that the plot had gotten a little flat and more horrifying than hilarious- not that horror is a bad thing. Football isn't for everyone. Neither are zombies... but combined? Brilliant!

The Killington High Jackrabbits has never had a successful football team, but their time has finally come. They have two games left to claim the district championship. At the final game they will come head to head with their number one rival, the Elmwood Badgers. There has been bad blood between the two towns since the time they were first founded and it is time for them to duke it out on the field. But a terrible prank prevents the Jackrabbits from even making it to the stadium. Their team bus goes over the bridge and takes a trip down the river- eventually sinking, pinning and drowning every player but QB Cole Logan. Now there is only one thing left for Cole to do. Get revenge.

So, just how does one go about getting revenge and settling the score? Turn to black magic, of course! Haha. Now that Cole has magically brought his entire team back to life, he has 48 hours to win a game and send his team back to their grave before all hell breaks lose. He and Savannah, the coach's distant daughter, must control the team as they can't stop themselves from eating everything... horses, cows- even their parents. Can Cole and Savannah beat this race against time and secure a victory to save the souls of his teammates and spread revenge amongst the berating Badgers?

I truly loved our hero, Cole Logan. He is your typical high school bad boy- motorcycle, piercings, daddy issues and a past. Although he is a loner, he will live and die for his football team. He's counting on the team to help him win a college scholarship- he's got to get out of Killington. My favorite moment! Cole throws himself off a cliff into the river to rescue his teammates from the water logged bus. Cole is incredibly passionate and the whole scene is ridiculously intense. This isn't the only time Cole shows magnificent passion. There is a very fun "beat down" scene that I enjoyed- Cole knows how to stand up for himself and those that he cares for. Savannah is another story. She doesn't seem passionate- her character is a little flat. Cole makes up for that.

I have to say that I was pretty excited to receive this book in the mail for review. I love zombies! (You can thank Robin Becker of Brains for that.) The cover alone got me excited to read this. Play Dead was full of fresh ideas that are wildly engrossing. It was a quick, entertaining read and I recommend it to any zombie or football lover. (Don't worry, the football isn't overwhelming- read it even if you aren't a fan of football!)(less)

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Jun 03, 2010 Giovanni Gelati rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is Ryan Brown’s debut novel; reading the novel you would never tell though. I have to admit it is a shifting of the gears for me to go with this genre once a week at least, but I think the challenge is well worth it. Especially if there are more books of this quality out there. Fortunately I seem to be finding them. Saturday I will be dropping in a post on Jonathan Maberry’s The Dragon Factory, the novel rocked.

Play Dead boiled down is a basic story of the different types of lives in a smal...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-thriller, family-relationships, own-it, read-in-2011, reviewed, thriller, zombies

"Play Dead," by Ryan Brown is just plain fun.

Set in Texas, the story describes the problem of steroids in sports and is also a satire about the fanatical following of high school football and the manner in which football can dominate small town life.

The local high school football team, the Killington Jackrabbits, are having their best year and are only one win away from the district championship.

The key to the team is quarterback Cole Logan. He's attacked by three men wearing masks. He believes...more

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May 05, 2010 Falling Off The Shelf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

This review was originally posted on my review blog : http://fallingofftheshelf.blogspot.com

The Killington High School has never felt the glory of victory at the district championship. This is the first year that they have even come close to coming out victorious in the end. They are only one win away, and now they must compete against their most ferocious rivals, the Elmwood Heights Badgers. The two separate towns have been at each others throats for as long as the two towns have stood, and now...more This review was originally posted on my review blog : http://fallingofftheshelf.blogspot.com

The Killington High School has never felt the glory of victory at the district championship. This is the first year that they have even come close to coming out victorious in the end. They are only one win away, and now they must compete against their most ferocious rivals, the Elmwood Heights Badgers. The two separate towns have been at each others throats for as long as the two towns have stood, and now it's time for one of them to take all of the glory.

Unforeseen events take the Jackrabbits to the bottom of the river, killing every player, except their star quarterback Cole Logan. Cole is positive that what happened to his teammates was certainly no accident, it was murder. The only thing that can bring him to this deduction is that he himself was brutally attacked by three men in ski masks earlier that day, leaving him injured beyond repair. Now Cole can only think of paying back the men who have hurt so many lives, so he turns to black magic to bring his team back from the dead. With only the coaches daughter, Savannah Hickmam, they race against time to lead his zombie team to victory.

Cole Logan is clearly a bad boy. He has tattoos, and piercings, and even rides a motorcycle everywhere he goes. He's a bit of a loner, and really only wants to get out of the small town of Killington with the help of a football scholarship. It's not easy being poor in this world, and he's driven to use his talents to make something of himself. I really like characters like this, that put their all into the one thing that drives them. He was passionate about his sport, and utterly determined to become something, not just another nobody on the sidelines stuck in Killington for the rest of his life.

Savannah Hickman is pretty much the opposite of Cole. She's your regular good girl, getting good grades and even a member of the school's paper. She doesn't do anything bad, save stay up all night in order to make a deadline. The only things they have in common are their passion for getting out of Killington, and Coach Hickman, who happens to be her father. I really liked Savannah as well, and even more so than I did Cole. She really wanted to help people, and thought it was wrong to bring the team back as walking corpses. She did see that it was necessary to have them play though, so despite her fears and her worries, she stood by Cole's side until the end.

I've always liked books about the paranormal, so when this book showed up in my mailbox I was super excited. I was immediately drawn to the cover, with that decaying football player and his glowing eyes. I've never been a huge fan of football, but zombies? I'll take a zombie any way I can get him, or her. This was an exciting read, because it was not like any other zombie novel that I have ever read before. I think this well may be the first book about football playing zombies, and honestly whether you like football or not, it's a great read. I was a little confused when the author went into detail about football plays and what was a penalty or not. This didn't really bother me though, because the real story isn't about the football itself, but about never giving up on what you care about, and pushing for all your worth to make it happen.(less)

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Jan 05, 2012 Marvin Hollon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't go into this book expecting something different, but it's what I got. Play Dead is just full of so many wonderful characters. Some say it's sort of like Friday Night Lights meets George A. Romero, but I have disagree. That analogy makes it seem that the whole novel is about zombies, and besides that I cannot stand Romero films. I say it's more like an adventures combination of True Blood Meets Friday Night Lights. The word zombies never actually comes up and it's more to do with the dar...more

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May 22, 2010 Kristina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a fantastic book and not at all what I expected from the cover. I'm not sure that I can tell you EXACTLY what I expected, but it was more along the lines of vampires or raging zombies in my mind. Now they did have "zombies" but anyway...

I'll say that I was pleasantly suprised by Ryan's story telling abilities all the way around. The setting for the story was great and so were the storyline and characters. I'd hate to give anything away about this one but I'll say that while it had some...more

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May 18, 2010 Mary (BookHounds) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-book-challenge, from-publisher-author

Friday Night Lights with Zombies! This is a smart and witty debut with all of the pathos of almost adult high schoolers mixed with a horror fest that is football. Except that horror fest turns into a funny commentary on high school and sports. I am not a huge football fan, so I was a little worried when I started to read this, but just like Friday Night Lights, football is just a background for the real story here about a football team that turns into zombies. Brown gets right to the story withi...more

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May 17, 2010 Bridget rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When a fatal school bus kills everyone on board except for the school quarterback, Cole, he knows deep in his bones that it was no accident. His team, the Jackrabbit's were determined to beat the Elmwood Heights Badgers and win the district championship. Their dreams were cut short in this tragedy but Cole isn't ready to give up. With a little help thanks to black magic, Cole resurrects his teammates. This is where the story gets really interesting.

I read a bunch of rave reviews about this book...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Veronica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"I got an advance readers copy last October and read it one sitting. I'm not real big on zombies but this just drew me in from the very start. Definitely a Team Zombie fan now.

About Play Dead:

Its very fresh, original and wildly entertaining. Ryan Brown has nothing to be worried about. Play Dead is going to win over plenty of readers and become instant bestseller. I have nothing but praise for this debut author, Ryan Brown. I definitely will recommend this tite and can't wait to see what else M...more

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Jun 23, 2010 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: amazon-vine, finished, owned-and-still-own, best-i-read-2010-edition

Ryan Brown, Play Dead (Gallery, 2010)

I had gotten it in my head somehow that Ryan Brown's debut novel, Play Dead, was teen lit. Then I got it, and saw the blurbs. Lee Child does not blurb teen lit. And then I read the first couple of chapters, and Brown doesn't write like a YA author. There are a few things about the book that make it look like it was maybe retrofitted for the teen crowd (specifically the main romance), but it reads like an adult novel. So if you're out of college and don't like...more Ryan Brown, Play Dead (Gallery, 2010)

I had gotten it in my head somehow that Ryan Brown's debut novel, Play Dead, was teen lit. Then I got it, and saw the blurbs. Lee Child does not blurb teen lit. And then I read the first couple of chapters, and Brown doesn't write like a YA author. There are a few things about the book that make it look like it was maybe retrofitted for the teen crowd (specifically the main romance), but it reads like an adult novel. So if you're out of college and don't like YA books, don't let that perception stop you. Because it doesn't matter who you are, you want to read Play Dead.

Rural Texas is the kind of place where football is not only a pastime, it's a religion. Nowhere is this more true than in the rival towns of Killington and Elmwood. Thanks to a new coach and a sterling quarterback, Killington, the town on the wrong side of the tracks, is one game away from facing Elmwood in the district championships. Elmwood also seem to have found a new lease on life over the past year, and are coming into the districts undefeated. (They've already locked up the spot and have a bye week, while Killington's got one more game that no one expects them to lose.) In order to prevent Killington from getting there, some of the Elmwood neanderthals decide to play a practical joke on the Killington team to prevent them from getting to the game. It goes disastrously wrong, and suddenly football really does become a religion. Killington's biggest football fan happens to be a witch, you see...

This is a zombie novel (as the cover will most likely inform you). It's a football novel. And it will not matter one whit whether you are a football fan (I'm not) or a zombie fan (I am). Pieces of media come along every once in a while that seem perfectly geared to bring new fans into the fold (think of the effect Final Destination had on a general public that in the main had never seen a serial killer movie before), and this is one of those books. It's disgusting and over-the-top and convulsively funny, along with having what may be the most innocent romance subplot you'll have seen outside a regency romance in a decade or more (it's the book's weak spot in that it's entirely predictable, but it's still fun). But when it comes right down to it, I blew through this book in a couple of sessions simply because I didn't want to put it down. This is a book that will challenge you to stay up all night, skip work, whatever. Trust me on this one; Play Dead is one you want to read. ****
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About Ryan Brown

Following his graduation from the University of Oklahoma, with a degree in film studies, he moved to New York, where he went on to study theatre at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Within months of arriving in New York, he was cast in the role of Bill Lewis on the CBS Daytime Drama, Guiding Light - a role he would play for the next three years.

Ryan relocated to Los Angeles and landed the ro...more

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