Deadrush

by Yvonne Navarro

Born of the twisted faith of a teenage boy in a backwoods Georgia church, a new addiction is carried to the brutal streets of Chicago. In a dark alley, on a steamy June night, the fifth victim of a serial killer rises from the dead as its first initiate. Unable to resist her dark new desire, trapped by her own body and perverse yearning, she is alive but not alive, dead but not undead - forced by the raging call inside to spread the. . .

DEADRUSH

Across a landscape of urban violence, the contagion passes from hand to hand, flesh to flesh, predator to prey. One by one, its unwilling victims return to live again - only to discover a craving that is not to be denied. Soon they learn the terrible truth of their rebirth: there is no life after death. . . only hunger.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

351 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Yvonne Navarro is the author of Concrete Savior, Highborn, AfterAge, deadrush, Final Impact, Mirror Me and a bunch of other books, plus Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and tie-in novels for Hellboy, Elektra, and others."

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, well-written horror novel about pandemic contagion, religious fanaticism, addiction... fun and light-hearted quietly violent stuff to take your mind off the headlines. It's very well paced and structured to raise the tense suspense gradually and inexorably. Good stuff!

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Navarro is primarily known today for her many movie and TV tie in novels, Deadrush demonstrates that she is also a very accomplished horror novelist as well. Quite simply, this novel rocks! While largely set in Chicago, the story starts off in backwoods Georgia with a teenage infatuated with the local Pentecostal church, you know the type-- snakes, people speaking in tongues, etc. When he turns 15, Jason goes to the church, drinks some poison and grabs some 'holy' snakes, who bite him to death. A little while later, he gets up, seemingly fine, and tells the preacher that he 'has arisen like Jesus'. A few days later, his mom packs him off to Chicago to his aunt's place...

This is a crazy twist on the zombie genre to be sure. Jason, while perhaps technically a zombie (if that makes any sense) has the power to raise the dead via mouth-to-mouth. Further, it gives him a huge rush, called deadrush (hence the title). Add to this picture a serial killer in Chicago murdering women. Then mix in Jason stumbling across a recent crime scene of said killer and bringing her back to 'life'; turns out, she is a nurse at a local hospital. Sprinkle in some loser junkies and, finally, stir in some local cops and the nurse's husband and best friend and we have our selves a tasty treat!

Beyond the twisty plot and the zombies who get their fix by bringing back the dead (and of course, they have to 'procure' the dead to bring them back to 'life'), Navarro has a knack for building some good characters and snappy dialogue. Super pacing and some really dark humor along the way complete the package. Good stuff from Navarro! 4.5 undead stars!1

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my TBR for too long, which is daft really, it only took a couple of evenings to read. Great concept, and fantastic writing I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to anyone looking for something more offbeat.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit underwhelming

Great idea but tarnished by sluggish prose. What could have been an exciting and entertaining idea, became a snail's crawl through long winded conversations which moved the story nowhere while leaving the reader wanting to rip the life from the pages of this book! Unfortunately, a dead rush could never be achieved, as this book has no life and is void of soul.

[Joe Xtarr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe I finished this, and I wish I hadn't. Nothing really happens here. It's a detective story disguised as horror, and the horror is super lame. There's tons of cringey racial commentary and an onslaught of dated stereotypes. The dialogue is awful. The plot is thin. Some of the prose is okay. Overall, just meh...

[Ray Tidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal. The "ghouls" were somewhere between vampires and zombies, yet wholly unique with a vague and perverse Christian quality. The characters are extremely relatable and well fleshed out and present none of the cringe dialogue you'd expect from Koontz or King. There are several powerful themes at work here, my favorite being the delusional concept one of carrying out Gods work when in reality the acts being committed are in fact atrocities. I was reminded somewhat of the Netflix series Midnight Mass, in which abominations are mistaken for miracles. Also, being a Chicago native it was fun to read of all the familiar intersections, hospitals, restaurants, etc.

[shawn murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good version of Zombies. Different approach. Great story and characters.

[Samantha Françoise Dark Regions Press Proofreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this literary piece and had the pleasure of working on it with Crossroads Press. A must read!