Death Walkers

by Gary Brandner

Joanna was one of the dead. But she was brought back to life!That's when people began trying to kill her...nice people...the last people in the world anyone would suspect of being capable of murder--people who were already dead...... The most terrifying novel you've ever read!

Genres: Horror

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Gary Phil Brandner (May 31, 1930 – September 22, 2013) was an American horror author best known for his werewolf themed trilogy of novels, The Howling. The first book in the series was loosely adapted as a motion picture in 1981. Brandner's second and third Howling novels, published in 1979 and 1985 respectively, have no connection to the film series, though he was involved in writing the screenplay for the second Howling film, Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf. The fourth film in the Howling series, Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, is actually the closest adaptation of Brandner's original novel, though this too varies to some degree.

Brandner's novel Walkers was adapted and filmed for television as From The Dead Of Night. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1988 horror film Cameron's Closet.

Born in the Midwest and much traveled during his formative years, Brandner published more than 30 novels, over 100 short stories, and also wrote a handful of screenplays. He attended college at the University of Washington where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. After graduating in 1955, he worked as an amateur boxer, bartender, surveyor, loan company investigator, advertising copywriter, and technical writer before turning to fiction writing. Brandner lived with his wife, Martine Wood Brandner, and several cats in Reno, Nevada.

He died of esophageal cancer in 2013.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic 80s horror if there ever was one (the book is from 1980). Hooked from the beginning I wanted to find out what it is about the "Walkers". Joana almost drowns in a swimming pool. She comes back from the dead. But from this time on she is haunted by dead beings, so called walkers... will Joana survive the dead? You'll come across many eerie elements (zombie like creatures, tarot cards, the old witch, premonitions) and fast paced action until the very end. Straight story telling. The whole novel reads like a movie. Highly recommended. 80s horror was something special. I'm glad I came across this book by chance and will definitely continue with some more of his works.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brandner, perhaps most famous for The Howling, wrote ...Walkers a few years later, which is basically a riff on the whole 'dying and then coming back' trope that seemed to haunt the imaginary back in the day (this was first published in 1980). Our main protagonist, Joana, starts the book boogying to the disco beat at a party; she decides to cool off by going for a swim at the complex's pool, but ends up drowning. Of course, she experiences herself leaving her body, looking down at the crowd who pulled her from the pool, and then heading toward a white light while images of her life flash by. Yet, right about when she is going to arrive at some figure seated on a throne, she gets sucked back to her body; the seated figure proclaims she has come too far to go back, however, she "must return!" Further, he tells her "We will come for you. We will walk. We will bring you back." Nonetheless, she awakes back in her body safe and sound, albeit a bit shaken up.

Ok, so from the opening, we know what will happen if not the details, and the book promptly proceeds to fill in that blank. This does have some creepy elements to it, but overall, pretty predictable and features a rather sappy romance to boot between Joana and her beau. The 70s references were pretty fun and that kept me reading; that and this is really about novella length. Would not recommend seeking this one out unless you are a die hard vintage horror fan, but if you stumble across a copy, you could do worse. 2.5 stars, rounding up.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the 70s and 80s, the made for tv movie was all the rage. And for those of us growing up in those times our chance to see some sort of horror film especially as VHS was still new and beyond super expensive. One of those little gems that came out in the late 80s was From the Dead of Night starring Bionic Woman's Lindsay Wagner. I was completely obsessed with this film which I only saw in it's original broadcast and never saw again for almost three decades. Now thanks to DVD I recently got to watch it again and low and behold my shock it was based on a novel. A novel by the author of one of the best werewolf stories, the Howling, Gary Brandner. I knew I had to find this book.

Diving in the plot echos the film quite well. The story of a woman with a near death experience who is saved and comes back from a mysterious tunnel of light and figures beckoning to her. She is revived but not before it is obvious she shouldn't be. This causes a series of run ins with people who don't quite look right and want her dead. Walkers...are pretty much zombies. The original part is these are supposed to represent the people she left behind in the tunnel while almost crossing over. They are angry at her and want her back.

Walkers is a very quick read at a little over 200 pages and fairly tightly paced. The concept of the novel is very original and a different take on the zombie genre. Just like the film I adored as a child, I adored the story for the most part. Now in hindsight though I can see a few problems in the book. The male psychic character Peter reminds me way too much of Graham Masterton's Henry Erskine from the Manitou. Really almost a copy and just out of place. Removing him and adding someone in his place probably would have made a better story. The main couple of the story are fairly solid if not uninteresting and the doctor who ends up reviving Joana the main female character is pretty great in his pursuit of the truth.

Overall it's a nice fast paced read for someone who likes the genre and wants an original story. It does end up rather abruptly which completely through me off and not in a good way but there is just so much originality to it I couldn't give it less than 4 stars. I think I should read some more Brandner. I'm sure he has a 5 star story in him, it's just a matter of finding it.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third Gary Brandner book (first published 1980) and it is just as good as the previous two (I only gave The Boiling Pool three stars but I may have to raise that to four). This book features a different take on zombies. No apocalyptic scenario but a few dead rising to hunt down the main character. Her name is Joana and she died, for a few minutes, in a swimming pool accident. Luckily she was resuscitated but the dead will not let her go.

The Walking Dead was on my mind throughout just because of the title, Walkers. The book also brought the film Final Destination (and its many sequels) to mind. Joana had cheated death and they were not going to let her escape. A fun, creepy read.

I really enjoy reading Brandner books and I am looking forward to reading the five left on my shelf.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brandner wrote lots of horror novels in the late seventies/ early eighties. He also wrote about rock stars, tennis players, and oil rigs. His stories are richly textured and well developed. I don't read much horror, but I really liked this book. I didn't necessarily find it scary as much as fascinating. This isn't some zombie apocalypse story. It is a story about the supernatural -- about things that are just simply hard to believe.

Put on your platform shoes, open up your shirt, and dance to that driving disco beat. It's the seventies and a great time to be young and single in Marina Del Rey. Unless, of course, those on the other side of the darkness want to claim you as their own. Poor Joanna. She just wanted to take a swim and show off her new bathing suit at the raging party in the condo complex. This is not what she intended.

Great story. It really captures the era of the late seventies from the disco to the open shirts to the simple, laid back attitude. It also captures the world of southern California, of the Hollywood Hills, of old Glendale. And all its craziness.

[ItzSmashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really enjoyable read, I found myself instantly gripped at the setup and pulled in further by the characterisation. I was quickly invested in the fate of our protagonist and got through this one very speedily. It is a little low on actual horror scenes, but the overall atmosphere and threat made up for in my opinion. Would definitely recommend.

When a girl dies and has an outer body experience before being resuscitated, she is hunted down by other recently deceased people rising from the grave to bring her back to the afterlife.

[Anthony Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entertaining quick-read from Gary Brandner, who also authored The Howling. As a kid, this one scared the hell out of me (for a couple of reasons) so reading it again now, while it didn't scare me as an adult, did remind me of those days so oddly, this is a book that will always be about personal reminiscing with me now, I guess.

Also made into a movie/miniseries (which was recently put out on DVD) under the title 'From the Dead of Night', the book is way better. The movie is OK but a little filler reliant, and you could easily read the entire book during the running time of it.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been a very long time since I read this. I don’t know. Not a bad book, not a good book, but certainly not a boring book, either. Very fast paced and not a lot of time spent describing much of anything, so all you get here is a white knuckle fast paced read from start to finish. The problem? I felt the book had a great and interesting premise, had potential, but was never used. There were so many creative ways and paths to explore here, but Brandner chooses the short and lazy path, in my opinion. And coming from the same author as Cameron’s Closet, I expected a little more, however, this is one of Gary’s earlier works, so I can give him a pass there. Scary? Possibly. Pretty much, we have a female protagonist who almost dies drowning by the pool…oh, yeah! She awakens to a doctor helping her out!? Since when do doctors do home visits? Anyway, she’s brought back to life, but something wants her dead…and it’s coming from the known and unknown. The living and dead wants her dead! It’s a fun read, if it can’t be classified as good, because of the style of writing that Gary uses here, I mean, I was 12 years old when I read this, and I felt like I could have written better than him back then, so that gives you an idea. The potential to really scare and frighten through some strategic writing could have been utilized, but wasn’t, so we’re left with a chunk of 80s cheese that makes you feel like your watching a b rated horror film from the 80s…it even has the feel that Gary had to make budget cuts on the amount of violence used. Will she make it to the end of Walkers alive? You’ll have to find a copy and read it to find out!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

After drowning in a swimming pool at a party, Joana Raitt is resuscitated by her boyfriend, Glen. Afterward, strange events - a near hit-and-run, a random attack by a stranger - made Joana believe her life is in danger and that forces are trying to bring her back into the world of the dead. Her friend, Pete Landau, is a psychic counsellor and reveals assailants are "walkers", the revived dead. With the help of a friendly doctor, Warren Hovde, she must defeat four of the walking dead before she will be safe.
Published in 1980, this is the absolute pitch-perfect example of original horror paperbacks (from the 70s and 80s) that I adore. Well written, with likeable and immediately identifiable characters and a great use of location (the hospital is creepy without being overly so, Peter’s swinging batchelor pad looks like everything you’ve ever seen in a 70s movie and Joana’s flat, where one of the attacks takes place), is also benefits from a brisk pace that has the action rattling along. Combined with some good thriller elements - Warren putting the truth together, Glen trying to figure it out, Joana trying to stay alive - and a nicely twisty ending, I thought this was really great fun and would highly recommend it.

[Nik · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the author of The Howling, which I've not yet read, comes this little zombie-ish story...

To be fair though, it is Pretty Good. Very Short @220 odd pages which I did within a few hours but it was very enjoyable.

I'll definitely read more from this author, he's a must for all horror fans.

Now... Who's that huge monstrous person lumbering towards me...??

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brandner is a MASTER of characterization and mood!
This is the 4th book by the man that I've read and he just gets better an d better every time.
His books aren't long, so the fact that he creates such three-dimensional characters and precise mood in such a short time is that much more impressive.

[David Veith · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Great read, quick and to the point. A girl drowns but comes out of it and basically death is still trying to get her. Fast paced fun read. Fun to read about the days without sell phones and how hard it was to try to get in touch with people!

[Dick Grunert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read. Probably more of a 3 1/2 star book, but I’m cool with bumping it up for the clever twist at the end. I also love that the book’s set in Los Angeles and it was fun reading about all of the L.A. locations in 1980.

[Zachary Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walkers is a tightly-paced nailbiter and one of the rare (to my knowledge) pieces of zombie fiction to precede the 1989 anthology Book of the Dead. Also noteworthy is the ability of the zombies to use tools and run. Immensely entertaining pulp.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I loved. Was a great read from start to finish, really had me hooked, hanging to find out what was next. Occult, tarot, bruja, walking dead, what more could I ask for? Definitely going on my shelf to be read again.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quick read that fell a little short of being 'horror' for me.
I liked the plot, I liked Joana and Greg, and the doctor. I could have liked Peter if more time had been spent on him.
I wish this had been a little longer and more scary.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary and creepy
Enjoyed it many years ago

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite scary and believeable about the undead. I believe that this is Brandner's best novel because it has multiple climaxes and good build-up. He writes it like ascreenplay.

[Caralyn Rubli]

The back cover says "The most terrifying novel you've ever read". I kept waiting for it to get scary. Didn't happen. I would place it in the Teen category.

[Brielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty cheese book and not very frightening but I gave it the extra star for making me laugh a couple times.