What do you think?
The Melting Dead
Everything they grab burns. Everyone they touch dies. Everything they kill comes back from the dead. A secluded Mississippi River island is the perfect vacation getaway - until the space rocks land. A family is killed by searing radiation. The same cosmic force returns Dad, sis, and the two boys from the grave. But they're deteriorating quickly; melting away. And they want your flesh. Oh, look. Here come the tourists. A B-movie between book covers, The Melting Dead is a roller-coaster ride that will burst your heart with fear and make your sides ache with laughter.
246 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 2013
About the author
Doug Lamoreux
48 books57 followersDoug is a writer, actor, and horror film historian. His newest novel, 'Saucy Jacky: The Whitechapel Murders as told by Jack the Ripper' is now available on Amazon from Creativia Publishing.
The first-ever Igor Award winner from The Horror Society, a former Pushcart Prize and Rondo Award nominee, Doug is the author of When the Tik-Tik Sings, the Amazon #1 best selling Apparition Lake, Obsidian Tears, The Devil's Bed, the Amazon #1 best selling Dracula's Demeter (2012 Lord Ruthven Award nominee), The Melting Dead, the Amazon #1 best selling Corpses Say the Darndest Things: A Nod Blake Mystery, Red Herrings Can't Swim: A Nod Blake Mystery, and Seven for the Slab: A Horror Portmanteau. He contributed to the Rondo nominee Horror 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies, the Rondo winning follow-up Hidden Horror, Animals Attack, and the up-coming Vampires Suck.
He appeared in the horror films The Thirsting (aka Lilith) with Mickey Rooney and Tina Krause, and Hag with Ari Lehman. He starred in Peter O'Keefe's film, Infidel. His novel, Dracula's Demeter is being adapted as a feature by ThunderBall Films.
Doug drinks too much coffee. Come and tell him so on Facebook and Twitter!
The first-ever Igor Award winner from The Horror Society, a former Pushcart Prize and Rondo Award nominee, Doug is the author of When the Tik-Tik Sings, the Amazon #1 best selling Apparition Lake, Obsidian Tears, The Devil's Bed, the Amazon #1 best selling Dracula's Demeter (2012 Lord Ruthven Award nominee), The Melting Dead, the Amazon #1 best selling Corpses Say the Darndest Things: A Nod Blake Mystery, Red Herrings Can't Swim: A Nod Blake Mystery, and Seven for the Slab: A Horror Portmanteau. He contributed to the Rondo nominee Horror 101: The A-List of Horror Films and Monster Movies, the Rondo winning follow-up Hidden Horror, Animals Attack, and the up-coming Vampires Suck.
He appeared in the horror films The Thirsting (aka Lilith) with Mickey Rooney and Tina Krause, and Hag with Ari Lehman. He starred in Peter O'Keefe's film, Infidel. His novel, Dracula's Demeter is being adapted as a feature by ThunderBall Films.
Doug drinks too much coffee. Come and tell him so on Facebook and Twitter!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 28, 2018
Great book the author has captured the essence of the cheesey horror movies of the 80's the characters are strong and the storyline is really good!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2014
Full disclosure: A free copy of this book was supplied in return for an honest review.
Find this and other reviews like it at Ravenous Reads.
Given the proliferation of zombie-related horror over the last decade or so, you'd think it would be a rarity to come up with a unique spin on the undead and their perpetual need for living human flesh. Well, you'd be right, but Doug Lamoreux still manages to do so with his new novel, The Melting Dead.
The best part about Lamoreux's work is that the zombies within it are caused by some kind of bizarre interaction with tiny meteorites that have struck a small island in the Mississippi. Though it's never explained how - and that's absolutely fine - the result is contaminated people, once raised from the dead, need blood to somehow stave off melting from the radiation that is eating through them quite quickly. This levels the playing field to some degree, and instead of The Melting Dead being an exercise in inevitability, with every character we're introduced to doomed to die, there's actually a sense of hope that some of those trapped on the island may actually make it out alive ...
All of which works in the novel's favour. Where it hits a few speed bumps, however, is in the exaggerated characters that Lamoreux drops into these proceedings. Too often his characters react to the threats they are facing in unbelievable or downright odd ways. For example, one of the main characters, Angela, is constantly referencing horror films both within her internal monologue and through her dialogue. It became her main identifiable trait and increasingly disconcerting as the novel progressed, since it left me with the sense she thought everything was little more than a game, throwing me right out of the narrative. It was also odd to have her arguing with another character about various film facts when they were about to be over-run by zombies. Other examples of this "larger than life" characterisation are the idiotic armed robbers who are so poor at their chosen vocation that it beggars belief, yet their reasons for resorting to this violent crime are never properly explained. The reverend was also a one note scripture-sprouting, shell-shocked sufferer once he got his first glimpse of the zombies in action.
Despite my issues with the characters, Lamoreux writes with a sure and crisp voice. It was always clear what was taking place, and there's little padding once his reasonably large cast are introduced and set upon their respective paths. There were some formatting issues on the copy I received for review, so this may not be as bad as it appeared, but at times he did POV switch very suddenly within what seemed to be the same section, and during others, resorted to the omnipotent narrator's voice to hammer home a point - which I admit, are both pet peeves of mine and affected my overall score.
Overall, The Melting Dead is almost quaint in its depiction of the dead returning to life. It's never frightening, but there are moments when it's good ol' fashioned fun - as long as your idea of fun involves reading about flesh sliding off bones and teeth tearing out exposed throats.
All of which translates into this being a fairly solid read.
2.5 rounded up to 3 Puddles of Fleshy Goo for The Melting Dead.
Find this and other reviews like it at Ravenous Reads.
Given the proliferation of zombie-related horror over the last decade or so, you'd think it would be a rarity to come up with a unique spin on the undead and their perpetual need for living human flesh. Well, you'd be right, but Doug Lamoreux still manages to do so with his new novel, The Melting Dead.
The best part about Lamoreux's work is that the zombies within it are caused by some kind of bizarre interaction with tiny meteorites that have struck a small island in the Mississippi. Though it's never explained how - and that's absolutely fine - the result is contaminated people, once raised from the dead, need blood to somehow stave off melting from the radiation that is eating through them quite quickly. This levels the playing field to some degree, and instead of The Melting Dead being an exercise in inevitability, with every character we're introduced to doomed to die, there's actually a sense of hope that some of those trapped on the island may actually make it out alive ...
All of which works in the novel's favour. Where it hits a few speed bumps, however, is in the exaggerated characters that Lamoreux drops into these proceedings. Too often his characters react to the threats they are facing in unbelievable or downright odd ways. For example, one of the main characters, Angela, is constantly referencing horror films both within her internal monologue and through her dialogue. It became her main identifiable trait and increasingly disconcerting as the novel progressed, since it left me with the sense she thought everything was little more than a game, throwing me right out of the narrative. It was also odd to have her arguing with another character about various film facts when they were about to be over-run by zombies. Other examples of this "larger than life" characterisation are the idiotic armed robbers who are so poor at their chosen vocation that it beggars belief, yet their reasons for resorting to this violent crime are never properly explained. The reverend was also a one note scripture-sprouting, shell-shocked sufferer once he got his first glimpse of the zombies in action.
Despite my issues with the characters, Lamoreux writes with a sure and crisp voice. It was always clear what was taking place, and there's little padding once his reasonably large cast are introduced and set upon their respective paths. There were some formatting issues on the copy I received for review, so this may not be as bad as it appeared, but at times he did POV switch very suddenly within what seemed to be the same section, and during others, resorted to the omnipotent narrator's voice to hammer home a point - which I admit, are both pet peeves of mine and affected my overall score.
Overall, The Melting Dead is almost quaint in its depiction of the dead returning to life. It's never frightening, but there are moments when it's good ol' fashioned fun - as long as your idea of fun involves reading about flesh sliding off bones and teeth tearing out exposed throats.
All of which translates into this being a fairly solid read.
2.5 rounded up to 3 Puddles of Fleshy Goo for The Melting Dead.
June 13, 2013
Often you hear how scary movies or scary stories will cause a person to have nightmares. They often tap into a primal fear that awakens within someones subconscious as they sleep. The outcome is a sudden alertness as you can awake screaming, shaking or just in a pool of your own sweat.
Now those used to these horrific tales are not often found to have these nightmares. If your name is Angela Roskowic you are well used to the fear that can be induced by horror. You are a fanatic and can draw references to any horror film as you just observe the daily life you lead working in Chicago in Theatre.
So you can imagine the nervousness that Angela feels when she finds herself having these scream evoking nightmares suddenly. She’s about to begin a trip to find a possible retreat for those in the Chicagoland Directors’ Guild to “get away and play.” Angela was surely kicking herself for missing the meeting when the plan was discussed as she was “volunteered” to find a location.
This is the starting point to the book, “The Melting Dead”, written by author Doug Lamoreux. This is a book that will take you within the zombie genre, BUT has enough twists that it may not seem like any zombie book you have read.
As the story evolves in the book you are introduced to a good cast of characters. The story takes place around an island located in the Mississippi River. The area has simple people that do not take too kindly to a group of Goths who rob a local gas station. The local police and sheriff become involved in the eventual chase for the robbers. The theft does not go off as planned as the reader will find out as the getaway ends up to create a large “stink”. If you are wondering why the quotations around stink, well you must read the book to find out why.
To help the reader get an idea of what you will find yourself getting into let me give you an example of what you will find coming from the mind and thoughts of Angela as you read the book. There is a period where it is referenced that Angela is entering the small town territory of Salem’s Lot and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. A small town where stares followed her like stares from the Stepford wives. Now these are somewhat paraphrased but near direct quotes from the book and some of the things readers will hopefully love about the book.
Doug Lamoreux’s writing style is also something found to be quite interesting. The story seems to follow Angela’s story line for the most part but at times there is a break in the story. A change in the story taking you away from one piece of action is not forgotten. A “narrator” type of tone will help bring you back to a piece of the story you feel may have been forgotten. The story has elements of humor tossed in as well that is well placed amongst the action of the book.
I have more to this review on my blog if you want to continue reading. I just want to add that I really loved The Melting Dead and fount it a great read.
http://knightmist.wordpress.com/2013/...
Now those used to these horrific tales are not often found to have these nightmares. If your name is Angela Roskowic you are well used to the fear that can be induced by horror. You are a fanatic and can draw references to any horror film as you just observe the daily life you lead working in Chicago in Theatre.
So you can imagine the nervousness that Angela feels when she finds herself having these scream evoking nightmares suddenly. She’s about to begin a trip to find a possible retreat for those in the Chicagoland Directors’ Guild to “get away and play.” Angela was surely kicking herself for missing the meeting when the plan was discussed as she was “volunteered” to find a location.
This is the starting point to the book, “The Melting Dead”, written by author Doug Lamoreux. This is a book that will take you within the zombie genre, BUT has enough twists that it may not seem like any zombie book you have read.
As the story evolves in the book you are introduced to a good cast of characters. The story takes place around an island located in the Mississippi River. The area has simple people that do not take too kindly to a group of Goths who rob a local gas station. The local police and sheriff become involved in the eventual chase for the robbers. The theft does not go off as planned as the reader will find out as the getaway ends up to create a large “stink”. If you are wondering why the quotations around stink, well you must read the book to find out why.
To help the reader get an idea of what you will find yourself getting into let me give you an example of what you will find coming from the mind and thoughts of Angela as you read the book. There is a period where it is referenced that Angela is entering the small town territory of Salem’s Lot and Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. A small town where stares followed her like stares from the Stepford wives. Now these are somewhat paraphrased but near direct quotes from the book and some of the things readers will hopefully love about the book.
Doug Lamoreux’s writing style is also something found to be quite interesting. The story seems to follow Angela’s story line for the most part but at times there is a break in the story. A change in the story taking you away from one piece of action is not forgotten. A “narrator” type of tone will help bring you back to a piece of the story you feel may have been forgotten. The story has elements of humor tossed in as well that is well placed amongst the action of the book.
I have more to this review on my blog if you want to continue reading. I just want to add that I really loved The Melting Dead and fount it a great read.
http://knightmist.wordpress.com/2013/...
July 17, 2013
I received a copy of The Melting Dead in exchange for an honest review.
Watch out all you zombie fans out there. There’s a “hot” new zombie in town just waiting to scare the hell out of you. I’ve read a couple of great novels this year about my favorite walking dead, but I think this one is going to be right up there at the top of the list.
Horror is one of the more difficult genres to pull off in my opinion. It takes the right combination of imagination and timing, otherwise a reader struggles to suspend disbelief and the story falls flat. The slightest miscalculation can turn a real nail biter into a cartoonish dud. I never questioned the hands of the master who guided this story. I loved the idea behind what made these dead bodies come back to life and I doubly loved their descriptions and what drove them to find living bodies to feed on.
I fought with myself over the four-star rating only because I struggled at the start to keep track of all the characters being introduced. This is a common problem for me though and may not bother anyone else. If it was possible I’d probably score this a 4.5. Part of what keeps this story moving so fast is the multiple points of view we are seeing it through. Once I got past the first quarter, where the introduction of characters took place, I read straight through the rest in one day. There are definitely no boring areas, no places where I felt like skimming to get back to action.
A unique view into the zombie-loving world and in my opinion would definitely make a fantastic movie. If you enjoy reading stories about the walking dead, you’re going to love this one by Doug Lamoreux.
Watch out all you zombie fans out there. There’s a “hot” new zombie in town just waiting to scare the hell out of you. I’ve read a couple of great novels this year about my favorite walking dead, but I think this one is going to be right up there at the top of the list.
Horror is one of the more difficult genres to pull off in my opinion. It takes the right combination of imagination and timing, otherwise a reader struggles to suspend disbelief and the story falls flat. The slightest miscalculation can turn a real nail biter into a cartoonish dud. I never questioned the hands of the master who guided this story. I loved the idea behind what made these dead bodies come back to life and I doubly loved their descriptions and what drove them to find living bodies to feed on.
I fought with myself over the four-star rating only because I struggled at the start to keep track of all the characters being introduced. This is a common problem for me though and may not bother anyone else. If it was possible I’d probably score this a 4.5. Part of what keeps this story moving so fast is the multiple points of view we are seeing it through. Once I got past the first quarter, where the introduction of characters took place, I read straight through the rest in one day. There are definitely no boring areas, no places where I felt like skimming to get back to action.
A unique view into the zombie-loving world and in my opinion would definitely make a fantastic movie. If you enjoy reading stories about the walking dead, you’re going to love this one by Doug Lamoreux.
October 8, 2015
This one was my fault. It didn't come from the author or a publishing group/company. I saw the cover on Amazon.com and thought, "Hmm... this may be good, Alyssa." Boy was I wrong. Guess what guys! I didn't even finish the book.
As with many authors today, The Melting Dead by Doug Lamoreux is a new take on a old idea. These aren't so much zombies as they're alive yet dying, simply mutated by something I won't tell you about because what? I don't give SPOILERS! So with that, I snatched the book and added it to my Kindle for a read.
TMD is very slow. When I last read the book, I was about 36% into the tale and there'd only been one bout of serious action. The rest was jibber-jabber to me. The author introduced character after character and NONE of them held my interest! They were one dimensional...
One character, Angela- a theater directer, was the most annoying! She constantly rattled off movie titles, and references (which shoulda been pretty cool) for either no apparent reason or when she felt the situation deserved... a title? A definition to what was happening? I don't know, but I always knew when the next chapter would be...
For the rest of this review: http://bit.ly/1OsiOAS
**This book is from my personal ebook library.
As with many authors today, The Melting Dead by Doug Lamoreux is a new take on a old idea. These aren't so much zombies as they're alive yet dying, simply mutated by something I won't tell you about because what? I don't give SPOILERS! So with that, I snatched the book and added it to my Kindle for a read.
TMD is very slow. When I last read the book, I was about 36% into the tale and there'd only been one bout of serious action. The rest was jibber-jabber to me. The author introduced character after character and NONE of them held my interest! They were one dimensional...
One character, Angela- a theater directer, was the most annoying! She constantly rattled off movie titles, and references (which shoulda been pretty cool) for either no apparent reason or when she felt the situation deserved... a title? A definition to what was happening? I don't know, but I always knew when the next chapter would be...
For the rest of this review: http://bit.ly/1OsiOAS
**This book is from my personal ebook library.
November 4, 2014
The Melting Dead is a story unlike any other zombie story I have read. Unique zombie storylines are hard to come by, but Doug Lamoreux hit a home run with this story.
Did Not Finish
January 10, 2026Nope. I was spending more time writing about the issues than I think this writer actually spent writing the book. I had to dnf it due to such poor writing.
“Performed by” is a real stretch. It was narrated by… and not overly well, at that. AI would have done a better job and sounded more natural. It’s stilted and droll like a 3rd grader forced to read out loud in class.
Just listing off movie titles is hard making 600 references. Tucking them into the writing is a reference - such as saying they went to the last house in the left to look for a boat.
Angels fought to “master” her breathing or “control” it? We have the concept of breathing already pretty well mastered innately. Her trying to control it so she can make a decision what to do at a dead end makes more sense.
WORM - wouldn’t it make more sense to be WOMR (old man river/radio). Apparently, it does make more sense for it to be WOMR because it switches to those call letters after sidekick Eddie and Sal are introduced. Either the narrator misread it the first time or the writer typo’d
Who uses the whole world gymnasium? And that often tends to lead people to think of a school gym or like a gymnastic facility. A gym is more appropriate word usage for weight rooms.
Mispronounced veteran
Cramming way too many people into the cast too fast. We don’t need to know everyone immediately. It should be a more natural and slower progression and meet some along the way.
There are many instances of different types of birds flying/flocking together it’s hardly an oddity worth noting. It would be more appropriate to be surprised at the suddenness of such a group lifting off together.
Using irradiated multiple times in a row is unnecessary. Also, it’s mispronounced.
They didn’t switch “categories” on her, they switched “genres.”
“Caleb lay awake now in her arms,” no… the writer already said he was awake, complaining of the smoke, and Crystal put him down to drag him along as she ran, they stopped and she gave him some water… only a few lines prior. The writer losing track of their own story is bad form and just lazy.
The term being a fan is literally from the term fanatic - it was just shortened over time to become “fan.”
How is he saying Angela’s mind goes in a circle when he’s the one making weird assumptions and acting like he has two brain cells despite being a professor. Any idiot would easily parse what she meant about being able to tell time with a cell phone. He’s either being a sexist dolt or purposefully obtuse and neither is endearing.
While there’s no precise time given for when this is happening anyone in the last 30 years knows about cell phones so why is the writer making this guy so obnoxiously stupid?
Phones will tell the time without having any signal. Is this the first time this writer has ever experienced a cell phone? Even the earliest flip phones had the time on the front screen at all times - no signal needed.
For someone who insists on Angela being more precise in her language and mocking her for making assumptions he sure likes to be vague and purposefully imprecise when it suits him.
Ahhhh yes, it’s all the fault of too many prying ears and lawyers that people are held accountable for being jerks and saying offensive things. Couldn’t possibly be that what they say is antiquated and wrong.
Chief has zero right to commandeer the boat much less threaten him into action and make fun of his wife. Nor does he have a right to open anything in the boat without a warrant.
If she knew what dejavu means then she doesn’t speak zero French. And odds are she knows way more French words than that considering how many we use in our everyday “English.”
If Hilda knew Angela was waiting for a boat all morning why wouldn’t she tell Arthur to go get her instead of just accepting that some young woman is waiting.
lol what? Where her husband was didn’t matter - she assumed he went to get Angela, the girl that was waiting all morning. But who cares about a waiting customer when there’s a door open in the breeze! Oh no! The horror!
Why is Hilda “shocked” to see Arthur’s trowel out and tossed to the side when we just got how many repetitions of how lazy, no good, irresponsible, and careless he is? This sounds like something that would be standard for him not something shocking.
Also, why is the trowel even “gore covered” we aren’t told he was holding it or using it in the shed and if it’s outside the shed clearly it wasn’t just sitting in gore left from the attack INSIDE. How did a tool that wasn’t being used become part of the scene and wind up placed outside the scene location itself?
I’m sorry - did the writer just have Angela ask what a helmet was for? A rock climbing/rappelling helmet? Are you serious?
“Performed by” is a real stretch. It was narrated by… and not overly well, at that. AI would have done a better job and sounded more natural. It’s stilted and droll like a 3rd grader forced to read out loud in class.
Just listing off movie titles is hard making 600 references. Tucking them into the writing is a reference - such as saying they went to the last house in the left to look for a boat.
Angels fought to “master” her breathing or “control” it? We have the concept of breathing already pretty well mastered innately. Her trying to control it so she can make a decision what to do at a dead end makes more sense.
WORM - wouldn’t it make more sense to be WOMR (old man river/radio). Apparently, it does make more sense for it to be WOMR because it switches to those call letters after sidekick Eddie and Sal are introduced. Either the narrator misread it the first time or the writer typo’d
Who uses the whole world gymnasium? And that often tends to lead people to think of a school gym or like a gymnastic facility. A gym is more appropriate word usage for weight rooms.
Mispronounced veteran
Cramming way too many people into the cast too fast. We don’t need to know everyone immediately. It should be a more natural and slower progression and meet some along the way.
There are many instances of different types of birds flying/flocking together it’s hardly an oddity worth noting. It would be more appropriate to be surprised at the suddenness of such a group lifting off together.
Using irradiated multiple times in a row is unnecessary. Also, it’s mispronounced.
They didn’t switch “categories” on her, they switched “genres.”
“Caleb lay awake now in her arms,” no… the writer already said he was awake, complaining of the smoke, and Crystal put him down to drag him along as she ran, they stopped and she gave him some water… only a few lines prior. The writer losing track of their own story is bad form and just lazy.
The term being a fan is literally from the term fanatic - it was just shortened over time to become “fan.”
How is he saying Angela’s mind goes in a circle when he’s the one making weird assumptions and acting like he has two brain cells despite being a professor. Any idiot would easily parse what she meant about being able to tell time with a cell phone. He’s either being a sexist dolt or purposefully obtuse and neither is endearing.
While there’s no precise time given for when this is happening anyone in the last 30 years knows about cell phones so why is the writer making this guy so obnoxiously stupid?
Phones will tell the time without having any signal. Is this the first time this writer has ever experienced a cell phone? Even the earliest flip phones had the time on the front screen at all times - no signal needed.
For someone who insists on Angela being more precise in her language and mocking her for making assumptions he sure likes to be vague and purposefully imprecise when it suits him.
Ahhhh yes, it’s all the fault of too many prying ears and lawyers that people are held accountable for being jerks and saying offensive things. Couldn’t possibly be that what they say is antiquated and wrong.
Chief has zero right to commandeer the boat much less threaten him into action and make fun of his wife. Nor does he have a right to open anything in the boat without a warrant.
If she knew what dejavu means then she doesn’t speak zero French. And odds are she knows way more French words than that considering how many we use in our everyday “English.”
If Hilda knew Angela was waiting for a boat all morning why wouldn’t she tell Arthur to go get her instead of just accepting that some young woman is waiting.
lol what? Where her husband was didn’t matter - she assumed he went to get Angela, the girl that was waiting all morning. But who cares about a waiting customer when there’s a door open in the breeze! Oh no! The horror!
Why is Hilda “shocked” to see Arthur’s trowel out and tossed to the side when we just got how many repetitions of how lazy, no good, irresponsible, and careless he is? This sounds like something that would be standard for him not something shocking.
Also, why is the trowel even “gore covered” we aren’t told he was holding it or using it in the shed and if it’s outside the shed clearly it wasn’t just sitting in gore left from the attack INSIDE. How did a tool that wasn’t being used become part of the scene and wind up placed outside the scene location itself?
I’m sorry - did the writer just have Angela ask what a helmet was for? A rock climbing/rappelling helmet? Are you serious?
July 15, 2018
Let me start by saying I don’t’ like zombie movies, books, etc. At all! But, somehow, I always end up reading Doug’s zombie books. And they never fail to please. There is a wide range of characters in the story, but they were introduced when needed, and not dumped on the reader all at once. From beginning to end, this story is quite the journey. There are humorous moments, and OMG NO! moments. And poor John, the fisherman. He was probably my favorite character. As always, with Doug’s stories, the plot is well-developed and hops along and the characters are multi-dimensional. This was a fun, horrific read and I would recommend it for all Zombie Lovers to add to their collection. I give it 5 Zombies.
December 22, 2013
The Melting Dead starts you off on the riverbanks of the mighty Mississippi, but don’t think southern United States, think more along the lines of Savanna, Illinois. The book’s main character, Angela, is on her way from Chicago to The Rock Island in search of a location for her theater’s annual convention turned retreat. We move away from Angela for a while and are introduced to a plethora of the other characters that this book has to offer. A rag tag team of gothic criminals, Norene, Dec, Gar and Falcon, as they are about to rob a gas station, Professor Paul Rigas on his mini vacation at the island for some rappelling, Ellis Porter, the squatter who lives on the island with his three children, and miscellaneous other characters that fill the story with both humor and a necessary means for plot progression.
As anyone would have guessed in a zombie book, nothing goes right for any of our characters. Plans get foiled, things go wrong, and yep, meteorites crash land onto the island filling the immediate area with a burning, poisonous radiation that turns them into, The Melting Dead. You quickly find yourself racing around the island, seeing the story unfold from the point of view of all of the different people involved. Things are falling apart fast on Rock Island and our characters must work together in order to fight off these flesh hungry creatures and make it off the island alive. When I first read the synopsis, I anticipated a full-fledged apocalypse, but I was surprised to find out otherwise.
I can always appreciate when an author gives a head nod to another work of art; whether that be a work of film, another book, a television show, etc. I cannot appreciate however, being taken out of the story repeatedly in order for the author to make a reference to something completely different. There were several times in the story that I had to ask myself “Wait, who’s saying this? Is anyone saying this or is this narrative thought?” I completely understand that the synopsis states that there are over 600 references to other horror works, however I did not think they would be so blatant and story stealing, I would have preferred they be cheeky and hidden so as not to distract the reader. The other distracting piece in this work was that the author made no differentiation in the formatting as to when a point of view was being switched, when the scenery was going to be different, or when another sub-story was taking place. Often times authors will separate by either chapters or asterisks, but Lamoreux made no indication that any of these things were taking place and I found myself lost and having to reread in order to comprehend where I now was in the world of The Melting Dead. The constant references, inconsistent story jumping and sometimes incoherent thought processes of the characters because of it, were what ultimately would have killed the book for me if I hadn't found all the other things I admired about it.
The author does a great job with attention to detail, describing all of the small things that might otherwise easily be missed. There is a point in the beginning, where you find yourself living through Angela’s dream sequence that you feel like you’re there right beside her, sharing in her agony and fear. Doug Lamoreux refers to everything in this sequence in a manner that creates an appropriate cacophony of a symphony of death, creating in my mind the perfect heavy metal song to go with the writing. The dialogue in The Melting Dead was believable, as were the character interactions. I couldn’t help but giggle every time the fisherman John P. came into a scene. Without giving too much away, he’s the friendly neighbor type who sticks his neck out for you once, and ends up getting pulled back in over and over again, unable to get along with his day. I think anyone who reads the book will enjoy the unfortunate but silly circumstances that always await John P. the fisherman.
The Melting Dead ends you with a surprising ending; most horror novels are set with twists and story curves, leaving you either wondering what’s next or feeling overly sympathetic for the world our characters live in. I was glad to see things were satisfactorily wrapped up and I wasn’t let asking too many questions. If you are a horror aficionado looking to add something new to your collection that imports nostalgia or the horror genre’s past, or if you’re looking for a quick read that’s both delightfully campy as it is satirical than The Melting Dead is for you.
As anyone would have guessed in a zombie book, nothing goes right for any of our characters. Plans get foiled, things go wrong, and yep, meteorites crash land onto the island filling the immediate area with a burning, poisonous radiation that turns them into, The Melting Dead. You quickly find yourself racing around the island, seeing the story unfold from the point of view of all of the different people involved. Things are falling apart fast on Rock Island and our characters must work together in order to fight off these flesh hungry creatures and make it off the island alive. When I first read the synopsis, I anticipated a full-fledged apocalypse, but I was surprised to find out otherwise.
I can always appreciate when an author gives a head nod to another work of art; whether that be a work of film, another book, a television show, etc. I cannot appreciate however, being taken out of the story repeatedly in order for the author to make a reference to something completely different. There were several times in the story that I had to ask myself “Wait, who’s saying this? Is anyone saying this or is this narrative thought?” I completely understand that the synopsis states that there are over 600 references to other horror works, however I did not think they would be so blatant and story stealing, I would have preferred they be cheeky and hidden so as not to distract the reader. The other distracting piece in this work was that the author made no differentiation in the formatting as to when a point of view was being switched, when the scenery was going to be different, or when another sub-story was taking place. Often times authors will separate by either chapters or asterisks, but Lamoreux made no indication that any of these things were taking place and I found myself lost and having to reread in order to comprehend where I now was in the world of The Melting Dead. The constant references, inconsistent story jumping and sometimes incoherent thought processes of the characters because of it, were what ultimately would have killed the book for me if I hadn't found all the other things I admired about it.
The author does a great job with attention to detail, describing all of the small things that might otherwise easily be missed. There is a point in the beginning, where you find yourself living through Angela’s dream sequence that you feel like you’re there right beside her, sharing in her agony and fear. Doug Lamoreux refers to everything in this sequence in a manner that creates an appropriate cacophony of a symphony of death, creating in my mind the perfect heavy metal song to go with the writing. The dialogue in The Melting Dead was believable, as were the character interactions. I couldn’t help but giggle every time the fisherman John P. came into a scene. Without giving too much away, he’s the friendly neighbor type who sticks his neck out for you once, and ends up getting pulled back in over and over again, unable to get along with his day. I think anyone who reads the book will enjoy the unfortunate but silly circumstances that always await John P. the fisherman.
The Melting Dead ends you with a surprising ending; most horror novels are set with twists and story curves, leaving you either wondering what’s next or feeling overly sympathetic for the world our characters live in. I was glad to see things were satisfactorily wrapped up and I wasn’t let asking too many questions. If you are a horror aficionado looking to add something new to your collection that imports nostalgia or the horror genre’s past, or if you’re looking for a quick read that’s both delightfully campy as it is satirical than The Melting Dead is for you.
August 30, 2014
Great story line! Just wish I could have been in the action instead of looking in from the outside. Because of this it was hard to get into and stay there. I felt like I was floating around looking down on the characters instead of actually BEING a character. Instead of being written in the third person it should have had a character to identify with and live the story through it.
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