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Dead Love
"Delightfully disgusting, Dead Love is the new horror genre at its best. Fans of Twilight, World War Z, and Neil Gaiman will devour this fine novel whole."—ForeWord Magazine
"This novel about a live dead girl combines an international chase, the suspense of a thriller, a soupçon of sensuality, some wonderfully lyrical episodes, and a set of brand new rules for ghouls. It is as delectable and dangerous as a plate of fugu. I read it in a single sitting."—Tim Cahill, author of Pass the Butterworms, Hold the Enlightenment, and Jaguars Ripped My Flesh
"Linda Watanabe McFerrin charms us with a winding tale of an evil enchantment. A wondrously wild story, told as if the deadpan voice of Dashiell Hammett had been mixed with the song of an artful siren."—Susan Griffin, author of A Chorus of Stones and The Book of Courtesans
Zombies in Japan? You bet your life! Dead Love is an artful supernatural thriller that follows a cast of nefarious characters—both human and otherworldly—as they foul one another's plans and power plays in a conspiracy of global proportions. It begins when Clément, a lovesick ghoul, falls for beautiful young Erin. Unfortunately, she is marked for death by the Japanese mob (the yakuza). Using secrets learned from a Haitian witch doctor, and taking us to Tokyo, Amsterdam, and Malaysia, Clément finds a way to rescue and possess her—but not at all in the manner he expected.
Linda Watanabe McFerrin is a Bay Area–based contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies, and online publications. She received the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction and is the author of the award-winning novel Namako: Sea Cucumber and the short story collection The Hand of Buddha. Her website for her new book is deadlovebook.com.
"This novel about a live dead girl combines an international chase, the suspense of a thriller, a soupçon of sensuality, some wonderfully lyrical episodes, and a set of brand new rules for ghouls. It is as delectable and dangerous as a plate of fugu. I read it in a single sitting."—Tim Cahill, author of Pass the Butterworms, Hold the Enlightenment, and Jaguars Ripped My Flesh
"Linda Watanabe McFerrin charms us with a winding tale of an evil enchantment. A wondrously wild story, told as if the deadpan voice of Dashiell Hammett had been mixed with the song of an artful siren."—Susan Griffin, author of A Chorus of Stones and The Book of Courtesans
Zombies in Japan? You bet your life! Dead Love is an artful supernatural thriller that follows a cast of nefarious characters—both human and otherworldly—as they foul one another's plans and power plays in a conspiracy of global proportions. It begins when Clément, a lovesick ghoul, falls for beautiful young Erin. Unfortunately, she is marked for death by the Japanese mob (the yakuza). Using secrets learned from a Haitian witch doctor, and taking us to Tokyo, Amsterdam, and Malaysia, Clément finds a way to rescue and possess her—but not at all in the manner he expected.
Linda Watanabe McFerrin is a Bay Area–based contributor to numerous journals, newspapers, magazines, anthologies, and online publications. She received the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction and is the author of the award-winning novel Namako: Sea Cucumber and the short story collection The Hand of Buddha. Her website for her new book is deadlovebook.com.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
15 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Linda Watanabe McFerrin
22 books16 followersLinda Watanabe McFerrin (www.lwmcferrin.com) is a poet, travel writer, novelist and longtime contributor to numerous newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She is the author of two poetry collections, past editor of a popular Northern California guidebook and a winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction. Her novel, Namako: Sea Cucumber, was named Best Book for the Teen-Age by the New York Public Library. In addition to authoring an award-winning short story collection, The Hand of Buddha, she has co-edited twelve anthologies, including the Hot Flashes: sexy little stories & poems series. Her latest novel, Dead Love (Stone Bridge Press, 2009), was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist for Superior Achievement in a Novel.
Linda has judged the San Francisco Literary Awards, the Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence and the Kiriyama Prize, served as a visiting mentor for the Loft Mentor Series and been guest faculty at the Oklahoma Arts Institute. A past NEA Panelist and juror for the Marin Literary Arts Council and the founder of Left Coast Writers, she has led workshops in Greece, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Central America, Indonesia, Spain, Cuba and the United States and has mentored a long list of award-winning writers and best-selling authors toward publication.
Navigating the Divide, a collection of Linda’s selected works is available now from Alan Squire Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 7, 2015
Me encontraba emocionada por que era algo distinto a lo que estoy acostumbrada a leer; sin embargo debo decir que fue algo decepcionante.
Siento que la historia tenia mucho para dar...
Una gran trama se plantaba en la contraportada del libro y agregando a esto, que este libro fue finalista del premio Bram Stoker; no lo pensé dos veces al comprarlo.
¿Por qué 2 estrellas?
*Por querer abarcar tantas ciudades y personajes, la escritora fue perdiendo la trama principal.
*Los personajes son vacíos.
*La trama se vuelve confusa.
*Quedan cuestiones sin responder.
*La trama al no ser explicada, se vuelve aburrida y repetitiva.
En conclusión, la trama se encuentra MAL DESARROLLADA.
Siento que la historia tenia mucho para dar...
Una gran trama se plantaba en la contraportada del libro y agregando a esto, que este libro fue finalista del premio Bram Stoker; no lo pensé dos veces al comprarlo.
¿Por qué 2 estrellas?
*Por querer abarcar tantas ciudades y personajes, la escritora fue perdiendo la trama principal.
*Los personajes son vacíos.
*La trama se vuelve confusa.
*Quedan cuestiones sin responder.
*La trama al no ser explicada, se vuelve aburrida y repetitiva.
En conclusión, la trama se encuentra MAL DESARROLLADA.
June 8, 2015
2.5 estrellas.
La temática principal del libro es muy original. Lo malo es la forma en que esta narrado, por más que los personajes dicen sentir millones de cosas a la vez no te trasmiten nada.
Se me hizo eterna esta lectura, creo que me tarde un mes o algo así. Sentí que más de la mitad del libro era innecesaria, solo relleno.
No lo volvería a leer.
La temática principal del libro es muy original. Lo malo es la forma en que esta narrado, por más que los personajes dicen sentir millones de cosas a la vez no te trasmiten nada.
Se me hizo eterna esta lectura, creo que me tarde un mes o algo así. Sentí que más de la mitad del libro era innecesaria, solo relleno.
No lo volvería a leer.
November 27, 2010
Linda Watanabe McFerrin's imaginative supernatural novel, Dead Love, could be quickly summarized as a story of zombies in Japan that takes the reader all over the world. Sounds intriguing but if zombies aren't a favorite topic, the reader most likely will leave this book on the shelf. To add to the summary that a lovestruck ghoul, Clement, plans to turn his object of desire, a young dancer named Erin, into a zombie may add more intrigue but still leave the book on the shelf. To describe this novel that callously would rob any potential reader of McFerrin's masterful storytelling, her fine writing and one of the best, compelling reading experiences today. Innovative and surprising, there are enough twists, turns, facts and imaginative scenes that, once started, it's difficult to put Dead Love down. When you start to read Dead Love, be sure your seatbelt is fastened and your passport is updated because you're going on a wild, far out ride!
February 7, 2022
Though the quality on this one fanfic level, good thorough editing could have fixed a lot of things. And I honestly feel bad for Linda Watanabe McFerri because her editors have clearly failed her. This book has so little polish that if it was a piece of furniture, brushing by it would fill you with splinters. I suspect this is more of a state-of-the industry’s fault rather than that of any particular individual.
There are, burried deep in there, some nice themes about free will, destiny, freedom and choice, but they certainly don’t shine. Dialogues are decent and it’s a shame the author seems to be so wary of writing them. Other than that, the best I can say is I wish Linda Watanabe McFerri the best and hope she continues to improve. I think her writing has potential but she’s not really there yet.
There are, burried deep in there, some nice themes about free will, destiny, freedom and choice, but they certainly don’t shine. Dialogues are decent and it’s a shame the author seems to be so wary of writing them. Other than that, the best I can say is I wish Linda Watanabe McFerri the best and hope she continues to improve. I think her writing has potential but she’s not really there yet.
August 14, 2015
Una historia de zombis de regular a mala. Esta entretenida pero sin mas.
August 19, 2023
Al leer la sinopsis tenía una expectativas más alta acerca del libro, sin embargo nunca hice click con los personajes, me causo mucha frustración que no hubiera un desarrollo del personaje mayor. Sentí mucho relleno que al final no llegaba a nada.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2020
Este libro se me hizo diferente e interesante
January 9, 2011
Dead Love is the story of Erin Orison, a sulky eighteen-year-old dancer who is just dead-eyed, vapid and unlikeable before her transmogrification into half-zombie as she is afterwards.
She is soon revealed to be at the centre of a blackmail plot involving a stolen microchip containing data about her father’s dastardly deals and deeds. But amidst the seedy underworld conspiracy and espionage is a bizarre and diabolical love story; a corpse-inhabiting, shape-shifting ghoul called Clément is smitten by Erin, and determined to enslave her by any means necessary.
The result is a fast-paced chase around the world, involving interrogations of Haitian witchdoctors, voodoo ceremonies, drug-dealers and vampires in Amsterdam and a sanatorium hidden in the Malaysian rainforest.
And although there are some beautifully-crafted scenes in Dead Love, for me the novel also has several serious flaws. The pace is so fast that Erin’s globe-hopping attempts to escape her pursuer’s clutches read like a mad flit through a grand but hurried hotchpotch of settings, characters and encounters, with no cohesive sense of plot or purpose.
(Excerpt from full review of Dead Love at For Books' Sake)
She is soon revealed to be at the centre of a blackmail plot involving a stolen microchip containing data about her father’s dastardly deals and deeds. But amidst the seedy underworld conspiracy and espionage is a bizarre and diabolical love story; a corpse-inhabiting, shape-shifting ghoul called Clément is smitten by Erin, and determined to enslave her by any means necessary.
The result is a fast-paced chase around the world, involving interrogations of Haitian witchdoctors, voodoo ceremonies, drug-dealers and vampires in Amsterdam and a sanatorium hidden in the Malaysian rainforest.
And although there are some beautifully-crafted scenes in Dead Love, for me the novel also has several serious flaws. The pace is so fast that Erin’s globe-hopping attempts to escape her pursuer’s clutches read like a mad flit through a grand but hurried hotchpotch of settings, characters and encounters, with no cohesive sense of plot or purpose.
(Excerpt from full review of Dead Love at For Books' Sake)
February 1, 2015
This is the kind of book that makes me really sad. Not because the story is sad, but because it fell so far short of what I think it could've been. I admit to not finishing it--perhaps one could argue that I didn't give it enough of a chance. But I read nearly a quarter of it, most of it a painful holding out of hope that didn't find satisfaction.
The author is undoubtedly talented. The writing is very good, even exquisite at times. I found the set up for the story interesting, and I'm a sucker for books that take me exotic locations and inside unusual lives. But above all, I need a story that pulls me in, and characters that make me care. Both were missing here.
A good line edit might've helped with pointless repetition and reiteration of plot points. But still there would be the bigger speed bumps, like the fact that much of what happens in the opening chapters occurs outside of our protagonist's POV--a big problem for a novel told in the first person. The supposed betrayals that hinged on a believable romance or other relationship just weren't at all compelling. Honestly, aside from the beautifully rendered descriptions, I was completely bored and did not at all believe the world the book invited me into.
The author is undoubtedly talented. The writing is very good, even exquisite at times. I found the set up for the story interesting, and I'm a sucker for books that take me exotic locations and inside unusual lives. But above all, I need a story that pulls me in, and characters that make me care. Both were missing here.
A good line edit might've helped with pointless repetition and reiteration of plot points. But still there would be the bigger speed bumps, like the fact that much of what happens in the opening chapters occurs outside of our protagonist's POV--a big problem for a novel told in the first person. The supposed betrayals that hinged on a believable romance or other relationship just weren't at all compelling. Honestly, aside from the beautifully rendered descriptions, I was completely bored and did not at all believe the world the book invited me into.
November 26, 2010
From Booklist
The heroine of Watanabe’s delightfully lurid tale is 18-year-old Erin Orison, who has arrived in Tokyo to live with her father, Christian, an American ambassador, and study dance under a legendary Japanese master. Erin is disappointed but unsurprised to find her father absent when she arrives in Tokyo. He leaves her in the care of a handsome Japanese man named Ryu, whom she soon learns is a gangster. She also unwittingly meets the ghoul Clement, a creature who moves from dead body to dead body and has developed a fixation on Erin. Clement is in possession of a microchip that could expose Erin’s father and many other powerful men, and it is he who tells Erin she is a pawn in her father’s plan to recover the microchip. Determined to have Erin, Clement orchestrates an effort to fatally poison her and turn her into a zombie in the hopes of bending her to his will. Fans of supernatural fare will find this a tantalizing and original offering. --Kristine Huntley --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
The heroine of Watanabe’s delightfully lurid tale is 18-year-old Erin Orison, who has arrived in Tokyo to live with her father, Christian, an American ambassador, and study dance under a legendary Japanese master. Erin is disappointed but unsurprised to find her father absent when she arrives in Tokyo. He leaves her in the care of a handsome Japanese man named Ryu, whom she soon learns is a gangster. She also unwittingly meets the ghoul Clement, a creature who moves from dead body to dead body and has developed a fixation on Erin. Clement is in possession of a microchip that could expose Erin’s father and many other powerful men, and it is he who tells Erin she is a pawn in her father’s plan to recover the microchip. Determined to have Erin, Clement orchestrates an effort to fatally poison her and turn her into a zombie in the hopes of bending her to his will. Fans of supernatural fare will find this a tantalizing and original offering. --Kristine Huntley --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
November 1, 2014
No sé que pensar de este libro, no es malo pero la historia (al menos para mí) tiene huecos y asuntos inconclusos, aparte de que cierto capítulo me confundió bastante no sabía exactamente quién lo estaba narrando y cómo era que el personaje hubiera llegado a ese punto. Por otro lado, las escenas "eróticas" (entre comillas porque era más como lujuria desenfrenada) fueron como de ¿Whuuuuaaat? (sí, así) porque la protagonista es algo cambiante respecto a galanes y muuuuy lanzada; tenemos también el capítulo ilustrado que me encanto junto con Clément (quién diría que me caería bien) que es lo más rescatable del libro, por su humor y reflexiones. En fin, es más un 3.5 estrellas
January 23, 2015
La idea del libro me entusiasmó mucho, pero el sentimiento se esfumó desde las primeras páginas. Yo creía que sería un libro sobre los zombies come cerebros y no tuvo nada que ver con esto. Aunque eso no fue lo que me desagradó del libro, debo mencionar.
No sé qué pasó pero la historia me confundió mucho, quizás iba muy rápido o no es mi estilo de lectura pero yo sólo quería terminar el libro para poder comenzar otro que sí pudiera disfrutar. Lo único que me ha parecido rescatable fue el final, las últimas 100 hojas fueron las únicas que pude disfrutar. Es un poco triste porque esperaba más. No sé si soy yo o es el libro. Espero ser yo y que los demás sí puedan disfrutarlo.
No sé qué pasó pero la historia me confundió mucho, quizás iba muy rápido o no es mi estilo de lectura pero yo sólo quería terminar el libro para poder comenzar otro que sí pudiera disfrutar. Lo único que me ha parecido rescatable fue el final, las últimas 100 hojas fueron las únicas que pude disfrutar. Es un poco triste porque esperaba más. No sé si soy yo o es el libro. Espero ser yo y que los demás sí puedan disfrutarlo.
December 8, 2010
Dead Love is a spellbinding story pitting a not-quite-zombie girl against a smitten ghoul, stealthy black-clad ninjas and tattooed Japanese gangsters. McFerrin's stunning prose evokes her story's shifting locations from Tokyo's clip joints and karaoke bars to a drug-runner's Amsterdam houseboat. Lovers of the vampire/zombie genre will drool over Dead Love. The rest of us will be amazed at how thrilling - and literate - a zombie novel can be.
December 8, 2010
This marks a fork in the road for the author. It's quite different from her other books, and you need to be ready for a delightfully ghoulishly bumpy ride. Confession: I meant to read this on my cross country plane trip, but failed to finish by the time we landed--because I kept re-reading passages. They're that good. Watanabe McFerrin may write compellingly about zombies, but she's anything but a zombie herself.
March 9, 2017
Cuando vi el libro y leí la sinopsis no pude evitar querer el libro, pero cuando lo comencé a leer se me hizo de lo más aburrido, no lo recomiendo en lo absoluto, la historia no siento que fuera a alguna parte y el personaje principal, Erin, era de lo más aburrida y sin historia. Las palabras rebuscadas lo hacen más pesado. Nuevamente, no lo recomiendo, y si le doy dos estrellas es porque la idea era buena y la portada está linda.
January 5, 2011
Not a typical zombie novel, more like magic realism with a zombie theme. Found it a bit slow starting, but it takes off around page 60 and never lets up after that. Fascinating cast of characters. Well-written throughout with some wonderfully wrought descriptive passages.
Want to read
May 29, 2010galley from BEA
April 20, 2011
It's almost impressive how she made a story about humans, ghouls, soul-snatchers and vampires existing in the same world this boring. Almost....
April 29, 2011
Zombies in Japan and Hati and Amsterdam and . . . Lots of creepy, sensuous fun.
Want to read
May 17, 2011Stoker Nominee, 2011
Read
January 12, 2017Review at asianamlitfans.
June 30, 2012
More traditional but more avant-garde than typical zombie fare, Dead Love is a fun book that's got itself some serious brains.
July 24, 2012
Yakuza Zombies in Tokyo. What else is there to say? Makes me want to go out and eat some brains. Really entertaining.
June 10, 2015
me gustó mucho, está bien escrito, me parece hasta un poco psicológico y el final... excelente
November 9, 2015
A pesar de que es un libro para adolescentes, la trama está muy bien desarrollada a la usanza japonesa, con un final quizás predecible, pero muy conmovedor.
Read
July 20, 2018It´s my favorite book, a great story about zombies and others creatures, great!!!!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews