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Dead Tide #2
Dead Tide Rising
The sequel to Dead Tide continues the carnage in Pinellas Park near St. Pete, Florida. Follow all of the characters from the first book, Dead Tide, as they fight for survival in a world destroyed by the zombie apocalypse.
270 pages, Paperback
First published August 19, 2010
5 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Stephen A. North
14 books58 followersHe is the author of six novels, one novella, and several short stories.
He has a BA in English Literature from the University of South Florida, and is a former Army Reservist.
He enjoys many genres of books such as Science Fiction/Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Detective, Westerns, and Alternative History.
His favorite authors: ERB; Ray Bradbury; C.S. Forrester; Bernard Cornwell; Ursula Le Guin; Keith Laumer; Robert B. Parker; Robert Crais; Richard Laymon; Stephen King; Larry Niven; Roald Dahl, Wilbur Smith; J.R.R. Tolkien; Harold Lamb; George R.R. Martin; Michael Moorcock; Brian Lumley; Lee Child; Willi Heinrich; Heinrich Muller; Paul Carell; Guy Sajer; Alexander Kent/Douglas Reeman; Richard Monaco; Alan Burt Akers; Robert Heinlein; Roger Zelazny; Frank Herbert.
He has a BA in English Literature from the University of South Florida, and is a former Army Reservist.
He enjoys many genres of books such as Science Fiction/Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Detective, Westerns, and Alternative History.
His favorite authors: ERB; Ray Bradbury; C.S. Forrester; Bernard Cornwell; Ursula Le Guin; Keith Laumer; Robert B. Parker; Robert Crais; Richard Laymon; Stephen King; Larry Niven; Roald Dahl, Wilbur Smith; J.R.R. Tolkien; Harold Lamb; George R.R. Martin; Michael Moorcock; Brian Lumley; Lee Child; Willi Heinrich; Heinrich Muller; Paul Carell; Guy Sajer; Alexander Kent/Douglas Reeman; Richard Monaco; Alan Burt Akers; Robert Heinlein; Roger Zelazny; Frank Herbert.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 5, 2010
Dead Tide Rising is the sequel to Stephen North's Dead Tide, which maps out the zombie apocalypse from the perspective of a wide array of citizens of the Tampa Bay area of Florida. The unique geography of the area played a significant part of the first story and does as well in this follow up, boxing in the characters on every side but one with water, forcing them to cope with the undead with virtually no place to escape to. Stephen's unique storytelling spin also provides the reader with a different way of looking at the zombie apocalypse, with him thrusting you directly into the action, face first, in the present tense.
Dead Tide blew me away with its intense pace, harrowing action, and myriad of compelling characters. I knew there was no way Stephen North would be able to maintain such a heated pace in a sequel, and I was right. Dead Tide 2 is even more of a whirlwind of adrenaline fueled zombie terror than its predecessor. The author doesn't take his foot off the gas pedal for even one second in this intense sequel that outdoes the original.
We return to the stories of the characters who we got to know in the first installment in the trilogy. Characters like Hadley, Bronte, Talaski, Janicea, Trish, and Jacobs among others who are trying to cope with each other and the undead, but we are also introduced to an intriguing new character, Johnny, who wanders in and out of this story like a ghost, offering a unique perspective based on the fact that in some ways, he looks like one of the walking dead despite being very much alive. He promises to play an even bigger role in the third act of this story, though the second book ends much as the first did, with many unanswered questions about all of the characters, including Johnny, and who will and won't survive from one scene to the next.
Present tense narrative and having a wide range of characters filled the complaints about the first installation in this trilogy, and those complaints will likely remain for those who aren't fond of a story told with this much immediacy and with so many characters to focus on. There is little I can say to convince someone that they will enjoy this book if they are adamant about either aspect of the first book, except that Stephen North is a hell of a story teller, and it's a shame if you don't give his spin on the zombie apocalypse a shot. While present tense is non-traditional, I feel that it works well in action heavy stories like this one, where the reader is plopped right into a scene and gets to feel everything going on in it. There is an immediacy, an urgency about it that I really like. No, it doesn't work all the time and some stories would suffer for it, but Steve North's vision of the zombie apocalypse works exceptionally well because of it.
Dead Tide blew me away with its intense pace, harrowing action, and myriad of compelling characters. I knew there was no way Stephen North would be able to maintain such a heated pace in a sequel, and I was right. Dead Tide 2 is even more of a whirlwind of adrenaline fueled zombie terror than its predecessor. The author doesn't take his foot off the gas pedal for even one second in this intense sequel that outdoes the original.
We return to the stories of the characters who we got to know in the first installment in the trilogy. Characters like Hadley, Bronte, Talaski, Janicea, Trish, and Jacobs among others who are trying to cope with each other and the undead, but we are also introduced to an intriguing new character, Johnny, who wanders in and out of this story like a ghost, offering a unique perspective based on the fact that in some ways, he looks like one of the walking dead despite being very much alive. He promises to play an even bigger role in the third act of this story, though the second book ends much as the first did, with many unanswered questions about all of the characters, including Johnny, and who will and won't survive from one scene to the next.
Present tense narrative and having a wide range of characters filled the complaints about the first installation in this trilogy, and those complaints will likely remain for those who aren't fond of a story told with this much immediacy and with so many characters to focus on. There is little I can say to convince someone that they will enjoy this book if they are adamant about either aspect of the first book, except that Stephen North is a hell of a story teller, and it's a shame if you don't give his spin on the zombie apocalypse a shot. While present tense is non-traditional, I feel that it works well in action heavy stories like this one, where the reader is plopped right into a scene and gets to feel everything going on in it. There is an immediacy, an urgency about it that I really like. No, it doesn't work all the time and some stories would suffer for it, but Steve North's vision of the zombie apocalypse works exceptionally well because of it.
July 4, 2014
"The dead rule Saint Petersburg, FL. The living come to save it are worse."
-My tagline for this book.
There's two kinds of zombie novels. The first kind of zombie novel is the disaster story. The second kind of novel is survival horror. There's significant overlap between the two but it'll give you a rough idea of the two major trends in these kinds of stories.
Disaster stories are about the apocalypse itself. We get it from multiple perspectives, angles, and how it makes characters feel. While not a zombie story, you can look at things like The Day After Tomorrow to get a sense of what I mean. World War Z is, of course, the definitive work of disaster story zombie fiction.
Survival horror focuses on the troubles of a small group of individuals as we deal with them in a closed situation. This is the more Romero type of ordeal and thus the more common of the two stories. It requires a lot of effort to do the kind of multiple perspectives and global scale necessary to really get a sense of the apocalypse.
Dead Tide Rising exists in the middle of these two types, leaning towards the former. We get dozens or so accounts of survivors trying to live through the horrors of the Apocalypse but, in a real sense, it's all about their individual stories giving us perspective on the event itself.
Dead Tide Rising is the sequel to the original Dead Tide (reviewed here) which had a similar approach. The book was criticized because it had dozens of characters and very short chapters dealing with their reactions to events as they unfolded, switching rapidly between perspectives. Some wished he could have made a smaller cast or, at least, taken more time to give a stronger sense of each individual.
I think this is unfair because it misses the point. In addition to having several very memorable characters, this is not a series about the survivors like say The Walking Dead or The Becoming. This is a series about the end of the world. We get lots of action and personal tragedies but this is to let us know what the apocalypse is like. The citizens of Saint Petersburg, FL (like those in every city across America by this point) are losing their loved ones and watching their world end one person at a time.
I actually like the rapid switches between characters and the short chapters because it contributes to the general sense of chaos which the story is all about. We see people struggling to survive from every walk of life. Trish the Stripper, Mills the fireman, Jacob the psychopath, Tallaski the cop, Natalie the teenaged girl, and even the President of the United States. The event is happening to them and their personal melodramas from before are less important than the grand guginol going on around them.
It's kind of refreshing really.
Stephen Spielberg's War of the Worlds was a controversial movie but it had a similar idea about it. Cloverfield too. The situation is incomprehensible to the people on the ground and all they can do is try to get to safety.
The chaos, confusion, survivor's guilt, anger, and emotional trauma runs high throughout Dead Tide Rising. People say things they don't mean, do things they never would under normal circumstances, and make mistakes because they're not thinking clearly. After just three days of hell, all of the cast is running on no-sleep and is half-crazed.
One thing I liked in Dead Tide Rising is we get the government's perspective on the zombie problem. Jokes about the Pentagon's zombie preparation plan in real-life aside, it's fascinating to watch them portrayed as human. Given a completely out-of-context problem, they struggle to find solutions but make mistakes in the process which wear on them.
At one point, someone in the government (no one knows who) decided shooting everyone who might be infected was a good idea, only to find out the disease didn't work like that. The government forces in Saint Petersburg have to deal with the fact everyone now considers them butchers and doesn't believe them when they claim they're now evacuating survivors. This is in addition to guilt and trauma the people who did the shooting may now feel.
I also liked the depiction of the military. As a zombie-fighting force, the military is depicted as extremely good at their job. The problem is their orders are confused and muddled in a situation no one is prepared for. Also, which many military science-fiction authors forget, they're human.
Stephen A. North makes a commentary about class-relations in America while also throwing in a realistic subplot. Like in so many countries throughout history, when the military starts resenting the upper-class they're defending--the upper class may not survive very long. When the VIPs start evacuating their families while soldiers' own families are left behind, to say the latter are resentful is an understatement.
Of the characters in Dead Tide Rising, I think I enjoyed Trish and Natalie's the most with President Foster's story rounding them out. Their reactions to events were touching and I was quite concerned for the characters. Mills the Fireman, also, is the breakout star of the series and a character I'd like to see more of in the future. In a real way, I think I liked this better than the original Dead Tide. It's not going to be to everyone's tastes but what is?
10/10
-My tagline for this book.
There's two kinds of zombie novels. The first kind of zombie novel is the disaster story. The second kind of novel is survival horror. There's significant overlap between the two but it'll give you a rough idea of the two major trends in these kinds of stories.
Disaster stories are about the apocalypse itself. We get it from multiple perspectives, angles, and how it makes characters feel. While not a zombie story, you can look at things like The Day After Tomorrow to get a sense of what I mean. World War Z is, of course, the definitive work of disaster story zombie fiction.
Survival horror focuses on the troubles of a small group of individuals as we deal with them in a closed situation. This is the more Romero type of ordeal and thus the more common of the two stories. It requires a lot of effort to do the kind of multiple perspectives and global scale necessary to really get a sense of the apocalypse.
Dead Tide Rising exists in the middle of these two types, leaning towards the former. We get dozens or so accounts of survivors trying to live through the horrors of the Apocalypse but, in a real sense, it's all about their individual stories giving us perspective on the event itself.
Dead Tide Rising is the sequel to the original Dead Tide (reviewed here) which had a similar approach. The book was criticized because it had dozens of characters and very short chapters dealing with their reactions to events as they unfolded, switching rapidly between perspectives. Some wished he could have made a smaller cast or, at least, taken more time to give a stronger sense of each individual.
I think this is unfair because it misses the point. In addition to having several very memorable characters, this is not a series about the survivors like say The Walking Dead or The Becoming. This is a series about the end of the world. We get lots of action and personal tragedies but this is to let us know what the apocalypse is like. The citizens of Saint Petersburg, FL (like those in every city across America by this point) are losing their loved ones and watching their world end one person at a time.
I actually like the rapid switches between characters and the short chapters because it contributes to the general sense of chaos which the story is all about. We see people struggling to survive from every walk of life. Trish the Stripper, Mills the fireman, Jacob the psychopath, Tallaski the cop, Natalie the teenaged girl, and even the President of the United States. The event is happening to them and their personal melodramas from before are less important than the grand guginol going on around them.
It's kind of refreshing really.
Stephen Spielberg's War of the Worlds was a controversial movie but it had a similar idea about it. Cloverfield too. The situation is incomprehensible to the people on the ground and all they can do is try to get to safety.
The chaos, confusion, survivor's guilt, anger, and emotional trauma runs high throughout Dead Tide Rising. People say things they don't mean, do things they never would under normal circumstances, and make mistakes because they're not thinking clearly. After just three days of hell, all of the cast is running on no-sleep and is half-crazed.
One thing I liked in Dead Tide Rising is we get the government's perspective on the zombie problem. Jokes about the Pentagon's zombie preparation plan in real-life aside, it's fascinating to watch them portrayed as human. Given a completely out-of-context problem, they struggle to find solutions but make mistakes in the process which wear on them.
At one point, someone in the government (no one knows who) decided shooting everyone who might be infected was a good idea, only to find out the disease didn't work like that. The government forces in Saint Petersburg have to deal with the fact everyone now considers them butchers and doesn't believe them when they claim they're now evacuating survivors. This is in addition to guilt and trauma the people who did the shooting may now feel.
I also liked the depiction of the military. As a zombie-fighting force, the military is depicted as extremely good at their job. The problem is their orders are confused and muddled in a situation no one is prepared for. Also, which many military science-fiction authors forget, they're human.
Stephen A. North makes a commentary about class-relations in America while also throwing in a realistic subplot. Like in so many countries throughout history, when the military starts resenting the upper-class they're defending--the upper class may not survive very long. When the VIPs start evacuating their families while soldiers' own families are left behind, to say the latter are resentful is an understatement.
Of the characters in Dead Tide Rising, I think I enjoyed Trish and Natalie's the most with President Foster's story rounding them out. Their reactions to events were touching and I was quite concerned for the characters. Mills the Fireman, also, is the breakout star of the series and a character I'd like to see more of in the future. In a real way, I think I liked this better than the original Dead Tide. It's not going to be to everyone's tastes but what is?
10/10
March 30, 2022
I liked it but like the first thought it would have been an easier story to follow with longer chapters per character and maybe focus on fewer characters. Story was still good though and I was entertained.
July 12, 2014
The action and adventure continues in Stephen A. North's Dead Tide Rising, the follow up to the first book in the Dead Tide series. The book begins at the beginning of the zom-pocalypse with the addition of yet another character, Dead Eye Johnny, and we are then hurled head first back into the continuing saga of the first book as the undead rip through the Tampa Bay area.
Again, as with the first novel, it's definitely a fun read. I love the blood and guts, the storytelling is adventurous and risky, and there is plenty of zombie action and death scenes to go 'round. But just like the first novel, the follow up was just as confusing. In addition to the already overwhelming number of character view points, North has added the president of The United States, Dead Eye Johnny the cart pusher, the president's wife, and so on and so forth. I can only say so on and so forth, because after now reading two of North's books in the same series (nearly back to back) I can barely recall all of the characters' names and I couldn't begin to tell you anything other than their occupation.
My favorite kind of story is one in which I can identify or relate with at least one of the characters. I truly enjoy and have the ability to immerse myself into a book in which I genuinely care about someone in it. Unfortunately that is not the case in Dead Tide Rising. For however much I enjoyed the content of the book, I never truly found myself ever caring about the characters and I found that if any one of them were killed off and the third book in the series has an entirely new cast of characters, I would be fine with it. I never truly got to the point in which I wanted to see any of these peoples' stories played out, and again, as with the first book, I never found that "hook, line, and sinker" protagonist that made me root for them in any way.
I'm not bashing North's books by any means, if that were the case I wouldn't have finished them. In fact, I still have the desire to read the next book in the series. I just wish there weren't as many characters, or that at least the characters were defined by something more than their name.
Another quick thing to point out if you're planning on reading this zombie adventure, is that there is quite a bit of sexual tension between everyone all of the time, and rape tends to gets brought up quite a bit. Something that just didn't seem to fit well with the story was the fact that during the end of the world, everyone seems to want to have sex with everyone that they meet, at all times.
All in all, Dead Tide Rising entertains. It's not a book that bores you and it's definitely a book you'll be able to finish and enjoy. Again, North creates dialogue that is believable and genuine, something that matters a great deal to me when reading a book in any genre. I think this is another great addition to any zombie lovers collection. Just don't expect to remember the differences between different people unless you're really good with names.
Again, as with the first novel, it's definitely a fun read. I love the blood and guts, the storytelling is adventurous and risky, and there is plenty of zombie action and death scenes to go 'round. But just like the first novel, the follow up was just as confusing. In addition to the already overwhelming number of character view points, North has added the president of The United States, Dead Eye Johnny the cart pusher, the president's wife, and so on and so forth. I can only say so on and so forth, because after now reading two of North's books in the same series (nearly back to back) I can barely recall all of the characters' names and I couldn't begin to tell you anything other than their occupation.
My favorite kind of story is one in which I can identify or relate with at least one of the characters. I truly enjoy and have the ability to immerse myself into a book in which I genuinely care about someone in it. Unfortunately that is not the case in Dead Tide Rising. For however much I enjoyed the content of the book, I never truly found myself ever caring about the characters and I found that if any one of them were killed off and the third book in the series has an entirely new cast of characters, I would be fine with it. I never truly got to the point in which I wanted to see any of these peoples' stories played out, and again, as with the first book, I never found that "hook, line, and sinker" protagonist that made me root for them in any way.
I'm not bashing North's books by any means, if that were the case I wouldn't have finished them. In fact, I still have the desire to read the next book in the series. I just wish there weren't as many characters, or that at least the characters were defined by something more than their name.
Another quick thing to point out if you're planning on reading this zombie adventure, is that there is quite a bit of sexual tension between everyone all of the time, and rape tends to gets brought up quite a bit. Something that just didn't seem to fit well with the story was the fact that during the end of the world, everyone seems to want to have sex with everyone that they meet, at all times.
All in all, Dead Tide Rising entertains. It's not a book that bores you and it's definitely a book you'll be able to finish and enjoy. Again, North creates dialogue that is believable and genuine, something that matters a great deal to me when reading a book in any genre. I think this is another great addition to any zombie lovers collection. Just don't expect to remember the differences between different people unless you're really good with names.
September 11, 2014
I'm really enjoying this series.
There were characters that I liked that died but it's a zombie story so I'm okay with it. We met up with some new characters and some old ones too. The plot remains character driven with characters that seem real and cardboard stereotypes.
There was some violence against children that disturbed me but again in context it's not bad. Mostly the author gives you enough detail to give you that chill down your spine but not so much to be gratuitous. I have kids so it hits me a bit harder than it might other people.
I would love to mention a couple of plot points that I found really great. First, we actually get to meet the President. We get to hear his thoughts as he struggles not only with what is happened but also the fact that his loved ones are not in the bunker with him. We also get to see characters around him that are not blindly loyal. A point is made that these people are serving and guarding him while there own families are in jeopardy. I've never read a zombie novel where that is played out or even mentioned in passing. Again, the military are portrayed accurately and not a bunch of mindless drones rampaging and raping the countryside. This book got a star just for that.
All in all a great sequel to the first book. Off to find the third one.
There were characters that I liked that died but it's a zombie story so I'm okay with it. We met up with some new characters and some old ones too. The plot remains character driven with characters that seem real and cardboard stereotypes.
There was some violence against children that disturbed me but again in context it's not bad. Mostly the author gives you enough detail to give you that chill down your spine but not so much to be gratuitous. I have kids so it hits me a bit harder than it might other people.
I would love to mention a couple of plot points that I found really great. First, we actually get to meet the President. We get to hear his thoughts as he struggles not only with what is happened but also the fact that his loved ones are not in the bunker with him. We also get to see characters around him that are not blindly loyal. A point is made that these people are serving and guarding him while there own families are in jeopardy. I've never read a zombie novel where that is played out or even mentioned in passing. Again, the military are portrayed accurately and not a bunch of mindless drones rampaging and raping the countryside. This book got a star just for that.
All in all a great sequel to the first book. Off to find the third one.
August 21, 2014
I absolutely love this author's books. Write more!!!!! His style is interesting and unique. The plots are plausible. THe characters are rich. I cannot say enough about Mr. North. Set in Florida, has special ops characters. What's not to like? Espeically like Talaski. Can't wait for him to write more books. This is a one to watch author.
July 30, 2013
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Another editing project is now a published book! Be sure to follow the adventures of the core group in this sequel to DEAD TIDE and see if your favorite characters survive the zomboc.
May 15, 2014
YAYYYYYYYYYYYY! Another editing project is now a published book!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews