Robert Tozer ‘The Dead – Colonies Book 1’ Review

Written by: Myra Gabor

A virus has spread from Indonesia to Asia and then to the rest of the world.  It kills people, then reanimates them. Those who are the walking dead have an unquenchable desire to drink human blood and eat body parts. In other words, we are reading another zombie apocalypse novel.  It’s not giving the plot away to say that political inertia and corporate greed are behind the rapid spread of the virus.

Spencer is a key protagonist of the story.  He is a loner, but when he meets Lexi he lets her travel with him. Together they join a larger group seeking safety.  Spencer’s plan is for himself and Lexi to make their way to the West Coast and hopefully, a boat to sail away to some theoretical Isle of Eden.

We meet the survivors in their make-shift camp. They’re armed with whatever weapons they can find.  They live in RV’s behind a chain link fence and have to send out scrounging parties for whatever food and supplies they can find.

It’s a microcosm of society under siege.  We meet natural leaders as well as leaders who have the position thrust upon them.  We meet those timid souls who would rather be anywhere else than in their new reality. And there are also those who are phlegmatic and can cope with any reality.

It’s well written. The author slips easily back and forth from the present day to the past when he gives us the background of each of his survivors.  None of the people we meet know that the day before disaster strikes is truly the day before. How they cope with the loss of family and everything familiar, as well as adjusting to their new reality, is the core of the story.

The only reason I’ve given THE DEAD a 4 is because there are so many zombie apocalypse stories out there.  Although well written, there’s nothing about this book that makes it stand out from the hundreds of others out there.

Rating: 4/5