Brian Keene Dead Sea

Dead Sea

Brian Keene

Leisure, Aug 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 9780843958607

In East Baltimore Lamar Reed is a gay loner who lost his job when the Ford plant closed. He sees on the news a horrid event of rats coming out of the sewers attacking people; the rodents were dead. Soon after those bitten die, they come back as zombies feasting on live human flesh. Dogs and cats also return as zombies.

The plague spreads around the world leaving Lamar stranded in his apartment until a fire makes him flee his sanctuary. He meets two children, eleven years old Tasha and eight years old Malik who save his life. They flee towards the harbor where they meet Mitch Bollinger who saves their lives. The foursome mange to scramble onto museum ship USCGC Spratling just before it sails on Chesapeake Bay. Feeling safe, but needing supplies, they will soon learn land, air and water are unsafe as the disease crosses species.

Paying homage to Joseph Campbell mythologist theory with overt references, DEAD SEA is an exhilarating end of the world thriller that grips the audience from the moment the TV news shows the dead rat invasion in New York. The story line never slows down as the "hero" and the "warrior" try their best to protect the two children. Fans will appreciate the RISING of the dead tale although the original cause is not known; survival is a human instinct.

Harriet Klausner