D.L. Snell, Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines

Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines

D.L. Snell

Permuted Press, Jun 2007, $12.95

ISBN: 0978970713

Living humanity's reign is through. First the Zombies devastated much of those still breathing. The few survivors were captured by Vampires, who saw their food supply dwindling towards extinction due to the violence of the dead. Now the berserker Zombies are literally at the door trying to break through barbwire and other barricades to get at the vampire clan and their lobotomized human cattle.

Vampiress Queen Shade wants only to keep her kingdom in tact; her top military officer General Frost feels the cost to maintain the status quo is more than just too high; inevitably the enemy will win. He believes they must flee to an island where the natural habitat will keep the Zombies away while they breed humans. However, neither vampire defenders, invading Zombies, and the few humans like Ann who can think realize that the new generation of the reanimated living dead is something more horrific and dangerous to all three species.

This is a terrific reworking of the zombie- vampire mythos that will grip readers from the moment the living dead attack the apartment building where the vampires are hiding and never slows down for a moment. The fast-paced storyline is so filled with action that George Romero would give it five stars. However, it it's the two lead vampires, Ann, and a dangerous reanimator who all seem genuine in this post-apocalyptic world that turns the Snell mythos into one of the better supernatural thrillers of the year.

Harriet Klausner