Deathbringer

In the small town of Dandridge an ancient hatred is rekindled. A blinding desire for revenge, for freedom, for the ultimate power is born from the blackest heart filled with darkness and centuries old despair caused by a bleak existence devoid of humanity and compassion. An existence whose sole remaining purpose is to destroy everything that was once beautiful in the world. To create a necropolis; a vile circle ultimately leading into the spiraling chasm of living death where all life is consumed in the chaotic dance of power and vengeance, sorrow and confusion, and a mind altering evil so foul in its origins and ultimate desire as to be unthinkable. A world of despair, a world dominated and ruled by the feared Reaper and his fellow companions of darkness. The merciless cycle begins as formerly innocent citizens of the sleepy town of Dandridge claw themselves from their graves preying upon loved ones, upon neighbors and friends. As their ravenous craving for living flesh is sated, their former companions join the legion of the dead spreading more woe and suffering. At the centre of this bizarre tale are the few remaining citizens of an ever deteriorating world. Will these woebegone individuals be able to assuage their fear and grief as the tide of destruction consumes their lives and engulfs everything they ever believed in? Will they be able to defeat the powerful and ultimately evil Deathbringer and his necromantic schemes or will they soon be added to his growing legion of the dead? Will they forever be his blood thirsty minions prowling throughout their bleak existences satisfying their all consuming hunger and bitterness upon a world they once cherished or will they be able to end this reign of terror? Can the necropolis that has been created be ended and the world returned to its former orderliness or have the events that have transpired on this fateful night destroyed everything forever? Where will the destruction begun by one so vile, so long removed from any semblance of humanity, end? Shall darkness forever rule this world? The terrifying epic of a world gone awry has begun. . . I was impressed by all aspects of this novel but was particularly enthralled by one such aspect to the point of being deeply drawn into the story. Instead of reading due to a general feeling of curiosity, I was drawn into the earth shattering events begun in Dandridge, and soon to spread worldwide by the characters' perceptions of the deterioration of all they ever held dear. As the merciless dead began to rise from their graves imbued with an abnormal strength never experienced in life added to an all-consuming desire to prey upon the living, they begin to torture and devour those they once loved in many graphic sequences. As the few remaining citizens of Dandridge namely Mike, Erin, Avery, and Melinda begin to discover the dire events that have mysteriously transpired on this seemingly innocuous night they are subjected to encountering the decayed parody of

Deathbringer reads like a zombie flick filtered through the format of the classic spaghetti western. A stranger comes to town and helps the townfolk out against the threat...in this case the living dead. Normally that kind of plot would give me a chuckle rather than a jolt, but this new guy, author Bryan Smith, does a good job of moving the story along and making the action scenes pop. I'd like to see more of Smith's writing. He writes with the same kind of flair as John Carpenter showed in his early films...particularly THE CRAZIES.

I'm a sucker for a good juicy (I know, that's a weird word choice) zombie novel. Bryan Smith does not disappoint in Deathbringer, which has all of the right elements: lots of gore, action, likeable characters, and a murky mood.

I started reading this book and could not put it down. I loved the setting of the story being set in Middle Tennessee since I am originally from Nashville. Bryan Smith's writing is addictive and reminds me a lot of Stephen King. I was quickly entranced and can't wait to read his next book and his first book House of Blood. I don't want to ruin the plot but I will say that the day of George Romero's slow, unthinking zombies are over.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good old fashioned horror romp, dealing with one of my favorite monsters: Zombies. It was a very quick read, the plot progressed at a very fast pace, and I read it in one day. I would definitely recommend this book to any Laymon or Keene fans.