Road Trip of the Living Dead

Look out Max Brooks and Candace Bushnell here comes Mark Henry with his leading lady Amanda Feral. It's a glorious read for the fashion minded, action loving set with a thing for the undead.

Amanda Feral and the gang (Gil and Wendy) are back and hungrier than ever. Amanda has received a letter informing her that her Mommy Dearest is about to kick the bucket. Knowing Amanda and her heart of gold, she decides to toss the letter in the trash. Meanwhile, Gil has started up a new business "Luxury Resurrection" for the undead-to-be who can afford to rise in style. Perhaps, there ought to be a better-business-bureau for the undead because Gil totally screws up and pisses off the gansta vamp. Needing to flee and split town on the double, the zombies and the vamp decide Amanda's mom couldn't cash in her chips at a better time and set off on their roap trip. They meet interesting characters during their trip. From scabby vampire leftovers, to revenge of the cleavers to werewolf stalkers to the horrors of Wal-Mart apparel; this book never missed a beat. I swear, this book has some of the most inventive and funniest zombie scences I've ever read. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the series. I also look forward to book three- Battle of the Network Zombies due out March 2010. I also recommend: Underground (Greywalker, Book 3) Second Skin (Nocturne City, Book 3) ReVamped (Void City, Book 2) Red-Headed Stepchild (Sabina Kane) Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3)

In Seattle nightlife lover Amanda Feral wishes American had more of a fashions sense especially those people she dines on when she eats their brains; though if they understood fashion, she might not use them as dessert. The zombie fashion hound learns her abusive mother Ethel is dying so she decides to pay her respects to the wicked witch of the northwest. She persuades her friend zombie Wendy Miller to go with her to Rapid City, South Dakota, home of the fashion-challenged and mommy meanest. The two zombiettes decide to stay in town for one more night before the trek to mommy meanest. However, their friend gay vampire Gil angers a strip club owner, making it imperative he leave town immediately. The trio flees as werewolves give chase while Amanda's pickups seem to lose their heads, but their biggest fear is the shopping horde at Kmart. This is a wild zany bawdy urban horror thriller (see Happy Hour of the Damned) starring no heroes. The story line is fast-paced with plenty of graphic blood, guts, and sh*t letting. The road warriors are a crude but fun bunch while the tale needs to carry two warnings: don't eat while reading this novel and cover your genitals with armor at all times. Sort of placing Divine of Pink Flamingos fame in a George Romero movie as Mark Henry is over the Rocky Mountains with this wild ROAD TRIP OF THE LIVING DEAD. Harriet Klausner

The fearsome threesome is back in Road Trip of the Living Dead. When Amanda gets a letter stating that her mother is dying, her first instinct is to pitch the letter and forget about it. After all, what did her mother ever do for her? Wendy and Gil appeal to the softer side of Amanda's conscience. When things go wrong with a client in Gil's new resurrection business, off they go to the middle of nowhere to pay one last visit to the woman who gave birth to Amanda. Along the way, they encounter some unusual characters. And of course, they also manage to encounter more trouble. Will Amanda be able to keep from bashing in her mother's head with a bedpan? Will she be able to retain her youthful good looks while in the middle of danger? I have to admit, I had bought Happy Hour of the Damned about two days before meeting Mark Henry at RT last year. It was nowhere near the top of my reading list, but when I came home, I sat down and started to read it. As I read the first chapter, I was not sure I wanted to keep reading the book, but by the time I finished it, I was glad I did. I knew I could not wait until he finished the next book. To find out that it would not come out until the following year was pure torture. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I got my hands on a copy for review. I loved it! Road Trip of the Living Dead is definitely worth 5 tombstones. Amanda Feral is not your typical zombie and if it were not for her eating habits, you would never guess that she was anything but a diva. Road Trip is very snarky and, at times, very funny. Mr. Henry uses footnotes throughout the book as well as playlists and various other little unexpected surprises. By the time you finish the book, there is almost no way that you can dislike Amanda, Wendy and Gil, even if they do seem shallow and selfish at times. I do caution the faint of heart to read this a little bit at a time, as reading about zombies does tend to be a little...gross at times. Pick up Mark Henry and give his series a try. Road Trip is a fantastic read and you will not be disappointed. Reviewed at Bitten by Books Paranormal Fiction Review Site by Virginia

This is no club opening. Zombie Amanda Feral, gal pal Wendy, and vamp cohort Gil are on the road, making a mad dash away from the newly-vamped gangster who is out to end Gil's unlife. Facing such savage threats as werewolf thugs, vengeance seeking girls with guns, overly-polite cultists, and K-Mart shopping, the gang makes their way to the deathbed of Amanda's mother. Amanda's not interested in closure, but she wouldn't mind making sure her Mommy Dearest is ushered off into the next world permanently. Besides, what better way to let a gangster cool his heels than flee town? But of course, things are never that simple, and we lucky readers get to delve not only into Amanda's past (showing some depth beneath that shallow exterior), but get taken along for the chaos of the road trip of an after-lifetime. Read my full review at http://www.flamesrising.com/road-trip-living-dead-review/