Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56854 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

Synopsis
Jonah Caine, a lone survivor in a zombie-infested world, struggles to understand the apocalypse in which he lives. Unable to find a moral or sane reason for the horror that surrounds him, he is overwhelmed by violence and insignificance. After wandering for months, Jonah's lonely existence dramatically changes when he discovers a group of survivors. Living in a museum-turned-compound, they are led jointly by Jack, an ever-practical and efficient military man, and Milton, a mysterious, quizzical prophet who holds a strange power over the dead. Both leaders share Jonah's anguish over the brutality of their world, as well as his hope for its beauty. Together with others, they build a community that reestablishes an island of order and humanity surrounded by relentless ghouls. But this newfound peace is short-lived, as Jonah and his band of refugees clash with another group of survivors who remind them that the undead are not the only-nor the most grotesque-horrors they must face.

Customer Reviews

Christian Propaganda
When I finished this book I had an awful sense of some sort of subliminal aftertaste and when I checked the authors website my worst fears were confirmed: this is a born again Christian trying to shove his beliefs down readers throats.
Whether the author wants to be regarded as a mainstream, popular writer is unknown but with the lack of regard for non-Christian readers I don't think he'll have much success in this department though according to his website he's already "huge in the UK" (?).

The writing is fine and as a story its interesting for a time, but in the end the right wing, closed minded creationism views overwhelm any sense of this book being a horror novel and instead push it towards religious conversion. Finally, it drags itself over the finish line with a lumbering jerk. Be aware of the Christain preaching before you buy, thats all.

The best zombie book i've read!
This is a very intelligent, believable and brutal account of a small group of survivors in a world brought to its knees by a zombie apocalypse. Much like the undead I have an insatiable hunger - fortunately mine doesn't involve human flesh rather I devour zombie fiction, as soon as I finish one book I am reaching straight for the next...except after reading Kim Paffenroth's Dying to Live instead I actually moved on to a different genre for my next book as a mark of respect, let me explain...
Reading Dying to Live is much like having an open wound on your exposed flesh and being forced to walk through a jungle of brambles, you know that the wound isn't going to get a chance to heal, at some point a thorn is going to catch the wound, causing intense pain and inflicting more damage. Therefore every step you take is with breath held ready for the inevitable but even then when the thorn does catch the pain still takes you by surprise and makes you yelp. Dying to Live is delivered with such pace and with brutally creative writing that you will hold your breath, never trusting the writer not to dig the thorn in and rightly so because Kim Paffenroth really knows how to grip your mind with terrible moral and emotional dilemmas and no punches are pulled when Kim describes the humans' encounters with the dead. He does so without allowing his conscience to overrule moments that other writers might cower from describing, perhaps afraid of causing offence or being labelled 'sadistic'. Don't misunderstand me, the book isn't gratuitous with its use of gore, it always fits with the scene and helps the story to flow.
So if this book was as good as I say then why did I not want to go straight onto another zombie book? Simple, I wanted to savor what I had just read. It left me thinking about the characters and the world they were left with and I wasn't ready to replace that straight away with another author's vision of a zombie world.
I have just ordered Kim Paffenroth's latest book so I will soon return to the genre but for the moment i'm simply dying to live.

Good first half - but please don't preach!
I'm a big Zombie genre fan and this was the first zombie novel I've read. In parts, written with real creativity and believability. However, I did get a little irked with the religious undertones. At first he is doubting the existence of god, but after a few very lucky (and somewhat unbelievable) scrapes, his relationship with 'the man upstairs' seems to have been rejuvenated.

I thought that as people were calling it the 'thinking man's zombie novel' it would be about interpersonal relationships in times of difficulty rather than personal struggles with the existence of god. The bit when Milton (half human/half undead) comes to 'save them' carrying a staff and parting the zombie hordes was an obvious reference to the Bible. It comes to light in the last pages, after the epilogue, that the author studied Christianity which explains things and leaves me feeling a little preached at to be honest.

I did have a little issue with timescale also, Jonah meets the people at the museum and the next moment he's a trusted and integrated member of the group, cosying up with the 'leaders' and becoming good pals with the messianic Milton. It all seemed a little 'just as if' but as the book is written from his perspective, and as it is essentially a 'horror' novel, too much 'in-between bits' might slow it down I suppose.

Overall, A compelling first half; thought provoking and realistic (if the marauding undead can ever be realistic!?) KP has obviously done his research on all things military as well, with some cleverly descriptive passages which do immerse the reader. A disappointing second half though, gory yes, but tries too hard to get a message accross - humans are our own worse enemy and trust in god as he'll see you through.