Book Review: Dead Tide by Stephen Alexander North
DEAD TIDE by Stephen Alexander North is a re-release of a classic zombie novel. Well, classic may be stretching it, but it has a special place in my heart because it is the first zombie novel that I ever read. Published by Permuted Press when I was very new to the horror genre, I picked it up and was blown away by my fellow indie author's work. That was years ago, and the book has recently been re-released.
The premise of the book is straight-forward: there's a zombie apocalypse happening, and everyone is invited! Specifically, it is set in Saint Petersberg, Florida. Saint Petersberg is an affluent city in real life with a mixture of tourism, religious fanaticism, and a sharp divide between both the rich as well as the poor.
If you think I'm suggesting this book is going to have lot of George Romero-esque social satire. Well, you are correct. Thankfully, it was made before 2016 and thus the social satire is lacking most of the usual signifiers that can make anything resembling subtlety a nonexistent dream.
Instead, this is more universal in its themes. Which is a nice way of saying this is more like Dead Rising 2 or Dead Island than it is your typical Youtube video on the dangers of [insert outrage of the week].
Instead, the protagonists are generally normal people who are trying to make their way through the disaster of the city. Along the way they encounter the rich, poor, and fanatical who are taking advantage of the breakdown in society's orders to be exposed as their true primal selves. Guys take revenge on girls they think spurned them, racism rears its ugly head, and other people try to make money in a time when it's the least of anyone's concerns.
That doesn't mean the book isn't without humor either. The book freely uses the premise that zombie movies exist in this world, and everyone is confused as to why a wholly fictional monster is now rampaging through the world. I always enjoy when characters are genre savvy even if it is otherwise a straight horror adaptation. There's some genuine drama too like the fact a child is bitten, and he's surrounded by people willing to kill to protect him. Why? Because that's what you do with a child.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic novel and if you like horror, especially zombie horror, then you will love this. It is a well-written, tight, and well-characterized story with a bunch of likable protagonists as well as hate-able antagonists. It has some decent social commentary but nothing that distracts from the premise as well. I highly recommend it and equate it with the early seasons (or video games) of The Walking Dead.
