The Living Dead

The end of the world has been speculated about for centuries. The form of our demise remains open for debate. In The Living Dead, re-animated bodies begin to wreak unspeakable havoc upon our world. The hellish landscape is seen from various perspectives, from a government agency in Washington monitoring vital statistics to a trailer park in Missouri to a Medical Examiner’s office in San Diego where a John Doe begins to stir during the postmortem. The circumstances facing each character differs, yet the horrid sight of the recently deceased arising and attacking them and their fellow citizens alarms them to their very core. Luis and Charlie seek refuge from the brethren of John Doe in Luis’ house. Greer must fight tooth and nail to survive in her corpse-strewn trailer park. Etta Hoffman, an asocial office drone logs the growing death count while resigning herself to the confines of the government building. The unraveling of the situation is relayed by vapid news anchor Chuck Corso in Atlanta, whose time to shine has begun.

The Living Dead is the swan song of legendary filmmaker George Romero. His final work developed and finished by Daniel Kraus is a shocking yet brilliant horror masterpiece. The reader may know what they’re getting, but each chapter illustrates the exact opposite. The action never slows, the emotions run from terror to dark humor to sadness, yet there is beauty throughout.