Reign of the Dead- A Review of the Novel by Len Barnhart

I can not believe I have not reviewed this one yet. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and then I guess it got lost on my shelf. I apologize for the oversight, this one is fun. The story starts with Jim who has been off "getting away from it all" at his remote cabin in the mountains. A place where there is no running water or electricity, no way to receive news. He has been up here for 3 weeks.

It is a bit of a surprise then when he heads back to civilization, not realizing until to late that it has changed. He gets back to the closest town and needs to refill his truck before heading on. Needless to say that is tough with zombies roaming. Having stopped he encounters some other survivors who are out foraging for needed items. They take him back to a small group of refugees.

This is a fairly busy book with a lot going on. We are introduced to this novels nutcase, an insane preacher in this case. This has very much been done, but here he takes psychological control of an orphanage. I think that is new.

Our main group we follow, with Jim and the others ends of at what appears a very safe place, a prison with self contained power. It is not luxurious, but is much better than what they have had, and the entire compound is surrounded by electrified fencing.

This refuge ends up not being so safe with the help of the bad guys, not to mention thousands of zombies, and they have to flee.

Another story going on is the government scientist and there mismanagement. Again, all done before, but it fits. One scientist ends of leaving and encountering Jim's group, and they all return to the government installation which has now been over run. They clear it and again have a place to live.

To summarize, this is a enjoyable read. Is it without faults? No. Several of the characters are type casted. Several events in this book have done before. What do you get? A very in depth telling of a group of survivors trying to survive. There is a lot here, and is continued to part 2, but that is for later.

It is available at Amazon.com I know, but is most likely anywhere. Enjoy reading.