Ian McClellan

I read this and liked it, end of review, okay, just a bit more.

It makes no odds to this reader that the novel starts with the premise that the 1969 moon landings were faked. This reader is fairly clear on the definition of fiction, the fact that the writer has to make a plea asking readers to stretch their imaginations is quite sad and reflects badly on those of us who cannot watch a film, or television series or even read a book of fiction without wagging a finger. What happened to celebrating artistic licence? It must be a real downer to be you, you are that guy! Imagine you’re at the movies, (very American), or the pictures, as we say in my part of England; Every audience member watching the screen is holding their breath, the soundtrack is pumping something high octane, famous star A, is chasing famous star B, down an alley, across a busy street, over a bridge, across another busy street, B manages to dodge one car and vaults over the hood of a second, just as A gets off the bridge, runs into the street and then bam, is knocked cold by the third car, a shiny new Cadillac. You jump up in your seat screeching, ‘That would never happen, cos General Motors did not introduce the Cadillac CTS until 2002 and this film is set in like 2001′.

Ged outtahere!

You are that guy!

(A survived cause he is famous).



The American government, and apparently the Russians, are bringing opium to the masses in the form of a well timed hoax. Get the public concentrating on puffing up their chests with national pride and they won’t see the danger in their midsts, clever.

I loved this multi-viewpoint, character driven, what if scenario. We even get a zombie’s and a dog’s eye view of the situation, unique. There is a lot going on besides the usual zombie fare of chase, chomp, chomp. Don’t get me wrong, we still get the chase and chomp, but these characters are well imagined and realistically written. Any sympathy you might have for one side character at the beginning, swiftly turns on its head when you realise he really got what he deserved. We meet a few more of the sidelined and usually insignificant characters, McClellan shows us how important these side characters are because in reality they are us. They are written in much in the same way fans of Stephen King will be familiar with. The ordinary Joann’s, the Randy’s to name just two.

McClellan aptly pays homage to the master, as Romero’s iconic 1968 Night of the Living Dead even gets referenced by several characters. The one film above all else that has influenced every zombie book, graphic novel, film and television series since its release.

It is not a particularly long book, but it feels much longer simply because of the wealth of action, no pointless descriptions, tight dialogue, no scene is wasted.

A well written, enjoyable and intelligent tale, I will be keeping a close eye on Mr McClellan in the future.



I read this and liked it, end of review.

Received from the author in exchange for an honest review.



Urthwild… (mer)