Tim Curran's epic Zombie adventure is bloody, raw and violent. Mecilessly violent. Diabolically violent. You will need a strong constitution just to read the book. Do I need to say it's not for children or the easily offended?
The M/C in Cannibal Copse M/C is for motorcycle club. Hey, even with the cover, I didn't know that until I was reading the book. M/C mentality is central to the theme in this one, but due to the "Outbreak" times have changed.
Our protagonist, Slaughter, finds himself "longing for the good old days when you patched with a good club, pushed some blow and crank, took to the road on your steel horse with your brothers, and your enemy stayed down dead when you shot him."
Where Slaughter goes, carnage follows. It's unrellenting and if I have any complaint about this fast-paced post apocalyptic thriller it's that there are times when even I found it to be more than over the top. It's obvious Curran is not a beliver in the modicum - less is more.
Early on in the saga, Slaughter is given a chance to wipe clean his considerable record with what authority there might be left in the world, more important, he's given a chance to keep his brother from the death penalty. He is reunited with several members of his M/C DEVIL'S DISCIPLES and sent on an impossible mission to what's left of the NORAD site in North Dakota to attempt the rescue of the one woman who may be able to turn the tide against what has happened to humanity.
I have no idea how the author was able to continue to find new and increasingly disturbing ways to describe the images and scents on Slaughter's quest westward. He must have left his thesaurus in shambles along the way.
Here's a great quote from Cannibal Copse M/C that provides a nice synopsis of the story. "...here in the Deadlands a few days could be an awfully long time. In a few days you could meet a crazy old Indian barbecue king who could tell you wild tales about a Skeleton Man and you could trip your brains out on peyote and have visions and hold court with Black Hat and face down a town full of zombies only to be taken prisoner by the Red Hand and be forced to fight against a giant wormboy only to barely escape a worm rain and hook up with a neurotic young woman whom you begin to feel protective of only to see her dragged off by mutants. And then there was always the bit about the woman squeezing out worms and becoming some kind of f___ing seer. Yeah, a few days in the Deadlands could be like a lifetime of revelation and pain and horror."
Not the great American novel, but if you're looking for pure escapism, it's tough to find better.
If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, this one is still free in their kindle lending library. I any case I found it to be a nice diversion from the horrors of everyday life.
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