Now that The Walking Dead has finished its sixth season, what's a zombie fan to do? Writer Scott T. Goudsward has the answer with a new novel.
It all begins with a young family strolling through Boston Common following a night out at a Wiggles concert when a meteor shower goes from being beautiful to deadly. Years later the dead walk and pockets of survivors try to make the best of this new world.
Micah, the young boy from the opening sequence is older now, with a new mom, and he hasn't spoken since that fateful day nearly a decade ago. He communicates using a portable whiteboard and markers. He is also his community's unofficial historian, keeping journals of the events in their village.
A new arrival claims to know of a cure for anyone bitten and in danger of turning. He, himself, exhibits bite marks and seems fine. A trip to Florida to find the source of the cure is a dangerous undertaking.
Fountain of the Dead does have something many stories in this sub-genre lack, a cause and a possible cure. Much the same way The Walking Dead has evolved to seeing threats from other survivors be as much of a problem as the zombies, our group has to deal with a number of dangers from outside their little community. Don't get too attached to any one character, it seems as if they are all expendable, something I really like in a novel of this type.
Look for a genuine 'Oh, wow" moment at about the halfway point. When our travelers get to Georgia some one comments "We're just stopping to refuel right? I've hear bad things about Georgia. Supposed to be one giant walking graveyard." Wait, was that sly reference to The Walking Dead where the show is actually filmed?
Another thing I liked about this tale as that all of the trials and tribulations seemed utterly real and not too contrived.
Fountain of the Dead is published by Post Mortem Press and is available in paperback and e-book formats.
Recommended.
Scott T. Goudsward is the author of numerous short stories, screen plays and novels. He has had an avid interest in the horror genre since seeing the horror classic, Friday the 13th, when he was only 13. By total accident he hails from the same odd New England town--Haverhill, MA--that produced Puritan axe murderess, Hannah Dustin, beloved Abolitionist poet, John Greenleaf Whitter, and TV host, Tom Bergeron, and heavy metal rocker/movie director, Rob Zombie.
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