Product Description

The outbreak began in 2007. It's now 2112.

The crippled U.S. government is giving up in its fight against an undead plague. Military forces and aid have been withdrawn from the last coastal cities, leaving those who choose to stay in the "badlands" defenseless against hordes of zombified humans and animals.

It's been a hopeless battle from the beginning. The undead, born of an otherworldly energy fused with a deadly virus, have no natural enemies.

But they do have one supernatural enemy... Death himself.

Descending upon the ghost town of Jefferson Harbor, Louisiana, the Grim Reaper embarks on a bloody campaign to put down the legions that have defied his touch for so long. He will find allies in the city's last survivors, and a nemesis in a man who wants to harness the force driving the zombies--a man who seeks to build an empire of the dead where America once stood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25365 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

Review
A macabre masterpiece of post-apocalyptic zombie goodness. -- Dr. Pus, Library of the Living Dead Podcast

Customer Reviews

Empire of the Dead, 4.5 stars
Empire takes place a century from now, long after the rise of the plague that caused the dead to rise. These zombies are a bit different than what we have seen in other works though: the dead have always had the ability to rise up when near places that are a "source" of supernatural power, but the plague came because the power of the source was laced with a deadly virus that allows their bites to transfer their infection, allowing them to perpetuate it and carry it through the entire human population. These zombies are tougher--some are faster, stronger, and continue to regain near living physical capabilities as they feed on the living. You can't just shoot 'em in the head and walk away, you need to sever the head and burn them...always burn them.
The story takes place in Jefferson Harbor, Louisiana near one of the sources of supernatural undead energy and likely the origin point of the plague. The military has pulled out, giving up on yet another coastal community as the remnants of the US government continues to consolidate its shrinking power to the north inside walled in cities. A few citizen's choose to remain behind, ignoring the goverment's pleas to go with them as the city is abandoned. Those that choose to stay include a cop who wants to protect those who have decided to stay, a rock group that has traveled the country trying to offer a bit of a distraction from the plague for the troops and citizens who struggle onward, a man who believes he understands the true power behind the source and wants to tap into it for his own evil purposes, and a dark visitor, the grim reaper, who wants to put a stop to the undead who have defied his scythe for far too long.
David Dunwoody has created a vibrant and creative tale of the undead, fresh with new ideas and yet still unleashing the vast flow of gruesome goodness a fan of zombie fiction craves. The grim reaper is by far one of the most traditional symbols of death but tying him into this story was definitely interesting and unique amongst the zombie tales I have read over the past few years. That this story takes place over a century beyond the inception of the plague also provides us with a different viewpoint than the traditional outbreak tale, with the entire cast of characters having lived with the undead their entire lives--death is all around them, waiting for them everywhere they look. They have a resigned nature to them, an acceptance that they are living quite possibly at the end of days. Most of the characters just want to hold on to what little life they have left, even if they know their end is coming soon.
While I liked the creativity of this plot, I guess my one issue would have to be with what I would call the grand delusions of Baron Tetch. A mad genius communing with old world powers that ooze out of the swamp close to where he lives, he cuts a disturbing figure of man who wishes to control the dead and create his own empire where he stands supreme above them. His desire for power should have been more sweeping, more awe inspiring. Somehow I felt he was more of just a puny madman than a wicked sorcerer communing with the old gods in a way that would bring down the wrath of Death himself. But this is a minor issue and does not take away from this gritty tale of life, death, and afterdeath. We have characters that feel real and complicated--they understand what they face and that more than likely they won't make it out alive but they keep on fighting, clinging to every bit of living they have remaining in them while the world around them crumbles. I particularly liked the character Vorhees, who seemed tenacious and determined, willing to sacrifice himself to salvage the unsalvageable, to save anyone he could regardless of the massive odds stacked against him.
A good read and a new and creative slant on the traditional zombie tale.

New Spin on a Proven Genre!
I went into EMPIRE fairly sure it was going to be another typical zombie story, the kind that's flooded the horror market a lot in recent years. There's only so much you can do with zombies, right?

Wrong.

Dunwoody puts such a fun unique spin on the old genre that I read this like a kid again. I hated putting the book down for the night. Each chapter added another piece to a puzzle while it solved another. EMPIRE kept me turning pages, shifting between fear and giggling with delight.

Who would be the natural enemy of a world now overwhelmed by zombies? Death. Why hasn't anyone else thought of that yet? Death comes to save the living so people can die once again instead of shambling around on Earth as brainless flesh eaters. Wow.

Only critique I would give is a lot of characters are thrown at the reader and often it takes a moment to remember who is who. But Dunwoody solves that problem by letting you know that no one is safe for very long.

I highly recommend this book. By nature, I am a horrible reader. Most books have me turning pages as if they are made of lead. But not this one. I hope Dunwoody continues with the cutting edge originality he's created here.

-Gregory L Hall

SOMETHING NEW IN THE ZOMBIE GENRE
100 years after the dead start to rise the military is abandoning Jefferson Harbor to consolidate their forces inland, leaving the few remaining residents to take care of themselves in a city that is almost completely out of resources. The story follows a police officer as he tries to protect the residents, a female singer who has been left behind, a holy woman as she tries to maintain a shelter, an undead as he hunts through the city with his trusty shovel, a madman who is trying to form the dead up into his own personal servants, and Death himself as he tries to deal with an anomoly that is making his job most frustrating.

David Dunwoody's novel isn't your typical zombie story. First, there is the variety of zombies. As they feed they become stronger and faster so there are zombies ranging from the Romero type of lumbering idiot to the fast and deadly variety. Also, there are two distinct types of zombies. One who is risen by the powers of the universe itself, and another type who is infected and can infect others. Another thing that separates this novel from others is the appearance of Death. He is almost like batman in the city of Gotham, a legend come to life. His frustration is obvious and his unique perspective on the situation separates this novel from other zombie works even more. The zombies aren't the only evil within the book. There are also callous men who are only looking out for themselves, a rapist among the few survivors and the Baron's civilized evil gives the book a nice twist.

If you are looking for something new and refreshing in the zombie horror genre then Empire is certainly it.