I just finished The Dead by Mark E Rogers last night. I haven't been reviewing the books I read, but I thought I'd make an exception in this case.
The Dead is the Tim Lahaye/Jerry Jenkins Apocalypse done by a Catholic in one thin book. As self-published books go, it's fairly well written. It helps that Rogers is an established writer. The book comes with original art that is evocative, but not as good as Rogers' previously published work.
The plot is simple and moderately obvious. Zombies do not scare me, so I didn't find it especially scary. And the characterization is stereotypical. However, the theological discussion is most entertaining if you're currently embroiled in any of the mainstream church controversies. Catholics and Episcopalians will find it particularly relevant. There is one conversation between Father Tim and Father Chuck that I expect will make any revisionist writhe. That it takes place in a tunnel, surrounded by zombies makes it even more gripping.
While I enjoyed reading The Dead, I really wish the author/artist would return to his roots and start writing genre bending parodies again.
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It is only this edition of THE DEAD that is self-published. The original book was published in 1989by Berkley. That copy went out of print and he re-published it through Infinity to give another generation a chance to read this before-its-time, Catholic apocalyptic novel. I love this book, both for the theological discussions, as you say, and because oddly enough it is one of the few zombie tales that I HAVE found enjoyable. To unite the Catholic understanding of the Book of Revelation to a plague of zombies is brilliant. If you haven't read them, you should read his Blood of the Lamb trilogy, a re-telling of Christ's story in his imagined sword and sorcery world. The Expected One and The Riddled Man are the two titles I remember. All three are also out of print.
Rae
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