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    Dead (A Lot)
    Dead (A Lot)
    Dead (A Lot)
    Ebook376 pages5 hours

    Dead (A Lot)

    By Howard Odentz

    4.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Last Friday night, the world changed--and not for the better.

    Zombies are among us. School's out for the foreseeable future, and with Mom and Dad at the lake house, my twin and I are on our own in this mess. Which is fine as long as we can avoid being on the menu.

    Tripp Light's teenage world is suddenly filled with "poxers"--the infected ones, the ones that have the Necropoxy virus. In an entire world gone mad and bad, Tripp's only hope of survival is to clear a path through zombie land with his sister and head for the hills (aka his aunt's farm) to rendezvous with his parents.

    Success clearly favors the fittest and the fastest. Survival demands the twins make hard, ruthless decisions, but that all changes when Tripp and his twin hear a distress call via the radio. Prianka Patel, a girl Tripp loves to hate, is trapped and surrounded in a bakery. Soon, the twins have quite a collection of misfits and survivors and miles to go before anyone can sleep safely again.

    No matter where Tripp looks, everyone everywhere is dead.

    Like really dead . . . a lot.

    Howard Odentz is a life-long resident of Western Massachusetts, where he divides his time between writing and tending a small farm. His love of animals, along with the lore of the region, often finds its way into his stories. The supernatural plays a major role in Mr. Odentz's writing. He is endlessly fascinated by the psychological aspects of those who are thrown into otherworldly circumstances.

    In addition to Dead (A Lot), he has penned two full length musical comedies, including "Piecemeal," which tells the backstory of Victor Frankenstein's Hollywood-created protégé, Igor.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBelleBooks
    Release dateJul 31, 2013
    ISBN9781611943498
    Dead (A Lot)
    Author

    Howard Odentz

    Howard Odentz is a life-long resident of Western Massachusetts, where he divides his time between writing and tending a small farm. His love of animals, along with the lore of the region, often finds its way into his stories. The supernatural plays a major role in Mr. Odentz's writing. He is endlessly fascinated by the psychological aspects of those who are thrown into otherworldly circumstances. In addition to Dead (A Lot), his first novel, he has penned two full length musical comedies. "In Good Spirits" is inspired by the real-life ghostly experiences of a community theatre group and their haunted stage. "Piecemeal" tells the backstory of Victor Frankenstein's Hollywood-created protégé, Igor. Visit the author at HowardOdentz.com.

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    Reviews for Dead (A Lot)

    4.5/5

    11 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I was initially drawn in by the cover of this book. The bad news is the cover has very little to do with the actual book. The good news is it's still a really good book.Dead (A Lot) follows the Light twins, Tripp and Trina, as they maneuver through a world overrun with Necropoxy, a virus that turns people into zombies, and make their way to their aunt's farm in the country, picking up stray survivors along the way.The story is told in the first person POV of Tripp Light. I'm not going to lie, he's not perfect. He's a bit selfish, a bit self-centered, and a bit lacking in the tact and sensitivity departments. All in all, he's your average teenage boy. The voice and characterization is spot on and I loved it for that.Right out of the gate, the plot is fast-paced and action packed (like any good zombie book should be) and infused with some great humor. It's a fun and entertaining ride and I was sad when it can to the end. Over the course of the book, I really came to care about the motley cast of characters and enjoyed reading their interactions.The gore level is HIGH in this book; more so than I was expecting based on the cover. There were a few parts that made me a bit squeamish, so if you're sensitive to that kind of thing, be forewarned.I would definitely recommend adding this book to your shelf if you're a fan of zombies. And even if you're not a fan, I still think you should give this book a try, it will make a great introduction to the genre.I received a free copy of this book to review.
    • 5/5
      Tripp Light never expected the zombie apocalypse. Who would? With the number of pop culture references out there, who would be dumb enough to start one? Well someone did. It's called Necropoxy. Most of the population has been infected by the airborne disease. Surrounded by poxers, Tripp and his sister Trina have to fight their way to safety. But can two teens survive in this world?Zombieland meets Shaun of the Dead in this satirical story of the zombie apocalypse.As Tripp and Trina plow their way through poxers with a Hummer they save whoever they can along the way. And of course Tripp's classroom nemesis Prianka is one of those saved. As much as he wanted to leave her behind. The two will create an entertaining banter back and forth as they have a battle of wits over what to do.Along with Prianka is her little brother Sanjay. Sanjay is autistic. This is the first time I have read a book with an autistic character. And Sanjay is not a character to fade into the background. He is active and helpful throughout the storyline. I grew to love Sanjay. To be honest, he and his stuffed animal Poopy Puppy were my favorite characters. And bringing along a character who is autistic during a zombie apocalypse is not easy, but the dedication everyone showed to Sanjay was heartwarming.I appreciated the wide cast of characters in this novel. Another of the main group was also wheelchair bound. The group did encounter difficulties you don't see in mainstream zombie pop culture because of this cast of characters. Howard Odentz did a wonderful job of showing their limitations and strengths. Just because they were disabled it didn't mean they couldn't do anything. All the characters pitched in when challenges arose.I will admit that some of the humor in this may offend people. Tripp starts as an ignorant kid and can be smart mouthed around people who are disabled. The characters do call him out on some of the things he says, but a lot of his commentary is in his head. Keep in mind this is all part of his character development. He will grow to understand that even if you have a disability, it doesn't make you any less able.I am looking forward to the next in this series!
    • 3/5
      2.5/5 stars

      First things first, huge TRIGGER WARNINGS: I nearly didn't get past the first quarter of this book because the narrator--Tripp--is an offensive teenaged boy in a racist, misogynist, ableist way. He thinks of his Hindi friend as being pretty in "that exotic, dark haired, foreign sort of way;" he finds the actions of her autistic brother to be "creepy" and then thinks the child looks "pretty normal;" constantly makes misogynistic jokes and comments about his twin sister; and thinks of a person in a wheelchair as being in "the tragic chair" and being "a human cart on steroids." Tripp changes over the course of the book. He shuts up, he watches, he listens, he learns. He goes through a lot of stuff before he gets to the place where he stops thinking and acting like a horrible person. You may or may not be able to stay with the book long enough to see this happen.

      I stuck with the book through this because the rest of the story interested me. (Though one ableist comment in particular nearly had me throwing in the towel. I'd say throwing the book, but it's an ereader and I'd never.) It's another zombie apocalypse, sure, and nothing particularly new about the way it's done. But it takes place in Western Massachusetts and since I'm very familiar with the area I was curious. It was fun to see the zombies roaming over the roads I've driven, it was fun to see them through Tripp's eyes.

      I'm still unsure about the characters in this book. I liked them well enough, though only Tripp, Sanjay the young autistic savant, and Jimmy (the character with the wheelchair) really came to life for me. I couldn't seem to get a trip on Trina or Sanjay's sister, and I definitely would have liked to.

      (Provided by publisher)

    Book preview

    Dead (A Lot) - Howard Odentz

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