I received a review copy of Chris Wade’s new book, Promiscuville: Rise of the Dead, and I was quite pleasantly surprised. Wade manages to captivate the reader with intense zombie action expertly described in scene after scene. Many times during my reading, I had to put the book down and check to see if any gore splattered on me; I felt as if I was there along with the characters.
Promiscuville is a very bad town – lots of prostitution, crime, adultery – a perfect setting for all hell to break loose. Wade seems to be making a statement on our current society with this book, and perhaps we should all take heed. The story starts off with Beth, a crazy woman being treated by psychiatrists for killing her wife-beating husband in a very disgusting and grotesque way. She claims innocence, but of course no one believes her. As I read about Beth, I felt that I was reading a cross between a Stephen King novel and a George Romero movie script. There was something creepy about this lady, so I wasn’t sure whether to like her or not. I was able to decide by the end of the book, though! Beth and a group of survivors have to make decisions if they want to stay alive, and not everyone makes good decisions.
I think Wade could have given us more background around the criminals – there is a lot of potential for weirdness there, but my imagination filled in the background for me, and I’m sure yours will, too. This is a great read, and I think Wade is on to something with the setting of Promiscuville. I can see a franchise of sorts similar to the famed town of Necropolis, with lots of ongoing stories as the town evolves through the apocalypse. Definitely worth your time to read this one.
