Deadlands: Book Two

THE DEAD WON'T DIE by Joe McKinney is the second book in the Deadlands series. The survivors from Arabella have arrived in Temple, only to be treated as criminals and mocked for their Code. While the first installment is a zombie horror novel, this book is a sci-fi crime drama, and the undead are just about the only thing the two stories have in common, aside from the three main characters. The writing style has changed so much, I wouldn't believe this to be a McKinney novel, if his name wasn't on the front cover.

I appreciate reminders of what happened in the previous book, but the author references the events in PLAGUE OF THE UNDEAD so often throughout this sequel, the pace of the story drags like the broken leg of a zombie. I'm also disappointed by how little takes place. There is a lot of action, but not much progress is made by the characters, and the ending is abrupt. I'm also shocked at how bad the editing is...more than once, a section of dialogue seems to be missing from a conversation.

I'm kind of sick of the characters at this point, as well. Jake keeps flashing back to having teenage sex with Kelly, Kelly barely shows any personality, and Chelsea is always screaming and crying. How in the hell they've managed to stay alive with all the noise they make is a mystery to me. Even for fiction, it's just ridiculous.

I hope McKinney returns to the style of writing he uses in the first book, otherwise, I don't see myself recommending this series. If you're expecting this to be anything like his Dead World series, you're going to be disappointed.

As always,
AstraDaemon