The Living Dead, (Hardcover)

4.5 Stars! I received an advanced reader copy from Macmillan/ Tor publishing. In the beginning there is John Doe. The death of a seemingly nicely dressed homeless person. The autopsy going differently than all others. Luis and Charlie had found patient zero. This begins the zombie apocalypse. While the story continues it separates into storylines that parallel each other. It's almost like reading short stories. For example, stories of a naval vessel, a teenager from a trailer park, a musician, a news station, government workers and two medical examiners all intertwined. You read about each of the characters and how they are doing throughout their apocolyptic experiences. Those important characters because they keep coming back. I don't normally like zombie stories. They're all so similar. Zombies come and kill everyone so people have to arm themselves and aim for the brain. This is similar, but the way the zombies are viewed and treated at the ends makes it unique. The ending has some interesting and unique twists, I really enjoyed. In the end living, dead, does it really matter? Reading this in the middle of a pandemic is interesting. Of course this is not a zombie apocalypse but overrun hospitals and panic? Lots of unknowns about the future? Sure there are some similarities. This was a worthwhile read despite the length. George Romero's legacy will live on and it was a privilege to read and review some of his last work.