Deadlands by Scott A. Johnson

reviewed by Wayne Simmons, author of the forthcoming 'Drop Dead Gorgeous.'

Author: Scott A. Johnson

Publisher: Batwing Press (Harbour House Books)

No. Of Pages: 190

I’ll be short and sweet about the theme for DEADLANDS, Scott A. Johnson’s second horror novel. Think MAD MAX futuristic/ post-apocalyptic wasteland . Throw in some ROMERO style zombies. Add a sprinkle of BRIAN KEENE-ESQUE talking/ clever-clogs zombie godfathers. Serve hard, fast and pulpy.

Now, is that your cup of tea for a 190 page horror read? I’ll be honest, it wouldn’t normally be mine. However, whilst it took me way longer than expected to get through DEADLANDS (I started/ I stopped/ I started again…) it would be unfair to suggest my reading speed as a measure of this novel’s quality…

DEADLANDS is an honest-to-hell pulp-fiction zombie romp telling the story of Christian and Cadence, a youthful brother and sister combo employed by the dwindling human population. They’re both Guardsmen, a rag-tag assortment of warriors whose job it is to protect the desert settlements of the few remaining human colonies, warding off an ever-increasing tide of walking dead. Yet, whilst Johnson’s novel is set in the future, a nuclear war in days gone by has destroyed pretty much every memory of modern weaponary, leaving our heroic warriors reliant on blow-darts and melee blades as their principal means of defence.

Scotty-boy’s writing style is smooth, and easy to digest, even for the most casual of reader. The main characters are nicely filled out without too much distraction from the storyline - a hook-laden, fast-pumping rollercoaster in a MAD MAX-esque wasteland.

It’s not without its problems, of course. Whilst the strong story does, indeed, drive DEADLANDS, I was left somewhat unfulfilled by the lack of character development for some of the piece’s co-stars. Much of the focus was on the siblings, meaning some important side-characters were left 2-diminesional, ultimately leaving their fates somewhat irrelevant. If I didn’t know, or feel much for them, I wasn’t really going to care what happened to them.

Also, in places it felt like I was reading the script of Smallville – or some similar TV show. Especially with regards to the dialogue. For a piece which showed much promise in terms of blending sub-genres, with ease, there were moments when the conversation between characters felt clichéd, albeit well executed.

DEADLANDS is a fiery-paced, futuristic zombie-horror, with some nice touches of innovation (the Sea Of Glass, in particular, rocked my world). Johnson’s confident writing style should hold the attention of most horror-fans from atmospheric start to heart-breaking climax. For an innovative take on a sometimes-formulaic sub-genre, you could do a lot worse than this particular yarn…