Review: Deadlocked by A.R. Wise

Deadlocked by A.R. Wise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a free promotion from Audible, the purpose being to entice readers to buy later installments. If one is a fan of zombie novels, one might be tempted. My reading and TV watching history notwithstanding, I am not especially.

Part one of Deadlocked tells the story of David, who's at work in his sales office when the zombie outbreak comes to a head. His co-workers are watching live news coverage of a school bus accident when the children start eating people. Meanwhile, hospitals are in emergency states, leaving people wondering where they can go for help. There's a mass exodus from the city, but the crushing mass of humanity is only making it that much harder for anyone to get anywhere. The streets are an all-you-can-eat buffet for the walking dead.

All David wants is to get home to his family. His journey takes him to the rooftops, then into the river at the edge of the city, into the harbor, and half-dead on the shore.

While there are some stand-out moments in this story, overall, it doesn't do a lot to distinguish it from any other zombie story. The premise of a father getting to his family to get them to safety, and having to tap into reserves of strength he didn't know he had, are admirable themes, but not original. The story is well-written and compelling, but it doesn't stand out much from other zombie stories, which throw another element in to mix it up.

If you like zombie stories, you'll probably like this. I enjoy them, but not enough to invest reading time in this one.

I listened to this on audio, because Audible was giving it away for free. It was entertainingly read. I thought the narrator was a good choice. He has a good everyman sound.


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