by Armand Rosamilia
Sunny Florida, beautiful beaches, no traffic on A1A... Zombies roaming the dunes in search of the living... Darlene Bobich in a fight to survive, find food, safety and ammo for her Desert Eagle before its too late... Dying Days are upon us...
The Undead Roam the Earth... Searching for the Living... To Eat... To Feast... To Rip Apart... Extreme Violence... Extreme Sexual Situations... Extreme Undead...
Continuing the Darlene Bobich story begun in "Darlene Bobich: Zombie Killer..". And soon to be an independent film!
Today I got a request from Armand Rosamilia to review his book Dying Days 3. Not a difficult request to fulfill considering I've already read the entire series. I think it's only right to start from the beginning though. Not to mention...how can you say no to someone with such a fantastic name. Seriously, say it out loud. It just rolls off the tongue...Armand Rosamilia...but I digress, onto why we're really here. Finally, a strong, female heroin! Rosamilia does an exceptional job with his descriptive portrayals and character development. Kudos to this talented author for finding a way to write a believable female lead. Darlene not only has to fight off savage zombies with her trusty machete, but is constantly fighting off man (and the occasional lesbian advances). She does this while managing to keep her sense of humor and wits about her. She is a woman who can crack a joke with the best of them, and gives herself motivating pep talks that will make you chuckle - "Get over it bitch. Time to kill something."
Along the way, Darlene comes across Murph, the likable father figure. It was refreshing to find a male character with some redeeming qualities considering the string of asshats she meets along her journey from Maine to Florida in the prequel to Dying Days, Darlene Bobich Zombie Killer. John-John, his son, is best described as complicated - having lost touch with his wife and child during the initial infection and unsure of their fate. Darlene and John-John's relationship is fraught with sexual tension and I rooted for them to hop in the sack.
I think it's pretty obvious at this point that I'm a fan of zombie lore. Since I've read hundreds of books in the genre, it's difficult to surprise me. So, it's inspiring to find a good read that breaks the expected mold, something that stands out from the others. Dying Days gives readers a fresh take on the traditional zombie, it is definitely not your run of the mill cookie-cutter zombie book. I'd just like to take a minute to say you are quite the dirty birdie Armand...and I like it!
Dying Days is extremely well written. If I had to make one criticism, it would be the length of the book. At 100 pages, I'm left salivating for more. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I read it before reading the prequel, and it picked up where the prequel left off. While I won't be reviewing it on it's own it is worth mentioning that Darlene Bobich Zombie Killer (a 5 star novella!), the prequel to Dying Days, is worth reading beforehand. It provides Darlene's back story from the onset of the infection and allows us a glimpse into the experiences that mold Darlene into the strong, take no $hit woman she becomes throughout the series. I warn you though, Rossamilia's writing is not for the faint of heart. You can expect uncomfortable sexual encounters, some mildly bad language, and lots of gore.
If you would like to pick up a copy on Amazon, click on the above book jacket. And if you have read it, post a comment below. As always, I'm interested in what you thought and it's great to see opinions outside my own!