Book: Dead Tropics by Sue Edge

It’s zombie time again and this time we follow a feisty female nurse as she attempts to protect friends & family from the horde.

Sue Edge’s debut horror story kicks off with a fantastic opening scene. Virus victims arrive in an Australian hospital but the staff fail to take the necessary precautions and all hell breaks loose with many falling prey to the hungry undead.

What follows is a relentless battle for survival and the leading character, Lori, delivers a female action hero performance to rival that of Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver at their best. However, her best efforts may not be enough to protect her group from a threat even bigger than the one posed by the walking corpses.

Amidst the violence and bloodshed there are plenty of emotional scenes. How does Lori react when her daughter is bitten or when she is confronted by the zombie versions of her friend’s parents?

This is all good fun and the author manages to retain the tension throughout but the rapid transition from nurse to killing machine does push the boundaries of one’s imagination and the battles with zombies do become repetitive, with the exception of the river scenes (complete with dead eyes peering through the water) which are something new and exciting. There are also some nice moments of everyday humour amongst the carnage but the blossoming romance felt a tad out of place.

Dead Tropics is available now from Permuted Press.

Ric’s Rating: Good