Empire - an undead serial thriller

[Dave_Dunwoody]

In Empire, the Grim Reaper walked a world that had been besieged by the undead for more than 100 years. He left his post as Death in order to hunt and kill zombies full-time, and the sequel picks up with him doing just that. As winter approaches, Death – now known as Adam – crosses the American badlands in search of the girl he once befriended, Lily. She has been taken north, where the government and military have consolidated their resources into several fortified cities. The rest of the nation has been claimed by the rotters. Adam has heard tales of the “King of the Dead,” whose troupe of sideshow curiosities are now an animalistic pack. They are Man’s greatest threat in the new America. But Adam is sorely unprepared for the return of the zombie who once tasted of his flesh – a zombie transformed, driven by something more sinister than any virus. Adam’s questions about his own origin and purpose haunt him, and he is close to the answers...but the worst of both the living and the dead are rising in his path, and he’ll have to cut a bloody swath to the cosmic endgame. Also coming soon is my Lovecraftian sci-fi novel, The Harvest Cycle., You can learn about it and read a 7-chapter preview at: http://harvestcycle.blogspot.com/ Follow news on both novels and find free fiction and audio at: http://daviddunwoody.com/ Thanks! -Dave

[Dave_Dunwoody]

Thanks to all readers for their support! The original Permuted edition of EMPIRE is now out of print. The Permuted/Pocket Books re-release is up for pre-order for $10.20. (Drop date currently listed as 3/16/10.) Thanks again!

[Dave_Dunwoody]

Hey all! My first collection, DARK ENTITIES, is available in trade paperback on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Entities-...4793080&sr=1-1 The first 100 copies in this run are signed. DARK ENTITIES is illustrated by Tom Moran and contains a number of tales about the undead in addition to other nasties. DARK ENTITIES is also available in two signed limited hardcover editions, both of which are (for a limited time) part of Bloodletting Books' clearance sale at Horror Mall: regular edition | Deluxe Full details on the clearance here.

[Dave_Dunwoody]

Hey all, just a reminder that the new edition of EMPIRE will be released on the 16th. It's still available for pre-order at Amazon. -Dave

[Wyldwraith]

Hey Dave, Major kudos on Empire. They say there's nothing new under the sun, and maybe from some points of view that's valid, but Empire does a mind-blowing job of combining multiple myths with modern Urban Survivor Horror themes into something fresh, innovative, polished in its articulation and extremely imaginative in the conceptions of both primary protagonist and the many fascinating/disturbingly creepy, and absolutely unique antagonists. The highest praise I can think of for Empire is simply: "It's one of those stories that when you read it you go..."GRR, it's so simply its genius. Why didn't I think of that !?!?" I have EXTREMELY high hopes for Empire 2, and I'm dying to see what happens! I'll close with one last bit of praise and a question I NEVER ask authors I come into contact with. One of the largest bones of contention among zombie novel/comic/movie fans is the issue of increasing zombie intelligence beyond the level possessed by the ghouls in Romero's original trilogy. Your depiction and methodology/system of handling zombie intelligence, the reasoning behind HOW AND WHY your zombies' reasoning abilities/brainpower increases, and the depiction of the singularly alien focus of that intelligence is brilliant. On top of THAT gem, you crafted a good, no, GREAT reason for WHY the zombies eat (from the reader's PoV, not the zombie's of course). It always bugged me that there's all this emphasis in every book/movie on the insatiable hunger for warm human flesh, but it does nothing/has no effect on the feasting zombie....up until Empire that is. Bravo for killing two birds with one creative stone! Now for the question: I'm sure you get this all the time, but I didn't see the harm in asking. So, would it be possible if I bought a new copy of Empire, and then Empire 2 when its released to get them both signed by you? A genuine, used-a-pen original autograph? If not I understand completely, but Empire 1&2 are the ONLY books I ever wanted to own signed by the author, other than Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. (Which I was freakishly lucky to get, since he lived 40 miles from my small-town high school and gave a lecture to my AP English class. (Had my grandmother rush my copies to the school the moment I became aware of Mr. Anthony's surprise visit) Ok, think I've taken up enough of your time if you've been gracious enough to wade this far through my babbling. Thank you again for the awesomeness that is Empire, and I will go back to eagerly anticipating Empire 2 now. A shamelessly devoted fan, Shawn M. Panzegraf shawn_panzegraf@yahoo.com

[Dave_Dunwoody]

Shawn, thanks for the wonderfully kind words about Empire! It was a blast to write, and I can’t wait to get the sequel out there and continue the Reaper’s story. There’s no certainty yet on when that will happen, but the first draft is finished. I love the classic shambling ghouls (and there are plenty in Empire), but also believe that the master, George A. Romero, has given us the last great monster archetype. It’s a brilliant blueprint of human nature and fear that can be examined and explored in countless different ways. I wanted to write a book that would surprise the hardcore zombie fans out there, the guys like me who consume everything they can in the genre – as if we were ghouls ourselves! As for your question – I’d be more than happy to oblige, and will shoot you an e-mail. Thanks again! Dave

[Dave_Dunwoody]

Hey all - the Reaper is returning! The sequel to Empire, Empire's End, is slated for an April 2011 release. Story details at empirenovel.com. Stay tuned... Thanks, Dave

[Dave_Dunwoody]

...And the cover for Empire's End is now posted at the site! "David Dunwoody's EMPIRE series" on Facebook has further information and a contest on the way.

[Wyldwraith]

I'm excited! Been looking forward to Empire 2 for some time now. As someone with health problems that keep me homebound, my worldview has turned inward, towards what I can bring into my domicile to enrich my stationary existence. Good books do just that. Without books, I would quite simply go stark raving mad, and not in a good way. Dave, again, my hat is off to you...both for your amazing novels (I'm sure that Empire 2 will qualify for the use of the adjective)...and having gotten a tasty slice of the American Dream. Doing what you love...AND making a nice payday out of it They say that when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. I hope very much that the saying is true for you. Again, kudos for your originality and enrichment of a genre that at times has adhered a bit too slavishly to a Romero that is faltering in his later years (sadly). However, with new lights like you and the other recent names to become known in the genre, hope remains that our beloved flesh-eaters will be shambling along to our terror, revulsion and delight for decades to come. May 2011 be a great year for you....And don't you dare get rich, fat and derivative on us now. Now that you've let the cat out of the bag and revealed you have genuine talent, we'll all be watching and expecting you to wield it :P

[AcesandEights]

Okay, I had read a sample of this previously, iirc, and forgotten about it, but the current synopsis of the arc sounds intriguing, so I've queued the first book to my nook wishlist. I'll check back in when I get around to reading it (may take a while, as I've got many books ahead of it). Thanks for the reminder.

[Wyldwraith]

I cannot recommend it HIGHLY ENOUGH Aces, Dave has done something many of us have sworn up and down could not be done on any significant scale in a zombie setting. Ie: Created both an INTELLIGENT and creepy-as-hell reason why zombies eat people, and ::drum roll:: developed a means of handling zombie intelligence that is in NO WAY Emo, and only adds to the horror. I won't ruin it for you, and I will point out that the large majority of his zombie are still classic shamblers, albeit a bit more durable....he has dispensed with the effectiveness of the Headshot in favor of needing to pretty much destroy the zombie Return -style. Although no comedic nonsense. Massive head trauma generally renders a zombie a non-threat, but its not destroyed. And by massive I mean decapitation, 10-12lbs sledgehammer to the skull etc. Not some piddly skull fracture with a bit of gray matter leaking out of the cracks. His main protagonist....I just can't do Adam justice. It has to be read.

[Dave_Dunwoody]

Hope you enjoy the first book AcesandEights! Thanks again for the kind words Shawn! I think you'll be intrigued by the developments in "unnatural selection" and how the zombie threat has grown. The Reaper is changing too, and with the stakes much higher than in EMPIRE, he'll have to adapt quickly. ---------- Post added 12-Apr-2011 at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was 09-Apr-2011 at 02:51 AM ---------- Empire's End is now available in print & ebook formats!

[Dave_Dunwoody]

Big thanks to everyone who's checked out Empire's End. BuyZombie.com's review is up: "An overall superior novel to EMPIRE, and should put David Dunwoody on the list of great zombie authors. Read this book." http://www.buyzombie.com/2011/07/11/...es-end-review/