First published back in January of 2016, Adam Baker’s novella ‘Killchain’ formed the first instalment within the ‘Year Of The Zombie’ series which saw a zombie story from a variety of different horror authors published (in ebook format) each month of 2016. All twelve stories were later collected together and published within the ‘Year Of The Zombie’ (2018) anthology (which was also published in paperback format).
DLS Synopsis:
DLS Review:
DLS Synopsis:
The outbreak had been tearing the world apart. But the world continued… somehow. The same old rivalries. The same political madness, when the global undead pandemic should have instead forced unity.
Elize Mahone had been sent to the Somalian capital city, Mogadishu, to fulfil a task. Assassinate a Russian surgical specialist who’d been working out of the Medina Hospital. Doctor Viktor Teplov was a medical genius. A man working on a vaccine. It was a potential solution that could save the world’s population. Although he was a Russian.
The US kill-team had been meticulously planning the next steps in their task. Elize had invested months into the assassination. Now, as the hordes of undead surged around the battle-razed city borders, the operatives commenced the final stages of their mission.
A mission which rested on one man. A broken man, lost in a cruel world which cared little for his existence. Sanjeev had become the government’s puppet. Through him, the tactical unit would enact a cold and calculated assault upon what might be humanities last hope…
What a fucking story! Jee, does Baker’s novella set the ‘Year of the Zombie’ novella series off with one hell of a punch. We’re flung into the dusty, sweaty, dry heat of Mogadishu, whereupon we’re introduced to Daniel – who’s living in the top floor apartment of a twelve-story building located a stone’s throw from the airport. However, Daniel’s involvement is kind of the bookending to the story. He’s in the wrong place at the wrong time – getting zip-tied and held captive whilst his apartment is commandeered by the US tactical team.
From that point it’s all about Sanjeev and what the US have coerced him into undertaking. A suicide mission to assassinate this philanthropist doctor. It’s a nasty underbelly within the story. One which exposes the cruelty and uncompassionate side of mankind. Honestly, it’s this and the madness of our world’s political mindset that hits you the hardest in this truly brutal story. That we can’t even come together when the undead are at our collective heels. That we’ll go to any lengths, twist minds and corrupt beliefs, to ensure the western world retains its oh-so-righteous power.
So yeah, we have one fucker of a political commentary at the roots of this piece. A commentary which Baker delivers with a purposeful coldness, to be felt in your spine rather than at the front of your mind. It’s fucking effective too! It makes you sit up with anger, voyeuristic frustration and hurt.
Anyway, the zombies almost take a backseat in all this. They’re presence is as a prop, bringing urgency and a punchy reason for this cruel dilemma and for the political stance to be amplified. Again, this decision by Baker is a solid one. The undead are there, we feel their nearing presence with the urgency of the pacing. Indeed, as the novella spirals to its conclusion, with Daniel brought back into the storyline, the zombies threat becomes the gritty reality rather than the devil at your heels. But with the focus on the assassination and those behind it, the story instead hits you with a bigger swinging-arm. A full blown suckerpunch at how utterly fucked up we are as a society.
Superbly written from start to finish. You can taste the sweat, stink and dust of the environment on every page. The pacing is instantly captivating, and that underlying political and societal commentary is like a sledgehammer to your gut. One bastard of a first story for the novella series.
The novella runs for a total of 32 pages.
© DLS Reviews
