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Brian Keene
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Dead Sea Paperback – January 1, 2007

by Brian Keene (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 332 ratings
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As zombies, driven by the need to kill and feed off human flesh, terrorize the streets, a small group of survivors finds a safe haven in an old Coast Guard ship out at sea where their isolation soon becomes their downfall. Original.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    337 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Leisure Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    4 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    084395860X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0843958607
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With another bleak vision of the zombie apocalypse, Keene makes a triumphant return to the still-thriving subgenre he helped revive with his 2004 debut The Rising (a movie version of which is currently in the works). Trouble begins when a virus infecting the rat population of New York City begins spreading among animals and humans alike—one bite, one drop of blood or one string of saliva is all it takes to kill its victims, within minutes, and instantly revive them as mindless, flesh-eating zombies. Narrating this grim tale is gay 30-something Lamar Reed, who makes a hair-raising trip through the carnage of zombified Baltimore before he and a small group of survivors manage to commandeer a Coast Guard ship and get it out to sea. Together, the eclectic group search the coast for a safe harbor; meanwhile, an endless parade of zombies search the survivors' floating haven for a way in. Keene piles on the gory thrills as Lamar and his shipmates struggle through this diseased world, though they can be overly chatty at times (dialoging on everything from religion to Joseph Campbell). Delivering enough shudders and gore to satisfy any fan of the genre, Keene proves he's still a lead player in the zombie horror cavalcade. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Leisure Books; First Edition (January 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 337 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 084395860X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0843958607
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 332 ratings

About the author

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Brian Keene

Brian Keene

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BRIAN KEENE is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, The X-Files, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.

Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option.

Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including a World Horror Grand Master award, two Bram Stoker awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
332 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

T-Rexx
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2007
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I read Dead Sea right after The Rising. I must say the intrinsic qualities of Dead Sea were so much higher that it almost felt like Dead Sea had been written by another author who seems to have gained in maturity, exploring darker sides of the mankind's psychology. The focus is no longer so much on raw physical violence and gore than on the intimate distress of "everyday life people".

Dead Sea is the story of a group of people, among whom some characters are quite peculiar and very far from the mainstream -which makes the plot even more interesting- who happen to "tumble" onto one another in the aftermath of a behemoth city fire, fleeing the danger while simultaneously trying to evade the plague of the living deads. They make it to the sea, where they embark on a ship. The story takes us onboard too and have us share the life and struggle of the survivors.

What is so remarkable in this book is the quality of the description of the characters' personalities and their trains of thoughts. Unlike what he did in his previous books, the author apparently decided to give a much stronger focus onto the lives and doubts and wishes and, overall, what makes people's characters so subtle and fragile at the same time. With all of their flaws and weaknesses, these survivors really are attaching and credible people, and one can't help but empathize with the core group of unfortunate chaps. Thanks largely to the quality of their description by the author, those people are just like us, far from perfect. That makes the story all the more interesting as the reader can relate to them easily.

Also, death is everywhere, and credible too, as it strikes people in the very random way we are accustomed to in real life. Death spares no one: women and men, heroes and villains, kids and elders, blacks and whites, the poor and the rich... Everybody is equal in front of death. Another balanced and credible view of the world which makes the book so interesting.

There is also a strong, underlying, Romero-like criticism of many of the values that we, as a society, have established as supreme in our daily life. Religion, materialism, the military, politics, media, the police etc. do not provide any efficient material, or psychological, or ethical help in fighting a plague that is of such a magnitude. Question is: when everything falls apart around you at once, what makes you fight? Basically, the book is really about the ultimate, desperate, irreversible end of the world as we know it and how people could react in the turmoil. The evil disease is global, cureless, merciless, transmissible from species to species, mutating and adaptive. A real nightmare. Boy, I would hate to find myself living in such a world...

But the author also makes us question: what use is mankind's intimate self-preservation reflex when there is absolutely no more hope around? What makes us hope? What is hope? I have personally loved the fact that the book had me think about these things.

The icing on the cake is probably the excellent book ending, which leaves room to the reader for some personal interpretation. Depending on your mind, mood or personality, you may be drawn to see the light at the end of the tunnel or, on the contrary, find yourself in a bottomless pit, with absolutely no hope in sight.

A very good book indeed.
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David Bresson
4.0 out of 5 stars Another great read by Mr. Keene
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2012
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Ok, I admit it, I love Brian Keene's stuff. It's been awhile since I read one of his, but I'm slowly working through his body of work. I think the last thing I read was  Ghoul , which was very good. This one has Keene back in the zombie apocalypse genre once again, albeit with the more standard, dumb, slow-moving zombies that you usually see in the movies and so on. This time Keene makes his mark by making changes in other ways - a protagonist that is definitely not run of the mill, and a zombie "infection" that is anything but typical in who/what it targets. As always I love Keene's language, and the pace at which his plot moves. This is a short, quick and easy read that is a blast for those that loved his previous zombie books,  The Rising [RISING] [Mass Market Paperback ] and  City of the Dead [CITY OF THE DEAD] [Mass Market Paperback ], but takes a different turn than those did. The action is tense until it ends up at the ultimate conclusion of the book. Great stuff! Can't wait to read another one!
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William
5.0 out of 5 stars Floats above the competition
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2019
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Let me start this review off with something I’m embarrassed to admit. It’s 2019 and I’ve JUST read my first Brian Keene novel. He’d Been on my TBR for some time, I just didn’t know where to start. I received quite a few recommendations of Ghoul, however, I already knew I’d love it so I decided to go for one Mr. Keene himself recommended to me on Twitter. Dead Sea.

Dead Sea follows Lamar Reed as he attempts to survive hell on earth, this particular hell taking place in Baltimore. The apocalypse as seen in Baltimore somehow manages to turn even more horrific early on, and Lamar must escape the city. Fans of gore are in for a treat as Keene does an exceptional job of describing the walking corpses and the aftermath of their brutal attacks. The novel hits the ground running and rarely lets up. Dead Sea is full of action, it moves at a rapid pace and is highly readable. I’d have finished it in one day if life real life hadn’t gotten in the way. For everything I loved about Dead Sea, and there’s a lot, the protagonist is easily my favorite. Lamar Reed is what sets Dead Sea apart from other zombie affair. The book is written from the first person perspective. Lamar Reed isn’t a highly trained badass, steamrolling through zombies on a warpath through Baltimore. He’s a young man from the inner city just trying to survive. Being a gay, black man, Lamar must confront bigotry in addition to the undead. In 2019 when equal representation is talked about now more than ever, Reed stand outs to me. What’s more impressive is that this book was written in 2007, not 2019.

When I reached the end of Dead Sea, I was pleasantly surprised. I’m skeptical when I read or watch anything to do with zombies. The genre is flooded at this point. A relentless pace, good action, and an exceptional protagonist keep Dead Sea floating above the competition.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Kohai
4.0 out of 5 stars Schnörkellos, gut, etwas anders
Reviewed in Germany on February 22, 2013
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Nach der großen Enttäuschung von Moodys "Autumn" habe ich lange gezögert, wieder einen Zombie Roman in die Hand zu nehmen, bei Keenes "Dead Sea" habe ich es nicht bereut!

Die Seuche "Hamelin's Revenge" sorgt dafür, dass die Welt von Zombies überrant wird und nicht nur die Menschen sind betroffen, sondern auch auf die Tierwelt greift die Seuche immer mehr über. Lamar Reed wird durch einen Brand aus seinem Versteck vor den Zombies getrieben und rettet sich mit zwei Kindern auf ein Boot. Zusammen mit weiteren Überlebenden flüchtet er hinaus aufs Meer, auf der Suche nach einem sicheren Ort.

Zu Beginn ist der Protagonist etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, ein arbeitsloser homosexueller Afro Amerikaner, der bei jeder Gelegenheit betont, dass er trotz seiner Herkunft und seiner schweren Kindheit kein Pseudo "Gangsta" ist, macht eine Identifikation am Anfang etwas schwer. Doch dadurch dass Lamar in seiner Person und seinen Handlungen äußerst glaubwürdig ist, gerät es schnell in Vergessenheit, dass Keene sich für einen anderen Background für seinen Helden entscheiden hat.
Manch einer wird Probleme haben sich darauf einzulassen, dass die Zombieseuche auch vor Teilen der Tierwelt nicht Halt macht, doch ist die Überegung in sich schlüssig, die innere Logik der Geschichte stimmt und es erscheint auch viel plausibler, dass sich die Seuche mit Hilfe der Ratten rasend schnell über das Land ausbreiten kann, als wenn die Ansteckung nur von Mensch zu Mensch erfolgen kann.

Die Charaktere sind glaubhaft, nicht zu vielschichtig, aber dennoch ausgearbeitet genug, um sie deutlich von einander unterscheiden zu können und sich von Klischees abzuheben. Die Geschichte selbst hat zu Beginn ein hohes Tempo, das im weiteren Verlauf etwas abnimmt, dafür glänzt Keene immer wieder mit kleinen Einfällen und kreativen Sequenzen, wie zB den Geschehnissen beim ersten Landgang der Überlebenden.
Häufig kritisiert wird der kurze Exkurs in die Literaturwissenschaft, den Lamar mit dem Professor an Bord des Schiffes eines Nachts hält. Mag sein, dass die Diskussion über Archetypen nicht in das Bild der gängigen Horrorliteratur passt, aber ich finde sie durchaus interessant und es ist einfach mal etwas anderes, Charaktere zu haben, die mehr als vier Wort Sätze zusammenbringen und über ihr verlorenes Leben jammern.

Alles in allem ein gelungener Zombie Roman, der der Thema ein paar neue Aspekte hinzufügt ohne das Grundprinzip des Zombies zu verdrehen.
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Wright Family
5.0 out of 5 stars Bleak and Unique!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2011
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Any zombie-fiction fan worth their salt will be familiar with Brian Keene, the Bram Stoker award-winning author of The Rising. Those people would also know that the man's prolific output (often 3 or 4 novels a year) makes it very hard to keep up with all of his work. This may be why one particular entry of Keene's backlist is often overlooked in favour of his more seminal works, Ghoul and The Rising (along with its sequel City of the Dead). The novel I am referring to is Dead Sea.

Set in a different world to that of The Rising's demon-possessed zombies, Dead Sea features the more traditional Romero-esque undead; shambling hordes of rotting corpses. This may be unoriginal to some, but a big plus for many that dislike the modern `sprinting zombie'. However, despite a nod to tradition, Keene adds a unique twist to the subgenre by good use of setting.

The story begins with Lamar, a gay, black man, fleeing a burning city full of the dead. Along the way he picks up two lost, yet plucky, children and finds his way to the docks. There he manages to board an ex-navy cutter, the USS Spratling, and sets sail along with a handful of other survivors.

The premise of being stuck aboard a ship during a zombie holocaust may not be entirely original (The Morningstar Strain comes to mind), but Keene creates a world all his own through his excellent cast of characters. Like pretty much all of Keene's work, we are given people to root for and people to hate. The protagonist is realistic and flawed, while the antagonists are normal people that react in negative and selfish ways under stress. We can see bits of ourselves in all the characters that Keene creates, and in this regard he is very much like Stephen King at his best. So confident is the author in his characters that he even has one person discuss `Hero Archetypes' and their impact on narratives. The self-referential piece of dialogue is fun and interesting but also gives us an insight into just how well Keene understands his craft.

With so many books to choose from, many will opt to read Brian Keene's better known works, and perhaps that makes sense, but I would strongly suggest giving this one a try, because it may just be one of his very best. The ending in particular is very strong and left me ruminating on it for days afterwards.

So if you like your zombies slow and rotting, this is the book for you.
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Mangrove Throatwarbler
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book
Reviewed in Canada on August 16, 2007
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This book is one of the better ones i have read in my time. Unlike his other books there is no "zombie god" or anything weird like that. It is straight up zombies, zombie rats, etc.

The book has a well developed story arc and is well written. I recommend it highly.
2 people found this helpful
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Shelby Fraser
4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, but a fine story.
Reviewed in Canada on January 19, 2022
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It was a quick and easy read, and while the story was interesting, there were aspects that were pretty predictable. Again, not a bad story all things considered but not his best work.
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Martin Loughlin
4.0 out of 5 stars Hello, I am Mr. Burns.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2014
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I found myself enjoying this series once I got the fact that these were zombies but possessed bodies. I hate it when zombies do any more than shuffle in large packs but these things drove and used weapons and tactics but that is because they are NOT just mindless virus victims, they are some sort of old type of gods or angels hell bent on the destruction of earth or man or something. Vague i know but it was a while ago when I read it.

If you do read and enjoy it then i would recommend you seek or Dark Hollow by the same writer, it is pretty messed up.
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