Cannibal Corpse M/C
Tim Curran
Permuted Press
2012
Reviewed by David T. Wilbanks
As you can see in the description, this novel was released in 2012 by Permuted Press. How it slipped past my horror fiction radar these past few years is something of a mystery. The title drew my attention immediately because of my familiarity with the popular death metal band, and then when I found out it was about bikers and zombies and that the writer was Tim Curran, that was all it took to make me request it for review. If you’re brave enough to title your novel Cannibal Corpse M/C, you had better be prepared to bring the violence and gore, otherwise you are not living up to the expectations such a title instills in a potential reader. And live up to expectations Mr. Curran does, as he describes with loving detail each and every violent and gory occurrence, and there are many, as you would expect.
The main character, Slaughter, is a biker, a member of the Devil’s Disciples, who is running from the law. He heads out west, beyond the Mississippi River, into the Deadlands, not only to escape imprisonment, but because something mysterious compels him to do so, even though he knows this journey means risking his life at every turn. They are not called the Deadlands for nothing: zombies are everywhere in this forbidden zone, created by parasitic worms that rain down from the sky and infest the living. Many of these undead are still able to function at high enough a level that they can do things like use weapons and, oh, ride motorcycles. And there are many other dangers that have appeared in this post-nuclear society: military terrorist groups, cannibal mutants and things even worse. The “even worse” part comes in when this mixture of Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead adds a dash of Stephen King’s The Stand.
This novel is action-packed, entertaining and should please anyone who is a fan of gory horror adventure. It moves like a train at full speed that slips the rails a bit near the end, but still manages to hang on and carry you through to its explosive conclusion.
