When I encountered Stefan Petrucha’s Dead Mann Walking as an Urban Fantasy novel, my trepidation was high. I’m not wild about the fantasy genre. The whole universe and all the magic in it cannot possibly be in catastrophic peril as frequently as fantasy writers assert. I’m also not a fan of horror standards and icons having other genres foisted on them. But I digress. This novel reads much more like a noir thriller than anything in the Fantasy genre. To get right to the point, I dug it. Hardcore. Oh, and I’d better also disclose that I was sent a free copy of this novel for review.
Can a detective be hard-boiled and undead simultaneously? Stefan Petrucha answers this with an emphatic YES. I really enjoyed this book about newly revived PI Hessius Mann, his comely crack-addicted assistant, and what appears to be the biggest case of his career. It’s a fun novel with some genuine fear, revulsion, laughs, and a wonderful speculative premise. Hessius is a good guy, saddened by the murder of his wife that he did not, in fact, commit. I also envisioned Hessius looking a bit like Stubbs the Zombie—which was okay by me.
Instead of putting the reader in the middle or direct aftermath of some random apocalyptic event, Petrucha brings the undead into a world we already inhabit. Slums, dirty cities, violent cops who arbitrarily apply local laws, mean people of all kinds. The living created zombies in a failed attempt to fix the many mistakes of an execution-happy populous. If you’re really rich, or your guilty verdict gets overturned—it’s zombie time. There are sentient, semi-sentient, and feral zombies to contend with, a mystery to solve, people who need saving. Like many stories in our beloved milieu, the real villains are found among the living—the dead are merely pawns. Best of all, Dead Mann Walking is the first in a series of Hessius Mann novels. I, for one, cannot wait!
Dead Mann Walking is available now, from Penguin publishing, where ever fine books are sold. Watch for my upcoming interview with Stefan Petrucha. Having just reread the book, I have lots of great Q’s in mind!
Photo of Mr Petrucha by Sarah Kinney.
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Thanks for the great review – just finished the first draft of Dead Mann Running and my early reader tells me it’s better than the first. Happy 2012!
My pleasure! Can’t wait to see what Hessius gets himself into next.
This looks interesting, and your review, Wednesday, was convincing… so I bought it. I’ll let you know how I like it. By the way… what’s up with your middle name, was Thursday taken???