August 31, 2015
In the predictable second title Deadlands postapocalyptic novel (following The Plague of the Undead), series protagonist Jacob Carlton continues battling for his life against the so-called Great Texas Herd of zombies. Survival is a relentless struggle. He and his two remaining friends, Kelly Banis and Chelsea Walker, are completely surrounded by the mindless undead. At the last minute, they are saved by a survey ship from Temple, a technologically advanced society with familiar politics. The trio, who thought they had useful data to trade, are instead hounded by a group of self-serving politicos intent on seeing that information buried. McKinney’s story is bogged down by wooden characters, seat-of-the-pants plotting, and convenient escapes from improbable situations. On the good side, there’s loads of gory action; on the bad side, there’s every other part of the book.