Dead Beat and the Ease of Injustice: A Book Review

Author: Remy Porter.

Dead Beat is Remy Porter's first novel and much of the novel takes place in the English countryside. This book was released in the summer of 2010 through Wild Wolf Publishing and this is definitely a zombie novel. Half of a small town turns into these brain eaters, with three protagonists doing their best to maintain order. However, justice is one of many elements that falls to the wayside when chaos takes hold and central character Johnny's diminishing friends is the result.

Johnny Silverman is the central hero in this 242 page thriller. Johnny is a police officer and when the zombie apocalypse comes knocking, he is the first and only line of defence. This remains true until Jack, the central villain, creates a new community of zombie survivors. However, Jack is more violent and more dictatorial than Johnny. This splits the community of a small town between those supporting Jack and those residing in a burned out police station with Johnny.

The source of the plague is given some attention late in Dead Beat and the method and motivation for the release of the virus are realistic. Thus, there seems to be more than one malefactor, as the zombies, Jack and his terrorizing crew and a group of rogue scientists compete to tear Johnny and his small motley crew to pieces. Then, the novel manages to travel to an offshore oil rig and here, the real tension mounts. But, there are also answers to be found offshore.

The mysterious occupants of the rig offer one side of events, while hiding another. This police officer finds more than he bargained for at this locale, when Johnny simply wanted to escape the zombie hordes from the mainland. Speaking of running, this hero seems very flawed when it comes to saving other characters. In one instance, Johnny offers up an innocent man by the name of Toby when pressured. He is later killed by Jack for a minor offence. So, Johnny's sense of justice is only acted upon when it is convenient. When outnumbered and outgunned, the innocent are forgotten by Johnny, in favour of selfish preservation. While martyrdom is not advisable, changing hideouts is often a good idea, when outmatched. As well, in the final few lines, Johnny shows himself to be no better than the man he is trying to overpower, Jack. The details of Johnny's past cannot be revealed hear; yet, readers might question who the actual villain is, late in the novel.

Dead Beat is a tightly wound action thriller, that incorporates many dire situations into the chapters. The zombies are fast movers and the tension between Jack and Johnny is often the source of much of the convincing conflict in this story. Also, zombies on an oil rig equals sold in this book reviewer's opinion. Try this one out and enjoy the flawed heroes and the tense interplay between lawlessness and doing what is right.

Characters/believability: 7 (most are enjoyable, some are meant to frustrate you).
Plot/story/writing: 7.5 (few grammar mistakes, no problems in pacing, some confusion in the epilogue, strong overall).

Overall: 7.25 (recommended for horror fiction fans).

A second review of Dead Beat at Undead in the Head (Lyle Perez-Tinic):

Dead Beat Reviewed at Undead in the Head

The official page for Dead Beat can be found here:

Dead Beat Official Website (Remy Porter)

This novel is available in Kindle (under a dollar) and in paperback:



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Posted in: 2011,book review,remy porter,wild wolf publishing,zombie,zombie book review,zombie book review 2011