Horror Book Review: Night of the Victorian Dead – Book One: Welcome to Romero Park (Amber Michelle Cook)

Night of the Victorian Dead – Book One: Welcome to Romero Park is inspired by works of literature from Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. It’s also inspired by zombies, in particular the 1968 horror classic, Night of the Living Dead.

Written by Amber Michelle Cook, the care & attention to detail that makes this story feel so authentic is impressive.

Now, I will say that books written in this Victorian style are not to my taste normally. My interest was peaked though by the thought of a zombie outbreak within that time period & I’m happy to say it doesn’t disappoint. Provided you can get past the opening few chapters.

Told from different viewpoints, Welcome to Romero Park details the exploits of two different families, the Dorchester family & the Helgram family. All amidst the backdrop of the dead rising from their graves.

Families that are bound & tied to a level of behaviour & expectation that comes with their titles. They may not be the most original characters but they fit well within the story.

Now, at first the book is frustratingly difficult to get along with. So many characters are thrown at you & there are so many uninteresting fluff moments that boredom will begin to set in. The Victorian dialogue can come across a bit exaggerated & forced even if the author’s enthusiasm for it shines through.

It’s a slow start, one that might see many stop reading. At first it can be a real struggle to get invested. However, it is worth sticking with it. Once your mind begins to adapt to the writing style you’ll start to enjoy the masses of character development on show here.

There is a lot detail to the characters, locations & events. So much so that on occasion you can’t help but wish for less just so you can really get your imagination going. However ,it does help paint a clearer picture. Especially if the Victorian speak is something that doesn’t sit naturally with you.

Being Book One, we are left with a lot of unanswered questions here. Plenty of mystery surrounding the rising of the dead & just what significance the Harvest Moon has. As a starting point, Amber Michelle Cook has written something that has its own unique style & can certainly be built upon in a sequel.

You can pick up some of Cook’s books below via Amazon & find out more about her via her website, Facebook page & Twitter.

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