Dead Earth: Sanctuary by Mark Justice & David T. Wilbanks

Synopsis
Jubal Slate has stopped a madman controlling an undead army and survived the destruction of the aliens responsible for the plague that decimated humanity. Now he leads a small band of survivors across the shattered landscape of America, fighting off the forces of the living and the dead. The group races north pursuing a legend, a post-apocalyptic fairy tale: a town protected from the walking dead. 

Tired of the war and his nomadic life, Slate follows the path to Sanctuary, even while doubting its existence. Along a journey filled with hordes of zombies, Slate and his companions face new enemies and find themselves pursued by the final weapon of the vanquished necros. Is sanctuary even possible on a dead Earth? And if so, is the cost more than Jubal Slate is willing to pay? 

Even after alien invasion and zombie armies, Slate will discover that the worst horrors are home grown. 

Publisher: Permuted Press, March 17, 2013
Print Length: 252 pages
Series: Dead Earth (Book 3)

Review
This review can also be found on The Bookie Monster. For more great book reviews visit their site!
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on TBM and Amazon.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion of this book or the content of this review. 

Dead Earth: Sanctuary is the third book in the Dead Earth series. It is also, without a doubt, my favorite. From the first page to the last, the story is packed with spine-tingling action and suspense.  When it comes to overall creepiness, the authors nailed it!

The central characters in the series remain the same, but this book introduces us to some new ones. Some are good, some are bad, and some are really bad. As if the walking dead and cruel space aliens weren't scary enough, Sanctuary delves into a very real evil-- that which that can be found lurking in the hearts of the living.

Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of monsters in this installment of the Dead Earth series. The undead are still a major threat to Jubal and the other survivors, as is to be expected. There is a new threat, however, in the form of a mysterious predator who won't be satisfied until he has annihilated Jubal.

Much of Dead Earth: Sanctuary reminds me of Dean Koontz's earlier novels, which I consider to be a good thing. Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks do a fine job balancing action with insight into human nature. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, scary story. It is well-written and definitely does not disappoint.

There is nothing I didn't like about Dead Earth: Sanctuary.  It is just that good.

Purchase Dead Earth: Sanctuary

Related posts: Reviews of Dead Earth: The Green Dawn &  Dead Earth: Vengeance Road

About the Authors

 David T. Wilbanks is a writer, editor and publisher. His short stories have appeared in Horror Drive-In, Postscripts and other publications. He and Mark Justice write the DEAD EARTH series, the latest and third book being SANCTUARY (2013). With Craig Clarke, he edited and published LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT, a dark fiction anthology from their own Acid Grave Press. David lives in Minnesota with his wife. 

David T. Wilbanks' Blog

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Mark Justice is the author of Looking at the World with Broken Glass in My Eye, and co-author of Dead Earth: The Green Dawn and Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road, both with David T. Wilbanks. His short fiction has appeared in Damned Nation, In Laymon’s Terms, Legends of the Mountain State 1,2, 3 & 4. The Horror Library Vol. 2 & 3, The Avenger Chronicles, The Green Hornet Chronicles, Dark Discoveries and many other anthologies and magazines. He co-edited the holiday horror anthology Appalachian Winter Hauntings. The Dead Sheriff, a supernatural western prose and comics series, will debut from Evil Eye Books in 2011. 

Justice also produces and hosts the popular genre podcast Pod of Horror. He lives in Kentucky with his wife and cats.

Mark Justice's Blog

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Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks

Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road

by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks

This review was also published on The Bookie Monster. For more great book reviews written by a variety of reviewers, check it out!

Synopsis

When you’ve lost everything, the only thing left is vengeance. 

Invaders from another world have used demonic technology to raise an unholy conquering army of the living dead. These “necros” destroyed Jubal Slate’s home and everyone he loved. Now the only thing that matters to Slate is payback. No matter how far he has to go or how many undead warriors he must slaughter, Slate and his motley band of followers will stop at nothing to end the reign of the aliens.

Review

I gave The Vengeance Road 4 out of 5 Stars on The Bookie Monster.

The Vengeance Road is the second book in the Dead Earth series by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks. In this installment, the main character, Jubal, takes on a lesser role as more characters are introduced. Though his role is not as prominent as it is in Dead Earth: The Green Dawn,  Jubal's determination to avenge those responsible for the death of his friends and family is stronger than ever. Jubal journeys back to the United States with other survivors who have the same objective: to do all they can to hinder the aliens and their undead army, no matter the cost.

Jubal and his group are not the only ones making their way north to Nevada-- a vile group of bikers led by a twisted individual named Luther Kemp is also making the journey. This group is not seeking revenge, however. Kemp's objective is to gain followers and soldiers for the alien lords. Those who refuse to follow as one of the living are forced into service as one of the walking dead. Kemp's ability to control the dead allows him to add more "soldiers" with each town he and his group encounter.

There is a lot to like about The Vengeance Road.  I'm glad the authors added more characters to the story line as compared to the first book in the series. The characters are well-developed and believable. I found the protagonists to be endearing and the bad guys to be especially scary. There is plenty of action and some very tense moments in the story, making it an exciting read. There were a couple missing paragraphs in my copy of the book, which may be due to the format in which I received it. Aside from a couple minor errors, the editing is well-done.

There are a few things I did not like about The Vengeance Road.  My biggest issue with this book has to do with inconsistencies in the story line.  During a couple of the zombie attacks, one character is surrounded by the undead, engaged in the fight of his/her life. Meanwhile, the other characters in the immediate area are left alone by the hordes. How does that happen?!

The biggest inconsistency in the book involves the character, Mike. At one point, it's implied he is hiding a big secret from the rest of his group. I kept waiting to find out what this secret was, but by the end of the book, it was still a secret. I know there is a third book, but for reasons I won't get into, I doubt this character will be part of that story.  It will be interesting to see if the third book addresses Mike's secret. If it does, I will revisit this review and remove this paragraph. If the paragraph is still here, well...

Overall, I liked Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road.  I gave it four stars because it is well-written, eciting, somewhat original, and the characters are well-developed. The reason I did not give the book five stars is because of its inconsistencies.

Buy Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road on Amazon.

David T. Wilbanks is a writer, editor and publisher. His short stories have appeared in Horror Drive-In, Postscripts and other publications. He and Mark Justice write the DEAD EARTH series, the latest and third book being SANCTUARY (2013). With Craig Clarke, he edited and published LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT, a dark fiction anthology from their own Acid Grave Press. David lives in Minnesota with his wife. 

David T. Wilbanks' Blog

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Goodreads

Mark Justice is the author of Looking at the World with Broken Glass in My Eye, and co-author of Dead Earth: The Green Dawn and Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road, both with David T. Wilbanks. His short fiction has appeared in Damned Nation, In Laymon’s Terms, Legends of the Mountain State 1,2, 3 & 4. The Horror Library Vol. 2 & 3, The Avenger Chronicles, The Green Hornet Chronicles, Dark Discoveries and many other anthologies and magazines. He co-edited the holiday horror anthology Appalachian Winter Hauntings. The Dead Sheriff, a supernatural western prose and comics series, will debut from Evil Eye Books in 2011. 

Justice also produces and hosts the popular genre podcast Pod of Horror. He lives in Kentucky with his wife and cats.

Mark Justice's Blog

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Dead Earth: The Green Dawn by Mark Justice & David T. Wilbanks

This review can also be found on The Bookie Monster.

Dead Earth: The Green Dawn by Mark Justice & David T. Wilbanks

Synopsis

Something bad has happened in Nevada.

No one knows what it is for sure. Rumors fly about plagues and secret government experiments. And the President isn't talking.

In Serenity, New Mexico, Deputy Sheriff Jubal Slate has his hands full. It seems that half the town, including his mother and his boss, are sick from an unusual malady.

Even more worrisome is the oddly-colored dawn sky.

Then a stranger crashes through town, a woman with a nightmarish story about what really happened in the Nevada desert.

Soon, the townspeople of Serenity start dying.

And they won't stay dead.

Review 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I gave Dead Earth: The Green Dawn 4 out of 5 stars on The Bookie Monster.
Jubal Slate is a young deputy sheriff in the small town of Serenity, New Mexico. He enjoys his quiet town, loves his fiance, and has a good relationship with his mother. Having grown up in Serenity, Jubal is well-liked and knows the town's citizens well. Everything in his world in going well... until a mysterious event occurs in Las Vegas.

No one seems to knows what went down in the Nevada desert but there are rumors of a government cover-up.  Two weeks after the "incident" in the desert, a strange illness takes over the town of Serenity. Then there is the strange green hue making an appearance with the New Mexico dawn.  Jubal knows there must be some connection, but as things go from bad to worse, there is not enough time to find answers.

Mark Justice's and David T. Wilbanks' first novel in the Dead Earth series is fast-paced, easy to read, and entertaining. I was immediately pulled into the story and could not put it down until I finished it. The main character, Jubal, is very likable and I appreciate how the authors developed his character. I felt I got to know him pretty well by the time I finished the book. The authors of this book also do a wonderful job with "visual" descriptions. I could clearly picture the characters in the story as I read.

The Green Dawn would most likely appeal to those who like Zombie fiction that doesn't have a strong military focus. It would also be good for people who like some extraterrestrials thrown into the zombie mix.

I only have two negative comments about Dead Earth: The Green Dawn. The first is, I feel the authors could have spent more time developing the scenes toward the end of the story. It seemed to be lacking in content toward the end... but that could be due to the fact that it is not a long book. It's almost as if the authors decided to cut the story short so they could make a sequel. Which leads me to my other negative point... for a book with only 89 pages, it is quite expensive compared to books of similar length in this genre. The current Amazon Kindle price for the book is $5.99.  I would happily spend that for a full-length Kindle book, but this price seems rather steep for a book less than half the length of books listed at the same price.

With that said, I enjoyed The Green Dawn and am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series.

To buy on Amazon, click here:  Dead Earth: The Green Dawn

About the Authors

David T. Wilbanks is a writer, editor and publisher. His short stories have appeared in Horror Drive-In, Postscripts and other publications. He and Mark Justice write the DEAD EARTH series, the latest and third book being SANCTUARY (2013). With Craig Clarke, he edited and published LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT, a dark fiction anthology from their own Acid Grave Press. David lives in Minnesota with his wife.

David Wilbank's Blog

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David Wilbank's Goodreads Page

Mark Justice is the author of Looking at the World with Broken Glass in My Eye, and co-author of Dead Earth: The Green Dawn and Dead Earth: The Vengeance Road, both with David T. Wilbanks. His short fiction has appeared in Damned Nation, In Laymon’s Terms, Legends of the Mountain State 1,2, 3 & 4. The Horror Library Vol. 2 & 3, The Avenger Chronicles, The Green Hornet Chronicles, Dark Discoveries and many other anthologies and magazines. He co-edited the holiday horror anthology Appalachian Winter Hauntings. The Dead Sheriff, a supernatural western prose and comics series, will debut from Evil Eye Books in 2011. 

Justice also produces and hosts the popular genre podcast Pod of Horror. He lives in Kentucky with his wife and cats.

Mark Justice's Blog
Follow on Twitter
Facebook

You can also find my review of this book on The Bookie Monster along with many other book reviews written by different reviewers.