by Jay Wilburn
Thomas Malafarina has come a long way with his Dead Kill series. It was always something very different from the beginning, but as the story went from a standalone novel to a full trilogy, it evolved in ways readers could have never seen coming. Now, he is expanding that unique universe farther with a new spinoff series. Book 3 of the Dead Kill series continues the great progress and surprising twists and turns we saw playing out from the beginning. While the first two books were great on their own, this third book makes the entire trilogy a “must read” for zombie fans.
Malafarina’s entry to the zombie genre as a writer came from an interesting perspective. As a fan, his frustration with zombie movies all being predictable got the better of him. He once said he’d never write a zombie story unless it could be different – very different. Then, he did. After that, he wrote another zombie story. And then more. Then, the first Dead Kill book came into existence. And here he is still doing it. He wants to keep zombies alive, pardon the expression, but not the focal point of the stories. He also wanted to take the idea of a virus and particularly a mutating virus (as they tend to do) as far as it could go. The Dead Kill series is a testament to this philosophy and his success in executing the ideas and concepts to the page.
His universe is constantly evolving as he writes, which probably is as it should be. He started Dead Kill 1 as a standalone book and it expanded from there. Now he knows what this universe looks like and what the rules are so it’s easier to create for him, even though it’s changing. He created the fantastic mutations in the series the same way he tends to write. He just let them come out of his head. He says he’s as surprised by what the creatures eventually look like as the readers are. His mutations, especially as the series plays out through the trilogy, look nothing like standard zombies. They are more like de-evolutions. Large muscular humans with squid like heads. Others with Neanderthal appearances. Still others insectile or reptilian. And still others which barely look recognizable to our current world. I found some of the animal mutations we see later in the story the most interesting and disturbing of all.
Malafarina is currently working on a new spinoff series, using a character from Dead Kill 2 named Death Bringer Jones. Be on the lookout for Death Bringer Jones, Zombie Slayer. In the new series it will start at DBJ’s origin at the beginning of the outbreak and Malafarina believes will eventually end at around the Dead Kill 2 timeframe of 2052. As with most of his work, the story goes whatever direction it chooses though. I would prepare to be entertained and surprised, if I were you.
I hope I have made the case for Thomas M Malafarina. Check out Dead Kill 3 available now or start the series today with book 1. If you want to learn more about Malafarina and his work, check out this “Case For” post from a previous tour.
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