Just in time for Halloween, western Massachusetts’ favorite native horror
writer has produced a new book for young adults about the zombie apocalypse.
Howard Odentz is the author, and the book is “Wicked Dead,” the second installment in the author’s “Dead (A Lot)” trilogy.
In the first book, teenager Tripp Light and his twin sister Trina were home alone one weekend when a mysterious disease known as Necropoxy suddenly started spreading rapidly through their town, their state and, probably, the world.
The disease turned ordinary human beings into zombies.
A few individuals and families appeared immune to its airborne contagion — although they were still able to contract the illness if bitten by one its gruesome victims, known as “Poxers.”
Tripp and Trina set off on a road trip along the Mohawk Trail to find their adult relations and get away from the Poxers. Along the way, they collect an assortment of young friends and allies.
These include Tripp’s frenemy from high school, Priyanka, and her autistic brother, Sanjay; a college-radio DJ named Jimmy who is confined to a wheelchair and keeps a pet crow; and a bow-and-arrow-toting small boy known as Bullseye.
At the end of the first book, the twins and their friends liberate Tripp’s parents and other immune grown-ups from a scary government research facility.
There, scientists were conducting experiments to try to figure out how the adult survivors had become immune.
In the second book, set a week after the first, adults and kids are on the run together.
Ironically, the young people are much better at coping with the Poxer threat than most of the grown-ups — in part because they have been dealing with it longer, but mostly because they are still in the process of learning about life and are therefore more adaptable.
“Wicked Dead” is fast-paced, and Tripp and his friends and family are appealing characters. The first book gently taught teenage readers to appreciate the differently-abled; autistic Sanjay was and is one of Odentz’s most appealing characters.
In the second novel, Tripp, who has never been exposed much to the elderly, learns that old people are also wise and capable. Tripp is a charming teenage blend of humor, sweetness, awkwardness and grit — all qualities that help him in his efforts to rebuild his family and defeat both Poxers and mad scientists.
Howard Odentz will celebrate the release of “Wicked Dead” at Barnes & Noble in Holyoke on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. Shoppers who come dressed as zombies will receive a special gift.
Tinky Weisblat is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling
Taffy.” Visit her website, www.TinkyCooks.com.