‘The Devil’s Plague’ – Mark Beynon (Abaddon Books)

Christmas is with us once again and seeing as I have two weeks off work I feel like I’ve drunk far too much already… What I’m after then is a book where it doesn’t matter if I fall asleep halfway through. Something that I don’t have to think about too much, a little bit of fun that I can put down if called upon to do a last minute dash to the supermarket to pick up milk. Step forward Mark Beynon and Abaddon Books’ latest offering in the ‘Tomes of the Dead’ series…
‘The Devil’s Plague’ is an alternate history of the English Civil War but with a supernatural twist. Cromwell’s army is victorious but the devilish Kryfangan cavalry are bought at the cost of Cromwell’s soul. And it doesn’t stop there; every soldier that dies under the hellish onslaught comes back as a ravenous zombie! War is brewing between the two armies of the undead and only a King in exile and a troupe of actors stand any chance of stopping them...
‘The Devil’s Plague’ is another great offering from Abaddon and a good example of how much story you can pack into just over two hundred pages. Although there are some ‘flashbacks’ that repeat stuff the reader has already been told what you mostly get is a liberal dose of action, suspense and gore. The story is mostly linear in plot although there are a couple of twists here and there; certainly enough to keep me interested. There’s also a real ‘gothic’ feel to the horror that seems to be in keeping with that point in history. Talking of the history, it’s mentioned a few too many times that it’s the aftermath of the English Civil War (at least it was for me anyway). We only need telling once…
Despite these minor niggles though, ‘The Devil’s Plague’ is a very entertaining read and would probably do nicely as a stocking filler. It’s not one to generate hours of intense discussion but it is one for whiling away a few hours in between gaps in the Christmas TV schedule ;o) The teaser for ‘I, Zombie’ (due June 2008) look interesting as well…

Seven and a Half out of Ten