Last Valentine's Day, news hit that before his tragic passing, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD director George A. Romero had begun work on an all-new "Living Dead" novel, called THE LIVING DEAD. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish before his death, but The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch and Rotters author Daniel Kraus picked up where Romero left off. And today we have word via Kraus himself over on Twitter that he has completed work on the novel and its headed our way in summer 2020.
Daniel Kraus:
I have turned in THE LIVING DEAD, the massive zombie epic I co-wrote with George Romero. While writing, I wore George’s scarf, a gift from his wife. (June 2020 from @torbooks)
Well, I don't know about you but I'm happy to hear someone is going to be finishing the final novel by George A. Romero. And while I am not familiar with Kraus' work, the man seems to have a deep respect for Romero (who doesn't) and I'm glad to see the book is in such knowledgeable hands.
Synopsis:
On October 24th, John Doe rises from the dead. Assistant Medical Examiner Luis Acocella and his assistant Charlene Rutkowksi are vivisecting him when it happens, and so begins a global nightmare beyond comprehension. Greer Morgan is a teenager living in a trailer park, and when the dead begin their assault, the true natures of her neighbors are revealed. Chuck Chaplin is a pretty-boy cable-news anchor, and the plague brings sudden purpose to his empty life. Karl Nishimura is the helmsman of the U.S.S. Vindicator, a nuclear submarine, and he battles against a complete zombie takeover of his city upon the sea.
And meanwhile, a mysterious woman named Etta Hoffmann records the progress of the epidemic from a bunker in D.C., as well as the broken dreams and stubborn hopes of a nation not ready to give up. Spread across three separate time periods and combining Romero’s biting social commentary with Kraus’s gift for the beautiful and grotesque, the book rockets forward as the zombie plague explodes, endures, and finally, in a shocking final act, begins to radically change.
Last Valentine's Day, we let you guys know that THE LIVING DEAD was set to be released by Tor in Fall 2019. But now it seems that the new date is June 2020 (as you can see by the tweet below). The Living Dead will be edited by Brendan Deneen, who worked on THE WALKING DEAD novels with Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga, and will be released by Tor in June 2020. Will you be picking up a copy once it hits? Let us know below!