Dan Thomas, author of the acclaimed vampire story, The Reckoning, now presents us with Dark Highway an entertaining zombie tale with plenty of black humor.

Tom Turley is a not very talented young salesman traveling to an important meeting: his last chance to keep his job. After a series of unfortunate events and due to the lack of spare tires, Tom hitchhikes to get to his destination. He is picked up by the Everspachers, a rather perverted couple, who also turn out to be homicidal.
He is murdered after the wife has sex with him. They bury him beside the highway, but, strangely enough, he soon regains consciousness and comes back as a flesh-eating zombie. A zombie with a purpose. First, he wants revenge. And not only on his killers, but also on all those who have done him wrong.

He needs to consume human flesh excessively in order to keep his body in good shape. He also wants to stir up his sex life, though the part he enjoys most is eating the women, especially if they are young and beautiful. All of this does not distract him from building up a wonderful career. The one-time loser, whose self-confidence and persuasive power have increased dramatically, becomes a successful businessman. He gets into the financial elite, and aims for the top.

This novelette is funny and well written. Dan Thomas writes so well that he can make the reader identify even with a flesh-eating zombie, and that's no small achievement. The main character's development must be mentioned. Apart from his interesting new (or lacking) bodily functions, Tom's personality and behavior go through changes. No matter how many people he eats, we still like this guy. I believe this is mainly because he is treated so badly at the beginning that we become sympathetic and keep on rooting for his success.

Some of the other characters are also interesting. One example is Detective Vaughn Horsley who is constantly worried about the evil influence of extraterrestrials.
Warning: Do not read this book before eating.

Fans of hardcore horror, especially those who like zombie stories and black humor, will enjoy this book.

Reviewed By Ilona Hegedus
© July 2005