Dennis F. Larsen

Informal Review:

Last year I read Dennis F. Larsen's The Living Hunger and wrote a very favorable review. It was a post apocalyptic novel and I commented that it was refreshing to read such a book without zombies. After the review was posted, Larsen wrote me and told me he had another post apocalyptic novel if I was interested...and, oh, yeah it did have zombies.

I admit it did take me some time to get to Operation Z-Day. I started it last night and finished it this morning. The prologue starts with the typical zombie nightmare, and I thought "Yep, this is why I don't read zombie books anymore. There is nothing new." Well, I was surprised. The prologue is part of a novel the main character, Raven, is writing. Raven decides her roommates are too much of a distraction to her writing a zombie novel and more importantly her deadline. She heads out to a family cabin well outside of Calgary, Alberta. Her friends three roommates would visit in a week or so.

In the meantime a a flu hits Canada pretty hard. The flu epidemic is much like others, except the virus attacks the cerebrum of the brain essentially neutralizing all higher brain functions. People don't die and come back, they devolve into "walking dead": Alive, hungry, and functioning on very primitive levels.

Wow, this is the most realistic "zombie" scenario I have encountered. I actually enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series. Operation Z-Day is a fun read for a Sunday afternoon. It is fairly short and can be read in a sitting or two. The plot moves along at a good pace and will have you turning the pages at a quick pace. A very good weekend read.… (mehr)

THE LIVING HUNGER Book Review
The Living Hunger by Dennis Larsen is a post apocalyptic novel. Larsen grew up in the shadow of Hill Air Force Base. He has worked as an optometrist for the past twenty-six years. This is his third novel.

The Living Hunger is a realistic post-apocalypse adventure, meaning no zombies which is a refreshing change of pace. War was worldwide and complete. Nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons were used. People now live in little pocket communities scraping together and trying to survive. Some people have not settled into communities and look to join or just continue on their way. Most communities are out for their survival and hope to peacefully exist with others. In Utah, one community in particular run by Don Bullock is out for more. He wants control and supplies and will stop at nothing to get them. Bullock has a professional killer in Solomon, an African who has been killing since he was a teen, and a group of soldiers who, for a rather gruesome reason, earned the title of “Harvesters”. The good guys are lead by army veteran Sergeant Farrell Jenson a veteran of the next Korean conflict, and he provides the leadership example for the people of Bear River High School community. Jenson’s brother Rodney, Mel Ghostkeeper their medic, Clayton and Cory, who provide some comic relief, and remains of the Allen family make up the core characters.

The effects of the war have caused problems for the survivors. One of the biggest problems they face is the future survival of mankind. There have been no live, or rather survivable births in the last three years. There is hope from a lab in Colorado that the aftereffects of the chemical and biological warfare might be cured. Now it becomes a matter of which side will get the cure and which side will prevail in the war for freedom or for power.

Larsen writes a believable story of a possible future war. The effects of the warfare seem plausible. Most readers will not have a problem with suspension of disbelief in the story. As a Marine veteran, I did find a detail or two caught my attention, but they either worked well in the story or were not important enough to effect the story. The characters work well together and are all very well developed. The reader may not like the character, but the reader will understand the character and the reason for his actions. The times are grim and there is no “off time”. If you let your guard down, you may not live to regret it. The survivors face real world problems and have real world setbacks. There are no Deus ex machina in this novel.

There are plenty of action novels on the market and most try to go over the top or create super human heroes to carry out the story. Here the people are all very human and all have their failings. Some actions may be seen as heroic, but nothing that is unbelievable. The story is well written and flows smoothly without any jumps in logic. The Living Hunger has all that you would expect in this type of novel. There is plenty of action, strategy, and twists. There is also the day to day dealings of the characters that help keep the story realistic and interesting. A very good read for fans of realistic post-apocalyptic novels.

Book Review by Joseph Spuckler… (mehr)

This was a very full ending to a series that, I hope, will continue later. I liked the characters and how they progressed naturally. I feel that the author got back to the mindset of some of the primary female protagonists, which was great, in my opinion, since I fell for them in the first book.

I also really liked how feeling this book is. Larsen is realistic in his character's interactions in the book: acts of love are on hold, even death gets very little ceremony, but, even so, we still get glimpses of love, feeling, and loss. The book is fast paced and well plotted. I still really enjoy the husker element and the ways in which we get to see Nathan's story play out.

Thanks, Larsen, for a unique take on the zombie book. I'm very rarely a fan of thriller and zombie books, but I will make an exception for your work.… (mehr)