Addicted to the Dead (Relapse Edition)

From the disturbed mind of Shane McKenzie comes this extreme tale of the undead. What if eating the walking dead was the only way to ensure you don’t become one? If you ingest the meat of the dead, you can avoid that fate. But if you consume too much, it becomes a highly addictive drug, transforming those who are addicted into meatheads-emaciated junkies only focused on getting their next fix.

Paco’s family is dead, and he is alone … until his dead little sister Sophia speaks. But the dead can’t talk, can’t think. Paco decides Sophia is special and takes her to the city to find a doctor who can help her and figure out what’s making her so … alive. But Paco and Sophia quickly find out the city isn’t safe … and they are the only children there.

Shane McKenzie steps out of retirement with the new RELAPSE edition of Addicted to the Dead, presented as a 3-course meal. For an appetizer, we have the prequel short story “Like a Brother.” Followed by the main course, a newly edited edition of Addicted to the Dead. And then the novella Knock His Teeth Out for Me, featuring Worm and the full costs of addiction, for dessert.

More over-the-top, graphic, and just plain messed up than anything else you’re likely to read this year, but without sacrificing character, story, and genuine suspense. Highly recommended.

—Jeff Strand, author of Wolf Hunt, Dead Clown Barbecue and A Bad Day For Voodoo

Unflinching and uncompromising, tough and talented, Shane McKenzie stands at the forefront of the next generation of horror writers.

—Bentley Little, author of The Haunted

I’ll take McKenzie over Laymon any day of the week. His ideas are wilder, his social conscience waaaaay the fuck greater, and he punches every bit as hard. Right now, I’d put him on a track to challenge the ground between Bentley Little and Brian Keene, in the modern horror sweepstakes.

-John Skipp, Fangoria.com

Grab your copy from Madness Heart Press, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.