When the world of horror seems to have been dumbed down somewhat to make way for the young adult versions they still like to call horror, out crawls a relatively unknown horror writer to make those films and books look like a walk in the land of fairies. Alan Spencer has once again brought the word ‘Horror’ to its knees. He has stripped away all the overdone and over used tiresome plotlines and themes and given life to something new and never before seen.Inside the Perimeter on first look would seem like your average run of the mill zombie novel, where the dead come to life and attack the living blah blah blah. Oh no my friends! THIS book puts other zombie books to shame.
What I love most about this book is the way that Spencer gives us both good guy and bad guy perspectives by having each alternate chapter in the other’s point of view. He is able to give us what is going on in each of the character’s heads giving you reasons to pity or hate them and identifying with their plight.
Inside the Perimeter begins with Detective Boyd Broman being taken out of prison where he is being held for accidental murder. Boyd is taken to a facility that is surrounded by high walls and barbed wire and literally thrown inside. On first look, the facility looks like an abandoned town, with a post office, a school, hospital and houses, but something eerie floats about the place and something doesn’t sit right with Boyd. On answering a strange phone call, Boyd is given his orders; to capture cannibal serial killer, Hayden Grubaugh and bring him to the Perimeter walls to be taken into custody. Then Boyd would be free. Or so he assumes. Easy right? Not so much.
It soon becomes apparent to Boyd that the abandoned town isn’t so ‘abandoned.’ Creatures that appear to be some sort of zombies begin attacking him and when he gets away and hides he watches exactly what they are and what they do. But even blown apart by his gun, the severed pieces keep moving, pulling themselves back together or go in search of new parts. And the new parts come in the form of other prisoners that have been thrown into the facility.
But Boyd is not alone. Through the many of the dead humans feeding the crazed undead, he comes across a young woman, Cindy who attaches herself to him as they move through the facility in search of Hayden.
But Hayden is also looking for them also. He is sick of feasting on the dead and wants fresh meat again. But for now he will make do with feasting off the undead until he can clasp his hands around Cindy who becomes overly desirable to him.
In a frantic mad mess of cat and mouse, Inside the Perimeter is certainly not one for the squeamish. Spencer’s ability to make words on a page become real, it so great that you can almost smell the rotting corpses as he is describing in great detail everything that the characters come across whilst in the facility.
And this definitely shakes all the cobwebs off any other zombie novel out there. It’s very different, gruesome and gory and has the ability to put you right there next to the characters.
Another great read for hardcore horror fan’s, a book you just won’t want to put down with almost every chapter leaving you on a cliff-hanger.
Just be warned, those with weak stomachs shouldn’t eat before reading this book. You may never want to eat anything again!
