Timothy Baker's Path of the Dead was published by Ragnarok Publications in May 2014.
Information about Timothy Baker:
Timothy Baker is a retired firefighter and an aspiring, perspiring, horror writer. He is published in Fading Light: Anthology of the Monstrous by Angelic Knight Press, and the forthcoming Midian Unmade: Tales of Clive Barker's Nightbreed from Tor. Tim has also received a commendation in the Australian Horror Writer's Association 2009 Short Story Competition.
Information about Path of the Dead:
Nestled on the foot of Tibet's sacred Seche La Mountain is the village of Dagzê. The normally quiet streets are bustling with the steady stream of arrivals and preparations for the coming Festival of the Medicine King; a time of celebration, healing, and renewal. But a shadow is sweeping the world, a plague of apocalyptic proportions - the dead are rising and devouring the living, and no place is safe where humanity thrives.
As Dagzê burns, overtaken by the hungry undead, five people come together: Lama Tenzin, an elder monk; Gu-lang, the silent warrior nun and Tenzin's protector; Cheung, a private in The People's Army, driver and escort of the Lama; ten-year-old Chodren Dawa, witness to his sister's death and rising; and Dorje Cetan, a Shaolin-trained hermit monk of Seche La and a dreamer of a dark portent. Together they must fight their way out of Dagzê to an abandoned Buddhist hermitage clinging to the mist-shrouded cliffs of Seche La.
With the undead following and gathering at Eagle's Nest gate, they barricade themselves inside their dead-end haven, and are soon forced to battle the beasts without, as well as the ones within.
A REVIEW OF TIMOTHY BAKER'S PATH OF THE DEAD
Timothy Baker's Path of the Dead is the first part of the Hungry Ghosts series. This novel contains both horror and dark fantasy elements and can easily be categorized as a horror novel that contains dark fantasy elements.
Path of the Dead was a pleasant surprise for me, because it differed from most horror novels in terms of its use of Buddhism in the storyline. Elements belonging to Buddhism can be found in several speculative fiction novels, but they're seldom found in horror fiction. It's easy to see that the author is interested in Buddhism and Buddhist way of life, because he writes fluently about them.
Considering the huge amount of zombie stories and novels published during the last couple of years it's actually amazing that it's still possible to find interesting novels like Path of the Dead that differ from other zombie novels. I think that Path of the Dead could've easily been just another zombie apocalypse novel, but it's not. Timothy Baker has created a story that's both entertaining and well written. The author uses well-known zombie elements in this novel, but reading about them never feels annoying, because they're used well.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
At the beginning of the story Dorje, the hermit monk of the Seche La Mountain, sees a pleasant dream that turns into a nightmare. He knows in his dream that a realm above Hell has come to Earth, the home of the preta, the land of the hungry ghosts... The village of Dagzê is near the foot of the mountain and the Bathing Festival (the Festival of the Medicine King) will soon draw visitors to Dagzê from nearby villages... Chodren, a young boy, visits the resting place of his dead sister and witnesses her rising and coming back to life... Soon five different kind of people come together and have to fight for their lives against the hungry undead...
The story takes place in the Tibetan countryside. The author writes surprisingly well about the surroundings, Tibetan culture and life in the village. His descriptions are vivid and believable.
The cast of characters is diverse and interesting. The author also wrote well about the characters' thoughts and what they felt about the happenings.
Here's information the characters:
- Dorje Cetan is a Shaolin-trained hermit monk of Seche La Mountain. He has a gift for dreams.
- Chodren Dawa is a ten year old boy.
- Lama Tenzin is an old monk who arrives at the village of Dagzê.
- Gu-lang Janyang is a silent warrior nun (Ldab Ldob) and Lama Tenzin's bodyguard.
- Cheung is a Chinese soldier. He's the driver and escort of Lama Tenzin.
The cultural descriptions and differences intrigued me very much. The differences between the Tibetan men and the Chinese soldier were handled fluently. In my opinion the author wrote well about the cultural differences.
There are several good and interesting scenes in this novel. For example, the discussion about soda pop was interesting, because Chodren had never tasted it. I enjoyed reading about Dorje and Chodren, because both characters felt realistic. It was especially interesting for me to read about Chodren, because he was a young boy who had to grow up. I think that all readers will be interested in reading about his life and what he had to endure.
I have to mention that I've always enjoyed reading about the survivors of zombie apocalypse, because it's fascinating to see what people do under difficult circumstances and how they get along with each other. In this novel Timothy Baker pays enough attention to the survivors and their lives, but doesn't overdo anything, which is very nice. The character interaction is surprisingly fluent.
One of the best things about this novel is the atmosphere the author has created. The author writes believably about the woods and desolate Tibetan mountains and monasteries. His descriptions are effortless and they evoke vivid images in the reader's mind.
Based on this novel I can say that Timothy Baker seems to be a good author and is capable of writing a bit different kind of dark fantasy and horror. I look forward to reading the second part, because this novel was good.
Path of the Dead offers good and impressive - not to mention intelligent - dark fantasy and horror entertainment to speculative fiction readers. It's a rare zombie novel, because it contains Buddhism and descriptions of the Buddhist way of life. This novel will be of interest to everybody who enjoyes reading good horror entertainment.
Good entertainment for dark fantasy and horror readers!