Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Double Dead | 2011 | Chuck Wendig | Buy |
| 2 | Bad Blood | 2016 | Chuck Wendig | Buy |
The Double Dead series by Chuck Wendig takes a simple “what if” and runs with it: what happens to a vampire when the zombie apocalypse wipes out most of humanity? The answer is Coburn, a selfish, violent vampire who wakes from dormancy to find his food supply nearly extinct. Rather than any noble motive, pure self-interest forces him to become the unlikely protector of a group of human survivors traveling across post-apocalyptic America.
Published by Abaddon Books, Double Dead (2011) is a darkly funny horror novel that gets a lot of mileage out of Coburn’s terrible personality. He is not a romantic vampire or a brooding antihero. He is a predator who happens to need the people around him alive, and watching him grudgingly keep them safe is both entertaining and surprisingly tense.
The sequel novella Bad Blood (2016) continues the story with new complications for Coburn. The series is a good example of Wendig’s ability to blend genuine horror with sharp, profane humor.