Witness the end of the world though the eyes of a voyeur in this photographic journal of a predator finding himself face to camera with the walking dead. Now predator is prey. The voyeur must look to his victims for salvation.
Voyeur Dead is a fun and very unique take of the zombie apocalypse. The whole story takes place through the hidden camera lens of a voyeur AKA a pervy peeping tom. The writing is not to bad and the story is very entertaining and easy to read. The main thing in this book are the images, which really tell the story more than anything. Most of the images are well done and of good quality but a few of them are kind of dark due to being in black and white. Luckily, it's only a few and the story picks up for the darkness very well in those parts. The length the story goes to describe the actions of the peeping tom makes the whole thing believable and kinda gives you the creeps knowing that there are people out there who really could be videotaping you! Then, of course, we have the zombies! The make-up in the photos is well done (I especially like the cover image) and the faces of the models in the pics are fun and creepy. Even after the story ends, there are bonus images of the voyeurs "prey" as he would call it for you to enjoy. The only problem I had with the book were that the images where in black and white, I think the book would have benefited more from being in color. Other than that, I think this it a fun, creepy, and a just plain good read for any horror fan, so check it out at www.voyeurdead.com!
Author Alan Gandy was kind enough to answer some questions about the book.
Q: What inspired you to write a book?
A: There are a couple of things that made me want to write this book. I have always liked the concept of POV horror but not how it had been executed, thus far. I just couldn’t buy the idea that people would just keep recording when a monster was after them. When it comes down to it no one facing the walking dead, witch or the new Godzilla would keep recording to show future generations about our mistakes, or whatever reasons the writer came up with for why we should be scared or not scared enough to drop the camera and run. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I didn’t like the movies. I just needed to fix the POV thing for my own sanity.
A lot of movies and books re-write the origin or give a new vision of a monster. I did not want to do that. As I saw it when I started this book, everybody knows of some origin of zombies. It could be toxic waste, an angry virus, or a comet, in the end it doesn’t matter. What matters is that there are zombies trying to eat you. So realizing that, I wanted to make a truly original story in the already defined zombie universe, which I believe was accomplished.
Q: What went into the photo shoot for the book?
A: It was many photo shoots, and it took a lot of work from everyone, even the actors and models. I was on a very tight budget with three young boys at home and a very crappy shift as a bartender. If everyone didn’t believe in the story and go above and beyond, the book would never have happened. I remember one shoot all I had for catering was boxes of raisins for the cast and crew. Most of the work went into the special effects for the book. But I was very lucky to have an awesome big brother, H.M. Gandy, who is a professional effects artist on my team.
Q: The story is told from a very unique perspective, what made you wanna write it this way?
A: That’s an easy one. I like being disturbed. Stories that can still give me an unsettling feeling stay with me even after they’re over. Also, I usually find villains the most interesting characters in stories, especially when there is a truly evil villain who you can relate to on some level and almost agree with on certain outlooks. It makes them more real and that much more disturbing. And in a zombie apocalypse it won’t just be the good guy out there trying to survive, just as we share the world with the wicked now and their story can be just as interesting or even more so.
Q: Where can we learn more? What are you up to next?
A: You can check out some behind the scenes, sneak peeks and upcoming events for Voyeur Dead at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Voyeur-Dead/282160758261 and
www.voyeurdead.com. Right now I’m finishing a short story for an upcoming project with Cal Miller, author of the kick ass book, “Het Madden: A Zombie Perspective.” You can find out more about the project at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Undead-Nation/114210325284048. I’m also working on the next “Voyeur Dead” book.
