Chapter by Chapter

Dead Set by author Richard Kadrey sounded like my kind of novel. I’ll admit that I was a bit worried because of all the mixed reviews butDead set sounded intense, promising and like a dark read that would get better and better—and that’s exactly what Dead Set was. It was a thrilling, creepy, gritty and an original read that gave me shivers. Dead Set is a novel that is meant for fans of novels like the replacement by Brenna Yovanoff and authors like Holly Black. It handles urban fantasy really well and was an overall good read.

After her father’s death, main character Zoe has seen her life slowly begin to crumble around her. Her mother and her move to the city, she’s enrolled in a new school, their financial situation isn’t the best and the insurance company continues to claim that Zoe’s father doesn’t exist. Still, Zoe tries to make the best of a bad situation especially when, in her dreams, she can see and be with her long lost brother Valentine. As school continues and punk-rocker Zoe tries to put the pieces of her life back together she finds herself at a used record store where the impossible takes place: you can listen to the souls of the dead and take a peek into their lives.

At first it sounds impossible, but Zoe soon finds that her father’s soul lies in a vinyl record and that the strange store owner will let her listen to his record but for a price: a lock of her hair. It seems like no big deal but soon he tells her the prices grow stranger and stranger, demanding a tooth and later, blood. What Zoe doesn’t expect is to be dragged into a whole other world where the restless dead exist and nothing is what it seems.

Dead Set is urban fantasy and by the way it’s written everything sounds very realistic and natural but it’s more of the minor details (in certain scenes) that show that everything isn’t right in the city that Zoe has been moved into. There are strange addresses and names used that just give the story a generally creepy, strange feel that I loved. Besides that there are also a lot of paranormal elements used in the story that gave it a fast pace when it needed it and left me on the edge of my seat, excited and scared for Zoe all at once.

Kadrey’s writing style is descriptive and insightful, with the story being told from the third person my biggest concern was that I wouldn’t be able to connect as well with the main character as I could have—but that wasn’t a problem here. Kadrey brought Zoe to life and made her a very three dimensional character. A lot of the qualities in Zoe were ones that I personally admired and while some of them were manipulated I found that they made it easier to place myself in Zoe’s shoes but to also make her more real while reading Dead Set.

Zoe herself is a very strong female protagonist that I think a lot of readers will like and be able to relate to, I know that I could. She doesn’t wait to be saved, she takes initiative and she gets things done. There are a lot of frightening situations that she finds herself in and manages to still pull through despite how grave the situations are. There’s also a very well written cast of characters in the novel who all add to the story and give depth to it from Zoe’s brother Valentine to the antagonist, Hecate.

By the time I put the novel down I was pleased with its ending and with the way the story turned out. I would recommend Dead Set to readers who want a novel that will creep them out in a good way, fans of Brenna Yovanoff’s dark writing style and darker plots will definitely need to check out this novel and readers who are looking for a paranormal/urban fantasy with a strong female main character need to see Zoe in Dead Set.