Roland Thomas Type IV is the exciting, final sequel to the Zombie Spring and Trooper Tyree saga. This last sequel is a continuation of Chapter 14, “The Song of Roland,” from the series starter, “Zombie Spring.” The 3rd book in the series follows the adventures of Colonel Roland Thomas after he was infected and Turned during the Battle for LA. As the world’s first Type IV, Zombie, he finds that he has a much to offer the human race, and soon the Living begin to think of him as Mankind’s second chance. Thomas’ arrival coincides with the arrival of villains from the first book: Ben Arnold and Aroneia Burr. Ben is the world’s second Type IV, but whereas Thomas fights for the Living, Arnold has his own agenda with the Dead. Thus begins a 16 year struggle of building walls and vast armies, that eventually involves the children of all the main characters in books 1 and 2. The kids, Thomas’ Zombie Brigade, and six aging infantry corps take on the might of Ben Arnold’s Empire of the Dead and refight a famous old battle from the past, in the swamps of Louisiana. How is this book different than the other two? RT Type IV occasionally leaves the world of horror, Zombies, pitched battles, and death and enters a more thoughtful domain of convoluted science and perhaps fantasy which I believe, breaks some new ground in Zombie lore. RT Type IV is divided into 3 sections: The Arrival, Sixteen Years Later, and the War Moves East. Readers new to the series should start with book 1 and then 2. That way you will understand the characters. There are many of them, and most of them span all three books. Roland Thomas Type IV might be a standalone book, but for your greatest enjoyment, at least read the Trooper Tyree sequel because more characters migrate from that book than book 1.
To help people decide if they are a good fit for this book, I offer the following User Profiler. ZS’s Colonel Thomas Type IV is a Zombie Lite version of the Zombie genre. Yes, it has plenty of gore and huge battles, but much of it is meant to be funny, and much of it is meant to teach a little history. It is not a dour world-view of what would happen. The content is centered around happy, upbeat young people, who think they can win out against all odds and maybe make a better life for themselves. If you like happy stories with a little romance interspersed with lots of military blood and guts, then you’re in the right place. So who might or might not enjoy this book? Fans of the movie, The Road, or the TV series, Walking Dead, might consider looking elsewhere for their entertainment because those shows are sad with a world view that all is lost and everything will get worse. If you liked Zombieland, Abraham Lincoln vs. the Zombies, or Warm Bodies then you are likely to have a nice evening pouring through these pages. Bruce Campbell, Woody Harrelson, and Brendan Fraser could be characters in this book. Matt Damon, Christian Bale, and Viggo Mortenson are great actors, but I think they’d pass on an offer to star in my series.
