The Dead Man Volume 1: Face of Evil, Ring of Knives, Hell in Heaven

I ordered The Dead Man volumes 1 & 2 because the synopsis stated that they were targeted to a male audience. Sure, the level of violence and the manner in which the intimate scenes are written might appeal to males, however women also like an exciting, fast-paced story! Actually, the stories (I've already read both volumes) reminded me of an old TV series: Kung Fu, in which a protagonist travels from town to town in search of someone. In The Dead Man series a really decent guy, Matt Cahill, dies in an avalanche. Three months later, he awakens and not only is he fine, but his body has improved. He now heals swiftly, and he suspects he no longer ages. Bonuses, right? Maybe not. Matt also now has the ability to see evil. When someone is about to commit an atrocious act, Matt sees them as rotting corpses. He actually sees the evil spreading in them. Plus, there is a supernatural being who calls himself Mr. Dark who goes around poisoning people with evil and inducing them to kill. Matt believes that unless he can vanquish Mr. Dark, the entire world will eventually be affected by his evil. As Matt tracks Mr. Dark across the USA he performs one heroic act after another. As someone who has read some of the best pulp fiction writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, I think this is a fine series and I look forward to other volumes.

I love the concept behind "The Dead Man", but unfortunately, Vol 1 is more like a Harlequin romance version of the 70's Hulk TV show than a descendent of Robert E Howard or Stag magazine.

The volume starts with a bit of character building as we meet Matt Cahill and get just enough of his story to whet our appetites for his ongoing adventures. But there's nothing terribly original or well done about any of it, and more time is spent on his lost love and learning to love again as on the horror and adventure promised by the cover. The second story was my favorite of the bunch - perhaps not a good sign as it's the one not written by the series' creators. I'm a sucker for horror stories set in mental hospitals, and this one doesn't shy away from horrific images. Despite that and the lack of a romantic interest for the hero, there still manages to be a good number of pages devoted to Matt's "Love Story"-esque past. The third story treads more familiar genre territory, the creepy town that time forgot - think Children of the Corn, and the saga of The Dead Man continues on the path laid down by the first two novellas. If you liked those, I guess you'll like this one. If, like me, you didn't, then...

Like I said, I am all for post-modern pulp series. I hope "The Dead Man" turns into a good one. But based on my first helping, I don't plan to come back for seconds.

I actually read "The Dead Man" books in reverse starting with Volume 2 and just finishing this first volume today, and I would recommend you do the same thing if interested in these tales. The second volume was quite a bit more fun than these first 3 stories.

"The Dead Man" are three seperate long stories revolving around the same character of Matt Cahill written by different authors. With this first collection we first meet Matt in "Face of Evil", a simple man dealing with the loss of his wife to cancer while working at a lumberyard in the Pacific Northwest. Matt is trying to piece his life back together when he gets trapped under an avalanche. Buried for 3 months under tons of snow and ice, Matt's body is taken directly to the morgue after being found. But Matt isn't dead, he's come back and is now haunted by a mysterious figure known as the Dark Man.

The second story, the weakest of the series so far, "Ring of Knives" deals with Matt traveling to a sanitarium in search of a mental patient who also claims to have seen the Dark Man. As Matt searches for the patient who may be able to help him understand who the Dark Man is, he finds himself facing the Midnight Crew who don't appreciate his snooping around.

The final story "Hell in Heaven", takes Matt to a small mountain named Heaven. Upon arrival is almost seems as if the town has been expecting Matt. Matt soon discovers the town has been living under the rule of a brutal "lawgiver" and is embroiled in the middle of a centuries old blood feud.

The first and third stories are good, bloody fun, while "Ring of Knives" kind of drags in places. Still if you are looking for something a bit different in horror, I suggest you give both volumes a try.

"The Dead Man Vol. 1" comprises the first three books of The Dead Man series. First in The Dead Man series, "Face of Evil" introduces us to our protagonist and starts him on his journey - trying to understand why he is still live, why he has come back, and what his purpose is in life.

Matt Cahill had just quit his job at the lumber mill in protest over his best friend's firing when he went on a ski trip with Rachel. Skiing down a double-diamond, black slope, there is an avalanche - while Rachel escapes, Matt is buried alive. Three months later he is found; however, at the morgue, when beginning the autopsy, it is discovered that Matt, impossibly, is still alive. Four days later, he leaves the hospital to go home with Rachel, wanting nothing more than to go back to his life. But what about the strange doctor he saw in the hospital - exactly like one he saw in a nightmare? And why does he see a horrible, rotting wound on his best friend's face? And who is the mysterious Mr. Dark?

In "Ring of Knives" We learn more about Matt, what has happened to him, and he starts to formulate a purpose to his return to life. We also are given some more of his past and memories. The action is fast and furious, and the one-liners are great - I laughed several times.

Matt Cahill is living on the road, all his possessions in a rucksack except for his grandfather's ax. He has traveled to a mental health center in Washington state, where there is a man who apparently also sees the strange sores on people's faces, and the same strange entity, although this patient calls him Rotting Jack. However, things are very much awry at the mental health center - doctors and administrators have been going missing, and the aides seem to be mostly using their work time to smoke and watch TV. What evil is lurking in this place? Is there anything Matt can do to stop the spread of evil?

Finally, in "Hell in Heaven" Matt continues to seek the meaning behind his resurrection, and wonders if maybe Heaven and its problems was the purpose. While he tries to figure out what is going on here, he is also working to understand what his purpose should be.

Traveling across northern Washington state on a motorcycle, Matt decides to stop off for a bit in a small town called Heaven, where the people live simple lives with simple pleasures - there is no TV, to internet, no franchises or big-box stores, and the people wear simple, sturdy clothing that is built to last and easy to work in. He is befriended by a woman whose son is due to come home from the war, only she is worried - something about her son has seemed off in his letters home, and she asks Matt so stay and meet her son, also named Matt - well, what else can he do? What is the mystery of this town that time forgot?

Fans of dark suspense/thrillers and horrors should love these stories - definitely check out this book!

Nothing to dislike about this book except I wanted it to be longer, each book was well written & if I could have stayed awake, I would have finished it in one sitting

An okay selection of horror stories. Most of the author's i've never heard of, but thats fine as I enjoy discovering new authors. I would recommend it to anyone who a taste for this sort of reading material.

My official rating for this would be a solid 3.5, but since we can't give half ratings here on Amazon I'm rounding this up to a 4 since there was more I liked than what I disliked.

I really liked the idea of this series, that of a wandering man (Matt) that is cursed with the ability to see the evil touch of a man he knows only as "Mr. Dark". Matt is also saddled with the obligation of trying to hunt Mr. Dark down and stop whatever it is that he's trying to do. It's a good idea and would make for an interesting TV series, which makes sense when you consider that most of the writers here have experience with books for TV series. The short length of the stories mostly works in favor of the stories, as much of the plot here probably wouldn't be able to be drawn out into full novel format without sacrificing at least one of the three plots here.

Where the short length tends to harm the volume is that we're never really given that good of a look into anything so far. I understand that this is an ongoing series, but I felt like I never got that deep of a look into Matt's character. He just sort of starts in on this journey. Towards the end of the third book I felt like the story dragged a little, as well.

Overall though, this was a pretty entertaining and quick read. There's a lot of promise here and for the most part it was fun to read. It's not particularly deep fare, but then not everything actually has to be. Part of what makes The Dead Man so charming is that it never tries to pretend that it's anything other than it is: a series of pulp novels. This isn't a series that I'm going to rush out and buy right this second, but if I come across the second volume in my travels I'll probably give it a shot.