The Caldecott Chronicles by R G Bullet

"Caldecott, the ancestral home of the 32nd Earl of Rothshire, is besieged. The undead and certainly unwashed are traipsing across overgrown lawns intent on ripping the very flesh from the Earl’s body, scooping his brains out and eating his remaining horse. 

But many of them will not make it that far as the 32nd Earl has two things in their way: A prised Purdey shotgun and an accomplice named, Saffy. Saffy is a young and simple girl from the local village. She is quick of foot at setting traps, and dispatching the undead to the afterlife. She is endlessly coming up with cunning and disturbing methods to rid the estate of disease."

BOOK DESCRIPTION

I found this book while scanning the depths of Amazon for something to read on a two hour train journey to London. As I had just finished two novels I wanted something a little different and decided to go for a short story. With my already stated love of a good zombie story I thought one set in Victorian England would make for an interesting change. The fact that it's a comedy also appealed to me. Now add to that the price of £0.77 and you have a winner. I just hoped that it wouldn't disappoint. So did it live up to what I hoped it would be?.... 

No... It far outstripped my meagre expectation. This book is a gem, a great blend of humour, adventure and brain eating peasants. When I downloaded this story I thought I would just have a quick glance at the first few pages, just to get a taste of what the book would be like. That was a mistake. I couldn't put it down. So much for keeping it for my train journey. 

The story is told in the form of a journal written by Aldersley Radclyffe the 32nd Earl of Rothshire to his son and details what happens when the estate becomes overrun with the livingly challenged. I had a smile plastered to my face from the first page right up until the end. It was written with middle grade and young adults in mind so don't expect gruesome gore or detailed descriptions of violence. This keeps the book light and a pleasure to read. Why wasn't there books like this when I was a kid?

The book also has a few entertaining illustrations throughout which came over well on my Kindle. This is a pleasure to read and will brighten up your day. I am going to give this book a 5 star rating simply because it does exactly what it sets out to do and does it so well. It looks like I will have to get the next book in this short story series for my train journey. At least I now know that my trip will be of to a great start.

www.rgbullet.com

Reviewed by Darkiss