The Scourge

In the wake of the Black Death and the Peasant's Revolt, 14th Century England falls under a new shadow. The Scourge is a pestilence that transforms its victims into shambling revenants, hungry for flesh and highly contagious. Sir Edward of Bodiam sets out across the plague-infested land with two companions, the impious Sir Tristan and the devout Sir Morgan, in defiance of the bishops and in search of his wife, stranded in St Edmund's Bury.

The Scourge is a mediaeval zombie road movie, a bit like Mad Max on horses, as Sir Edward and his party make their way north, encountering rogues, profiteers and the petty fiefdoms or renegade lords along the way. It is by turns darkly humourous and desperately tragic (Sir Morgan's attempt to save a village with the guaranteed blood of the Virgin Mary is heartrending in its irony,) and Calas makes excellent use of repetition (as Narrator, Sir Edward harks back to certain phrases: the moment of realisation, in times of madness only madness can save) in what was originally a serial novel released through Amazon in installments.

The audiobook narration is a little unsteady in places, but thanks to Kindle Unlimited I didn't pay for it and it is mostly well done.

Calas obviously has some fun with his history as he weaves a zombie apocalypse into the general bleakness and horror of 14th Century life. It's a little short on decent female characters (most are in need of rescue and, as seen through Edward's eyes, idealised figures of virtue, and the one that isn't is a veritable monster,) but is otherwise an engaging adventure yarn.