TOOTH AND NAIL a novel by Craig DiLouie

"For me, the difference between a good zombie story and a great zombie story comes down to a unique point of view. The best in class offer a unique vantage point on the zombie apocalypse, like that of Lt. Todd Bowman and the men of Second Platoon. World War Z and Day by Day Armageddon both gave us the soldier's POV, but Tooth and Nail is one of a kind because it shows the intimate dynamics of small unit warfare. This book does for the zombie genre what Black Hawk Down did for modern war journalism, and that is high praise indeed. Tooth and Nail kept me reading all night long, and I think it'll keep you glued to the page as well. This one is a spectacular achievement."

-Joe McKinney, author of Dead City and Apocalypse of the Dead

 

"If you’re a lover of zombie fiction in any way, shape or form, I urge you to pick up Tooth and Nail by Craig DiLouie ... I can’t recommend Tooth and Nail highly enough. It’s a truly unique and refreshingly different approach to a familiar story which works on many levels."

—David Moody, author of Hater and Autumn, full review here

 

"Craig DiLouie is the David Drake of zombies ... Tooth and Nail is now among my top three favorite Z books of all time. If you like zombies and haven't read this, you owe it to yourself to do so."

-Eric S. Brown, author of Bigfoot War

 

"Tooth and Nail is one of the best zombie novels of 2010 if not one of the best zombie novels ever written ... In both its premise and its execution, Tooth and Nail will put your heart through a meat grinder."

—The Zed Word Zombie Blog, full review here

 

"Can someone please explain to me why Craig DiLouie isn’t more of a household name? … Tooth and Nail, his story of an Army platoon stranded in New York City as a virus that turns ordinary citizens into mindless killing machines, is gritty, violent, addictive and utterly realistic … a thrill ride that grows in intensity with each page up to the shattering climax."

- BuyZombie.com, full review here

 

"A real action-packed, tension-building ride that refuses to let you put the book down … I cannot recommend Tooth and Nail highly enough and it’s one of those rare books I will read again and again. Go out and get a copy now. You won't regret it."

-Garry Charles for Shock Horror Magazine (issue #4), here

 

"Platoon meets Outbreak with a little end of the world as an icing. The book had a breakneck pace and a crisis around every corner ... TOOTH AND NAIL is a very skillfully written, suspenseful and thrilling novel."

—LivingDeadMedia.com, full review here

 

"DiLouie manages to combine military action and horror fiction into a realistic and believable storyline ... You’ll feel as if you’re an embedded part of the platoon ... The action is non-stop, realistic, and scary as hell. This book should be on the bookshelf of any zombie or military action fan, because it’s one you’ll want to save and read again."

-WeZombie.com, full review here

 

"Tooth and Nail is a blistering fast military-focused thrill ride into the apocalypse."

—Patrick D'Orazio, author of Comes The Dark, full review here

 

"The book managed to cover pretty much the entire spectrum of my interests when it comes to fiction ... The ingredients are all there for a perfect story ... I have no problem recommending this one."

-Brian King for Armchair General(military history magazine), full review here

 

"Tooth and Nail is a claustrophobic present tense account of an apocalyptic New York City. A fast-paced story with enough bloody action to satisfy even the most jaded of zombie fans ... It's also a story which successfully captures the best and worst of war. From heroism, triumph, pride, camaraderie, and survival, to defection, friendly fire, fragging, suicide and mutiny, DiLouie's Tooth and Nail has it all ... Perhaps most importantly, DiLouie allows us to care about his characters. These aren't platoons of nameless, faceless men lining up to slaughter or be slaughtered. They're more than just serial numbers. These are men with families, and ambitions beyond their current mission. These are men who would stop at nothing to protect the future of humankind even when facing the worst of odds."

—Chuck Gould's review for Horror Bound Magazine, full review here

 

"There is something magical that happens while reading Craig DiLouie's Tooth and Nail. Worries fall by the wayside, the trigger finger begins to twitch, the heart races, and the imagination focuses on a darker, more exciting, rage-filled world."

—28DaysLaterAnalysis.com, full review here

 

"By this time next year, another dozen zombie novels will have been published, but none will probably be as good and ultmately satisfying as Craig DiLouie's new novel Tooth and Nail. It's the Black Hawk Down of the zombie genre. It's that good."

—Kyle Mizokami's review for WarisBoring.com, full review here

 

"It's a fun and outstanding read.... While many successful zombie books rely on terror alone to keep the reader gripped, DiLouie also does an exceptional job of creating believable and sympathetic characters out of the soldiers ... DiLouie also does a patient, meticulous job of letting the story unfold in a realistic way ... To those who do not like to read zombie-like books on the basis that they are not tautly written, not well researched, or have poor character development, I would say to read Tooth and Nail and prepare to eat your words."

—Deirdre Crimmins for Open Letters Monthly: An Arts and Literature Review, here

 

"This book takes a heartfelt, military look at the zombie apocalypse. The detail the author goes into to describe the warlike conditions is incredible and makes you feel like you are in the middle of the action ... The story is fast paced and exciting with action at every turn, yet it takes great care to humanize the soldiers and really gets you emotionally attached to each of the characters. Every up and down in the characters' struggle to survive, you feel as if you were a part of it ... The zombie action is intense and described in great detail ... It's a great novel and I highly recommend the read!"

—Rhonny Reaper's review on Dollar Bin Horror, full review here

 

"The story is fantastically gritty, emotionally charged, and brings up many of those oh so fascinating psychological implications of people trying to survive an event of this nature ... Tooth and Nail tells the tale almost strictly through the eyes of various military personnel. The story does a wonderful job of humanizing the soldiers. It offers glimpses into the emotional and psychological struggles of both enlisted men and commissioned officers alike. Through disintegrating command structure, ambiguous rules of engagement, and an erupting urban population of fellow countrymen, Tooth and Nail beautifully demonstrates just how fragile even the world's most advanced military force could be under these circumstances."

—AWilltoAct.com, full review here

 

"Take the outbreak stage of The Stand, but tweak the super flu to act more like the Rage virus from 28 Days Later and extend the incubation period of the virus to a few hours. Then shrink the perspective down to a single company of U.S. Army infantry, and place them in the center of New York City ... What follows makes for a very, very good book ... The characters, dialog and situations are all entirely believable ... And with several companies of U.S. Army infantry running through a city of millions of people, with rules of engagement that say kill anything that moves, you can imagine the level of action you get ... I fully enjoyed almost everything about this book."

—Megat0n.com and QuietEarth.us, full review here and here

 

"I was pretty much hooked from the getgo. I couldn't put it down ... The story is superbly written, fastpaced and very engaging ... I highly suggest picking it up if you're a fan of horror. It's a great apocalyptic tale that kept me reading until it was over."

—Zombie Apocalypse Preparation, full review here

 

"TOOTH AND NAIL is a brilliant little novel."

-SwedishZombie.com, full review here

 

"Craig DiLouie is an impressive storyteller ... Craig grabbed my attention on page one and never let me get away. I've never been in the Army and never faced a zombie, but Craig made me feel as though I was part of his elite military team and that together we were saving the regular citizens from the horrors of a mass zombie attack. Craig has that kind of storytelling yank ... Every page of his story seems completely real. Every confrontation seems both immediate and critical to the reader."

—Rick Moore for The Writer and the White Cat, here

 

"I have finished Tooth and Nail and it quickly become a favorite. I loved the plot; this is the first book I have read that deals only with the military sie of a zombie apocalypse. I really enjoyed how real the book felt. All of the emotions were there; I felt the terror in the soldiers whne they were told to fire on the infected ... The action scenes were also amazingly written. When the military first fired on a group of infected, my heart raced. I really fell into the moment. This book does come very close to being perfect..."

—Lyle Perez for Undead In The Head, here

 

"It's a gritty take on the zombie apocalypse, fought on the streets of New York. The military framework is a natural—where else would you want to be during a zombie war than in the best-funded military on Earth? ... DiLouie's Army is detailed and believable. The reader feels as if she is there with the soldiers, often with grim humor, as they struggle to fulfill their orders amid chaos and panic. I won't be surprised when I hear this book has been picked up for a movie. It would be a welcome addition to the genre—an inside view of a powerful army faced with defeat from a foe that fights with tooth and nail."

—Pris Sears for Brautigan's Toothbrush, here

 

"Tooth and Nail takes the struggle of man vs. zombie-like creatures down to the battlefield, showing the fight from the soldiers on the front line. Already tired from the war overseas and being thrown headfirst against a possibly unstoppable foe, author Craig DiLouie manages to describe the toll that the strain and fatigue places on the soldiers and throws the reader right into the thick of things. I liked that about the book, the feeling that I was with them as they cautiously moved along the darkened streets wearing night-vision goggles or running along a hospital hallway chased by hundreds of salivating Mad Dogs. What a great rush ... Tooth and Nail is a very effective story of humanity toppling over the edge and falling toward an uncertain future. Gritty and violent, it molds itself to the zombie apocalypse well and makes for a great read."

—A Life in the Day, full review here

 

"This is a different look at zombies, one that actually makes sense and is a potentially viable scenario. I found myself totally wrapped up in the story, and putting it down was harder than with most books I've read of late ... DiLouie takes the whole zombie genre out of the realm of the supernatural and places it into a medical pandemic scenario. Given the nature of bioengineering, it's easy to conceive of a virus that would be highly virulent and that would not have a readily available cure if it got out of control. DiLouie handles both the logistics of a societal breakdown as well as the personal choices that one would be forced to make in a situation like that. Tooth and Nail keeps up a fast pace as the situation continues to deteriorate, and I really didn't want to put the book down. 'Just one more chapter...'"

—Duffbert's Random Musings, full review here

 

"While the book fits into the well-worn genre of zombie fiction, with plenty of action and gore, Tooth and Nail seems to defy traditional storytelling ... DiLouie's thoughtful and unusual approach to the material had me turning pages. He examines what happens to the military as there is a breakdown in civilization, as Bowman and his unit tackle an impossible situation ... Fans of zombie fiction will find Tooth and Nail to be a satisfying read with plenty of action. Recommended."

—The Monster Librarian, here

 

"Overall, Tooth and Nail is a fear-inducing read, due to the realistic setting Dilioue created. Fans of apocalyptic-like stories such as 28 Days Later and The Stand will find a story that satisfies their craving for horror in this novel."

—Book Noise, here

 

"Generally, government operatives, National Guardsmen, and soldiers are cast as stone cold, uncompassionate characters ... DiLouie attempts to show an oft-neglected side of the men who serve and protect by making them the focal point of the plot by exploring their emotional and psychological struggles ... As an otherwise negatively represented character in zombie stories, the military-centric approach gives DiLouie's story a unique edge ..."

—Meli Yoroshiku for DestroyTheBrainOnline.com, here

 

"This story is very gritty and gruesome as it is told from the eyes of the soldiers in the front, and pulls no punches as the reader sees the fear, the tension and the all-pervasive feeling of doom ... The book is very realistic in its approach to the life of the foot soldier ... Check this one if you are a fan of ... gritty military zombie fiction."

—Mihir Wanchoo for The Fantasy Book Critic, full review here

 

"I liked reading ... the military perspective, which was done pretty realistically right down to radio protocols, tactics, weapons and slang. The characters were believable—these soldiers are just young kids coping with a horrifying situation in which they must slaughter their fellow citizens to protect a nation that may no longer exist. In this focus on people thrust into and responding in a real way to the apocalypse ... Tooth and Nail reminded me of books like Hater by David Moody ... And with a company of U.S. infantry armed to the teeth and authorized to shoot on sight, there's tons of action for even jaded fans of zombie fiction."

—Review on ZombieFriends.com, full review here

 

"An atmosphere of dread is quickly created as stark images of a virus-ravaged New York City emerge ... The action scenes are fantastic as the grunts fight off the infected masses ... Dr. Petrova steals the show as she fights her own battles while awaiting rescue ... Recommended for zombie and action horror fans."

—Ric's Reviews, full review here

 
     
 
©2010-11 Craig DiLouie