There is a funny thing when it comes to literature, especially genre literature. That is, how do we define a classic? How does a classic obtain its status? If I were to ask for examples of classic horror novels, I might get responses such as It by Stephen King, Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Swan Song by Robert McCammon, or even Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. However, what happens when a classic slips through the cracks, and becomes buried underground? It lays there waiting to be exhumed, read, discussed, and revived. The novel being unburied today is Wet Work by Philip Nutman.

If you want to know if Wet Work is worth reading, the answer is yes. Very much so. If you want to go into the novel surprised, go on and buy it, it’s an incredible and fast paced zombie novel. In fact, it’s one of the first zombie novels. The in-depth portion of this review will discuss themes and give content warnings. Before I continue, just know that this book has my highest recommendation. Now, onto the review!

CW: Violence, descriptive gore, torture, sexual assault, police brutality, abuse, alcoholism, suicide, and racism.

Wet Work by Philip Nutman

Wet Work is a 1993 splatterpunk novel by Philip Nutman. It’s an expansion from his short story “Wet Work” found in the anthology Book of the Dead by John Skipp and Craig Spector. This novel is a powerhouse of gory action horror. Beautiful prose that reads as smooth as butter. Well developed characters, and an interesting premise. The novel takes place over the course of a week. At the start of the novel, a comet moves close to earth and the planet is covered in its tail. This changes the earth’s atmosphere, which does two things. One, it causes the dead to rise. Two, it weakens our immune system so even the common cold will kill us. The zombies in question are highly intelligent, can use weapons and communicate with each other.  We follow hitman Dominic Corvino, who does assassination work for the CIA, and Nick Packard, a rookie cop who is a borderline alcoholic. We go back and forth between these two characters as the world descends into utter hell. This novel is a wild ride and highly entertaining. Being a splatterpunk novel, Nutman does not hold back from the gore and the darker side of humanity. We also see some good characters, so the novel does not drown in its own bleakness. 

Nutman also has some important commentary about American society in this novel. Hot off the heels of the Rodney King riots, Nutman paints the cops as racist and bigoted, blaming the problems society is facing on the minority populations. The police in the novel give themselves full justification to harm, shoot, police and kill minority characters. Our rookie cop, Nick, disagrees with this but ultimately joins in, highlighting the gang of policing that was a problem back in 1993 and still a problem today. Nutman also has commentary criticizing those in power. As society falls into chaos, we see the government willing to sacrifice its own people just so those in power can stay in power. There is a major plot point where those in power turn the Pentagon into something they call “The Farm” and have the military round up and arrest civilians, so the people in power can have meat to survive, while the poor and common people are rounded up and killed. It is a bleak book that shows humanity at its worst. 

However, there are moments of light. Corvino, despite being a hitman, is a good person. He has a dark past and was forced to become the person he is. But he tries to help people and tries to do the right thing. There are also side characters who put themselves in harm’s way to do the right thing and protect people. It takes an apocalypse to divide us, but also to unite us. 

Overall, this book is tons of fun, fast paced, and is severely underread. It’s currently available in ebook format through Amazon or through the publisher’s website at this link. Give this book a read and check out a fantastic forgotten classic that the horror genre needs to dig back up.

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Review by Richard Gerlach

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