Night of the Living Dead: The Official Novelization - by John Russo (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The official novelization of the seminal horror movie. A group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse find themselves fending off a horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls.

"They're coming to get you, Barbara."

The classic film that changed cinema by redefining horror and zombies forever. George A. Romero's hit movie is reimagined in this novel by John Russo, the screenwriter of the beloved
flick.

While visiting their father's grave, Barbara and Johnny see a man slowly approaching them.
Grotesque and ghost-pale, the man kills Johnny. Barbara manages to flee to a nearby
farmhouse, where others have gathered to escape the outbreak. This ragtag group hope to fend
off the horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls. Will any of them make it out alive?

Review Quotes

Film Juice
"Night of the Living Dead: The Novelization is a delightful piece of film memorabilia -- a well-crafted ride of a read." --Film Juice

This Week In Geek
"All the gruesome carnage and horror detailed within the pages will give you a new view into the characters and atmosphere of that unfortunate night in 1960s Pennsylvania." --This Week In Geek

Impulse Gamer
"Night of the Living Dead: The Official Novelization serves as a nice preservation of the film's legacy ... An engaging read for fans of the movie and offers some added details that make revisiting this classic story worthwhile." --Impulse Gamer

Geeks of Doom - Fall 2025 Book Recommendations

"This novelization captures the same claustrophobic dread and slow-building tension that made Romero's original so revolutionary."

"Unnerving, emotional, and extremely impossible to put down. Russo breathes life into death, capturing everything that makes Night of the Living Dead timeless: fear, isolation, and the fragile line between survival and humanity."

"The book itself was a masterful reimagining of a genre-defining classic. Proof that while the dead may rise again, great storytelling never dies."

- Boss Rush Network

About the Author

John A. Russo co-wrote the screenplay to the horror classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD which he subsequently adapted into a novelization. He also co-wrote the original screenplay to the film's sequel, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, which he then novelized in 1978 and was later adapted and re-written by director Dan O'Bannon as a feature film in 1985. With forty books published internationally and nineteen feature-length movies to his credit, John Russo has worked as a writer, producer, director and actor in the film industry for more than five decades.