Leigh Radford’s debut novel One Yellow Eye emerges as a surprisingly intimate exploration of devotion in the face of unimaginable horror. While the zombie genre has been thoroughly explored in recent years, Radford’s scientific background and deeply personal approach to the material breathes new life into what could have been another generic undead narrative. This is not your typical zombie thriller—it’s a meditation on love, obsession, and the lengths we’ll go to preserve what we cannot bear to lose.
The Heart of Darkness: Character Study
Kesta Shelley: A Brilliant Mind in Freefall
Dr. Kesta Shelley stands as one of the most compelling protagonists in recent horror fiction. Radford crafts her with meticulous attention to psychological detail, presenting a biomedical scientist whose expertise becomes both her greatest asset and her ultimate downfall. Kesta’s voice carries the clinical precision of someone accustomed to viewing the world through microscopes, yet her observations are tinged with a growing desperation that makes her increasingly unreliable as a narrator.
The author’s decision to ground Kesta in authentic scientific methodology pays dividends throughout the narrative. Her process of discovery—from identifying the purple “jellybean” inclusions in tissue samples to connecting the outbreak to reptilian inclusion body disease—feels genuinely researched and medically sound. This scientific authenticity elevates the horror, making the virus feel plausible rather than fantastical.
Tim: The Absent Presence
Perhaps the most masterful element of Radford’s characterization is how she makes Tim—despite his condition—feel vibrantly alive through Kesta’s memories and observations. The author employs a sophisticated technique of showing us who Tim was through Kesta’s desperate attempts to maintain their connection. His presence permeates every page, even when he’s reduced to groaning and requiring sedation.
Narrative Structure and Pacing
The Descent Into Madness
Radford structures the novel as a gradual descent, both literal and metaphorical. The underground setting of Project Dawn serves as a physical manifestation of Kesta’s psychological state—the deeper she goes, the further she retreats from reality and human connection. The author’s pacing is deliberately measured, allowing tension to build through scientific discovery rather than action sequences.
The narrative’s strength lies in its restraint. Rather than indulging in graphic zombie violence, Radford focuses on the psychological toll of the outbreak. When violence does occur, it carries genuine weight and consequence. The scene where Kesta beats down the infected porter with a microtome is particularly effective because it’s filtered through her clinical observations rather than played for shock value.
Scientific Authenticity as Horror Device
The author’s background in broadcast journalism serves her well in crafting believable scientific procedures and terminology. The Project Dawn facility feels lived-in and authentic, with its hierarchical security clearances, ethical dilemmas, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. The revelation that the facility is conducting gain-of-function research—making the virus more dangerous rather than seeking a cure—provides genuine horror that transcends the supernatural.
Thematic Depth
Love as Obsession
The novel’s central theme explores the fine line between devotion and obsession. Kesta’s care for Tim begins as genuine love but gradually transforms into something more troubling. Radford skillfully blurs these boundaries, making readers question whether Kesta’s actions stem from love or selfish inability to let go. The author doesn’t provide easy answers, instead allowing the moral complexity to unfold naturally.
Scientific Ethics and Responsibility
Through Project Dawn’s activities, Radford examines the ethical implications of scientific research during crisis situations. The contrast between Kesta’s desperate search for a cure and the facility’s weaponization research creates meaningful tension. The author avoids heavy-handed messaging, instead allowing the ethical dilemmas to emerge organically from the plot.
Writing Style and Prose
Clinical Precision Meets Emotional Depth
Radford’s prose style mirrors her protagonist’s scientific background while maintaining emotional accessibility. Her sentences often carry the measured cadence of clinical observation, which becomes increasingly frantic as Kesta’s mental state deteriorates. The author demonstrates particular skill in medical and scientific descriptions, making complex concepts understandable without sacrificing accuracy.
The dialogue feels natural and serves character development effectively. Conversations between Kesta and her colleagues at Project Dawn reveal personality and plot information organically, avoiding the exposition-heavy dialogue that plagues many genre novels.
Atmospheric Excellence
The author excels at creating atmosphere through environmental details. The underground Project Dawn facility becomes a character in itself, with its sterile corridors, fluorescent lighting, and sense of isolation from the world above. Radford’s descriptions of the zombie outbreak’s aftermath—empty streets, abandoned buildings, the general sense of societal collapse—feel authentic and lived-in.
Critical Assessment
Strengths
Authentic Scientific Detail: The medical and scientific elements feel genuinely researched and add credibility to the fantastical elements
Complex Character Development: Kesta’s psychological journey is nuanced and believable
Emotional Resonance: The love story at the novel’s heart provides genuine emotional stakes
Atmospheric Writing: The underground setting and post-apocalyptic London are vividly realized
Thematic Depth: The novel explores meaningful questions about love, obsession, and scientific ethics
Areas for Improvement
Pacing Issues: The middle section occasionally feels sluggish, particularly during extended scientific exposition
Secondary Character Development: Characters like Cooke and Dudley could use more depth beyond their functional roles
Predictable Plot Points: Certain revelations, particularly about Project Dawn’s true purpose, feel telegraphed
Ending Resolution: The climactic sequences feel somewhat rushed compared to the careful buildup
Literary Context and Comparisons
Genre Positioning
One Yellow Eye sits comfortably alongside other elevated zombie fiction like Zone One by Colson Whitehead and The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. Like these works, Radford uses the zombie apocalypse as a lens to examine human nature and societal structures rather than simply as a vehicle for action and horror.
Similar Reads
Readers who enjoyed this novel might appreciate:
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling – for its blend of science fiction and psychological horror
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer – for its unreliable narrator and body horror elements
The Last by Hanna Jameson – for its intimate approach to apocalyptic fiction
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – for its focus on human connections during societal collapse
The Road by Cormac McCarthy – for its exploration of love and survival in a post-apocalyptic world
Technical Craft
Narrative Voice and Perspective
Radford’s choice to employ third-person limited perspective allows readers intimate access to Kesta’s thoughts while maintaining some narrative distance. This technique proves particularly effective as Kesta’s mental state deteriorates, allowing the author to show the character’s unreliability without completely undermining reader trust.
Symbolic Elements
The yellow eye of the title serves as a powerful recurring symbol, representing both the virus’s animalistic nature and Kesta’s growing obsession with finding answers. The author weaves this imagery throughout the narrative without becoming heavy-handed, creating a sense of mounting dread that culminates in the novel’s climactic scenes.
Cultural and Social Commentary
Pandemic Parallels
Writing during the COVID-19 pandemic, Radford captures the psychological toll of living under constant threat. The novel’s exploration of isolation, social breakdown, and the search for scientific solutions feels remarkably timely. The author’s portrayal of government response—both inadequate and authoritarian—resonates with contemporary anxieties about crisis management.
Gender and Science
Through Kesta’s character, Radford examines the position of women in scientific fields, particularly during crisis situations. The protagonist’s struggle to be taken seriously by male colleagues while maintaining her emotional connection to her work provides subtle commentary on gender dynamics in STEM fields.
Final Verdict
One Yellow Eye succeeds as both a compelling zombie thriller and a profound meditation on love, loss, and the limits of human devotion. Leigh Radford announces herself as a significant new voice in horror fiction, bringing scientific authenticity and emotional depth to a genre often lacking in both. While the novel has minor pacing issues and could benefit from stronger secondary character development, its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.
The book’s greatest achievement lies in its ability to make readers question the nature of love itself. Is Kesta’s devotion to Tim admirable or disturbing? The author refuses to provide easy answers, instead crafting a morally complex narrative that lingers long after the final page. This is horror fiction at its most thoughtful and affecting.
For readers seeking intelligent genre fiction that combines scientific authenticity with genuine emotional stakes, One Yellow Eye delivers on multiple levels. It’s a promising debut that suggests Radford has much more to offer the horror community.
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford is a thoughtful, scientifically grounded zombie novel that prioritizes character development and emotional resonance over gore and action. While it has minor pacing issues, its strengths in atmosphere, characterization, and thematic depth make it a standout entry in contemporary horror fiction.