Zombie Fiction Reviews, September 15, 2011
Sep 15, 2011They’re everywhere, the zombies. They permeate our popular culture. They’re on our TVs, most notably on AMC’s The Walking Dead, and our movie screens. Next year alone should see the releases of Infected, Night of the Living Dead: Origins, Resident Evil 5 , and the long-awaited World War Z, which is in production at last. They’re on our Wiis and Xbox 360s. They’re on the Internet, on zombie sites, blogs, and feeds. Even Facebook has unveiled a zombie game. And, of course, they’re in the library. Thanks to the ongoing fascination with all things undead, zombie lit keeps coming and coming. Here’s a peek at 11 books with braaains that will whet your patrons’ appetites. They’re coming to get you; you might as well meet them halfway.
Frater, Rhiannon. The First Days. (As the World Dies, Bk. 1). 2011. c.336p.ISBN 9780765331267.
Frater, Rhiannon. Fighting To Survive. (As the World Dies, Bk. 2). Nov. 2011. c.368p. ISBN 9780765331274. ea. vol: Tor. pap. $14.99. Horror
At first, Jenni assumes her abusive husband is being his usual sadistic self. It’s not until he begins devouring their three-year-old son that she realizes something is terribly wrong. Soon enough her entire family is both reanimated and ravenous, and Jenni flees. She’s rescued by Katie, a passerby in a pickup truck, and the two women join forces to embark on a Thelma and Louise–style odyssey into Texas hill country. Together they slice a swath through hordes of fleet-footed zombies to seek safety with other survivors in a small fortified town. In the sequel, the two find nothing is easy in this violent new civilization. The survivors labor to expand and fortify their territory as the world disintegrates around them, but these days the danger is greater than ever as the women and their men face off with human outlaws, a mysterious vigilante, and the ever-present zombies. Meanwhile, power struggles and tensions among members of the community threaten to erupt and destroy the safe haven they have built.
Frater gained a significant Internet following when she published this zombie trilogy (the conclusion, Siege, is scheduled for May 2012)as an online serial, but her work is less effective as novels. Many of the characters are flat, the dialog is often trite, and, at times, the writing is reminiscent of a PG-rated romance, a style that blends poorly with zombie fiction. On the flip side, the author has fashioned some great action sequences featuring a pair of tough but sexy female protagonists who divide their time between kicking zombie butt and making out with their respective beaux. Good for fans of the undead who like lots of hugs and kisses during their zombie apocalypse.
Grant, Mira. Deadline. Orbit: Hachette. (Newsflesh, Bk. 2). 2011. c.624p. ISBN 9780316081061. pap. $9.99. Horror
A year has passed since Shaun Mason (Feed) and the journalist-bloggers from his high-profile news organization investigated the truth behind Kellis-Amberlee, the virus that was created 20 years earlier when human-made cures for cancer and the common cold mutated together. The resulting contagion led to the rising of the dead, bringing about the zombie apocalypse. When a CDC researcher uses a clone to fake her own death and shows up on Shaun’s doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun realizes that the mystery is far from solved. This second entry in Grant’s trilogy is a keen and intelligent novel that takes a hard look at medical ethics, government corruption, and human responsibility. Grant, who also writes urban fantasy as Seanan McGuire, has a feel for the odd detail that makes sf believable, and Deadline rings true from beginning to end. Sure to appeal to fans of smart, subversive zombie lit in the vein of Max Brooks’s World War Z.
Harlow, Jennifer. Mind Over Monsters: A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation. Midnight Ink. Oct. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780738726670. pap. $14.95. Horror
Beatrice Alexander is no ordinary schoolteacher. She’s in fact a Carrie-level psychokinetic who has never been able to master her ability to move objects with her mind. Then she’s recruited and trained by the Federal Response to Extra-Sensory and Kindred Supernaturals. F.R.E.A.K.S. is a covert FBI division that steps in whenever ghouls, ogres, and other paranormal fiends threaten humanity. For her first case, Beatrice must hunt down a powerful necromancer. But she has to get past an army of zombies along with her F.R.E.A.K.S. compadres: a supermodel-gorgeous pyrokinetic, a teenage teleporter, a preppy psychic, a blind medium, a seductive vampire, and one smokin’ hot werewolf. Chills and laughter share equal time in Harlow’s fresh and funny debut. This supersensory heroine and her paranormal partners are the most engaging detectives to face the walking dead since Scully and Mulder. Part urban fantasy, part police procedural, and entirely marvelous, monstrous fun, this is sure to amass an army of fans, all of whom will be gnashing their teeth in anticipation of the next installment.
Kenemore, Scott (text) & Adam Wallenta (illus.). Zombies vs. Nazis: A Long History of the Walking Dead. Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. 2011. c.304p. illus. ISBN 9781616082505. pap. $12.95. Horror
It’s the dawn of World War II, and the Third Reich has dispatched three spies to Haiti to unravel the mysteries of voodoo. The evil empire plots to use an army of bloodthirsty walking dead to conquer the world but soon discovers that zombies are not as acquiescent as they’ve been led to believe. The action takes place, aptly, in Port-au-Prince amid a dark atmosphere reminiscent of the 1932 Bela Lugosi horror film White Zombie. The inept Nazi spies are by turns heinous and humorous as they attempt to learn the secrets of raising the dead. Kenemore’s latest zombie chronicle is as witty as his earlier books (The Zen of Zombie; Zombie, Ohio). The story, told through a series of top-secret documents unearthed by zombie historian Kenemore, is a refreshingly clever read that hails back to the original source of the zombie legend—voodoo. The book’s design, with illustrations by Wallenta, falls somewhere between a graphic novel and a chapter book for adults. Read with a healthy respect for voodoo, a strong stomach, and tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Maberry, Jonathan. Dead of Night: A Zombie Novel. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Nov. 2011. c.368p. ISBN 9781250000897. $26.99; pap. ISBN 9780312552190. $14.99. horror
A prison doctor injects a condemned serial killer with a drug intended to keep his brain animate while his body rots in the grave. But the drug malfunctions, and the result is—surprise!—a zombie who makes a snack out of the mortician servicing his corpse. Of course, he’s contagious, has passed on the infection, and—voilà!—the zombie plague has begun. As it turns out, this particular infestation was orchestrated by the Reagan administration when it captured the Project Lucifer documents from the Soviet Union. Lucifer engineered the creation of “metabolically minimalized ambulatory organic hosts.” Code for zombies? You bet. This is yet another government-engineered zombie plague. Maberry (Patient Zero), who has ended the world in previous novels, will not disappoint his fans with his latest mishmash of crime noir, horror, and gore. While zombie-savvy readers may become impatient at the length of time it takes the heroes to figure out that an apocalypse is in the offing—really, haven’t they ever seen a George Romero film?—Maberry enthusiasts will love it. [Library marketing.]
Marion, Isaac. Warm Bodies. Atria: S. & S. 2011. c.224p. ISBN 9781439192313. $24. Horror
A philosophical zombie falls in love with a human in this wistful Romeo and Juliet reboot. R is a zombie in a ruined world. He has no memories, identity, or pulse and spends a lot of time groaning, riding escalators, and wondering how old he is. Like other zombies, he feeds on brains and receives sustenance not only from the calories but by absorbing the memories contained in each cell of cerebral matter. During a hunting expedition, R devours the brain of a teenage boy and falls in love with Julie, the boy’s living girlfriend. When he realizes that the winsome Julie is right there in the room, R rescues her from his undead companions and hides her away in an abandoned plane, experiencing thoughts and feelings he didn’t know he could ever have again. Rom-zom-com reaches new heights in this startlingly unconventional debut novel. In elegant, evocative prose, Marion has fashioned the world’s most unlikely romance in a story that is by turns harrowing, poignant, and tender. At the last, the reader is reminded that we are all ultimately human, whether living or dead. Utterly charming.
Moody, David. Autumn: Purification. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9780312569990.
Moody, David. Autumn: Disintegration. Dec. 2011. c.352p. ISBN 9780312570019. ea. vol: Griffin: St. Martin’s. pap. $14.99. Horror
The undead of Moody’s popular “Autumn” series are unusual. They are never referred to as zombies, and they are not depicted as the evil, predatory cannibals so characteristic of zombie lit. Rather, these undead are diseased human beings who suffer from a debilitating condition. In the third installment, Purification, survivors from the previous book (Autumn: The City) are ensconced in an underground military base. The bodies amass on the surface, attracted by the commotion produced by the people underground. When the ventilation system becomes compromised by the milling crowd, soldiers are sent to fix the problem. The mission goes wrong, and the complex’s inhabitants must run for their lives and find a new place to start rebuilding once again. In the fourth book, Disintegration, 40 days have passed since the outbreak, and the world’s population has been decimated. The dead swarm everywhere, their decaying bodies deteriorating more each day. They have continued to become increasingly self-aware, violent, and regimented. A small group of survivors still endure through aggression and sheer ferocity. When their block of flats is breached by the dead, they flee and chance upon a hotel that appears to be an oasis of normality. Here, they encounter a second, very different group of people who have been using as survival tools intelligence and strategy instead of brute force.
Despite Moody’s new take on the traditional monster, his elaborate descriptions of decaying corpses, rotting entrails, and foul bodily fluids leave no doubt about the genre of his novels. After a while these accounts become both repetitive and revolting. Nonetheless, Purification is certain to appeal to series fans as well as lovers of urban-military–zombie crossovers like Z.A. Recht’s “Morningstar Strain” series and David Wellington’s Monster Island. In Disintegration, the best installment, Moody ventures into Lord of the Flies territory. The juxtaposition of the two groups of survivors and the consequent tension between them produces excruciating suspense not seen before in the series. The ending is utterly chilling and seems quite final, although Moody’s website indicates Autumn: Aftermath is in the works and will conclude the series.
Rowland, Diana. My Life as a White Trash Zombie. DAW, dist. by Penguin. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9780756406752. pap. $7.99. Horror
Angel Crawford is the very essence of white trash—an unemployed, drug-addicted high school dropout and convicted felon who lives in a Louisiana swamp shack with her alcoholic father. But her life changes the day she wakes up in the hospital with dim memories of a car crash and an all-consuming hunger for—you guessed it!—brains. Awaiting her is a note instructing her to report to the morgue for her new job as a coroner’s van driver along with a case of “energy drinks” (containing brains). Angel has been transformed into a zombie, and this is the beginning of her journey from white trash loser into self-sufficient modern woman. Rowland’s delightful novel jumps genre lines with a little something for everyone—mystery, horror, humor, and even a smattering of romance. Not to be missed—all that’s required is a high tolerance for gray matter. For true zombiephiles, of course, that’s a no brainer.
Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! Vintage: Random. Sept. 2011. c.832p. ed. by Otto Penzler. ISBN 9780307740892. $25. Horror
In this splendid collection, noted anthologist Penzler (The Vampire Archives) has assembled 57 stories that, in his opinion, make up the definitive collection of zombie short fiction. The bulk fall into one or the other of the standard subcategories of zombie lit: traditional voodoo-resurrected living dead, as in Manley Wade Wellman’s “Song of the Slaves” and Karen Haber’s “Red Angels,” or more modern shambling corpses, like those in Stephen King’s “Home Delivery” and Robert McCammon’s “Eat Me.” All the stories have appeared in previous anthologies, so there are few surprises, but rather a full dance card of undead heavy hitters that range from the timeless (Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson) to the timely (Scott Edelman, Joe R. Lansdale, Dale Bailey). Penzler’s latest mammoth anthology celebrates the living dead the same way that The Vampire Archives lauds the descendants of Dracula. His choice to largely omit splatterpunk is interesting and will surely raise some hackles, since this excludes some of the genre’s signature authors (Poppy Z. Brite, Jack Ketchum, and Clive Barker). Nevertheless, zombie aficionados will eagerly embrace this controversial and comprehesive collection.—Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY
Also shuffling down the zombie turnpike is Joan Frances Turner’s Frail (Ace: Berkley. Oct. 2011. 384p. ISBN 9780441020706. $24.95), in which a plague transforms human and zombie populations into “exes” who use the surving humans, or “frails,” as slaves.—Ed.
