Book Review -- Dearly, Departed

Title:  Dearly, Departed
Author:  Lia Habel
Genre: YA post-apocalyptic steampunk with zombies
Pages:  Hardback 467
Published:  2011
Opening Lines:  "I was buried alive.  When the elevator groaned to a stop in the middle of the rock shaft, I knew I was buried alive."

"Loves conquers all, so they say.  But can Cupid's arrow pierce the hearts of the living, and the dead—or rather, the undead?  Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

"The year is 2195.  The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era.  A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country's political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls.  But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who as squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money.  For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she's nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

"But fate is just getting started with Nora.  Catapulted from her world of drawing room civility, she's suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting "The Laz," a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them.  Hardly ideal circumstances.  Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead.  But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts.  And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there's no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever.  But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire."

~Jacket copy

Thoughts:  This book has been on my list to read for awhile.  However, due to various circumstances, I couldn't buy the book.  Once it was sitting in my house begging me to read it, I knew it had to wait for my Zombie Month.  Sadly, it didn't actually make it into the actual event . . . :(  That being said, it was worth the wait!

This book had me from the prologue.  When my husband came home for lunch, I forced him to sit and listen while I read it for him.  It was startling, heart rending, well written, and simply the best start to a book I have read in a long time.  Lia has the ability to fully put the reader into the moment.

Even though I don't know a lot about steampunk, I really liked where she went with the genre.  The basic premise of steampunk is that, in an alternate past, we went with steam power instead of electricity.  And, as part of steampunk, modern society is very similar to Victorian society.  In Lia's book, after the fall of Western civilization and the second Civil War, society desired to return to a perceived Golden Age.  From handed down knowledge and memories, they grasped onto the Victorian era as that Age.  While they had a high-tech society, they modeled the fashion, social classes, morals, and traditions of the Victorians.  However, on the fringes, there is a group known as the Punks who fight against this lifestyle.  I really enjoyed this take on steampunk.  Instead of giving us an alternate history, she gives us a new look into the future.  To me, she did a good job of making the genre her own and, in turn, really added something.

I loved the concept that zombies are not always the mindless, evil dead trying to eat people.  The fact that you can keep your sanity after dying was an interesting idea.  Also, having the good dead eat tofu as a protein source instead of flesh was awesome!  I felt Lia thought a lot about how zombies would survive without the flesh, how they would keep them from rotting away, and so on.

The characters and scenery were very rich!  Even though she did not have any one character take over, I felt she did an amazing job of fleshing them out (pun intended ^_~) and giving them the time they needed to develop.  Chas is one of my favorite characters, and I loved the little things Lia did to show her past.  I think showing Chas's writing at the end of the book was a good way to do this.  Further, I felt having chapters from different POVs was an exceptional way to give the audience a well-rounded view of the story.  Since each chapter was written from a first person POV, the audience was able to see things from various different angles and get a better idea of what was really going on.  I also appreciated that one of the POVs of Wolfe.

At the end of the book, it was interesting to see that our society has not progressed as far as we wold have thought.  The ending finds people devolving into actions very similar to the races riots.  In addition, I found myself wondering if they would mirror the laws of interracial marriages.

This book was amazing!  The writing style was out of this world!  I felt completely drawn into the story.  Honestly, I found myself trying to prolong the experience of the book as long as I could.  I didn't want it to end.  However, when a few of my inter-library loans came in, I realized I couldn't continue dragging my feet.  I can hardly wait for September and the second book.  Lia has really grabbed me with this one.  This book is one of my all time favorite zombie novels!

Rating:
Currently: Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry
Current Pages: 4887
Current Progress:

14/50 books

Zombie Month Book Review -- Eat, Slay, Love

Title:  Eat, Slay, Love
Author:  Jesse Petersen
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic
Pages:  Paperback 261
Published:  2011
Opening Lines:  "Have you ever felt like you were on a treadmill, but no matter how fast or far you ran, you never dropped those pesky last fifteen pounds?"

"Sarah and David have survived the zombie apocalypse.  They stood side by side and fought the undead, mad scientists, and even bionic monsters . . . until the unthinkable happened.  A zombie bite.  But no even that could stop them.

"Now, with a possible cure in hand, they're headed east, looking for a safe zone behind the rumored 'Wall.'  They're feeling pretty optimistic

~Jacket copy

Thoughts:  I am still waiting for Dave to stop sleeping.

Honestly, the back doesn't really give the book justice.  However, I'm not sure how it could without giving everything away.  That being said, I as really curious how the bite would affect David in the future.  Something like that isn't just miraculously cured without a result.  I felt that was a major win.  Since the book is written from Sarah's POV, I was glad the author didn't try to fully explain it.  I get really tired of stupid, campy explanations by characters.  Sarah had my response—you don't walk away from something like that without leaving lasting results.

This book picks up about a month or more after Sarah and Dave leave the Kid.  They are on their way to the Wall with the cure nestled safely between Sarah's breasts.  After fighting hoards of zombies, clearing road ways, and picking up supplies, they find themselves with a 'stalkerazzi' reporter in tow.

The majority of the book is spent with Sarah, Dave, Nicole, and McCray trying to survive, determine the nature of Dave's alterations, and finding the Wall.  Parts of this book were definitely worth and eye roll and others left me roaring!  At times, I felt that Petersen is over-the-top with Sarah's cheesy and snarky response to the apocalypse.  It gets to a point that it feels to contrived and distracts from the story.  However, in a weird way, that is what makes Sarah so endearing!

The ending of the book demands a sequel!  Even though I would love to spend a long time talking about the book, I feel that I would be in danger of giving everything away.  As with the other books, it is well written, has a good plot, is enjoyable, and a quick read.  When I need something light, I would definitely turn to her books.  That is not to say, however, that they lack in plot and character development.

Honestly, if you've enjoyed the previous books or just looking for a laugh-out-loud zombie book, this series needs to be at the top of your list!   

Rating:
Currently: Dearly Departed: A Zombie Novel by Lia Habel
Current Pages: 4420
Current Progress:

13/50 books

Zombie Month Book Review -- Zombie Queen of Newbury High

Title:  Zombie Queen of Newbury High
Author:  Amanda Ashby
Genre:  YA with zombies
Pages:  Oversize paperback 199
Published:  2009
Opening Lines:  "Mia Everett was doomed.  It was a fact she had known ever since Rob Ziggerman walked into biology class half an hour earlier."


"Quiet, unpopular, noncheerleading Mia is blissfully happy Rob—super hot football god—has asked her to prom!  Life couldn't get any better.  Enter Samantha—cheerleader queen and Miss Popular—who has made it quite clear that Rob should be her prom date.  Mia is desperate to make sure she doesn't end up dumped in front of the whole school.  So with prom in just a few days, she turns to Candice—her holistic, hypochondriac—and decides to try a love spell to make Rob stay with her.  Unfortunately, she ends up inflicting a zombie virus on her whole class instead, and she is their zombie leader!  At first, she loves all the attention.  But when she learns from zombie hunter hottie Chase that her classmates will actually try to eat her in a few days, she's not too thrilled.  She's sure she and Chase can figure something out, but in the meantime, she's suggesting that no one wear white to prom, because things could get very messy."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  After reading the title, I was rather intrigued by the book.  However, I admit that I was a little skeptical about whether the book would be good and still manage to have a plot.  Even though this book is full of teenage angst, it was a surprise.

When Rob starts sitting by Samantha in bio and forgetting about her, Mia freaks out that he is backing out on his invite to the prom.  While accompanying Candice to a holistic shop, she is convinced into casting a love spell to make sure her plans with Rob will not be ruined.  However, after casting the spell at a senior assembly, something different happens.  Candice starts eating meat, everyone is focused on her, she is receiving junk food gifts in her locker, and so on.  While she could deal with a love spell, she is not ready to find out that her whole senior class and a few teachers have been turned into zombies.  And this new found popularity comes with a price—she is at the top of the menu.

In a lot of ways, this book was extremely predictable.  However, I felt that the author gave a new and interesting twist to the zombie virus and how it manifests.  Also, the whole concept of a zombie queen.  Even though her sister pissed me off to no end, I really felt all of the characters did a good job supporting the plot.  They also made exceptional zombie scenery.

This book is extremely light and a fast read.  There are times I rolled my eyes and got upset by their portrayal of Candice and Latin (*ahem* I did take a few years of Latin and spent 5hrs/day translating the Odyssey, Ovid, etc.).  However, I ended up enjoying this book.  With all the stress of my job, it managed to keep me from going insane.

If you need a light read and like zombies, I would definitely pick this one up! 

Rating:
Current Pages: 4159
Current Progress:

12/50 books

Zombie Month Book Review -- Warm Bodies

Title:  Warm Bodies
Author:  Isaac Marion
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic
Pages:  Hardback 239
Published:  2011
Opening Lines:  I am dead, but it's not so bad.  I've learned to live with it."

"R is a young man with an existential crisis—he is a zombie.  He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains.  He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing.  He has not memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.

"After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend.  Julie is a blast of color in the dreary and pray landscape that surrounds R.  His decision to protect her will transform not only R but also his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless word."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  While I love the nitty-gritty zombie novel with people trying to survive the reanimated corpse that plague the world, I also enjoy reading a book that makes a zombie a sympathetic character.  It is easier to see the zombie as abject and pull away from it.  The zombie forces us to look at our most basic level in an extremely personal way.  It is easy for us to push the id down and block it out.  It is easier to look at it and kill it rather than dealing with it.  This book is able to show the evils on both sides—man trying to kill that which is too real and the zombie trying to distance themselves from their perceived evil.

This book follows R.  While we wouldn't equate zombies with actual life and focused thought.  However, R is deep and thoughtful.  Even though his language skills have been reduced to one or two syllable words, he is able to look at his life and think about it.  In addition, on his outings into the city to look for food, he brings back souvenirs of the Fleshies.  He loves to sit in his home and listen to Frank Sinatra records.  Through the brains that he eats, he is able to take part in the life of his victim.  All of their memories fill him and become a pseudo movie picture of a life he has forgotten.

During hunting excursion, they happen upon a group of people in an apartment building.  When R eats the brains of their leader, he is skyrocketed into the memories and life of Perry.  Through those memories, he falls in love with Julie.  He decides to save her, cover her with zombie-goo, and bring her back to his home at the airport.  Realizing that she cannot stay there forever, he goes on an adventure to bring her home.  On this adventure he will end up finding life again.

I did not expect the outcome of this book when I read the synopsis on Amazon.  I felt that the author did a good job fleshing—no pun intended—both the society of the living and dead.  The concept of the Boneys and a governing force behind the dead community.  Also, the fact that even though they look like stumbling, thoughtless, and hungry reanimated dead, this book shows them to be more.  Further, he did a good job with group of people living in the big stadium.  Both societies were written with an awesome depth and visually was amazing!

The author also did an excellent job with character development.  All of the characters were different and added their own element to the story.  Honestly, I felt the scenery and characters made the book.

This book was wonderful!  Even though it took me awhile to get through it due to the new job, I always looked forward to reading it on my lunch break.  The story is rich and skillfully written.  If you're looking for another take on zombies, I would suggest this book.


Rating:
Currently: Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby
Current Pages: 3960
Current Progress:

11/50 books

Guest Post Rhiannon Frater

My Love Affair With Zombies

By

Rhiannon Frater

The shambling undead did not enter my life until I was around eleven years old.  The popular monsters of my childhood were Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers.  I wasn’t even aware of zombies until one afternoon when I happened to catch Night of the Living Dead on television.  My brothers and I weren’t supposed to watch horror movies, but we turned the sound down low and huddled close to our old TV hoping our parents wouldn’t notice what we were watching.  I had never seen anything as horrific as the zombies slowly and methodically beating their fists against the farmhouse windows, anxious to eat the humans within.  I was absolutely traumatized and vowed never to watch another zombie movie again.  The mere idea of zombies was so terrifying I had trouble sleeping for many nights afterward.

One Sunday afternoon when I was a teenager, I walked into the living room when Day of the Dead was on HBO.  The notorious disemboweling scene with the nefarious Captain Rhodes was taking place and I ran to the bathroom and threw up.  Once again, I vowed I would never watch another zombie flick.

Strange what we’ll do for love.  Years later, in my twenties, one of my former boyfriends talked me into watching Night of the Living Dead again.  At this point I was a big fan of Hammer films and other horror movies, but could not bring myself to watch anything related to zombies.  He dared me to watch it with him, and I did not want to be seen as a wimp. So I sat down on the couch and watched the movie that is now my favorite zombie film. Somehow, my fear of zombies was transformed into fascination. 

It was difficult to find George A Romero’s films on dvd, but I finally tracked down the trilogy.  My new boyfriend (the man I would marry) and I had a marathon of the old movies before going to see the new version of Dawn of the Dead in the theaters.

I have to say the remake completely solidified my love of all things zombies and I was forever hooked.

But even though I was a fan of the genre, I never dreamed I would end up writing my own zombie epic.  The monsters of my childhood nightmares were vampires.  I tend to write about what I fear, so I honestly believed my success would come first from my vampire stories.  I was very surprised when a short story I wrote on a whim became the beginning of a three book trilogy that I wrote online between 2005 to 2007. 

For those two years I lived with zombies shambling (or running) through my nightmares.  Their presence was a constant in my dreams.  I became acutely aware of my surroundings as I went about my daily life, the fear of my characters infecting me during daylight hours.  I would enter a building and instantly plan my escape.  Every day I would write a bit more of my zombie story, creating a taunt tale of Texans surviving the zombocalypse.  Though the AS THE WORLD DIES zombie trilogy is a character driven action adventure tale, the zombies definitely had their moments.  I had fun creating new ways to kill them or to make them dangerous. 

At first I tried to stick with the Romero rules of zombiedom, but quickly realized that this was my tale to tell.  Since Texas has a gun culture, I knew that for Texas to fall the zombies had to be fast.  Yet, I still loved Romero’s shambling zombies, so I found a way to slow mine down.  I spent far too many hours thinking about how much trauma the body of a zombie would go through every day.  Since they aren’t intelligent and can’t feel pain, they would inflict massive damage on themselves very quickly. Also, the elements would take their toll.  Slowly, I created my own zombie mythos.

In 2008 I started to self-publish my zombie story in three complete volumes to appease the fans of the online story.  I never dreamed it would have such brisk sales or end up garnering accolades from fans, other writers, and review sites.  The series won the 2008 and 2009 Dead Letter Award for THE FIRST DAYS and FIGHTING TO SURVIVE and was optioned for a possible TV show.  In 2010, my literary agent sold the trilogy to the genre publishing powerhouse Tor.  With the guidance of my editor Melissa Singer I was able to return to the world I loved so much and revise it into a leaner, meaner, and better version.  I consider the Tor versions to be the ultimate versions of the series.  I am incredibly proud of them.

As I have moved on to other projects, I am often asked when I will return to the world of the zombies.  I am done revising AS THE WORLD DIES for Tor, but I have plans to publish two follow-up short story collections to my self-published AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES VOLUME 1 this year. The short stories highlight minor characters and their side adventures in the deadlands.  I am also currently working on a futuristic zombie tale that has a whole new kind of zombie to fear. 

Though I will go on to write about other monsters and other horrific scenarios, the shambling undead will always have their place in my nightmares and my heart.

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the AS THE WORLD DIES zombie trilogy and the author of several other books: the vampire novels PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES and THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. The first two books in her zombie trilogy, THE FIRST DAYS and FIGHTING TO SURVIVE, are available now in bookstores.

Website: rhiannonfrater.com & astheworlddies.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/astheworlddies
Twitter: twitter.com/rhiannonfrater 
Blog: rhianonfrater.blogspot.com

S.G. Browne Guest Post

People are always asking me about zombies:

            Have you always loved zombies?

            Do you think you’ll survive the zombie apocalypse?

            Is it necrophilia if you’re both dead?

            In case you’re curious, the answers are:

Yes, no, and I don’t think so.

I’m asked this because I wrote a dark zombie comedy titled Breathers that was published back in 2009 and I’ve since had several zombie short stories published in anthologies. So now everyone seems to think I know a lot about zombies.

Truth is, I’m not an authority on zombie sex. However, I do know a lot about sloughage, frothy purge, and cadaver impact testing.

            For some reason, this troubles my parents.

            I've been a zombie fan ever since I saw Romero's original Night of the Living Dead back when I was in sixth grade and they instantly became my favorite monster. I even used to dream about them chasing me through the streets. Or surrounding my house. Or doing my taxes. And I’ll admit that I enjoy the fast moving zombies as well as the shuffling ones. They're both terrifying in their own way.

            I do realize, however, that there are zombie purists out there who only want their zombies to be of the post-apocalyptic variety. Slow and mindless and horrifying. They don’t like it when you do anything new or different when it comes to the living dead. They get very Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham about their zombies.

            They do not like them when they run

            They do not like them if they’re fun

            They do not like them when they’re smart

            They do not like them with a heart

            While I respect this point of view, I have a large umbrella when it comes to zombies and I welcome all types to stand under it. Fast and slow. Sentient and mindless. Comical and terrifying. After all, can’t we all just get along?

            Which relates to another question that often comes up:

            Why do you think zombies are so popular right now?

            I suppose you could make the argument that zombies are an allegory for the end of the world as we know it. That the current mainstream popularity of zombies is a direct reflection of global fears regarding the economy and terrorism. Horror as catharsis for the fears and anxiety of a society making commentary on itself. You could even argue that zombies are the proletarians of the monster hierarchy and in troubled economic times, they become the poster child for the financial ills of a nation.

                A lot of other zombie authors and film makers who are asked about the popularity of zombies agree with this hypothesis. Me? Not so much.

I believe the recent surge in zombie popularity can instead be attributed to the fact that zombies have been taken out of their proverbial archetypal box. No longer are they just the shambling, mindless, flesh-eating ghouls we've known and loved for most of the past four decades.

They’re faster. Funnier. Sentient.

                They’ve expanded their range. Become more versatile. More well-rounded. And who doesn't enjoy a well-rounded zombie? Plus they’re tragically comical, shuffling along, losing their hair and teeth and the occasional appendage. Add the fact that they used to be us, that we could all become them one day, and you can’t help but relate.

Ultimately, that’s what prompted me to write Breathers in the first place. I thought: What if I was a zombie? But instead of your stereotypical mindless Hollywood zombie, shuffling along and craving human flesh, I was just a reanimated corpse who was gradually decomposing, I had no rights, and I needed some serious therapy?

How would society treat me? What would my parents think? Could I join a bowling league?

What I ended up with was a story about a group of zombies who attend Undead Anonymous meetings while trying to find their purpose in a society in which they have no purpose. It’s part dark comedy, part social satire, with a little blood and violence. Kind of like Fight Club meets Shaun of the Dead, only with the zombies as the good guys.

            The other question I’m often asked is:

            Do you think zombies are here to stay?

            Truth is, zombies have been starring in low-budget films and mass market paperbacks for most of the past forty years. They’re just finally being appreciated for their diverse talents and given the opportunity to show that they’re more than one-dimensional monsters. Instead of being cast in supporting roles, they’ve become the leads, the stars, the marquee attraction. And as long as writers and film makers continue to push the boundaries of the mythology, I think zombies will remains as popular tomorrow as they are today.

S. G. Browne is the author of my favorite zombie book, The Breathers: A Zombie Lament.  It is interesting to see how different authors in the zombie-genre have chosen to tackle the issues of what it means to be a zombie or live in a world infested with the walking dead.  Even though some books try to be sympathetic to the zombie, I feel that Browne's book is the best.  Not only does the reader share in Andy's adventures of being a zombie, they also see that a zombie can be very much a central character. 

If you're interested in checking out S.G. Brown, you can find him at the following:

S.G. Browne's website  (follow his Twitter and blog from this website).

Thanks, Scott, for being willing to participate in Zombie Month!

Zombie Month Book Review -- Zombies Don't Cry

Title:  Zombies Don't Cry
Author:  Rusty Fischer
Genre:  YA zombie fiction
Pages:  Oversize paperback, 371
Published:  2011
Opening Lines:  "The graveyard is calm at this hour, an appropriately full moon shining down on acres of freshly mown lawn and miles of evenly spaces headstones."

"Maddy Swift is just a normal girl—a high school junior surviving class with her best friend and hoping the yummy new kid, Stamp, will ask her out.  When he finally does, her whole life changes.

"Sneaking out to meet Stamp at a party one rainy night, Maddy is struck by lightning.  After awakening, she feels lucky to be alive.  Over time, however, Maddy realizes that she's become the thing she and everyone else fear the most: the living dead.

"With no heartbeat and no breath in her lungs, Maddy must learn how to survive as a zombie.  Turns out there's a lot more to it than shuffling around 24/7 growling, 'Brains.'  Needing an afterlife makeover is only the beginning of her problems.  As Barracuda Bay High faces zombie Armageddon, Maddy must summon all her strength to protect what matters most—just as soon as she figures out exactly what that is."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  Books looking at zombies as something other than shambling reanimated bodies looking for the nest slice of brains is an interesting spin on the genre.  Reading this book after Rot & Ruin is an interesting contrast.  Where Rot & Ruin looks at a world post-zombie-apocalypse, Zombies Don't Cry brings it home with zombie high school students.

This book follows the teenage angst of Maddy.  It starts out like every YA novel: Maddy is a regular girl, has a selfish best friend, and falls for the new kid.  However, the author throws the zombie-element into the mix and turns it into a version of Teen Wolf.

I found it interesting that the author talks about zombies being created from either a high voltage shock of electricity or a bite.  However, if a person is bit, they become a raging zombie called a Zerker.  This gave the whole zombie myth a new twist.  It also made zombies more sympathetic.

Honestly, while I love zombies and YA books, this book was just kind of "meh" for me.  It didn't grab my attention, the characters were two-dimensional, and everything was a stereotype.  Further, I felt that the author didn't spend enough time on certain things.  I was very saddened that he did not talk in more details about the Elders, The Guide, etc.  Also, I felt there was a pseudo buildup without a huge climax.

All in all, this book really didn't move me or catch my full attention.  It was too superficial and vapid.  However, if you're looking for a quick, easy, and shallow read, this is the perfect book.    


Rating:
Currently: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Current Pages: 3617
Current Progress:

10/50 books

Zombie Month Book Review -- Rot & Ruin

Title:  Rot & Ruin
Author:  Jonathan Maberry
Genre:  YA post-apocalyptic with zombies
Pages:  Hardback, 458
Published:  2010
Opening Lines:  ":Benny Imura couldn't hold a job, so he took to killing."

"In the zombie-infested world Benny has grown up in, teenagers must work once they turn fifteen—or they;ll lose their food rations.  Benny isn't interested in taking on the family business, but he reluctantly agrees to train as a zombie killer with his older boring big brother, Tom.  He expects a dull job, whacking zombies for cash.  What he discovers is a vocation that will teach him what it really means to be human.

"As his worldview is challenged again and again by the lessons he learns from Tom, Benny is forced to confront another horrifying reality: Sometimes the most terrible monsters are humans."

~Jacket copy 

Thoughts:  I honestly had no idea what to expect going into this book.  At some level, I anticipated the traditional zombie-apocalypse with teenagers as the central characters.   However, this book really teaches valuable life lessons and forces the reader to take a closer look at society.

Wanting to find the easiest and most entertaining job they can, Benny and Chong, his best friend, start trying out jobs they find listed in the help-wanted pages.  After Chong finds his dream vocation up on the watch towers, Benny is left struggling to find something before his rations run out.  Even though he hates his brother and thinks of him as a coward, Benny decides that becoming Tom's apprentice is the only option.  Expecting a boring job of killing masses of undead for bounty money, Benny is faced with the horrible truth behind human nature in the Rot and Ruin—where there are no rules and those strong enough will take what they want . . . By any means necessary.

From start to finish, this book was engaging!  Even though I understand Benny's feelings towards Tom, I couldn't fully understand why he felt zombie killing would be a boring job.  After all, he loved to spend hours at a time listening to Charlie Pink-Eye and The Hammer talk about their zombie killing adventures.  Using that as a judge, it was surprising to be how insistent he was on the boring nature of the job.

I felt that Maberry did a wonderful job fleshing out the characters as well as the surroundings.  To me, the Rot and Ruin was as much a character as the people.  Each deserted town, Lilah's cave, etc. had it's own personality.  Further, even though the zombies were a vehicle for the plot, he manages to make them characters in his own right.

Maberry put a lot of thought and time into this work.  He uses it to address deep issues of true human nature and the nature of evil.  He questions whether zombies can really be called bad a or evil since they lack any awareness.  They are driven by an insane hunger they cannot control, and, from all outward appearances, seem to have no brain function outside of this insatiable hunger for human flesh.  Therefore, they cannot be blamed for their actions and those actions cannot be seen as malicious.  The people, however, choose to torture zombies, throw lost children into pits with zombies for entertainment, and so on.  Tom challenges Benny to look at the true monster in society.

The concept of the zombie being the "noble-savage" reminds me a great deal of The Last Man On Earth. What makes us human?  What separates us from the animals?  What keeps our baser instincts in check?  This book was amazingly deep, engaging, and well extremely well written. 

Rating:
Currently: Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer
Current Pages: 3246
Current Progress:

9/50 books

Theme Song Saturday (18)

Welcome to Theme Song Saturdays, a new weekly meme, hosted by yours truly, in which we share our love of music and books! Since I love books and music, this meme is for fun to try to incorporate those two loves! Whenever I read a book, a certain song -- kind of like a soundtrack or theme song -- plays through my head.

Want to know how to play? Head over to this post to read the rules and get the code.

Here's my pick this week:

The Zombie Song by Stephanie Mabey really made me think of this book.  Benny's obsession over The Lost Girl seems as though it is more than just a crush.  Even though this book isn't the most lighthearted, this song is cute and, to me, lends well to the subject matter. 

Zombie Tops: Music & Movies

As you can guess, my love of zombies is not limited to books.  In fact, it wasn't until a few years ago that I got my hands onto a zombie novel.  My only outlet was movies.  Here's my list of my all time favorite zombie movies and music!

Movies

• Shaun of the Dead —When this movie hit the theaters, I didn't give my poor husband and option of whether or not we would be attending.  Unfortunately, our local theater didn't bring it, so we traveled about an hour to find one that was showing it.  As soon as the movie hit the racks, I bought it!  Honestly, it is my all-time go-to favorite zombie movie!  Because of it, Simon Pegg is one of my favorite actors.
• Zombieland — This one seems to be a favorite of zombie buffs.  The rules nearly brought me to tears!  I find them to be extremely practical in most circumstances.  And how can you resist a zombie movie will Bill Murray? 
• The Last Man on Earth — I admit, I watched I Am Legend before seeing this movie.  However, while my dad was visiting a few years ago, we pulled this DVD out.  This movie really questions human nature and whether zombies are always bad.  Vincent Price will always be my favorite horror actor!
• Dawn of the Dead — The remake with Sarah Polly is my favorite.  The zombie baby is exceptionally creepy.  I love the guy across the street in the weapons store and taking shots at the zombies for pleasure.  And how could you not love the awesome zombie-mobiles they create?
• Planet Terror — I have no idea how to describe this movie.  It is action packed, full of blood and guts, and a sexy girl with a gun for a leg!  How could you possibly go wrong? 

Music

• Walk Like a Zombie by the HorrorPops — When I first put their CD into my player, I didn't pay too much attention to the song list.  After a minute, I realized that I was listening to a rockin' zombie love song.  It incorporates the Addam's Family, howling at the moon, and walks in the graveyard at night.  Plus the rockabilly upright base makes it that much better!  And, to make it that much better, I got the opportunity to see it in concert!!
• I Walked With a Zombie by Wednesday 13 — I'm not even sure where to begin on this song.  I just absolutely love it.  It's horror punk, so it's a little weird.  That being said, it is hilarious!
• Zombie Love Song by Your Favorite Martian — It's Ray William Johnson, is there anything else I can say?
• Zombie A Go Go by Captain Clegg — This is just a cute, throw-back to the 60s song.

Those are my top picks.  What are yours?

Zombie Month Book Review -- First Days

Title:  First Days: As the World Dies
Author:  Rhiannon Frater
Genre:  Post-apocalyptic
Pages:  Oversize paperback, 331
Published:  2008, 2011
Opening Lines:  "So small.  So very, very small."

"It begins on a peaceful, beautiful morning.  Katie, a prosecutor, is driving to work when a dead man jumps into her car and tries to eat her.  Elsewhere in the city, Jenni, a housewife opens a bedroom door to find her husband devouring their infant son.


"Fate puts Katie outside Jenni's door when the younger woman flees her zombified family.  Fate—and Katie's quick reflexes behind the wheel—see them safely out of the city while most of the living are quickly chased down by the undead.


"The two women begin a cross-Texas odyssey to rescue Jenni's oldest sin and hopefully find safety . . . somewhere . . . Jenni discovers the great joy of watching a zombie's head explode when she shoots its brains out.  Katie learns that her analytical mind is perfect for planning the best attacks and escape routes.


"A small, isolated, fortified town is their only hope.  Fewer than one hundred people have gathered there, clinging to civilization and to hope.  They all know the zombies will come for them.  But until that day, they will live, and love, and maybe even laugh."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  I first ran across this book back in 2008.  I'm not sure if I found it during a casual zombie search of Amazon or if I saw it mentioned somewhere.  One way or the other, I was completely and utterly drawn to this book.  However, for various reasons mostly focusing on forgetfulness, I never ended up buying it.  So, when I decided to host Zombie Month, it was the first book on my list!

First Days follows the story of Jenni and Katie—two women thrown together through unfortunate circumstances.  Katie is a prosecutor and Jenni is a battered housewife.  Both women are from completely different walks of life; however, they find solace and resolve in each others company.  After fleeing the city, they decide to rescue Jenni's remaining son.  Camping up in the National Park, Jenni hopes that he has escaped the dangers of the city.  On the way, the meet Narit, an ex-Israeli sharpshooter, and her husband Ralph at a small hunting store.  The four form a quick bond.  With Ralph and Narit's help, the girls now have a plan—and guns—to rescue Jason.  While everything seems to be going good, the women are chased by a horde of zombies and find they are far away from the safety of the hunting store with a dangerously low fuel line.  Through Ralph, Narit, a small town sheriff, and a CB, the women are led to a safe area in a small town.  Even with such a crazy and action packed beginning, their story has barely started!

Throughout the book, the POV shifts between Jenni, Katie, and sometimes other characters.  This can be problematic for some authors; however, Rhiannon does an amazing job of keeping each voice unique while supporting the integrity of the story.  It also gives the reader a well-rounded view of the zombie situation and the characters.  To me, this really added to the reading experience.

Even though Jenni had her short-comings and desperately needed to get over her victimization at the hands of a abusive husband, it was refreshing to read a novel with strong female leads.  In fact, I found Jenni's abuse was a wonderful vehicle to show character development and the realities of fighting for survival.  Along those lines, I felt that she put a lot of thought into her characters and their reactions to the situation.  The unknown vigilante and the renegades at the end really show that.  Also, the whole controversy surrounding the views of Richie, Shane's response to Katie, and so on goes a long way to show the tenuous nature of their small society.  As Juan said, in-fighting tends to make the zombies win.   

The scenery of the book was amazing!  I never felt bogged down by descriptions.  On the contrary, I felt Rhiannon gave enough details to allow me to form a mental picture.  It was obvious that she knew he way around Texas.  That lends an authority to the novel.  Further, she does an amazing job turning the zombies into background scenery.

My only misgiving about the book is editing.  On the whole, the book has very good editing; however, there are occasional mistypes and sentences to be reworded.  A few times, I had to reread sentences.  It kind of slowed down the reading and broke illusion.  But, as stated above, this was not all the time.

Honestly, this book was worth the wait!  I found myself intentionally slowing down, so I could make the book last longer.  It is action packed, but has a very deep plot.  Rhiannon definitely put a lot of thought into the book.  If you love zombie books, I highly recommend this one!

Stay Tuned for a Guest Post by Rhiannon Frater!

Rating:
Currently: Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Current Pages: 2788
Current Progress:

8/50 books

Zombie Month 2012!

If you've been following my blog, you all know that I love zombies.  It isn't this casual passing phase.  I have enjoyed zombie movies since I watched Night of the Living Dead  with my Dad.  And this version, ladies and gentlemen, was the original black and white.

I guess you could say that something completely broke in my brain after watching this.  Even though I was young, I started planning for what seemed like the inevitable zombie apocalypse.  Since our house had a two-story flight of stairs to the front door and we had no windows on the back (well, except for my small window), I figured we would be pretty safe.  Even though the front of our house was covered with windows, I could not see how the zombies would be able to manage the stairs.  And, if all else failed, the four of us could crowd onto my loft bed and survive.  However, the ability of four people to live on the bed didn't really enter into the equation.


As you can guess, this passion followed me throughout my life.  I would scrape together money in order to rent the newest Romero movie to hit the shelves.  And I was so excited when Shaun of the Dead hit the theaters.  I told my husband he didn't have a choice and had to come with me.  We even spent one Christmas Eve watching movies like Fido!  When I was considering graduate school, I seriously toyed with the idea of writing my master's thesis on the Romero flicks and throwing in a little psycho-analytic theory to sweeten the deal.

With all of this in mind, imagine my excitement when I started noticing zombie books on the shelves at our local Hastings!  I practically did a victory dance in the middle of the store.  My first zombie book was the Breathers by S.G. Browne.  It opened an amazing door!  And, even after some good zombie books, it is still my all time favorite!

Sadly, even though I love zombies, I am better versed in the movies than the books.  And I hope to remedy that!

Starting the beginning of February, I begin a new job as an emergency dispatcher.  In celebration of the soon to be zombie status, I decided to make this month ZOMBIE MONTH!  I plan on reading as many zombie books as I can while working the late shift and finding awesome authors who are willing to write guests posts!

As the opener of ZOMBIE MONTH, I picked First Days by Rhiannon Frater.  This book caught my attention a few years ago, but I failed to buy it.  So, as an apology for never getting around to reading it, it has found its way to the top of my zombie list!


Let's the festivities of ZOMBIE MONTH begin!