Most people who know me know that I hate scary movies. I get overly involved and freak out just a bit. I've only ever watched one actually scary zombie movie--Dawn of the Dead--and ended up jumping up and down on Niki's couch screaming "Run, you stupid b***h!!!" at the main character. That being said, I love watching The Walking Dead (though that mid-season finale ticked me off just a bit in regards to Hershel and Judith), and reading zombie books. I'm also a big fan of funny zombie movies (Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland). Most of my friends who also like zombie culture are convinced they could survive the apocalypse a lot better than some of the people on Walking Dead or similar shows. I'm convinced I'd be one of the first people to get bitten.
Running is hard.....
Anyways, on to my central point (I swear, I do have one). There are a couple of zombie-themed books about which I am wildly enthusiastic. One is for adults, and the other is geared toward young adults. I'll start with with young adult series:
Rot & Ruin, by Jonathan Maberry, is set fifteen years after the zombie apocalypse, which the characters call First Night. The protagonist is Benny Imura, a boy who was only 18 months old when First Night occurred and is now considered old enough by his community to begin working. The rationale is that everyone needs to pull their weight and earn their food. Benny's character makes the point that teenage angst is everywhere...even after zombies have taken over most of the Earth. He bucks at the authority of his older brother, Tom, who had raised him since First Night. Tom is known throughout their community as the best bounty hunter/zombie killer in the Rot & Ruin, which is what people call everything beyond the city gates.
What I like about this story is that, while there are many intense action scenes, it's not all about killing zombies. The "zoms" are shown as just another dangerous part of nature. They aren't evil, and they aren't malicious, they're only acting in accordance to the virus. Tom Imura is a brilliant fighter, but he doesn't go out of his way to hurt or kill people. He uses his strength--both of body and character--to defend the people he loves and to bring closure to the survivors of First Night. He doesn't even go out of his way to kill zombies because they were once people.
Rot & Ruin has several relatable and realistic characters. It's a thicker book for a young adult novel, but it moves at a rapid pace. Benny and his friends are typical teenagers...they just happen to be living in an atypical world. So far, there are four books in the series: Rot & Ruin, Dust & Decay, Flesh & Bone, and Fire & Ash. Maberry has also written zombie-based novels for adults that I'd like to look into, starting with Patient Zero.
Now..onto something a little more adult.
Peter Clines has created a mash-up of some of my favorite things: zombies, super heroes, and nerdisms. Ex-Heroes is about a community of people living in the Paramount lot after the zombie apocalypse has wiped out the rest of Los Angeles. The biggest difference here is that the people in charge of the Mount...are super heroes who were saving lives long before the apocalypse. The viewpoint in these novels shifts from character to character, as well as shifting between the past and 'present.' With that, there doesn't really seem to be a central character, though the novel mainly focuses on St. George--a super hero reminiscent of Superman...but with the ability to breathe fire. That and none of the pesky weakness to shiny green rocks. While you would think a community run by super heroes would have no problems...the Mount begins having problems with another group of survivors. There are also some conflicts within the Mount between the 'regular' humans and the super heroes.
I read this book on a four-hour train trip, and almost bit through my finger a couple of times. It was intense! It was also hilarious, brilliant, and nerdy. Clines (via St. George and Zzzap-a guy who can basically harness power equal to the sun) throws in a lot of current (nerd) pop-culture references. My favorites, of course, are the Doctor Who references. Once again, this book isn't about killing zombies...it's about survival. Some people may find the flashbacks a little confusing at times...but I'm used to my story lines being a little wibbly wobbly.
There are currently three books in the series: Ex-Heroes, Ex-Patriots, and Ex-Communication. The fourth, Ex-Purgatory, comes out in 2014, and I'm super excited! These appear to be Clines' first full-length novels, though he does have some short stories out there that I haven't read.
These book aren't really about zombies (which most people can tell you about most zombie culture). They're about the duality of man and how it's the decisions humans make that can either make humanity better or worse. The zombies serve more as a way to move the plot forward than as antagonists. That is probably why I like zombie culture. It strips away the thin veil of civility in our culture and shows humanity at its most basic level. How would people behave in the face of that level of disaster?
Now, I do want to add one more book to this apocalyptic reading list: Apocalypse Cow, by Michael Logan. It's a slightly off-kilter zombie books featuring zom-beef--that would be living dead cows. While the absurdity of this premise might put some people off...it was incredibly well-written and hilarious. If you're also a fan of Shaun of the Dead, then this one is right up your alley. It features an interesting mix of characters: an aspiring (awful) reporter, a slaughterhouse technician with an iffy sense of smell, an intense government agent, and teenager with embarrassingly liberal parents. It's all set in Glasgow, Scotland--which just makes it ten times better in my opinion :P
Okay...there's your Christmas reading list...Enjoy!
