Review: Zom-B Mission by Darren Shan

What has happened to the world since the dead took over? Where have the humans gone to hide? Who do the living most have to fear? B Smith is heading for unknown territory...Leading a group of humans through London and out into zombie-infested suburbs sounds like suicide - but not for the undead! Even so, the horrors of the journey will be beyond anything B has yet seen ...

As this series progresses, it is getting harder and harder to write reviews of Darren Shan's Zom-B books without creating spoilers for previous episodes. So please be warned - if you have not yet read the previous books in the series then I urge you to stop reading this review and go and do something more interesting... such as reading the previous books in this fantastic series!

I never got around to writing a review of the sixth book in the series, Zom-B Gladiator, as things were pretty hectic at work at the time. However, I'll take this opportunity here to say that I loved it as much as I loved its predecessors. I can't remember where I read this, but at the time I was surprised to read one reviewer criticise Zom-B Gladiator for being very short on plot. For me, that is the magic of this series - in one episode we might see a significant plot development, but then in the next book we are treated to wall-to-wall action, or another atrocity so horrific that it puts into the shade all that came before it. For me, Zom-B Gladiator had both of these: B fighting for survival on board HMS Belfast, and the truly evil Dan-Dan demonstrating that however horrific the zombies are, humans can still out-evil them.

As it is my birthday week I treated myself to a copy of Zom-B Mission, and it arrived today. Every Monday I have a meeting at school that lasts from 3 pm until 6pm, and this week I was watching the minutes tick over slowly as I was dying to get home to read Darren Shan's latest instalment. As with all of the previous books it is a relatively quick read and I finished it in a single sitting, and it is almost my favourite of the series so far. Only almost though, and I will come to the reason for this in a bit. In Zom-B Mission, B and her team of Angels are tasked with taking Emma and Declan, the mother and child they took in to their care in Gladiator, to a sanctuary out in the countryside. On their way, they are also to stop off in Hammersmith to pick up another group of human survivors. B and the team are excited that they have finally been given a mission, but calamity strikes before they depart which dampens their excitement considerably (you'll have to read the book to find out what).

Escorting the zombie version of fast food through infested territory is not without its risks, and the journey is not without incident (hell, this is a Darren Shan book so of course it isn't!). However, I don't think it is spoiling things to say that the group eventually reaches the 'safe' compound of New Kirkham (is that an almost nod to another master of the genre?). This journey and their eventual destination gives us a much greater insight into what is going on outside of London, as until now the books have very much focused on the revitalised, and the occasional human or monster that has come their way, and Shan smoothly reveals a little more of the post-apocalyptic world he has created, and some of the many hazards that face the small groups of survivors, many of which I would never have even considered. In addition to this, B's past also starts to catch up with her and we see how far she has developed as a character, and how even in her semi-zombified state she is more human than many of the humans out there.

So why is it only almost my favourite so far? Long time readers will know that I am not averse to cliffhanger endings. I loved the way Shan finished the first book in this series - it really was one of those jaw hitting the ground moments. However, in this one I felt that the cliffhanger was just a little too extreme, and almost left me feeling like the book hadn't been finished properly, and that i had been cheated. I can't tell you how this episode ends (obviously), but all I will say is that yet again Shan reveals an evil in his horrific world that is sadly all too human in nature. Oh yes... and the Owl Man is back! Hurrah! Which kind of makes up for the cliffhanger in my mind :-)

Review: Zom-B Baby by Darren Shan

How do you know if you're working for a lunatic? Where do you go when you've run out of people to trust? Have you ever heard an undead baby scream? B Smith is out of her comfort zone ...

*** Warning: contains spoilers for previous books in the series ***

Just as B thought she had found somewhere she felt comfortable, with Revitaliseds of the same age, and someone who could mentor her, said mentor, Dr Oystein, dropped that pretty huge bombshell at the end of Zom-B Angels that has left B feeling confused and concerned that she may just have allied herself with a complete nutjob who believes he is God's chosen one. So begins an instalment of this brilliant series that is more about soul-searching than it is about horror and gore. B must decide whether County Hall really is the place for her, but to do so she may have to experience even more of the horrors that exist in this deadly new world.

First off, lets get any discussion of the cover of this book out of the way. I know that some people have found it pretty grim, even by this series' standards, but I personally find it is fitting for both within the series as a whole and this particular instalment. 

Now onto the story itself. We are incredibly fortunate to be welcoming Darren Shan to school next week for an event, and I know loads of the students are getting excited about this. In promoting the event to the staff at the school I have mentioned many times that the horror and zombie aspect of the story is really just a vehicle for a story that covers a huge variety of different themes. As I have mentioned many times before, in my reviews for the first four books in this series, the author covers such themes as racism and bigotry, corruption, genetic engineering, and now religion and belief. However, one element I have not dwelt on enough in my reviews is that of B herself. Maybe that's because the first three books were about setting the scene, world building and establishing B as a character, and the fourth was about really driving the plot forward. 

Now, in Zom-B Baby, B is given the chance to really reflect on what has happened to her and society, with Oystein's epic pronouncement being the catalyst for this period of deep introspection. She has to decide whether Oystein is mad, and in doing so she has to take a look back at her life before the 'apocalypse', and especially her father's racism. This is not something she feels able to do at County Hall, surrounded by Oystein's crowd of sycophants, and so B takes herself off back into the revived-infested streets of London, hoping to find some kind of answers to set her make what is a huge decision. On her journeys she stumbles across and old acquaintance, and I don't think it is creating spoilers to say that she also comes face to face with something that could even rival Mr Dowling as Shan's most repulsive creation to date (the clue is in the book's title).

Zom-B Baby is yet another brilliant episode in a series I have loved from the very first chapter of Zom-B. It arrived yesterday and we had visitors so I didn't get a chance to pick it up until late, but there was no way that I was going to bed before reading it, and so it became another single-sitting read Zom-B book. For anyone out there who thinks that the zombie genre has become tired and generic in recent years, I say get your hands on these books and prepare to have your love of the genre rekindled.

My thanks go to the rather mashing people at Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy to read.

Review: Zom-B Angels by Darren Shan

After spending the last few months wandering around London--a city filled with the dead--B Smith has given up hope for any sign of normal human existence. But then B finds strange signs all over the city--a "Z" plus red arrows. Following them, B finds The Angels-- a group gathered in the hopes of combating the evil dead and the forces that introduced them. But all is not as it seems and it's up to B to find out: what battle are they truly waging?

*** Warning: This review will contain spoilers for earlier books in the series. I you have not yet these other books then please navigate away now.


The closing line of Zom-B City left us with something of a cliffhanger, with readers' jaws hitting the ground possibly as hard as B's did. As with previous books in this series, Zom-B Angels picks up the story immediately following the close of its predecessor, with B discovering that she has been subtly manipulated into walking into County Hall. However, it is not some kind of trap, and for the first time since she first woke in the underground complex B finds herself among friends. More importantly she finds herself under the care of a Dr Oystein who has many of the answers that B (and us readers) have been craving since the opening chapter of Zom-B. Answers such as how the zombie plague started, the identity of the freaky clown thing Mr Dowling, why B is a freethinking revitalised zombie rather than one of the stumbling reviveds and more.

Darren Shan has done it again and produced another superb instalment in this series, although given that he wrote all twelve books in the Zom-B series back-to-back then this should be expected I suppose. Darren promised his readers that the first three books were very much setting up B's character and the zombie changed world, but this fourth book would start delivering much sought after answers, and he hasn't let his readers down. This book is much lighter on the action and gore than previous episodes, and as such moves at a slightly slower pace, but what it delivers in plot development make it just as un-put-downable. You may as well dig a deep hole and bury pretty much every guess you have made about what?, how? and why? as you will probably be wrong on most counts (I was), and the shocks, although not bloody in this book, are just as effective. This volume is certainly setting things up nicely for the rest of the series now.

When the first book in this series was released Darren Shan stated that he wasn't setting out to just write a zombie horror story. He was very clear in his intentions to cover some pretty hefty themes, and we saw that in the first book with B's racist father, and how she had been brought up to have similar bigoted views. Now, with this fourth book, Shan has continued to create topics for discussion, with themes that touch on religion, corruption, genetic engineering and more. Again Shan has delivered on his promise: this is definitely far more than just a zombie story full of blood splatter and brain munching.

I have been a fan of Darren Shan's ever since I first picked up and read Cirque du Freak back in 2000, but this latest series is possibly my favourite out of anything I have read by him. I used to think that Shan was a great storyteller, but lacked a little something as a writer. No longer - this series shows that he has continued to develop and mature as a writer over the past decade or so, and now he is both a great storyteller and a damn fine writer to boot.

My thanks go to the ever generous people at Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of Zom-B Angels to read. The fifth book in the series is due out in the UK at the end of September, and given its title, Zom-B Baby, and its gloriously disgusting book cover I'm expecting a return to some Shan-tastic blood, guts and violence.

Review: Zom-B City by Darren Shan

How many survived the zombie apocalypse?Where do the living hide in a city of the dead?

Who controls the streets of London?

B Smith is setting out to explore...

Warning: this review will probably contain spoilers for Zom-B and Zom-B Underground so do not read on if you haven't yet read these two books.

I think that as this series progresses my reviews are likely to get shorter and shorter for fear of creating spoilers. There are so many clever and jaw-dropping moments in the three Zom-B books to date that I would hate for someone to stumble across a review for one of the later books in the series before they have read the books that preceded it. So please forgive me for the brevity of this review, its shortness is my little gift to the uninitiated :-)

Before I say any more about the content of Zom-B City there is one burning issue that I want to focus on and that is some of the negative reviews that the first couple of books may have attracted. Now I am a firm believer that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and naturally given their content these books will definitely not be to everybody's taste. However, some reviewers have made negative comments based on the incompleteness of the story and their feelings that it leaves the reader hungry for more. 

Durrrr! Surely that is the point? These books were written to be episodic in nature - sort of a literary form of the old Universal and Republic serials, designed to leave readers clinging onto the cliff by their fingernails, desperate to visit the cinema the following week to find out what happened next to Flash Gordon/Zorro/Jeff King/Crash Corrigan/etc. It's not as if readers have to wait a whole year for the next instalment, unlike many series books these days. With one being released every three months I think the books fit this strategy perfectly, and it's a great way to engage reluctant readers, although my one small concern is that some parents may find the hardback price a little prohibitive.

In Zom-B City we see B emerge from the underground military complex as the only survivor following the zombie attack of the previous book. B finds herself in a seemingly deserted East End, deserted that is except for the numerous reviveds that now wander the streets looking for food. These mindless zombies ignore B once they realise that B is dead just like them, leaving her free to roam unmolested. Once she has kitted herself out with new gear she starts to walk tall, even giving herself the tongue-in-cheek title of Queen of the City. However, she is brought back to earth with a bang as she quickly discovers that there are more than zombies on the streets, although some of these uninfected may just be as inhuman in their actions as the brain chomping reviveds. One of them in particular, although not a threat to B, comes across as more than a little crazy given his rather gruesome hobby.

I'm still wary of creating spoilers but I will say a couple more things, as I know there are fans out there who will want to know this: Mr Dowling the clown is back, and even more nasty than he was described in Zom-B Underground (Shan's gory imagination runs riot with this character); and also, two simple words..... Owl Man!!!!

At just 213 pages and including more of Warren Pleece's excellent illustrations this is yet another quick read that Shan fans will fly through, especially given the furious pace of Shan's plot. I read somewhere that Darren has stated that the first three books are very much setting the scene, and the fourth is where the story really kicks off. I can't wait, and luckily for lil' old impatient me the next book, Zom-B Angels, is scheduled to be published in June so not long to wait. Zom-B City is due to be published on 14 March and my thanks go to the lovely people at Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy to review.

Review: Zom-B Underground by Darren Shan

WARNING: This review will contain spoilers for Zom-B, the first book in Darren Shan's new series. Seriously, if you have not yet read that book then you should click away from this review right now.

Waking up in a military complex, months after zombies attacked school, B has no memory of the last few months. Life in the UK has turned tough since the outbreak, and B is woven into life- and battle- in the new military regime quickly. But as B learns more about the zombies held in the complex and the scientists keeping them captive, unease settles in. Why exactly was B saved? And is there anyone left in the world to trust?

With Zom-B Darren Shan left himself a seriously difficult act to follow. Those two twists towards then end have had everybody talking (and if you say you guessed both of them then I'm sorry, I simply do not believe you). That twist regarding B made me feel guilty for making assumptions about the character, something I am sure Darren was trying to achieve with his readers. And then he followed it up with B being savaged by the zombies that were rampaging through the school. Way to kill off what we were led to assume was a main character! Or did he?

OK, it isn't creating a spoiler to say that no he did not kill off B. She is alive (sort of) and well (ok, maybe not glowing with health), and wakes to find herself in some kind of large room, surrounded by zombies who are facing up to a team of figures dressed in black leather and motorcycle helmets, wielding spears and flamethrowers. She soon discovers that she is a prisoner in an underground military complex, and no longer human. In fact, she is a zombie herself, although not one of the mindless brain munchers (known as reviveds). Instead she is one of the revitaliseds, having retained her intelligence, memories and the morals/conscience that we saw developing in the first book.  Unfortunately for B she also has zombie fangs, sharp bones sticking out from her fingers, hair that won't grow and the inability to sleep. 

The powers that be have no idea why some people become revitaliseds, so for the time being B is a glorified lab rat. AT the same time, they keep B and the other revitaliseds completely in the dark as to the state of play above ground, so they have no idea if the county and/or rest of the world has been taken over by zombies, or whether it was a small outbreak of a mysterious disease that the authorities now have under control (considering there are another ten books to come in this series, I'll leave you to guess which is the more likely scenario). Before the end of this second instalment we begin to work out that B and her new 'friends', despite being signed up members of the undead, and far from the villains of the piece. And we also discover that there are far more nasty things than zombies emerging from the pen of Darren Shan. Have a close look at the cover of the third book, Zom-B City, although if clowns creep you out then perhaps you shouldn't (yes, that is an eyeball on its nose).

Like many Shan-fans I expected Zom-B to be full of gore, and apart from the opening and closing chapters, I was wrong. However, the blood splatter is back with a vengeance in Zom-B Underground, with possibly some of Darren's most gory and violent scenes to date. It should be remembered though that this is a YA series, and Darren is writing for a slightly older audience than he did with his vampire and Demonata series. As with the first book in the series the author continues to make his readers think, with the continued themes of racism and bigotry. This was introduced in the first book, with B agonising over the attitudes of her father, and how much of her own personality was due to his nurturing. In this book Shan cleverly continues the 'debate', but this time it is the zombies, and more specifically B and the revitaliseds on the receiving end of abuse, bigotry and intolerance from their human captors.

Two books in and this series is shaping up to be an absolute cracker, with Darren Shan at the very top of his writing game. Zom-B City is scheduled to be published in May, and two more instalments later in 2013. If you know a teen boy who loves horror films and games, but is a reluctant reader, then these are a sure fire way of getting him turning those pages. I for one can't wait to read the next instalment as I have far too many clown and Owl Man related questions I need answering.

*** WIN A Framed Zom-B Poster Signed by Darren Shan

Today is the release day for Zom-B, the first book in Darren Shan's new zombie series. I posted my review a month ago (click here to read it) and I know Darren's legions of fans have been eagerly waiting for this day to arrive. When I got my copy the lovely people at Simon and Schuster very kindly let me have a second copy for my godson Danny who has been a Shan fan for many years, and should you put more faith in the thoughts of a teenager rather than those of a teacher then this is what he thought of it:

I've read ZOM-B twice now and really enjoyed it both times. The first time i read it in one night, I couldnt put it down it was that good. I found the storyline very typical of Darren Shan and I absolutely loved the way he described the zombie "scooping" their dinners' brains out of their heads. The cliffhanger at the end of the story was brilliant. I cant wait for the next book to come out. I am definately a big fan.

Now, thanks to the generosity of those fab people at Simon and Schuster I have this awesome signed and framed poster (see below) to give away to one lucky winner. All you have to do is answer the question in the form below and fill in your details. The deadline for entries is 7pm BST on Thursday 11th October.This competition is open to UK residents only.

Contest open to UK residents only.
Neither the publisher or I will be held responsible for items lost in the mail.
I hold the right to end a contest before its original deadline without any prior notice.
I hold the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit.
I will contact winning entrants for their postal address following the close of the competition. Winners have 48 hours to reply. Failure to do so in this time will result in another winner being randomly selected.

Huge thanks go to Simon and Schuster and Angel Publicity for arranging this competition.

News: Book Cover for Zom-B Underground by Darren Shan

On Saturday I attended a bloggers' event held by the lovely people at Simon and Schuster. The event was arranged so that they could showcase some of their forthcoming 2012 and 2013 titles. As we were taken through the new releases, month by month, it was very clear that many of their YA books scheduled for the remainder of this year are more suitable for girls than boys (this is in no way a criticism - girls are just as important). However, if I'm brutally honest there was only one title that I wanted to hear more about, and that was Darren Shan's Zom-B.

I have already mentioned in a blog post how much I was looking forward to reading this, and I was incredibly excited to come away from that event with a proof copy of the first book in the Zom-B series. Not only this, but we were also shown a finished hardcover copy (with dustwrapper) of the book, and I can report that it looks stunning. The end papers are illustrated by Warren Pleece, as are a number of pages throughout the book, and these images will really add to the story. I managed to read all but the last three chapters of Zom-B on the train home from London and it is everything I had hoped for and more. Watch this space as my review will appear nearer its September publication date.

We were also given a very sneak preview of the cover for the second book in the series, Zom-B Underground, and as Darren has now tweeted it and added it to his website I thought I would pop it on here for you guys to see. I am guessing it has been created by Cliff Neilson as I believe he was the illustrator responsible for the cover of the first book. As with the first, I think it is a brilliant cover, and this series of twelve books is going to look fantastic as a complete collection.

Make sure to visit Darren Shan's own website regularly for more Zom-B info as it is released.

News: Book Cover: Zom-B by Darren Shan

Edit: Review now added at:

http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/review-zom-b-by-darren-shan.html

Back in October I posted a press release I received from Simon and Schuster regarding their announcement that Darren Shan had signed with them to produce a new series of books titled Zom-B. The first book in this series is scheduled to be launched on 27th September, and the further 11 books in the series will then be released one every three months until 2015. Today S&S revealed the cover of Zom-B at the London book fair, and now they want to share it with world. The cover was designed by Nick Stearn, aided and abetted by illustrator Cliff Nielson and I love it. I think we are being left in no doubt at all as to what these books will be about! Just imagine those fingernails tearing into your throat!!

News: Zom-B - the new zombie series from Darren Shan

I am a little behind with this as we had a parents' evening at school today and I have only just got home, but I have been wanting to share this press release with you all day, especially as it fits in so well with Horror Month. Any news about a new Darren Shan series is enough to have me grinning from ear to ear and I am sure there will be legions of his fans around the world salivating at the prospect of Darren writing a twelve book zombie series, with a book released once every three months. If you are a Shan-fan then read this press release and then tell me you're excited as I am:

Press Release

Darren Shan moves to Simon & Schuster with new teen series Zom-B

Simon & Schuster UK Ltd today announced the acquisition of a new series from international bestselling children’s author, Darren Shan.

Zom-B was acquired by Ingrid Selberg, Director of Children’s Publishing for Simon & Schuster UK, from Christopher Little of The Christopher Little Literary Agency, for a major seven figure sum for UK & British Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada), including e-book rights, in twelve titles. The books will be edited by Venetia Gosling, Fiction Editorial Director at S&S UK Children’s, with the first title planned for publication in hardcover in Autumn 2012.

Zom-B is a radical and exciting new series, written in serial form across twelve books. Simon & Schuster plan to publish in hardback with simultaneous e-books, one book every three months starting in Autumn 2012, feeding fans new material, and building series momentum, all the way through to 2015. Paperback editions will follow.

Darren Shan is the number-one best-selling author of the twelve book series The Saga of Darren Shan, the Demonata series, and more recently The Saga of Larten Crepsley. His books have sold over 25 million copies around the world and have been translated into more than 30 languages. Darren divides his time between London and Ireland.

Ingrid Selberg said of the new acquisition: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the inimitable, bestselling Darren Shan to the S&S children’s list. The Zom-B series combines classic Shan action and a fiendishly twisting plot with hard-hitting and thought-provoking moral questions. This is challenging material, which will captivate existing Shan fans and bring in many new ones. We are very excited and proud to be publishing this extraordinary author.”

Darren Shan said: "I am very excited to be taking my new zombie series to Simon & Schuster. The team impressed me greatly with their vision for the work and their enthusiasm, and I look forward to becoming part of the family there and unleashing a string of literary bone-chillers on the world!!!"