Review: Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie by Jeff Norton

'My name is Adam Meltzer and the last thing I remember was being stung by a bee while swinging at a robot-shaped piñata on my twelfth birthday. I was dead before the candy hit the ground.'

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is narrated by the hilarious Adam Meltzer - pre-teen, worrywart, and now zombie. Adam's family gets the fright of their lives when he turns up at their door . . . three months after his funeral.

Soon Adam's back at school trying to fit in and not draw extra attention to himself, but when he sees his neighbour Ernesto transform into a chupacubra, and the beautiful Corina (Adam's number one mega-crush) turns out to be a (vegan) vampire, undead life is never going to be the same again.

A hilarious adventure caper - if Ferris Bueller met Shaun of the Dead - all about friendship and being yourself . . . even if you're undead.

I love Jeff Norton's MetaWars series. The story is the perfect blade of action, adventure and science fiction, all set in a brilliantly imagined dystopian future. I was therefore really excited to see Jeff at a blogger event held by Faber as this could only mean that he had a new book coming out. And then, I was even more than a little surprised when we were told about his new book, Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie, as on the face of it it could not have been more different from his previous work (of which I would happily have read more and more). My slight disappointment evaporated as soon as Jeff started reading the prologue to Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie. He had the room in tears of laughter, a feat that he repeated a couple of months later when he appeared at the Wonder of Words festival that I organised.

In his main character and narrator, Adam Meltzer, Jeff Norton has created a protagonist that will have readers in stitches. And if you thought zombies had been done to death (pun intended) then think again: a teen zombie with OCD? It is such a great concept as Adam's neurosis open things up for all kinds of puerile jokes (in the very best kind of way), and in particular to loads of great references to poo, germs and other toilet humour that kids will find hilarious.

Adam isn't the only great character in this book, as fortunately for him he is aided and abetted by two other kids who can only be described as unsual (ok, maybe weird is a better word, however unkind it may seem). First there is Ernesto, Adam's diminutive neighbour who just happens to turn into a Chupacabra during a full moon (it's a sort of mythological lizard ape hybrid thing) and then there is Corina, the object of Adam's (secret) affections who also happens to be a vegan vampire. Together they make a great team, and take it upon themselves to find out just how on earth a mere bee sting could kill Adam and then have him come back as a zombie.

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is one hell of a funny read, and with this new book Jeff Norton proves to the world that he is certainly no one trick pony. I hope this is just the first in a long series as I think there are so many more adventures this oddball trio could have in the future. It is also the kind of book that I think will benefit from word-of-mouth 'promotion'. Like the Wimpy Kid books, once one child as read it they are bound to tell all of their friends who will then also want to read it. If you're looking for something to make your 9+ child laugh out loud this summer then this should certainly be on your radar.

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie is published on 7th August and my thanks go to the lovely people at Faber for sending me a copy.

Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie by Jeff Norton - Cover Reveal

A while back I was fortunate to me invited to a blogger event held by the lovely people at Faber. My personal highlight of that event was writer Jeff Norton (he of Metawars fame) giving us a special reading of his new book, Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie. It was flippin' hilarious, and one of the funniest things I had heard for a long time, and so I am really chuffed to be part of the big cover reveal. 

Today, there are 18 blogs showcasing a short extract of Memoirs, along with the fab cover for the book, which is due out this summer. I have to say I totally love the extract that I have been assigned - how could I not? It's about farts and I'm a boy! (yes, even at my age I still find farts amusing).

Extract #17: Adam ruminates on cleanliness after being drenched in coke.

Normally, I don’t need to be told to take a shower. If I could, I’d shower five times a day, just to scrub off the grime that hung in the air. For example, did you know that when someone farts, particles from their bum actually float around in the air? So when you smell a fart, those particles are actually nestled in your nose? The official population of Croxton (not counting undocumented aliens and tourists) is 21,371, and that’s a lot of bums doing a lot of farting, creating a lot of particles that cling to your hair and skin. If you ask me, five showers a day doesn’t seem like enough when surrounded by over twenty thousand fart-producing bums, but the one exception I made was for showering at school especially during lunchtime.

‘But sir,’ I said, using the word ‘sir’ to appeal to his authoritarian nature, isn’t it the high school’s football practice hour? I can shower at home later.’

‘Yeah, it’s not like it’s dirt,’ said Jake.’

‘You’re covered in cola,’ said the teacher. ‘And it’ll attract bees and rats and-‘

‘What kind of bees?’ I asked, wondering there was some link between my killer bee and banning of syrupy soda from school grounds.

Each of the 18 blogs participating in this cover reveal has an extract. if you want to head to the first one (chronologically as far as the book is concerned) then head on over to Readaraptor. If you've read them all so far and you want to read extract #18 then head on over to Much Loved Books.

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.

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!!!"

The Undead Blog Tour - Kirsty McKay reads from Undead

A week ago I posted my review of Kirsty McKay's Undead, a superb book for young horror lovers who love their zombies, and a fun read for zombie lovers of all ages. Now Kirsty is nearing the end of her week-long blog tour and today she has stopped by The Book Zone to read to us a short passage from Undead. Hand around after you have watched the video as I will be telling you how you could win a copy (possibly signed) of Undead.

As you know, I have read the rest of the book, and if you like zombies it really is that good. So, if you want to win a copy courtesy of the good people at Chicken House Books then all you have to do is fill in the form below by the closing date and then I will draw a winner at random. Closing date is 8pm GMT Tuesday 4th October (sorry, UK residents only for this one).



Competition open to UK residents only.
Neither the author or I will not 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.

Review: Undead by Kirsty McKay

It was just another school trip... When their ski-coach pulls up at a cafe, and everyone else gets off, new girl Bobby and rebel Smitty stay behind. They hardly know each other but that changes when through the falling snow, the see the others coming back. Something has happened to them. Something bad...Soon only a pair of double doors stand between those on the bus and their ex-friends the Undead outside. Time to get a life.

Back in May Steve Feasey, author of the brilliant Changeling series, wrote a great post about the appeal of zombies for The Book Zone, starting with the question as to why they are so popular when as monsters they are so unappealing on the face of things. Whatever the reasons, zombies are incredibly popular with boys, and my experience at school suggests that they rank far above vampires as the boys' monsters of choice (perhaps its a hygiene thing with boys preferring the dirty, unwashed, grunge image). Over the past handful of years zombies have enjoyed something of a revival (no pun intended) in kids literature, with the likes of Charlie Higson and Jonathan Maberry leading the way, but now Kirsty McKay wants some of the action as well and her Undead is certainly a worthy addition to the ranks.

If you are a seasoned reader of zombie stories then your first thoughts of Undead will most likely be similar to mine: it doesn't really bring anything new to the party, and is something of an A to Z of zombie film cliches. However, as an introduction for new readers to the genre who are 11+ there is probably little better than this book. Weighing in at less than 300 pages it isn't as hefty a tome as Charlie Higson's The Enemy, and whilst it is just as gory in places it also comes with a liberal dosing of humour throughout. In fact, it is closer in tone to Shaun of the Dead than Dawn of the Dead, and its characters are very much in line with Grange Hill or some of those brat pack movies of the 80s such as Some Kind of Wonderful and The Breakfast Club. 

I have read some comments about Undead that criticise the book for its characters being stereotypes. Yes, the teen characters read like a list of must-include-in-any-school-drama but for me this made the story work all the better. Admittedly this means that there were few surprises and the actions of the characters were quite often predictable but this just added to the comedy factor for me and I couldn't help but read the book in a single sitting I was enjoying it so much. The flow of the story was another element that contributed to this 'can't put it down' feeling - Kirsty McKay has this completely nailed, with her relatively short chapters and fast-paced prose this really is a sit-up-all-night-to-finish book for horror loving kids that want to dip their toes in the zombie-lit pool for the very first time.

Undead was published on 1st September and my thanks go to the good people at Chickenhouse for sending me a copy to review.

“Bloouuurrgghhhhahh!” (That’s Zombie for “I want to eat your eyes!”) - Steve Feasey's Zombie Dawn Guest Post

One of the things that strikes me when I do school events and talk about classic horror creatures is just how popular zombies are. It surprises me because on face value there isn’t much about them to suggest what’s so appealing. They don’t have the charm and allure of their undead brethren, the vampires, but nevertheless, every student seems to have an opinion on them, and all have a favourite film, book or game featuring them. It’s a good job too because with the final book in the series, Changeling: Zombie Dawn, featuring the shuffling undead in a big way, I knew I would have to explore what the appeal was, and what I was going to do about my own particular take on them.

Zombies are problematical for a writer if you’re not embarking on a ‘world domination and mankind’s last stand against the undead’ type of book. And the reason that they’re a problem is that they proliferate so damn fast! It takes very few zombies very little time to multiply into a vast army of rotting, shuffling, brain-eating creeps. As Caliban says in the book: “They infect others around them and spread like a virus.” And that’s the problem. Once a zombie outbreak occurs, it quickly becomes a pandemic.

One of my favourite zombie books is Max Brooks’s World War Z. It’s a great take on the tried and tested zombie apocalypse theme, and is in my opinion one of the best books written on the topic. Max very quickly has the zombie outbreak infesting numerous countries, and within the blink of an eye the human population is on the verge of annihilation. It’s gory and funny and brilliantly imagined, and if you haven’t read it yet I recommend you do so. But I didn’t want a zombie plague that would quickly turn into a worldwide disaster; I wanted a suppressed outbreak that would be devastating, but manageable. So I came up with the idea for the containment dome that traps both humans and zombies alike, and the more I thought about it, the more I knew how terrifying that would be for those stuck inside. 

The other great thing about zombies is the ‘method of dispatch’ which has to be employed by anyone facing them down. And it would seem that the more gruesome the act of ruination, the better. Classic zombie theory (if there isn’t such a thing, there should be) would suggest that removing the head or destroying the brain are de rigueur when it comes to seeing off these pesky revenants, and that lends itself to some great (and often very funny) action sequences involving a wide variety of weapons. 

Before writing ZD I really got into The Walking Dead graphic novels by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore, and I was really excited to find out that it was going to be made into a TV series. The books are amazing and, like World War Z, are ‘must reads’ for zombiephiles. Graphic novels can be an expensive hobby, so if you can’t afford the 80+ issues that the series is currently running to, ask your library for them. 

So there you have it: my take on zombies and the walking dead. Long may they shuffle and moan and groan because most of us can’t seem to get enough of them.

~~~

Huge thanks to Steve Feasey for taking the time to write this great zombie post for The Book Zone. The Changeling books have been one of my favourite series of the past few years and a review of Zombie Dawn will appear on The Book Zone in the near future.

*** Contest: WIN a signed copy of The Official Zombie Handbook (UK) by Sean T. Page

A couple of weeks ago I posted a review of Sean T. Page's Official Zombie Handbook (UK). Now, thanks to the generosity of the author I have a signed copy to give away to a reader of The Book Zone. In order to be in with a chance of winning a copy of this book all you have to do is fill in your details on the form below.

The first name drawn at random after the closing date will win a copy of the book. Deadline for entries is 8pm Wednesday 23rd March. This contest is open to UK residents only.



Contest open to UK residents only.
I will not 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.

Review: Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Nearly fourteen years ago a freak virus swept across the world turning those infected from the living into the undead. Benny Imura has grown-up never knowing anything different; his last memories of his parents tainted by the image of them becoming zombies. Now Benny is fifteen, and his brother Tom wants him to join the "family business" and train as a zombie killer. The last thing Benny wants is to work with Tom.... but at least the job should be an easy ride. Then the brothers head into the Rot and Ruin, an area full of wandering zombies, and Benny realises that being a bounty hunter isn't just about whacking zombies. As he's confronted with the truths about the world around him, Benny finds his beliefs challenged and makes the most terrifying discovery of all, that sometimes the worst monsters you can imagine, are human...

Let's face it.... zombies are cool right now and seem to have become the monster of choice for writers of teen fiction. However, just as there was something of an anti-vampire backlash a year or so ago, I am sure there will already be a number of people asking whether the world really needs another new YA zombie story. The answer is yes, and that book is Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry.

Mr Maberry is entering a difficult market in this country, as we are already two books into Charlie Higson's outstanding The Enemy zombie series, and therefore any newcomers to the genre will have to face the inevitable comparison with Higson's books. In the case of Rot and Ruin the comparison is very favourable indeed - where Higson's stories are blood-soaked, gore-filled post-apocalypse kids versus adults survival stories, Maberry's story is something completely different and brings a much welcome freshness to the genre. Somehow he has managed to create a zombie story with heart and soul, where the undead, and the obligatory gore and horror that come with them, are present but taking a back seat to the two main themes: developing relationship between two brothers; and the evils that man will commit in the name of survival and personal gain.  

In this author's world humans have to a degree conquered the zombie menace by creating settlements surrounded by protective fences, complete with guard patrols and observation towers. Fifteen year old Benny Imura lives with his brother Tom, a respected (and feared) zombie killer, in one such settlement. Beyond the safety of the fence is the Rot and Ruin, a vast area of zombie-infested wilderness within which are the occasional isolated communities of humans striving to live some kind of normal life. The brothers' parents died at the start of the problems, a time now referred to as First Night, and since then Tom has been working hard to bring up his younger brother. However, now that Benny has 'come of age' he has to find a job if he wants to continue to receive food rations, and the first part of the story gives the reader a humorous observation of Benny's various attempts to find a job that a) he likes and b) will not take too much effort, most of the time accompanied by his close friend Chong. These early chapters also help give us a valuable insight into what life is like the the people of Mountainside as they try to cope with their very different world, and we also get to meet the key characters of the story that follows once Benny reluctantly decides that following his brother into the zombie-hunting trade is probably his only real option after all.

The scenes within Moutainside are the perfect foundations upon which the later story is built, as before Tom and Benny venture out into the Ruin as 'partners' we already know a great deal about them, although there is an air of mystery that follows the elder of the two brothers throughout most of the book. Important and enjoyable these early scenes are, it is when these two brothers are beyond the safety of the fence that this story really comes alive, but not just because of the horror and action scenes that ensue. Yes, these are very well written, and had my heart pounding at times, but in my mind they were still only secondary to the slowly growing bond between the two brothers, and the atrocities that other humans were committing out in the Rot and Ruin, often in the name of their own personal entertainment. We very quickly realise that the greatest danger facing the Imuras is not the bite of the undead, but the machinations of a group of their fellow humans, people so evil that at one point I actually felt sorry for some of the zombies - a first for me in a zombie story.

If you like zombie stories then this is a must buy for you. If you don't like zombie stories then this is still a must buy - yes it has some gory moments, and the occasional swear word, but it is much more than a horror story - it is a tale about two brothers working together to overcome a great evil, and a fantastic study in what makes us human in a world gone crazy. Rot and Ruin was published in the UK by Simon and Schuster at the beginning of March and my thanks go to them for sending me a copy to review. The sequel, Dust and Decay, is scheduled for a September 2011 release - I can't wait!

Review: The Official Zombie Handbook (UK) by Sean T. Page

Since pre-history, the living dead have been among us, with documented outbreaks from ancient Babylon and Rome right up to the present day. But what if we were to suffer a zombie apocalypse in the UK today? 

Through meticulous research and field work, The Official Zombie Handbook (UK) is the only guide you need to make it through a major zombie outbreak in the UK, including:

· Full analysis of the latest scientific information available on the zombie virus, the living dead creatures it creates and most importantly, how to take them down - UK style 
· Everything you need to implement a complete "90 Day Zombie Survival Plan" for you and your family including home fortification, foraging for supplies and even surviving a ghoul siege 
· Detailed case studies and guidelines on how to battle the living dead, which weapons to use, where to hide out and how to survive in a country dominated by millions of bloodthirsty zombies.

Packed with invaluable information, the genesis of this handbook was the realisation that our country is sleep walking towards a catastrophe - that is the day when an outbreak of zombies will reach critical mass and turn our green and pleasant land into a grey and shambling wasteland. Remember, don't become a cheap meat snack for the zombies!

I love zombie films. I also love zombie books, and there are many of these around at the moment as zombies seem to be the in thing in YA literature right now. I also know many boys at school who have seen and loved the likes of Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, The Walking Dead, and a smaller handful who have seen some of the classics of the genre, even though technically they are too young to have done so (do any parents pay attention to movie certification  these days?). And yet can I get these reluctant readers to read a zombie fiction book? At a push, I have managed to convert a small number of them to the joys of reading Charlie Higson's The Enemy books, although many are a little daunted by the number of pages, but that's where it ends. So, armed with the knowledge that many reluctant reader boys can be sucked in by non-fiction I am going to give this book a try next term: The Official Zombie Handbook (UK) by Sean T. Page.

Sean contacted me out of the blue a while back asking if I would be interested in reviewing a copy of his book. He explained that although when writing it he had been aiming it at an older audience, when he was out signing books a significant proportion of buyers were much younger than this. This doesn't surprise me at all, as even when struggling with fiction boys will often happily pick up a non-fiction book, happy in the knowledge that they can dip in and out of it at their leisure, often picking pages at random, and not have to worry about picking up a plot line later on.

I have seen a number of these books in book shops or online stores, but having flicked through them I found many of them to be very US-centric. Sean Page's book differs from the norm in that it is very much UK focused and therefore British readers will find it very easy to relate to the advice given. And this book is full of advice - in simplest terms it is a survival manual for what you should do should the zombie apocalypse ever occur in modern day Britain. An implausible concept? With all the advances in modern medicine and biological warfare I am not so sure - perhaps it is only a matter of days/weeks/months/years before we wake up to find the walking dead roaming our streets. And if that does happen, thanks to this book our young people could be the most prepared to survive it.

The Official Zombie Handbook (UK) is chock full of information on how to survive a zombie apocalypse in the UK, including establishing a 90 day zombie survival plan, the best modes of transport to use, the best places to hole up in order to survive, the best melee weapons, and so on. It is a very text heavy book with a small handful of simple black and white illustrations so I doubt many boys will want to read it cover to cover, but I am sure they will love dipping in and out. They will also enjoy reading the details of previous outbreaks that have occurred throughout history, and the What If...? case studies that demonstrate how the authorities might react should an outbreak occur at a major British port or airport.

My thanks go to the author for sending me a copy to review. Sean also very kindly sent an extra signed copy which I will be giving away as a prize on a contest sometime in the next few weeks. The Official Zombie Handbook (UK) is published by Severed Press.

Review: Robin Hood vs The Plague Undead (Mash Ups) by James Black

What happens when Robin Hood and his Merry Men are faced with a plague of zombies? Somehow, Robin must figure out a way to defeat the most difficult and dangerous enemy he's ever faced, and save the country from destruction...

There have been some brilliant YA zombie books released in recent years. The first that spring to mind are The Enemy and The Dead, both by Charlie Higson, and the soon-to-be-published Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry (finished this yesterday, watch this space for my review). Zombies seem to be one of the next big things in YA literature and a number of publishers have zombie related releases coming this year (the one I am most intrigued about is Dearly Departed by Lia Habel, described by the lovely people at RHCB as Gone With The Wind vs Dawn of the Dead). Zombies are a great way of engaging boys and grabbing their attention, as we all know that reluctant reader boys love a bit of gore, and Orchard Books, through author James Black, are another publishing house with a new zombie book aimed at just this market.

However, Black's book is a little different from others on the market at the moment as it is a Mash Up. The mash up is a concept that has been popular in the adult market for a couple of years now (Pride & Prejudice & Zombies being the obvious example), but it is now making the transfer over to a younger audience, especially as a way of marketing books to boys, and Robin Hood vs The Plague Undead is the first in a planned series of Mash Ups books written by James Black. Yes, you read correctly, I did say Robin Hood, and this book is exactly what is says on the cover - the infamous outlaw of Sherwood Forest battling against a hoard of zombies. Zombie purists may hate it; Robin Hood officianados may hate it even more. But reluctant reader boys of aged 10 and above will probably love it.

When reading books for review I sometimes have to remind myself to look at these books from the point of view of a young male reader. As an adult reader I am far more picky about what I enjoy (or not) about a book, whilst an 11 year old who is not particularly fond of reading more may be a little less discerning. I've spent many hours talking to boys like this at school, and when I mention things like characterisation they tend to give me a blank look. But the moment I start talking about action, fights, blood and gore for some reason they become far more animated. If the first chapter is full of action, with a cliffhanger at its end, and the pace of the ensuing story is fast and exciting, then they can so easily be hooked by a book. 

Personally I felt that Robin Hood vs The Plague Undead ticks all of these boxes, even though I did not enjoy it hugely myself. I think I have been spoiled recently with the quality of Higson's zombie stories and couldn't help but compare them, and this one falls well short of The Enemy and The Dead in all areas. Higson's books are, however, aimed at a slightly older audience, and their greater page count and more complicated themes make them less accessible for struggling readers, whilst James Black's book is a much easier read (unless you're not a gore fan that is). I know it is going to be a hit with certain boys at school.

Robin Hood vs The Plague Undead was published on 3rd February and my thanks go to Orchard Books for sending me a copy to review. I have already mentioned that this is the first in a series, with the next book Blackbeard's Pirates vs The Evil Mummies, due to released in July. 

Review: Plague of the Dead by Z.A. Recht

The end begins with a viral outbreak unlike anything mankind has ever encountered before. The infected are subject to delirium, fever, a dramatic increase in violent behavior, and a one-hundred percent mortality rate. Death. But it doesn't end there. The victims return from death to walk the earth. When a massive military operation fails to contain the plague of the living dead it escalates into a global pandemic. In one fell swoop, the necessities of life become much more basic. Gone are petty everyday concerns. Gone are the amenities of civilized life. Yet a single law of nature remains: Live, or die. Kill, or be killed. On one side of the world, a battle-hardened General surveys the remnants of his command: a young medic, a veteran photographer, a brash Private, and dozens of refugees, all are his responsibility-all thousands of miles from home. Back in the United States, an Army Colonel discovers the darker side of Morningstar virus and begins to collaborate with a well-known journalist to leak the information to the public...The Morningstar Saga has begun.

From time to time I also review books that will appeal to older boys who are ready to read something of a more adult nature and Plague of the Dead is certainly one of these books. This is one of the best zombie books I have read in years - imagine the likes of Romero's zombie films, or the 28 Days/28 Months Later films, translated onto paper and this is what you would get.

Plague of the Dead was first released in the US several years ago, and is now going to be released in the UK by Pocket Books (an imprint of Simon and Schuster) on 13th May 2010. During the years since its release it has gained quite a following and is now recognised as being up there amongst the best books in the zombie genre. The artwork for this new release is perfect for this kind of book - green is such a great colour for horror book covers, and the combination of the deaying skull and biohazard symbol work perfectly to deliver an immediate impact; you know pretty well what to expect before you even open the book.

The story focuses on the Morningstar virus, a deadly new disease that, in the tradition of the great zombie movies turns anyone who contracts it into a human flesh-hungry zombie. These creatures are christened 'sprinters' in the story - they still have full control over their limbs and balance and are able to move at a considerable pace. However, if these creatures are killed they are then reanimated by the virus to become the more traditional slow-moving, porrly co-ordinated zombie, referred to as a 'shambler'. Both can be put down permanently by a shot to the brain or removing the head, but one bite from either of these and consider yourself infected! Having two different types of zombies brings a new element to the traditional mythology and the author uses this well to create different types of peril for the story's heroes.

In order to fully enjoy this book you have to be able to suspend your disbelief considerably as otherwise you will end up questioning many of the significant decisions made by the main characters. For example, the virus starts in Africa and the majority of non-African nations decide that the way to prevent the spread is to quarantine the whole continent. Thus, in order to stop the virus reaching the Middle East a final blockade is constructed at Suez, yet for some reason this defence of this blockade is left mainly to ground troops with little of the shock and awe air strikes that we have become used to seeing in modern warfare. This was just one of the scenes where I had to quash the niggling questions that were burrowing their way to the front of my mind. But hell, this book is about zombies, so suspension of disbelief was always going to be essential.

Character development is also lacking in places, to the point of being non-existant for some of the characters. This means that when some of these characters contract the virus and are then killed we do not really feel any remorse as we haven't really go to know them well enough. However, this weakness in their development also seems to transfer over to other characters all also don't seem to respond to these deaths in the way we would normally expect, and their feelings of loss are barely touched on. Yes, this is an event of apocalyptic proportions and some people harden themselves under extreme circumstances and bottle their emotions, but surely not as much as we see at times in this story.

If you like zombie stories then you will enjoy this book. The zombies are particularly nasty and unrelenting - I love one scene where they pursue a lone truck driver from Cairo all the way to Suez, just because he is fresh meat. Their singlemindedness in their 'quest' for himan flesh is what really makes this story for me. Plague of the Dead is the first in what was a planned trilogy, with the second Morningstar Strain book entitled Thunder and Ashes. Tragically, Mr Recht died suddenly at the end of 2009 although there are rumours that the third book is completed and his family plan to have it published at some point in the future. My thanks go to the generous people at Simon and Schuster who sent me a copy of this book to review.