Hungry for a good book? Delve into these zombie novels
As I write this, it is mid-September and I have already decorated my house for Halloween! I have gone from someone who hated Halloween and was scared of all of the masks into someone who is a zombie fan, like “The Walking Dead.” With that in mind, here are a few books that are already on bookstore shelves or likely available on your favorite device that may get you in the Halloween mood, or the mood for BRAINS!
“Warm Bodies” and “The New Hunger” by Isaac Marion: The movie of the same name follows the story of R, a zombie in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, who has already noticed he is a bit different from the rest – he can think and can almost talk. He has a chance encounter with a human girl across the room, and after eating her boyfriend’s brains, starts to fall for her. But while Julie is intrigued by the zombie that seems to be awakening into a human, could she ever forgive him? “The New Hunger” novella follows several of the characters from “Warm Bodies” several years before the events of it, and readers can learn more about their backgrounds. A new book, “The Burning World” is due out in February. For those who like a good zombie book with a bit of a “Romeo and Juliet” flair – R and Julie? – this is a cool bit of fun.
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith: What if the Jane Austin characters lived in a post-zombie apocalypse kind of world, and while they are also worried about manners and class, they also have zombie hordes to fight? That is the premise behind the book (and the recent film) taking Jane Austen’s classic work and giving it a bit of a horror-genre twist. It may matter to Elizabeth Bennett’s mother to get her daughters wealthy husbands, but their father also makes sure they learn to fight the undead as well as any high-bred society daughter would, even if it’s not from elite warriors from Japan. Will Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth find love amid a zombie world? Or will their brains be dinner? There are large sections of Jane Austen, and large sections of zombie, and the two do blend, though sometimes you can forget the other exists. But it’s a fun journey to go on, especially if you’re an Austen fan and a zombie fan.
“The Savage Dead” by Joe McKinney: The author has written several zombie apocalypse horror novels that are good, but this one is special. A cartel has created a flesh-eating virus that turns people into zombies – and it’s been smuggled aboard a cruise ship. And, as you would expect, it gets out. And with zombies aboard a cruise ship, all mayhem breaks out. The cast of characters includes a senator, an undercover agent and an assassin, and a SEAL group that must stop the boat before it makes land and spreads. But let’s face it – you’re here for the zombies on a cruise ship.