Wednesday, June 26, 2013

My Attempt to Read Zombie Novels

The nice folks at Titan Books were kind enough to offer me a couple zombie novels to add to my to-read pile. I've never tried the genre, but decided I'd give it a go to see what all the fuss is about.

Plague Town and Plague Nation are about Ashley Parker, a "wild card" who is immune to the zombie virus. Because of this, she is recruited by the government to fight the rapidly expanding plague of zombies.

Ashley is sassy, witty, and bad-ass. She also uses an awesome sword, which gives her even more points in my books.

One of my favourite scenes is in Plague Nation when one of the "regular" soldiers makes some inappropriate comments about her, and she (giving him every chance to apologize and walk away) ends up breaking his nose without breaking a sweat.

I also appreciate many of the geek references that I didn't expect to find in a zombie novel. The author often mentions movies and shows like Star Wars and Big Bang Theory, and makes many other pop culture references.

Ashley's wit and quick tongue make for entertaining reading, but I wish she'd show some weakness at some point. She seems to deal with pain and stress by being angry, and I did find this tiresome after a while. That's partly what held these "okay" books from being "good" for me. I love characters that show me they are truly human.

I am also the first to admit that zombies aren't really my thing, and these books have confirmed that for me. There was lots of violence, lots of blood and gore, lots of swearing--all things to be expected in zombie novels, of course. I do like action, but violence for the sake of violence seems to be what zombie stories are all about.

My final thoughts: entertaining, but not my cup of tea.

My next foray into the zombie universe will be the Walking Dead, and if I don't like that, I give up on zombies!

16 comments:

  1. I like zombie movies but I've not read a zombie book.

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    1. I think there are other things I'd just rather read.

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  2. I'm not really into Zombies, either. I don't really know why, they're just not my thing. I tried watching the Walking Dead but gave up after a few episodes. It was good, just not for me :)

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    1. Yeah, I'm not sure if it will be for me either!

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  3. I'm not a big zombie fan either. Walking Dead is "o.k" but -very- gory (in my opinion). The only zombie type thing I've enjoyed was "World War Z"...the book. Not interested in the film.

    Good luck on your zombie journey! :)

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    1. I think gory is a prerequisite for the zombie genre!

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  4. I enjoy the Walking Dead....sorta, but it doesn't make me come back again and again. As for books, I have yet to read one that I didn't put down halfway through.

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    1. I know lots of people who just love the Walking Dead.

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  5. Zombie novels have to be done well for me to enjoy them. Focus on the humanity left and the humanity lost.

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    1. Exactly. Thanks for that surprise, by the way! I'm looking forward to reading it :)

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  6. I tend to like my zombie novels a little darker than that; sass and zoms tend not to mix for me.

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  7. I'm not sure where I stand on zombies in general. I did like Shaun of the Dead, but a non-comedy film/book would probably just have me diving under the covers and never coming out again. I scare far too easily for my own good!

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  8. Wow, you rock at reviews, Allison. I loved how you showed me what you liked, what you didn't like and why your review might be weighted one way or another. Awesome! I'm not into zombie books, either. Though I did read Warm Bodies and enjoyed it. But it wasn't quite so "zombie-ish" as it was a study of what makes us truly human.

    I'm not good at reading books I'm not really "in to" so kudos to you!

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  9. I think this is a very interesting genre that has been explored in depth before but always has room for the addition of new elements. I'm looking forward to seeing new zombie books hit the shelves and experience new exciting reads first hand.

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