Zombie novels have show up on bookshelves more and more lately. They’ve even invaded the classics, as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies can attest. But how often are these tales any more than spatter-fests? Mira Grant–a pseudonym of Seanan McGuire–has transcended the normal tropes to write Feed, a socio-political story about a world after a zombie apocalypse. The cures for cancer and the common cold have combined to create a virus that literally uses any mammal over 40 pounds as a mule: Once dead, the body will rise again, seeking to infect others and sustain itself by feeding on living flesh. There is no cure, and no hope of escaping the inevitable rising, short of a bullet to the skull. Siblings Georgia and Shaun are news bloggers, sharing their views on a United States infected with the living dead. After winning a coveted slot to follow a senator on the campaign trail for the presidency, they begin to realize that the world may be even more complicated than they knew. And there’s more to the presence of the infected than anybody could imagine, even in their worst nightmares. Georgia and Shaun may be putting their lives on the line for a chance at the truth. Grant has done a stellar job of creating an America populated with zombies. She has thought through the events leading to this calamity, the social aspects of a country forced to face such a crisis, and the political ramifications of a presidential campaign in such a world. In fact, the majority of the novel focuses on the culture itself, and not the zombies, and this works wonderfully. And yes, there’s plenty of zombie killing to satisfy bloodthirsty readers. Once one-third of the way through the book, I knew it was a strong candidate to become the best zombie novel I’ve ever read. The prose reads like the best action flick; the events are gripping and realistic; and the characters face dangers that will make readers cringe. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried twice while reading. So, if you like emotionally affecting stories with a smattering of the undead, be sure to choose Feed. It’s edgy, challenging and emotionally affecting.
Tag: Horror
Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield
“Awakening in a bleak landscape as scarred as her body, Cass Dollar vaguely recalls surviving something terrible. Having no idea how many weeks have passed, she slowly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished. And with her, nearly all of civilization. Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters…
Omega Days by John L. Campbell
“San Francisco, California. Father Xavier Church has spent his life ministering to unfortunate souls, but he has never witnessed horror like this. After he forsakes his vows in the most heartrending of ways, he watches helplessly as a zombie nun takes a bite out of a fellow priest’s face. University of California, Berkeley. Skye Dennison…
Cannibal Kingdom by John L. Campbell
“Deep in an Indonesian jungle, a careless tourist releases an ancient evil that has lain dormant for centuries. Appearing as a virus, completely without symptoms and seemingly benign, Trident quickly infects the world’s population. Silently it waits, counting down to the moment when it will reveal its true, terrifying nature. It is only weeks before…
Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig
Angry Robot Books, based in England, often bills itself as a purveryor of SF, F, and WTF fiction. It’s that last category that often intrigues me the most. And nothing fits that better than Chuck Wendig’s novel Blackbirds. It’s edgy, in-your-face, and brutal… and it also tells a great story. “Miriam Black knows when you…
The Twilight Pariah by Jeffrey Ford
“All Maggie, Russell, and Henry wanted out of their last college vacation was to get drunk and play archaeologist in an old house in the woods outside of town. When they excavate the mansion’s outhouse they find way more than they bargained for: a sealed bottle filled with a red liquid, along with the bizarre…
The Remaining by D. J. Molles
“In a steel-and-lead encased bunker a Special Forces soldier waits on his final orders. On the surface a bacterium has turned 90% of the population into hyper-aggressive predators. Now Captain Lee Harden must leave the bunker and venture into the wasteland to rekindle a shattered America.” Okay, the situation with this book is kind of…
My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland
“Angel Crawford is a loser. Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she’s a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who’s been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself…
World War Z by Max Brooks
“The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote…
The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
“Chuck Dutton built Music City Salvage with patience and expertise, stripping historic properties and reselling their bones. Inventory is running low, so he’s thrilled when Augusta Withrow appears in his office offering salvage rights to her entire property. This could be a gold mine, so he assigns his daughter Dahlia to personally oversee the project….