Library Journal ran this Q & A with me all about the new book. You can use it to understand why [or if] you should order it. Click on the cover below or in the right gutter to pre-order now. Coupon code is at the top of the page too.
Click here or the link below to read it.
LJ Talks to Becky Spratford, Author of ‘The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror’
When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.
And that promise begins today. Each list will be posted on the blog over a series of 10 weeks, every Tuesday, beginning June 1, 2021 and running through August 3, 2021. This weekly series will serve to promote the book's upcoming release in August of 2021, but I have also created an archive of all of the lists that will live here. That page is the official index of this bonus content.
In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here.
Chapter 8: Monsters and Ancient Evil
[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks
Ahlborn, Ania. The Devil Crept In. 2017
Jude disappears, leaving his cousin and best friend, ten year old Stevie distraught and searching for him. Told from two perspectives, that of the very perceptive and sympathetic Stevie and Rosie, an old woman who lives in the woods, this is an atmospheric and creepy tale, with a tension that builds steadily as Stevie’s encounters bring him into contact with unfriendly townspeople, oddly behaving cats, and what is a very real monster in the woods. A coming of age horror tale that is a perfect suggestion for fans of early Stephen King.
+Beukes, Lauren. Broken Monsters. 2014
A terrifying twist on the monster story, a serial killer is fusing the bodies of his victims with animals and leaving the grotesque creations in abandoned buildings across Detroit. What follows is a fast paced, gruesome mystery, told through multiple perspectives of a city on the brink of ruin and its broken residents as they both come to terms with the horrible monster in their midst and their connection to the horror. A nice bridge title that can draw serial killer readers to horror, this tale of real life monsters has all of the markings of a monster tale with enough of a hint at a possible unnatural force driving the horrors to satisfy genre readers. Broken Monsters was nominated for just about every horror and thriller award the year it came out.
Brogden, James. Heckla’s Children. 2017
With a prologue introducing a monster stalking the land and terrorizing the people who lived there centuries ago, readers are then thrust forward to modern times when four teens disappear while on a survival skills field trip in a British park on that same land. Only one returns, but with no memory of what happened. Nine years later an archeologist is called back to that park to identify some bones, but these are not the bones of modern teens, they are from the Bronze age. With an engrossing plot that establishes the intense unease from page one and steadily increases it from there, an interesting and diverse cast of characters, shifting points of view, and excellent world building, this is a stellar choice for fans of ancient evil. Bone Harvest is another good choice in the subgenre.
Campbell, Ramsey. Grin of the Dark. 2007
Clowns are a classic horror novel monster and British genre master Campbell has one of the best entries into this trope. Simon is doing research into the forgotten silent film star, Tubby Thackeray, a contemporary of Chaplin’s whose entire oeuvre has been lost. Simon’s research takes a strange and dark turn very quickly, and the deeper he digs, the more terrifying it all becomes. Evil clowns are just the start, there may be a much larger ancient evil at work. This inventive, suspenseful, and chilling tale with a found footage frame will appeal to a wide swath of readers and even a few fans of classic cinema.
Cutter, Nick. Little Heaven. 2017
In 1980 a monster lures a girl away from her home, kidnapping her. But this is no random monster, it wants to settle a score with the girl’s father and his two closest friends, a score that goes back to 1965 and the isolated religious community of Little Heaven. The story, told in alternating time frames, a technique which adds suspense, is gruesome and oozes fear from its very first lines. Readers are drawn to the obviously flawed, but sympathetic protagonists and are horrified as they are besieged by terrifying and violent monsters. However, this is also a story that makes time for contemplation of the meaning of family and community in between its most disturbing moments.
Deady, Tom. Haven. 2016
In 1961 the town of Haven, MA experienced a spate of child murders. Now 17 years later, Paul, the man who was sentenced for those murders has served his time and returns home, reaching out to those who still believe in his innocence namely a local priest, his a young boy named Denny, and his best friend Billy. When the killings begin happening again, Paul is accused, but it is becoming clear that the culprit of it all is a monster in the woods. With compelling characters, both good and evil, a shifting narration that keeps this epic story moving, and breathless action sequences, this is a horror novel that harkens back to classic Stephen King while still asserting its own original identity. Haven won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.
Hamil, Shaun. A Cosmology of Monsters. 2019
In this grotesque and foreboding debut, a family is haunted by a monster for generations. It all begins with Noah’s Lovecraft loving parents and their comic book shop and well known Haunted House attraction, but fairly quickly tragedy befalls the family, tragedy that may very well be linked to a monster, one that befriends young Noah, following him into adulthood. But monsters, no matter how friendly they appear, are still monsters. A leisurely paced story of family, coming of age, and of course, horror, with an obvious nod to Lovecraft, Hamil’s novel leaves the reader in a prolonged state of unease long after completion.
+Keene, Brian. Castaways. 2009
A television crew and contestants in a Survivor-esque reality show are literally caught in a fight for their lives—the island they have been left on is populated by an indigenous tribe of bloodthirsty monsters and there is a giant storm bearing down on them! This novel, written as a tribute to the late Richard Laymon, is a grisly, disturbing and compelling page turner but Keene adds humor and builds characters readers actively want to root for and against to help buffer the gore and sexual violence. Also try Ghoul, a more traditional coming of age, ancient evil resurfaces, monster tale.
+LaValle, Victor. Victor LaValle’s Destroyer. 2018
Using Frankenstein as the frame, LaValle tells a very modern story of revenge, race, and science in a graphic novel format. It’s 2017 and the monster is angry. Forced to wander the earth for decades, it is now bent on destroying all of humanity. Enter Dr. Baker, a descendent of the Frankenstein family whose anger at humanity may rival the monster's own. In many ways this reimagined classic is much scarier for today's readers as it keeps the themes of the original but strips the historic feeling of it, both because there is no denying it is about our current situation and because of the detailed superhero comic inspired art.
Little, Bentley. The Bank. 2020
Little has made a career writing small town, pulp horror that pits ordinary people, living mundane lives, up against a monster. Here he ups the ante, mixing in the real life horrors of identity theft, economic downturn, and aggressive marketers as a new bank opens in town, claiming to want to help everyone, but actually run of a supernatural evil. Following the points of view of various community members, including tension at every turn, that ratchets up to violent terror, this is a fast paced, fun roller coaster ride of horror with a monster at its core. Most Little titles fit into this subgenre and are worth exploring for monster fans.
Partridge, Norman. Dark Harvest. 2006
It’s Halloween in 1963 and the local boys are taking part in their town’s traditional hunt to find the “October Boy.” This is no ordinary hunt however. The boys must be locked away without food for five days before being let out for the hunt, and he who manages to kill the monster, gets a big reward. Readers follow Pete on this particular hunt and together we find out the horrifying truth behind the ritual. Dark Harvest is a critically acclaimed, original, and shocking story that monster fans should not miss. It regularly makes horror readers’ overall best lists.
SanGiovanni, Mary. The Hollower. 2007
The Hollower is a monster that stalks the residents of Lakehaven, NJ but this monster cannot see its prey. It cannot see them or even touch them, but it is able to destroy them from the inside out, tormenting them from inside their heads. A small group of residents who can see the Hollower band together to try to stop it. Pedal to the metal action and unrelenting terror that doesn’t let up from page one until the conclusion, and ending that wraps up the story but leaves just enough of the terror alive for the sequel, this is a crowd-pleasing pulp horror novel featuring an intriguing edition to the monster trope. The Hollower series continues with Found You and The Triumvirate
Shea, Hunter. Creature. 2018
Kate lives with a host of illnesses that rob her of a normal life, but her husband Andrew takes great and loving care of her. As a treat, he surprises her with her dream trip to a lake cabin in Maine. The first half of the story works to build up Kate and Andrew as characters and to get the reader emotionally connected to their story in order to make everything that happens in Maine that much more terrifying. This is a rare treat, a creature feature with characters as strong as the menacing monster. Shea is a popular and skilled pulp author and this is only one of his excellent offerings in the subgenre.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818/ 2017 Annotated Edition.
Often cited as the first horror novel ever written, Frankenstein is the story of a scientist’s effort to create life. Shelley uses her Gothic novel to describe the horrors humankind can expect to confront when it foolishly tries to conquer nature. While many modern readers will no longer find Frankenstein “scary,” its place in the history of the genre cannot be denied. It will also be a title with which most of your patrons will be familiar, even if they have never actually read it themselves. Libraries should seek out the 2017 annotated edition, edited by Leslie Klinger for their collections.
Southard, Wesley. One for the Road. 2019
In this fast paced story filled with a menagerie of terrifying and creative monsters, readers are introduced to Spencer, the guitarist for a heavy metal band, as they are all on their way home from a long tour. Spencer cannot wait to quit as soon as they get home, except instead of making it home they are abandoned outside a town where monsters attack the band members. This is a short, compelling, visceral, and extremely creative story filled with creatures who wreak havoc in original ways. It is the story about a band at the end of its life who are stuck in a kind of hell; or are they? Spencer’s strong narration carries this story, but also leaves the truth up for grabs, meaning the unease stays with the readers beyond the final page. One for the Road won the 2020 Splatterpunk Award for Best Novella
Strand, Jeff. Dweller.
Toby is an outcast who finds peace in the deep woods behind his home. He also finds a monster living there-- a monster named Owen, who becomes Toby’s best friend for over 50 years. But when your best friend is an actual monster, he can inflict horrible things on your enemies. This is a can’t miss, original, heart-breaking and chilling story that was recently reissued by the author.
Wood, Bari. The Tribe.
First published in 1981 and recently brought back as part of best selling author Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell reissue series, The Tribe is an example of the Golem trope, a monster from the Eastern European Jewish tradition. In the prologue, an American soldier liberating a concentration camp finds a group of Polish Jews thriving, but how? Flash forward to the novel’s present and eight of those survivors, “the tribe” still protect their own in Brooklyn, but they may also have the help of a giant monster. Violent, disturbing and gruesome, this novel includes an introduction by Hendrix which adds important context for today’s reader.
When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.
And that promise begins today. Each list will be posted on the blog over a series of 10 weeks, every Tuesday, beginning June 1, 2021 and running through August 3, 2021. This weekly series will serve to promote the book's upcoming release in August of 2021, but I have also created an archive of all of the lists that will live here. That page is the official index of this bonus content.
In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here.
Chapter 7: Witches, Curses, and the Occult
[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks
Campbell, Ramsey. Wise Friend. 2020.
Proof that an established author can produce original and stellar works of horror, Campbell takes the occult head on in this unflinchingly menacing tale of a family’s connection to dark magic. Patrick’s Aunt, an artist, died under suspicious circumstance when he was a teenager. Now his son Roy is interested in the paintings she left behind and what happened to her. Their journey into family history becomes mortally dangerous as Patrick, Roy, and Roy’s odd friend, Bella, end up uncovering magical details that put them and the entire world in jeopardy. Filled with dread infused details on every page, this is a compelling trip into black magic that will terrorize readers even as they cannot stop turning the pages. Also try Pact of the Fathers and The Darkest Part of the Woods in this subgenre.
DiLouie, Craig. The Children of Red Peak. 2020.
The only survivors of a religious cult’s mass suicide were 5 children; but when they were rescued, all of the bodies of the victims had disappeared into thin air. 15 years later, the survivors gather as still troubled adults, at the funeral of one of their own. Told from the frequently alternating viewpoints of three of the survivors, a stylistic choice that allows for a brisk pace that provides both flashbacks into their lives in the cult and a look into their current situations, the dread builds relentlessly toward the horrific climax readers know is coming. Along the way DiLouis introduces a historic, supernatural backstory about the place, bringing the four survivors back to face the unexplainable force with unknowable motives at Red Peak for a conclusion that is both beautiful and terrifying.
Donohue, Keith. The Motion of Puppets. 2016.
Kay, a cirque performer, and her husband, Theo, a French professor, are spending the summer in the old portion of Quebec City. Walking home one evening, Kay enters an old toy store and finds herself held prisoner, transformed into a puppet, surrounded by souls similarly trapped, who can only come alive between midnight and dawn. The narrative alternates between each puppet having a turn to tell their own story and Theo’s desperate search to find Kay and convince her to return to the human world before she forgets who she was. This macabre story is intricately plotted, immersive, and suspenseful. A dark fairy tale, a moving love story, and a terrifyingly realistic novel that will ensnare readers, pulling the strings of their emotions, as they compulsively turn the pages. This is a great choice for fans of the creepy doll trope.
+Henderson, Alexis. The Year of the Witching. 2020.
Bethel is a town ruled by the strict Prophet, but Immanuelle is awarded some freedom because she is an aberration. Born of a man from another race with a mother who may have had ties to the witches who rule the dark woods, As Immanuelle comes of age she enters those forbidden woods to look for answers about her mother, but the answers she received also introduce her to a dark magic, one that may open up her community to grave danger. This dark fantasy, dystopian debut populated with witches, family secrets, and folk horror elements features a strong heroine, fast pace, and a pervasive menacing atmosphere while still managing to seriously contemplate racial and sexual inequality head on.
Hunt, Laird. In the House in the Dark of the Woods. 2018.
A Puritan woman, known as Goody, walks into the woods to pick berries for her family and finds herself trapped in there. As she wanders, Goody meets the witches trapped in the woods and even is tricked into doing their bidding. She is also afforded the time to retrieve her own painful memories. This is a story that begins uneasy and intensifies throughout. By playing off its classic, New England frame, the sinister tone of the story is immersive, but where this novel shines is at the end, as Goody has to decide whether or not to leave the wood. A perfect starting point for non-horror readers to enter this trope.
+Keene, Brian. The Complex. 2015.
Meet the residents of a single apartment building, one by one, through their point of view, strangers who barely interact, that is until hordes of crazy naked people are on a murderous rampage outside and the world may be on the brink of the apocalypse. Keene manages to build a realistically diverse set of well developed characters, both good and evil, and introduces a terrifying supernatural threat while keeping the pace and the action at full blast. This is a occult themed, cinematic story that is tons of gory fun. The Complex is an excellent starting place for people new to Keene as it brings together all of the things he does best in his varied works of horror. Keene also has an extremely popular series featuring Levi Stoltzfus, an ex-Amish magician which fits into this subgenre. Dark Hollow is the first in that series.
+Malerman, Josh. Unbury Carol. 2018.
In this Weird Western, dominated by its pervasive, sinister tone, Malerman crafts an original and breathtaking retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Carol has a condition which makes her prone to falling to deep comas that mimic death; she is sentient but completely immobile. Told with multiple points of view following Carol, inside her coma rendered with beautiful, terrifying prose, Dwight, the dastardly husband trying to bury her alive, Moxie, Carol’s long lost, outlaw love, Smoke, a steampunk, villain tracking Moxie, and Rot, a supernatural evil entity that is trying to kill Carol, this is an intricately plotted, character centered, occult tale that plays off of the universal human fear of being buried alive and featured a female lead who doesn’t need the men to save her.
McCammon, Robert. The Listener. 2018.
It’s 1934 in New Orleans and cons John and Ginger hatch a scheme to kidnap the children of a rich businessman, but Curtis, a Black, railroad worker has a special gift that might be able to thwart them. Curtis is a “listener,” a skill that allows him to communicate with the other “listeners” near him, but it is a skill that has also left him ostracized. The layered plot, held together by an omniscient narration that enhances the tension and fear, is filled with supernatural details, nefarious actors, and suspense. This is a gritty, violent, and terrifying occult thriller that is enhanced by superior character development, an authentic historical setting, and a serious contemplation of the real life horrors of race and class in America, told by a modern master of the genre.
Miskowski, S.P. The Worst is Yet to Come. 2019.
Life in a boring small town in Washington State has been particularly hard on 14 year old Tasha, who has never really been able to find a best friend, that is until Briar moves to town. Briar is different, rebellious, and exciting. But when the two girls are privy to a violent secret they also unknowingly awaken a dark, occult force that has been haunting the town, undetected, for generations and it does not want to stay in the shadows any longer. This is a slow burn of a novel where the details are held back and parsed out, one by one, a stylistic choice that adds extra anxiety to the tale and keeps the pace steadily intensifying. An excellent choice for fans of the subgenre who want to explore the subgenre in a different setting.
Shipp, Jeremy C. Bedfellow. 2018.
A stranger comes through a window, into the Lund’s house, terrifying the family until they realize it is Marvin, the man who saved their son from choking earlier that evening. Beginning with this high tension moment, and never pulling back enough to let the reader catch their breath, Shipp quickly introduces Marvin’s occult powers, powers that entrance the Lunds, eventually putting them against one another as they battle for Marvin’s approval. The alternating first person point of view from each family member, as their obsessions and unreliability each increase, creates a compulsively readable pace, ratchets up the anxiety, and sets a tone of claustrophobic terror for both characters and the reader.
Snyder, Scott. Wytches. 2014.
After witnessing a murder, a young girl and her parents try to start over in a new town, but this town has dark, murderous secrets in the woods. Expertly combining the well known New England witch trope with the small town monsters, Snyder creates an engaging and creepy story, while the art in this graphic novel employs a brighter palate for the flashback scenes contrasted by a darker and more muted one for the present, a combination of prose and art that keeps the pace moving briskly without sacrificing the necessary details. But ultimately, it is the family and their relationship with each other that shines here, allowing the emotional pull of the story and its resolution to be even more gut wrenching.
Straub, Peter. A Dark Matter. 2010.
In 1966 four friends participate in an occult ceremony that had gruesome consequences. Now adults, they come together to recount their experiences, realizing that their childhood game might have unleashed an evil force onto the world. Straub mentions more blood and gore than he shows here, as he introduces the terrifying idea that all hope is lost. This newer title garnered this established author some of the highest praise of his distinguished career.
When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.
And that promise begins today. Each list will be posted on the blog over a series of 10 weeks, every Tuesday, beginning June 1, 2021 and running through August 3, 2021. This weekly series will serve to promote the book's upcoming release in August of 2021, but I have also created an archive of all of the lists that will live here. That page is the official index of this bonus content.
In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here.
Chapter 6: Zombies
[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks
+Bodine, T. L. River of Souls. 2019.
The zombies are among us, but thanks to science, their condition is manageable. As long as the zombies take their meds, their worst urges are suppressed, but for many it turns them into a “vegetable” who needs constant care. Teenager Davin, has been left caring for his undead Dad, and vibrant, younger sister, but the hard work is wearing on him, so Davin jumps at a chance to put Dad into a facility where he will get a new secretive treatment. But then, something happens and Davin finds himself in his own undead situation. This is a zombie adventure with heart and hope. It has moments of gore, as zombie fans expect, but there are also quirky characters and plenty of humor to provide readers a reviving take on a trope they know and love.
Brooks, Max. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. 2006.
In this future, alternative history, Brooks recounts a world war fought against a zombie uprising. This novel is written in a journalistic style as a series of fictional first person accounts of the survivors. The readers see firsthand how governments conspired to withhold information; people lost their loved ones to infection, and entire societies collapsed, all in a fairly short time period. This book’s unique construction takes some getting used to, but its intimate style sucks you right into the action and the pure terror.
Browne, S. G. Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament. 2009.
This romantic zombie comedy opens in the middle of the story. Andy is lying on the floor of his kitchen staring at a refrigerator packed with the chopped up parts of his parents. Andy takes the reader back to explain how he became a zombie and how he just wants to be accepted for who he is. However, Andy’s attempts to gain equal rights for zombies hilariously backfire as he, and his group of friends, begin to realize their true natures. While the laughs quickly stack up throughout the novel, the ending is as chilling as any horror novel included in this book.
Carey, M.R. The Girl with All the Gifts. 2014.
Melanie is a child genius; however, she is also a zombie. When the zombie apocalypse came, 90% of those infected became unthinking, hungry monsters, but some, like Melanie and her fellow muzzled students in the military base where they live, are still able to learn. Melanie knows no other life than that at the base, so when it is overrun by shambling hordes of the undead and she escapes with her favorite teacher and the scientist who has been studying her, she is excited for her life to begin in the real world. That is, until she begins to realize how different she is from the other survivors. An intricately plotted and cinematic tale dripping with atmosphere, but also filled with great zombie action, this is a terrifying and exciting novel with superior character development and world building. The Boy on the Bridge is a standalone novel set in the same world.
Demonaco, James and Evenson B.K. Feral. 2017.
In this feminist take on the zombie trope, an accident at a pharmaceutical plant releases a virus that only attacks those with Y chromosomes, turning genetic males into violent monsters. After Allie’s father kills her mother, Allie and her sister manage to escape his wrath and find safety in one of the many female-only colonies popping up all over the country. Three years later. Allie is a warrior who protects the colony and ventures out to gather test subjects for the doctor who is looking for a cure. On one of her excursions, Allie meets someone whose very existence might be the key to saving humanity. Told through multiple perspectives and featuring an action and tension fueled, fast pace, Feral has everything zombie fans want plus a touching finale.
+Grant, Mira. The Newsflesh Trilogy; begins with Feed. 2010.
Part political thriller, part zombie apocalypse story, Feed imagines a world where the cure for the common cold mixed with the cure for cancer has caused a very large zombie problem. 20 years later, civilization has found a way to endure with very strict protocols, and our protagonist’s siblings Georgia and Sean, along with their partner Buffy, run a popular news blog syndicate. When they are picked as the first bloggers to be given press credentials to follow a Presidential candidate, they uncover a plot to spread the virus in order to allow another candidate to win. With an engaging, first person narration from Georgia, a mixture of world building details, political intrigue, and some of the best zombie action sequences ever, this novel, from 2010 feels uncomfortably more realistic ten years later. Feed ends in a huge plot twist cliff hanger, but it is also the first book in the Newsflesh series, so readers can move right into Deadline and beyond.
Kenemore, Scott. Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead. 2011.
In this mystery-horror combo, Peter wakes up after a car accident to find that he is now a member of the undead, but unlike most zombies, he can pass for living, albeit a living person who also is hungry for brains. Determined to reunite with his girlfriend and figure out who used the accident to kill him, Peter’s journey leads him to the helm of a zombie horde out to get evil and out of control breathers. Zombie, Ohio is in equal turns amusing, thought provoking and terrifying, filled with plenty of snarky, social commentary, and it is the first book in a trilogy.
Langan, Sarah. The Missing. 2007.
When a teacher takes her class of fourth graders to visit a deserted town, they are infected by a disease that turns them into living zombies. They have not died, but they are ravenous for human flesh all the same. As the virus spreads throughout the town, tension builds, and the reader watches as the characters we come to love succumb to the virus, one after another. It is not pretty, but it is so compelling that it is almost impossible to look away. This is a tense tale with the worst of the gore left to the reader’s imagination.
Lindqvist, John Ajvide. Handling the Undead. 2005.
Building a name for himself as the Swedish Stephen King, Lindqvist tries his hand at the zombie novel to great acclaim. After an unexpected heat wave, the streets of Stockholm are filled with the risen dead. Various characters are followed, some who are trying to outrun the zombies and others who are hoping their loved ones are reanimated. This is a psychological, character-driven story that brings up questions and issues about the human condition which will haunt readers long after they finish the novel.
+Marion, Isaac. Warm Bodies. 2010.
Rather than tell a zombie story of how people are surviving after zombies rise up and destroy life as we know it, Marion instead focuses his original novel on R, a zombie who cannot remember the man he was and his friend, Julie, the human, who is helping him heal. Yes, heal. Told entirely from R’s perspective, readers watch him learn to be human again, are introduced to the remarkable world building, where civilization has retreated to rebuild inside giant sports stadiums, and are treated to scenes that range from gruesome action to intense unease. Thought-provoking and told with a steadily increasing pace, this is an unexpected and highly satisfying entry into the subgenre. Warm Bodies has a prequel, The New Hunger, as well as two sequels, The Burning World and The Living; it was also made into a major motion picture.
Priest, Cherie. Boneshaker. 2009.
In this steampunk, alternative history, zombie tale, our two narrators, a mother, Blue, and her son, Zeke, take turns telling readers their story of life in an apocalyptic Civil War era Seattle. Many years before, Blue’s husband created a machine called the Boneshaker, which dug under the city causing most of it to collapse, but to make matters worse, it released a gas that turned many of the survivors into zombies. Now the remaining humans live in a walled city but Blue is holding on to secrets that could put all in jeopardy and Zeke is determined to find out the truth. Featuring strong world building, and fun, action packed story, with a dread filled atmosphere permeating every page, Boneshaker presents a great start to the Clockwork Century series.
Turner, Joan Frances. Dust. 2010.
Jessica has been dead for nine years. She is a zombie who can remember her past life, can feel emotions, but is unable to communicate with the living. Things are rough until Jessica joins a zombie gang. Just as her life improves, a strange disease begins to attack humans and zombies. It is at this point that this original, subtle, psychological, and haunting novel really begins.