20 Books Every Zombie Fan Must Read

Thanks to my feed subscription to Lit Lists, I came across this Lit Reactor list entitled, "10 Books Every Zombie Fan Must Read."

I have reproduces the annotated list below, but the links for the titles are added by me.  I have read or posted about many of these titles in the past, so if you click on a linked title, it will go to my review or comments.

Also, as an expert in zombie fiction I have to say, this is a very solid list representing a wide range of options for all types of zombie fiction fans.  From teen to adult, thriller to literary fiction to pure horror, it is all here. Please go and check the honorable mention list too.  I added links on those relevant titles.

10. Patient Zero  by Jonathan Maberry

There were a few zombie books we could've chosen by Bram Stoker Award-winning author/zombie aficionado Jonathan Maberry, and this one barely won out over Rot and Ruin and Dead of Night, but Patient Zero deserves a spot on this list because it is a zombie novel for people who don't like zombie novels. Detective Joe Ledger is a tough guy leading man to rival anyone you've seen on the big screen. As part of a government task force whose mission it is to keep terrorists from deploying a bio-chemical weapon that turns us all into zombies, Ledger is full of so much bravado, action, and manly knowledge of advanced weaponry that he's almost cartoonish, but if you want a fast-moving, creepy book full of explosions, b-movie-style jumps, and evil geniuses (oh, and zombies), Maberry's got your number.

For fans of: Jonathan Spy thrillers, tough guys, Jack Bauer from 24, The A-Team, zombies

9. Day by Day Armageddon  by J.L. Bourne

Day by Day Armageddon describes the downfall of humanity through the diary of a U.S. naval officer. To keep the personal, intimate feel of a journal, Bourne originally wrote the story by hand—complete with scratch-outs, underlines, and margin notes—and uploaded the "journal" piece by piece to his website, where it became a cult hit among zombie fans. Bourne was eventually approached by Simon & Schuster, who did a 50,000 copy first print run, and have since published two sequels. The plot is fairly standard "zombie apocalypse happens, guy defends his house, guy picks up other survivors and travels for a while, group of survivors holes up in a missile facility and defends against the living and undead" style stuff, but the presentation is suspenseful, personal, and engaging. This is a quick read that feels almost voyeuristic at times.

For fans of: Reality TV/voyeurism, military terminology, first-person narration, old-school slow-moving zombies

8. As the World Dies: The First Days  by Rhiannon Frater

When a book starts with an abusive father gnawing on his three-year-old, it didn't come to mess around. Especially when it's described like so: "She found Lloyd hunched over Benjamin, eating away her baby's tender flesh." There's not much of the baby left. Probably because "Lloyd always was a big eater." These are the first images in Frater's trilogy, which was self-published before being picked up by Tor Books, and the gore, dark humor, and action just keep going. Abused (and, to be honest, fairly annoying) housewife Jenni joins up with lesbian attorney Katie for a zombie-killing road trip across Texas to pick up Jenni's step-son. This is not high-brow literature, nor is it feminist parable (goofy love triangles and catty comments abound), but it is a fun apocalyptic read.

For fans of: The Walking Dead, love triangles, gore, dark humor, Thelma and Louise, zombies

7. Forest of Hands and Teeth  by Carrie Ryan

Like most teenagers, Mary has a crush (two actually), teen angst, a mistrust of authority, and a desire to escape from the rule-laden world where she was raised. Unlike most teens, Mary lives in an isolated village separated from a forest full of flesh-eating zombies by a single fence. This—the first book of Ryan's well-received YA trilogy—could, in some ways, just as well have been set in an urban gated community with violent gangs outside its walls. The metaphor of the teenage desire to buck rules and build an adult life would have stood up, but as a general rule, if you can add zombies to a plot, go ahead and do so. Same with unicorns. Mary's own parents are among the "Unconsecrated" (religious terms and imagery are plentiful, and Mary's world is ruled by a religious order known as The Sisterhood). But before her mother started wandering around the Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of the zombified, she told Mary of a thing called the ocean, and Mary's desire to see the mythical beaches makes her consider risking everything.

For fans of: The Hunger Games, teen crushes and angst, YA supernatural fiction, fantasy, Shyamalan's The Village, zombies

 

6. Zone One  by Colson Whitehead

Thoughtful turns of phrase, biting dark humor, careful satire, and zombies, Colson Whitehead's Zone One isn't going to give you non-stop zombie-shooting head-smashing action (though the flashbacks to the outbreak are intense), but it is worth a read. Mark Spitz is a "sweeper," clearing away stragglers from Manhattan's Zone One district after the zombie attacks. These trapped souls are malfunctioning zombies, destined to ceaselessly repeat mundane acts they carried out while alive—filling balloons at a party store, working the copy machine, flying a kite with no wind. More lyrical than many zombie novels, Zone One provides careful wartime satire mixed with bleak allegories about modern life.

For fans of: Satire, uber-dark humor, New York City stories, the place where literature and genre novels meet, zombies

5. Breathers: A Zombie's Lament  by S.G. Browne

The most ridiculous (in a good way) book on our list is S.G. Browne's entertaining debut about modern life as a zombie. After Andy Warner dies, he has trouble adjusting to his new life as one of the undead. And who could blame him? He has to live in his parents' wine cellar, isn't allowed to go to the movies or even use the internet, and is constantly harassed by frat boys and other members of the living (aka "Breathers"). Things change after he meets Rita, a recent suicide who eats cosmetics for their formaldehyde content, and Jerry, a car crash victim who loves Renaissance porn, at an Undead Anonymous meeting. Together they learn the delights of devouring human flesh and find new ways to stand up for the rights of zombies everywhere.

For fans of: Max Brooks's The Zombie Survival Guide, Shaun of the Dead, black comedy, Warm Bodies, rom-coms, zombies

4. Feed  by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire)

Do you want the good news or the bad news? Let's start with the good because the bad is a doozy. The good news is that, according to Feed, we have managed to cure both cancer and the common cold. The bad news? Combining those two cures reanimates the dead. It's pretty inconvenient. A zombie apocalypse story, a political thriller, and a cautionary tale about the state of modern media all at once, the first novel in Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy is as much about the state of the world post-zombie outbreak as it is about the zombies themselves. Our snarky heroes are three bloggers who—in a world where mainstream media almost let everyone get devoured by zombies—are, along with their blogging brethren, responsible for getting the truth to the people. In the way of the truth are zombie giraffes, corrupt politicians, grand conspiracies, and hoards of undead who share a collective consciousness and get smarter in groups. The trilogy is a bit campy and unnecessarily descriptive at times (the first book weighs in at 600 pages), but if you don't mind those minor details, this Hugo Award-nominated book is a fun, intriguing read. (On a side note: I'm fond of the subtle pop culture references to other zombie books and movies woven throughout the books, from characters named Shaun and Buffy to the acknowledgement that George Romero is "one of the accidental saviors of the human race.")

For fans of: The West Wing, political thrillers, sci-fi, campiness, bashing traditional media, blogging, zombies

3. Raising Stony Mayhall  by Daryl Gregory

In 1968, Wanda Mayhall and her three daughters discover a frozen baby in a snowstorm. He is not breathing and has no heartbeat, but he begins to move. Knowing that authorities would destroy the baby, Wanda decides to raise him as one of her own. What follows is one of the biggest twists on the zombie genre in recent memory. Stony Mayhall (the zombie kid) is raised with his human family, but realizes he is different. He is, for example, shot in the chest with an arrow at one point without pain. As he grows older, he wonders what it means to be human and this heartfelt, emotional book takes on some distinctly philosophical undertones. As an older boy, he meets other members of the living dead but realizes that, because of his upbringing in a living family, he feels different. Layers of civil rights commentary are deftly woven into the plot. If you are not a horror fan, but want an excellent read about the human condition, Stony Mayhall is your man.

For fans of: Coming-of-age stories, Philip K. Dick, heartwarming undead families, science fiction, civil rights, zombies

2. World War Z  by Max Brooks

Presented as a series of UN-commissioned interviews a decade after the zombie outbreak, World War Z is terrifying because it feels like it could happen. If zombies were real, this is actually how things would go down. And that's true horror. Author Max Brooks—who exchanged the tongue-in-cheek presentation of his 2003 Zombie Survival Guide for a gritty portrayal of loss and devastation—said, "[E]xcept the zombies ... everything else in the book is either taken from reality or 100% real. The technology, politics, economics, culture, military tactics... it was a LOT of homework." At times, Brooks's portrayal of postwar culture hits a little too close to home, forcing readers to confront the darker side of human nature, the dangers of bureaucracy, American isolationism, and corporate corruption in between tales of the murderous undead. Because the book is less about a single story arc and more about how the individuals being interviewed have been affected, it'll be interesting to see how the new Brad Pitt film handles Brooks's bestseller.

For fans of: Episodic presentation, extreme realism, social commentary, military tactics, Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War, Studs Terkel's The Good War, zombies

1. The Reapers Are the Angels  by Alden Bell

Temple is a 15-year-old girl who has never known a world that didn't involve bashing in the skulls of zombies (here known as "slugs"). She handles these encounters like I handle seeing a spider in my house—as unpleasant but survivable encounters. What she does not handle as well is the guilt, grief, and emotional baggage she drags around during her quest for redemption. The bleak, painfully honest portrayal of Temple's loneliness and self-doubt—not the "slugs"—put this book at the top of our list. In fact, the origin of the slugs is never even revealed. What's passed is in the past, and the narrative lives in the present. "Beautiful" is not a word normally used to describe zombie tales, but this is no ordinary zombie book. It hits you with unexpected moments of joy amidst the horror, and with prose that owes quite a debt to Southern Gothic literature, The Reapers Are the Angels proves that zombie stories can be literary. They can make you cry. They can introduce you to introspective, believable, memorable characters that stay with you long after you've finished reading. One last thing: Don't think that because the protagonist is a teenager, this is a YA book. It's not. You'll scar your kiddos with this one.  

For fans of: Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, strong female protagonists, zombies.

Ten Honorable Mentions

• The Walking Dead series by Robert Kirkman
• Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahme-Smith
• The Aftertime trilogy by Sophie Littlefield
• Autumn by David Moody
• Monster Island: A Zombie Novel by David Wellington
• The Deadworld series by Joe McKinney
• Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo
• The Morningstar Saga by Z.A. Recht
• The Rising by Brian Keene

Review: Allison Hewitt is Trapped

This is a cross post with RA for All:

Allison Hewitt is Trapped [herein AHiT] by Madeleine Roux is a first novel in what will become a loosely based series of novels following different people, in different parts of the country as they deal with a zombie apocalypse and its aftermath.

The appeal for readers here is that the novel begins in a book store.  Allison is a few years out of college and struggling to find her place in the adult world.  She passes her time working in a bookstore in Madison, WI.

And then, the zombie apocalypse comes and Allison finds her calling...killing zombies!  She begins with a ragtag group of employees at the bookstore as they learn to kill zombies (with Allison in the lead) and finally make their way out into the devastated world.

Giving more plot would ruin it because the story is all about Allison's emotional and physical journey to safety.  In terms of the plot, though, it unfolds like many of today's zombie stories.  [Click here for more by me on zombie novels.]

However, what I want to focus on in this review is why AHiT is different from other zombie novels; in other words, why you would or would not want to read it for yourself.

The most striking thing about this novel is its format.  The entire novel is written as blog posts which Allison writes on the run and publishes when there is access to the government's emergency wireless.  So each chapter is a post and they end with comments.

Not only then are Allison and her group's actions part of the plot, as readers we also start to follow the shortened stories of those who leave comments.  This adds an interesting layer to the story in that we see Allison and her struggles in detail, but we also get a glimpse into the struggles, heartbreak, and dilemmas of many others all over the world.  This was a great addition to the plot, action, anxiety, oh just to everything.

There is a further level of depth to the story here too.  The entire "novel" is presented to a publisher many years after the zombie apocalypse as an example of a first hand account of one survivor.  The books begins with the submission letter by a young professor (whose Dad the reader later meets as a child in the story) and ends with the publisher's response (which definitely adds a twist to what we just read and rooted for).

It is also important to note that Roux initially wrote AHiT as a series of blog posts before it was published in book form.

On a side note, as I mention in the new book, horror novels often use an interesting frame like letters, official documents, or blog posts to further enhance the unease and anxiety of the story.  Here it works quite well as not only are we worried for Allison's safety as readers, but we are also concerned with the safety of her laptop.  Without it, we will never know what happened to her!  Roux knows this and makes sure how Allison AND the computer escape each new trial are both clearly explained in the story.

And yes, this novel does fit into the horror genre, but it is on the tamer side.  In fact, I could see chick lit fans who don't mind a little blood and guts really loving this book.  Roux writes better than average horror action sequences.  They are scary, bloody, detailed, and action packed.  You are on the edge of your seat following the gruesome action.  But it is not over-the-top gratuitous.  In other words, it is a lot more than Sookie Stackhouse or Twilight but a lot less than an all out zombie horror scarefest like those by Jonathan Maberry or Brian Keene.

And like all good horror novels, AHiT has both supernatural and human bad guys.  Very bad human bad guys, both men and women.

Overall, I would call it a horror/women's fiction/humorous meld.  AHiT is an excellent reading option for someone who wants something a little scarier, but not too gory.  It is also a great option for horror readers looking for a strong female lead.

AHiT has great characterizations.  Besides Allison, there are many well rounded characters here.  In fact, during the times when Allison and her friends are a bit safer the characters carry the story.  I should note that these slower times also help to build the anxiety of what is to come.  The reader knows that a zombie apocalypse is a bad thing.  Safety is relative.  Just like Allison and her crew, we are all waiting for the next time they all have to race away from certain death.

Speaking of certain death, like any believable zombie horror novel, there is a high body count here.  Characters you grow to love will die.

I know I mentioned chick lit fans above.  I should expand.  There is a strong theme here of Allison looking to find her place in the world AND a looking for love angle.  There is a strong romantic story line between her and someone she meets.  It has all of the trapping of a romance novel: they meet, fall in love, his wife returns, Allison runs away, he ditches wife and finds Allison, they live happily ever after.  I could have done without this part of the story myself.  I found Allison and her quest to find safety, and possibly her mother, compelling enough without the romance angle, but I can appreciate how it would rope in a whole other subsection of possible readers.

AHiT is a very quick and fun read.  I would not give it to a hardcore zombie fan, but I will give it out to  my patrons who are tiring of paranormal fiction and want a little more "teeth" in their stories.

Three Words That Describe This Book: zombie apocalypse, darkly humorous, character centered

Readalikes:  For readers who want more novels which are horror (not paranormal romance) with zombies and dark humor, I would also suggest:

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
• Benjamin's Parasite by Jeff Strand
• Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson
• Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Click here for more of my thoughts and reading suggestions on comic horror.

For those who want more horror with female protagonists, I would highly suggest:

• The Unseen by Alexandra Sokoloff
• The Missing by Sarah Langan
• The Taken by Sarah Pinborough

Finally, although I don't think it is a readalike, I should mention that Justin Cronin's The Passage is similar to AHiT in that both are written as a series of found documents looking back on the early days of the apocalypse and the exploits of those involved.  The Passage is much more detailed and literary than AHiT, but if a reader really likes this aspect then The Passage or World War Z by Max Brooks are the perfect suggestion.  Just make sure you are clear that both of these suggestions are more literary, less overtly humorous, and definitely more methodically paced.

31 Days of Horror: Day 19-- Comic Humor

Let's take a break from the intense terror for a day.  I want to spend some time talking about comic horror. What is so funny about zombies, vampires, and vicious monsters? Plenty.  Horror has many conventions and motifs which are used throughout the genre.  These are tried and true “tricks of the trade” that are sure to create unsettling atmospheres, frightening situations, and terrified readers.  Among the most common of these are the isolated settings, the troubled, down on his luck protagonist, and the angry spirit out for revenge. The comic horror novel takes these go-to situations and parodies them to create both chills and laughs.

But why are these novels such a hit with readers?  Their main draw lies in satire.  The comic horror novel is most enjoyed by the true horror fan.  Someone who regularly reads the horror authors and titles found in the previous chapters and appreciates the genre’s tropes will crave these books which, with a knowing wink and nod, poke fun at horror, while still respecting it.  The humor is born out of horror’s past and is built off of the foundation laid out in the previous lists.  Comic horror fans love this insider’s feel to the stories.  They are part of an exclusive club who “get” the jokes, references, and puns.  Good comic horror, like the books on this “sure bets” list, will seamlessly blend chills and satire, allowing readers to be scared and have a good laugh, both at the same time. 

There are plenty of comic horror movies, such as The Scream franchise and my personal favorite, Shaun of the Dead, but today I want to focus on comic horror prose. 

The benchmark author in this subgenre is without a doubt, Christopher Moore. (That's his picture on the right.)  He writes funny, thought provoking, and chilling novels that satirize both the horror genre and the human condition.  Start with You Suck.  Another prolific author of comic horror is Mario Acevedo; however, his books tend to range toward the sillier side of the subgenre. Start with The Nymphos of Rocky Flats.


Nothing is more indicative of the wide appeal of comic horror than the success of the Blood Lite series.  Edited by Kevin J. Anderson and published by the Horror Writers Association, the series compiles the best of humorous horror from blockbuster authors and up and comers.  It is the perfect place to start sampling the best comic horror has to offer.

And of course, I cannot forget to mention the popularity of the horror "mash-up"," an emerging subgenre that exploded on the scene in 2009 when Quirk Books took comic horror to a whole new level by releasing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. Grahame-Smith took about 80% of the public domain text of Austen’s classic and inserted zombies and zombie hunters.  The ensuing novel was a huge bestseller and Quirk and other publishers have since put out numerous horror mash-ups of literary classics.  

For those interested in trying the best of the mash-ups, I would also suggest three more options:

Anderson, Kevin David.  Night of the LivingTrekkies.

At a science fiction fan convention, a virus begins to spread.  Soon a small band of strangers are forced to work together to find a way to escape an all out attack by zombies hungry for live flesh.  A combination of dead-on parody, Star Trek trivia, and hilarious dialog make this original comic novel a fan and critic favorite.

Cooper, Seamus.  TheMall of Cthulhu.

Ted thought he was done battling evil after he destroyed a nest of vampires back in college, but when he finds a group of Lovecraft enthusiasts intent on raising the author’s greatest monsters, Ted and his friend Laura must save the suburbs from the evil of the Necronomicon.  Whether you are a diehard Lovecraft fan or not, this is silly horror at its best; the monsters are evil and social commentary is relentless.

Geillor, Harrison.  TheZombies of Lake Woebegotten.

In this parody of Garrison Keillor’s portrayal of Minnesotans as steadfast people who don’t want to draw attention to themselves, the dead (both human and animal) begin to rise as zombies.  The good people of Lake Wobegotten must band together to save themselves.  However, one resident, Mr. Leavitt, is a secret serial killer, who tries to re-animate his victims and creates his own zombie army.  Geillor’s inventive novel is both an obvious satire and a chilling story of the monsters that lurk among us.

Chapter 12 of my new book, entitled "Comic Horror: Laughing in the Face of Fear," goes into this realm of horror in much more detail.  But for now, why not try one of the authors, titles, or collections I mentioned here today and see why readers love to blend some terror with a fit of the giggles.

Finally, it is hard to believe that I am cruising into the stretch run of these 31 Days of horror.  I realized now is a good time to let you know what is still to come.  Reviews of the short story collection What Fears Become and the novel Zone One by Colson Whitehead and a list of the best horror of 2011 and one on best Horror on the horizon, as well as a few guest posts.  There is still time to let me know if there is a horror issue you want me to address.

New Trend: Recut Movie Trailers

Two years ago the horror mash-up was all the rage, as we saw Seth Grahame-Smith's additions of zombies to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, begin a horror fiction revolution.  Some were good, some not so good.  In fact, to help you sort through the huge mass of offerings, my new book has an entire chapter on the very best of today's comic horror, including mash-ups.

However, there is a brand new off-shot of the horror mash-up and this is one not to be missed.  Over on You Tube, people are taking classic movie trailers and re-cutting them into horror trailers.  Some of these people have been doing it for a few years, but their popularity is skyrocketing now.  Here are two of my favorites for The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins recut as horror movies:






What I love about this trend is how well it works.  Using the actual movies, these creative people have been able to make a great horror movie trailer.  Specifically, the music that already appears in these classic films is used to heighten the creepy atmosphere.

To see more and keep up on the trend, search You Tube for "recut horror trailer."  You can use my link to automatically run the search.  Have fun!

Quirk Books: Creators of the Mash-Up

When Quirk Books published Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in 2009, a new type of comic horror was invented-- the mash-up.

Many imitators have come out since then, but the Quirk books titles have been the best. How do they do it?  This article goes behind the scenes with the small, privately held, independent publishers to get their side of the story.

I thought the mash-up might have been on its way out, but after reading the article, I am not so sure.  I have also been eagerly anticipating their newest title, Night of the Living Trekkies. Here a zombie outbreak takes place at a Comic-Con like convention. It sounds like the perfect mix of campy and scary. I am on hold for it right now.

Are Zombies the New Vampires?

 

Many have been calling 2010 "The Year of the Zombie." I will be talking about this in more length in a pair of reviews of books I am currently reading, both with feature zombies, but in the meantime, Sarah  Statz Cords over at RA Online's blog, summed up the discussion quite well and provided many links.  I have included the full text here, but you can also use this link to go over to the original post (which also includes my comments.)


Also thanks to Sarah for bringing this discussion to the attention of all librarians, not just the ones who regularly follow horror. Patrons are inhaling these zombie books, and we all need to be aware of their popularity.

Are zombies the new vampires?

by Sarah Statz Cords
All right, I’ll admit, a simple Google search revealed that I am not as clever in this choice of topic as I thought I was. Links to other (undoubtedly more clever) stories on the subject are listed at the end of this post.
I noticed the other day as I was looking over new releases for the year that a good number of new horror books feature zombies. Of course, in terms of sheer output, vampire books are still walloping all competition.*
But what do you think about it? Are you getting readers as rabid about zombie books as they are/were about vampire books? (And was the trend, if it is one, started by the popular spoof Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?) Do vampire books, in all their genre-blending splendor, seem to be slowing down in popularity at all, or are they still flying off your shelves? As evidenced by the list of articles below, lots of critic and journalist types have an opinion on this phenomenon. But we’d like to know what the librarians actually working the public service desks could tell us about it!
*I still laugh when I think of a bookseller friend of mine saying, shaking his head, “We just keep waiting for the Twilight thing to pass, and it just won’t go away…”
August 2010:
Fiction-L discussion about books for a fan of zombie novels
From way back in April 2009: Time magazine, Zombies are the New Vampires
Murderati, April 2009: When There Is No More Room In Hell
Starpulse magazine, Oct. 2009: Are Zombies the New Vampires? (More of a take on movies than lit, but still.)
Sassy Librarian blog, Dec. 2009: Are Zombies the New Vampires?
Euclic Public Library Book Banter Blog, Jan. 2010: Zombies: The New Vampires
Just Press Play blog, June 2010: Lit of the Living Dead
The Guardian, Aug. 2010: The Walking Dead (a television perspective)
And, last but not least, a big thank you to the Lincoln (Nebraska) City Libraries post of a reader-submitted list of zombie books:
Zombies…the New Vampires.