What I'm Reading: Warm Bodies

Recently I finished the post-apocalyptic zombie novel, Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.  Wait right there.  I know what you are thinking, "another post-apocalyptic zombie novel."  But this one is different.

Warm Bodies is Marion's first novel, and it is remarkable for what it is not.  It is not a story of how people are surviving after zombies rise up and destroy life as we know it.  Rather it is the story of a zombie, R, who cannot remember his life before he was a zombie, but with the help of Julie, his human friend, he is beginning to heal.

That's right, I said heal.  The zombie virus appears to be mutating.  And R and Julie, and their human-zombie friendship is leading toward a new future for life on earth by book's end.

I don't want to give much more away about the plot, rather, I want to talk about the appeal-- the "why" you would want to read this novel.

The main appeal to this story are the two main characters and their evolving relationship:  R (the zombie) and Julie (the young adult human). The entire book is from R's point of view.  He is an evolving zombie.  He is healing from the virus that made him a man-eating monster.  Through his relationship with Julie, he is learning to become human again.  As the two grow closer, Jule shares her personal thoughts about how humanity is choosing to live now. I was enthralled by R, how he evolves, and how together with Julie they tried to "change the world."

Since this novel is character centered over action centered, the pace is not super fast, but it is also not slow either.  It would call it "steadily building."  The pace is appropriate to the thought-provoking nature of the story.  As readers, we need a breather from the tense scenes so that we can sit back and process what just happened.  This is a novel of ideas, big ideas, about human civilization and life.  We experience it all through R and Julie, but we readers need time to think about things for ourselves too.

This novel is also appealing because it is so unexpected.  Yes, there have been zombie novels from the zombie's perspective before, but never have I read one that looks at the possibility of the zombies healing and rejoining the world, albeit a totally new world from the one we actually live in.  It is not just the overall theme and plot that are unexpected though.  R and Julie are interesting and original characters.  For someone who reads a lot of zombie books, it was nice to read one that surprised me.

I also want to comment on the setting, which I found extraordinary.  Interestingly, in Marion's imagination of a post-apocalyptic world, humans have turned their huge sports stadiums into new cities.  The scenes when R goes into the human settlement and describes what he sees were riveting.  It was a completely original way to look at how we would organize our lives after everything has collapsed.  Despite the overwhelming mass of fiction which has looked at this issue in the past, Marion managed to add something new to the pile.  I would suggest this book to readers just for these few chapters alone.

So it must now be asked, is Warm Bodies horror?  In the new book, I define horror as, "a story in which the author manipulates the readers' emotions by introducing situations in which unexplainable phenomena and unearthly creatures threaten the protagonists and provoke terror in the reader."

I think the answer to this question may depend on the reader.  The main goal of this novel is to explore the zombie apocalypse and posit a solution, a chance for the virus to be cured, and for civilization to go on again.  However, the unease is huge here.  Since we are in the head of a zombie (who does eat people during the book), we, the readers, are never fully at ease.  Even as our sympathy for R grows, we never fully trust him.  The book does not work if Marion does not play with our emotions and keep us unsteady, engrossed, and ultimately scared of what is coming next.

I would say that Warm Bodies is part of the "new" type of horror as begun by Joe Hill in Horns.  Click here to see where I discuss this issue in detail.  So be prepared to be frightened, but in an unexpected way.

Three Words That Describe This Book: thought-provoking, character-centered, unexpected

Where This Book Took Me (summer reading feature): post-apocalyptic America; into the brain of a zombie.

Readalikes:  The new book has a great chapter on zombie books.  If you haven't been able to tell by now, zombie books are my personal favorite horror stories.  So I have a ton of suggestions for sure bet zombie reads listed in there.  But specifically here, readers who liked the more thought-provoking style with a character centered (not action oriented) focus should try the following books featuring zombies:

• Dust by Joan Frances Turner
• The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
• Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
• Pariah by Bob Fingerman

The annotations for these suggestions will all appear in Chapter 7-- Zombies: Following the Walking Dead of the new book.

I did also see one Amazon reviewer liken R to Edward Scissorhands. I totally agree. So if you like that movie, try Warm Bodies.

Of course there is also an entire cottage industry in nonfiction zombie survival guides.  It all started with The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks.  But click through and see what else customers bought and you will find nonfiction options like this, this, and this.  

And don't forget the book you should suggest to R to read for himself (now that he is beginning to regain that skill): So Now You're a Zombie: A Handbook for the Newly Undead.

Warm Bodies Official Movie Trailer.

Last year I read Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion and LOVED it! Click here for details.

Not only is Marion hard at work on a sequel, but, the movie is ready for a February 1 release. The popularity of this book and/or movie could spark a whole new direction for zombie stories. Instead of being about the survival of the remaining humans, these stories could turn into ones about how to cure and save the zombies.

This is a trend that I will have to keep an eye on. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer for Warm Bodies.

Horror Readers' Advisory Book Update: Authors

When I first started this blog, I promised to use it as an update to my print book, and while everything I post technically adds to the value of the book, today's post is an actual update to the authors listed in Chapter 3: Horror 101: A Crash Course in Today's Tales of Terror.

In that chapter I break up today's need to know authors into a few categories. One of those categories is "Pulps Kings." These are horror authors publishing original paperback fiction whose books I feel every library with a known horror readership should own. In other words, these should be your go-to pulp horror authors.

The book lists: Brian Keene, Nate Kenyon, John Everson, Gary Braunbeck, Robert Dunbar, and Jeff Strand.  To this list I am updating with the following authors and descriptions.


J. G. Faherty writes character driven horror which often has an ancient evil setting and incorporates teenaged protagonists.  He often uses a mix of supernatural occurrences and beings to ratchet up the fear and his use of gore is moderate.  Of the better known authors, I would compare him to Peter Straub. Try Cemetery Club which  begins with 4 friends awakening an ancient evil that they contain but don’t defeat and then flashes forward 20 years when the friends need to reunite for a final showdown.

Gregory Lamberson walks the line between horror and not quite horror, but there is no denying his popularity with horror fan because his Jake Helman Files series is scary as heck. Jake resigns from the NYC police force and becomes a private detective specializing, by accident, in supernatural crimes.  These are gory and terrifying novels, but reviewers are constantly commenting on how imaginative and original the stories feel.  More horror than Huston’s Joe Pitt series, but still with a strong investigative element, Lamberson is an author to keep an eye on. Try the first book in the series, Personal Demons

Law enforcement officer Joe McKinney knows a thing or two about catching bad guys, but in his terrifying Dead World series, he imagines an evil much worse than a mere human criminal.  After five hurricanes in a row slam into the Texas Gulf coast, “from the rubble, a virus has been born that is reanimating the dead--thousands of them at a time!  Quickly, the virus spreads across the entire state of Texas, as hordes of hungry zombies begin taking over.  This is a terrifying and action packed series with a realistic premise.” The first book is Dead City.

Finally, I would like to add a list of newer authors, all who have been mentioned on RA for All: Horror previously, who are making enough of an impact that you should be on the look out for new titles by them. All links go to areas on this blog where the author was discussed and/or his book reviewed.

• Brett J. Talley
• Benjamin Kane Ethridge
• Lee Jordan
• Douglas Wynne
• Isaac Marion 

Now that my book is a year old, look for more frequent official updates to the print here on the blog.

Annual Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Spotlight in Booklist

August is Horror's chance to shine in Booklist, and since I write for them, I always have a heavy hand in this issue.

This issue is one of your biggest resources as you plan for the October horror onslaught, so pay attention whether you personally like horror or not!

I posted my three reviews in this issue here and have added them to the Horror Review Index here:

• Hill, Joe. Strange Weather (2017)
• Klinger, Leslie S. The New Annotated Frankenstein (2017)
• Percy, Benjamin.  The Dark Net (2017)

I also never announced the addition of another review in a previous issue that has now been added to the Index:

• Maberry, Jonathan and George A. Romero.  Nights of the Living Dead (2017)

These are stories written in the Romero universe. It is an excellent collection on it's own and with the passing of the influential director's death it is a must buy for all library collections.

Also in this issue you can find my interview with Les Klinger, the author of The New Annotated Frankenstein (review above). It's entitled, Leslie S. Klinger and the Fine Art of Annotation. You may think this sounds boring, but I got to spend time with Les and we talked about annotating and why it is so interesting and cool. All librarians can learn from him. He has annotated Gaiman's Sandman series, Sherlock Holmes, HP Lovecraft and he is about to release an annotated Watchmen. In other words, click through and read my article.

Not involving me at all, but very important is the Top 10 list of the best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror on audio. Click here for the list which includes a lot of horror.

Finally, this issue also has the Booklist Horror Top 10 for the past year. The list was chosen by horror author and Booklist Editor, Daniel Kraus. He starts with the starred horror reviews from the past year and then he has full control to pick the lists from that narrowed down field. I am proud to say that 8 of the top 10 are books I reviewed. It makes me so happy to help these books get into libraries. Speaking of, if a book is on this list, you should buy it for your library. It represents the bare minimum of the latest horror you should own in any public library collection.  Here is the link for the full list and annotations. I have also listed the titles below; those with an * were reviewed by me and can be found in the Horror Review Index or with the link provided:

• *The Burning World by Isaac Marion
• The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
• *Haven by Tom Deady
• *Hekla's Children by James Brogden
• *Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
• *A Long December by Richard Chizmar [Ironically, that review appeared in last year's spotlight issue]
• *The Motion of Puppets by Keith Donohue [Also last year's spotlight]
• *Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror edited by Ellen Datlow 
• *Reanimatrix by Pete Rawlik
• Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

This should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Halloween is only 89 days away.

31 Days of Horror: Day 21--Best Horror of 2011...So Far

Today I want to highlight the best horror books that have come out this year.  Some time this weekend, I will offer up the best horror on the horizon in the next few months.

For the record, as I mentioned previously, I still plan to review Zone One and What Fears Become before the end of the month, so they will not be included here.  Also, I want to remind you all that I keep a Horror Review Index sorted by author here.

Here are the links to the horror novels with 2011 copyrights which I really enjoyed and reviewed this year. I will tackle horror collections at a later time.  Click on each title for details:

• Locke and Key 4: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
• Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
• American Vampire 2 by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque
  

Here are some more horror titles that I feel are among the best to have come out so far in 2011:

• Flesh Eaters by Joe McKinney.  This is the third installment in McKinney's excellent series which speculates that five hurricanes in a three week time span destroy Houston.  As a result of the disaster, a zombie plague infects the citizens.  McKinney, who is a police officer by day, is a rising star in the genre.
• Bed Bugs by Ben Winters.  Winters is also an up and coming horror author.  He began his horror novel career with Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, but now he is back with an original tale of terror.  I am still on the hold list for this one, but it is getting great reviews and word of mouth. Here is the set-up: the perfect NYC apartment, but it is too good to be true.  The residents are being attacked by bed bugs, or so they think, until they find out the threat is much, much more sinister than they thought.
• Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry. This is the sequel to Maberry's YA zombie series Rot and Ruin, which I read and loved here.  I am saving Dust and Decay for after Halloween when I have more time to enjoy it, but I have given it out to many patrons already and they have all loved it.
• Willy by Robert Dunbar.  I really like Dunbar, and if you read this psychologically terrifying novel, you will see why.  Dunbar puts the reader completely into the head of a troubled boy and follows his terrifying interaction with his friend, Willy.  This is a dark and complex story. Don't be fooled by its short page count (under 300).  This is a book will stay with you.
• Houdini Heart by Ki Longfellow.  This book has been a surprise to horror fans.  It is a haunting novel which harkens back to Poe, Lovecraft, and Shirley Jackson, but with a 21st Century feel.  I don't want to give too much away here, but this story looks at one writer's descent into madness. Or is she really the victim of supernatural forces?  I love these novels in which the reader is never sure if what the narrator is telling us is truly happening or if it is all in their head.  Here's another book like this which I loved. Terrifying.
• Finally, here are a few debut novels that are getting a lot of buzz in the horror community. Click through to read more:
• That Which Should Not Be by Brett Talley (researcher find lost stories but in doing so opens a portal to evil)
• Verland: The Transformation by B. E. Scully (vampires)
  The Armageddon Chord by Jeremy Wagner (heavy metal music, ancient evil song)
  Seed by Ania Ahlborn (dark secrets, possessed child, Louisiana swamps)
  Blind Hunger by Adrian Chamberlin (zombie plague that leaves only kids as survivors)
  

Let me know if I missed one of your favorites from the first 3/4 of 2011.  Still to come, the best story collections of 2011 and the best horror on the horizon.  Patience, I still have over a week of days to fill people.

31 Days of Horror: Day 31-- Monday Discussion and Lots of Me

Day 31 is not only Halloween, but also, since it is a Monday, I am hosting the Monday Discussion over on RA for All.  Today's question is:  What's Your Favorite Halloween Memory?  You will have to click through to see mine.

Also click here to read what happened when I tried to get Chicago Tribune columnist Barbara Brotman to try reading some horror.

Click here at 10am to listen to me live on the radio talking about horror fiction.

I gave an interview with the Oak Park Patch.  Click here for the full text.  I will also paste it at the end of this post.

All three of this appearances do have some new information about Horror RA. You gotta save the best for last.

Speaking of the end, thank you for joining me on this 31 Day journey.  I am going to take a break for a few days, but I will be back.  Just don't expect any 31 days in a row again until next year.  In the meantime, order a book and use the coupon code at the top of this page for $5 off.

My goal is to post here 2x a week, but of course, that will wax and wane depending on what is going on in the horror world.  You can however, follow this blog via RSS or email feeds to know when something is going on.  Also, I continue to post every weekday on all things RA related over on RA for All.

Have a fun and safe Halloween.

Patch article:

Becky Spratford is a Readers Advisor at theBerwyn Public Library. When she's not running her two popular blogs, RA for All and RA for All: Horror, she is corrupting the minds of students atDominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
The La Grange resident is also the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2^nd edition(ALA, 2012) and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association. 

Patch caught up with her for some insight on her favorite literary genre. 

Patch: What was your introduction to horror and what was your reaction to it at the time?Becky Spratford: My dad was (and is) a huge Stephen King fan, so his books were always lying around the house. But my first visceral memory was in the summer at a friend's house watching the first Nightmare on Elm Street movie. I can still remember scenes from the movie. 

The idea that in your dreams you could be stalked and killed by a monster was both scary and intriguing. I spent many a summer night in the 1980s watching more Nightmare on Elm Streets and the Hellraiser films. I could not get enough. I was drawn in, captured, and the genre never let me go. 

Patch: Having spent years watching horror and surrounding yourself in the culture, is there one film or novel that stands out for you as “the best,” or at least a personal favorite?Spratford: The books stay with me more than the films for sure. I have had many favorites over the years, but the book I hand sell to patrons over and over and over again in The Ruins by Scott Smith. Here a group of 20-somethings travel into the jungle to explore some Mayan ruins and end up trapped on a hill by an unlikely monster who always gets its prey. This book changed the way I think about horror novels. 

The entire time I was reading this book, I was trying to figure out how these kids were going to get out of this terrible situation, but when you get to the end (which I will not give away) I was blown away. The answer was so obvious, yet so radical. It changed the entire genre. From The Ruins-on (2006), no character was safe in a horror novel anymore. There no longer has to be a survivor. By the way, do not watch the movie. It is bad and totally different. 

Patch: What is it about horror that turns an everyday librarian and bibliophile into a lover of the spooky and scary?
Spratford: I read so much, both for work and for fun, that dark twists, macabre events and slightly off-kiltered views of reality hold my attention. Dark fiction was always an interest of mine, but when my Library School professor Bill Crowley (still at Dominican) told me that the American Library Association was looking for someone to write the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror books and he thought I would be perfect, I jumped at the chance. 

I love writing and reading equally, and the chance to combine the two was a dream come true. That was back in 2001 when I co-wrote the first edition. I threw myself into the horror world and spent years studying the genre. I found a calling. By the time I started writing the second edition (back in 2010), I was a member of the Horror Writers Association and an expert in the genre. Horror is looked down upon by many because it preys on our emotions and uses visceral imagery to invoke terror. 

But when you spend the hours I have immersed in it, you really come to appreciate what great writers are out there practicing the horror craft. My goodness, today we all think Edgar Alan Poe was a genius (myself included) but he was simply preying on our emotions and eliciting a fear response in readers. He was writing some of the first American horror stories. 

Patch: Horror comes in many shapes and forms, from the campy (i.e. Friday the 13th) to psychological (i.e. Silence of the Lambs), from the “gore porn” (i.e. Hostel) to the paranormal (i.e. Signs). Do you have a favorite subgenre?
Spratford: I am a sucker for a good zombie story. By far, the post-apocalyptic setting where masses of zombies are shambling toward me is my favorite. Interestingly, I like the full range of zombie stories. From a parody like the film Shaun of the Dead, to the TV show and the graphic novel series,The Walking Dead, to a newer, more thoughtful novel like Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies, I love them all. 

Have you seen the viral video "Zombie in a Penguin Suit" yet? Check it out. When I wrote my book, my editors even noted that the zombies chapter was the best. 

Patch: Is there any sort of element of horror that you try to avoid? For example, I've heard you're not particularly into gratuitous gore.
Spratford: I am OK with blood and guts as long as it serves a purpose. Is it there to ratchet up the fear factor? I really like Brian Keene, who is known in the industry for being an expert at describing the dismemberment of bodies. I do try to avoid horror books with badly drawn characters. No matter what type of book I am reading, I read for character.
I don't have to like the characters, in fact, I love an unreliable narrator, but I need them to be fully fleshed out, nuanced and interesting. Unfortunately, some horror authors rely on stereotypical characters, and add lots of gore so you don't notice that the characters are as thin as the paper they are written on. I try to avoid those.

31 Days of Horror Day 3-- Revamped and More Useful Review Index

This first week of October I am focusing the blog-a-thon on how to get the most out of me and my expertise now and all the year through.

Today I am focusing on my long standing and constantly updated Review Index which I have made even more useful. Here is the direct link to the NEW AND IMPROVED Horror Review Index, but I have also attached it below.

There is nothing more important for me to do than make sure you know about as many books as possible. Over the years I have heard from library workers, readers, and authors that my professional reviews, in official library journals, have gotten those titles on library shelves. I have seen data that shows that before I reviewed a book it was in 10 libraries nationwide and then after my review.... 50 the first month after, and hundreds more a few months out.

I am not writing this to brag, not at all. In fact, I am writing this to let you know I wish I could give you more options, but I am only 1 person and reviewing horror is only part of my job. I already do 3-6 titles a month. However, I can give you more official and professional options for reviews both to develop your collections AND to give you as many suggestion options at your fingers tips as I possibly can.

That is what I have done with the Horror Review Index. Today’s post is to remind you to use it to find suggestions and to let you know I have made it even more useful by quickly routing you to many more titles by reviewers I trust. They have the Becky seal of approval.

Now get out there and start suggesting scary reads. It’s October 3rd already. I know they are just beginning to shamble in.  Soon, the hordes will be descending. I’ve got your back though.

HORROR REVIEW INDEX:

Here is an author index to all of the reviews appearing on this blog (or before this blog began on RA for All) with the links leading you to the review itself.

But, because I am only 1 person, and I cannot possibly get to every book that could be a good fit for your patrons, I also offer the following links to Becky approved horror reviews:

• This Is Horror’s review archive: This British based site is the best regular review source for horror. Sometimes their titles overlap with mine, but because all they do is horror, they are able to get to many more than I can.
• Tor.Com’s Horror coverage contains many reviews and not just about books they have published. This link will also lead you to essays about horror, essays that also will give you more titles to suggest.
• LitReactor’s Bookshots reviews are amazing, and while they are not all horror per se, they are almost all titles with an oppressive atmosphere. Most of the reviews here are horror or horror -adjacent. But these reviews are also super useful to you, the library worker because they directly address who the title is best for by using a question and answer form. You can literally read the review to your patron in 2 minutes or less and decide together if it is a good choice. Bookshots are also a great conversation starter if you don’t know how to talk to your horror patrons. Try it out for yourself.

Between this index of my reviews [below] and the links to the others [above], you have thousands of choices of excellent terrifying reads for your patrons. No more excuses that you just don’t know what to suggest. I have given you plenty of options for every type of potential reader.

And remember, it doesn’t matter how old the book is. A great title from 5 years ago is still a good read for someone. Dig through the backlist. Here’s an example.

BECKY’S REVIEWS

• Adams, John Joseph and Douglas Cohen, eds. What the #@&% is That?: The Saga Anthology of the Monstrous and the Macabre (2016)
• Anderson, Kevin J.  Death Warmed Over (2012)
• Baker, Jacqueline.  The Broken Hours: A Novel of H.P. Lovecraft (2016)
• Barker, Clive. Scarlet Gospels (2015) [guest post by Jack Phoenix]
• Barlow, Toby. Sharp Teeth (2008) ed note: scroll to middle of post for review 
• Barron, Laird. Swift to Chase (2016)
• Bell, Alden. The Reapers Are the Angels (2010) 
• Boone, Ezekiel.  Skitter (2017)
• Brogden, James.  Hekla's Children (2017)
• Browne, S. G. Breathers: A Zombie's Lament (2009) 
• Browne, S.G.  I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus (2012)
• Burke, Kealan Patrick.  Kin (2012)
• Chesterton, R.B.  The Darkling (2013)
• Chizmar, Richard.  A Long December (2016)
• Colon, Christopher, ed. He is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson (2009)
• Cronin, Justin.  The City of Mirrors (2016)
• Cronin, Justin. The Passage (2010)
• Cutter, Nick.  Little Heaven (2016)
• Cutter, Nick.  The Troop (2014)
• Davidson, Andy.  In the Valley of the Sun (2017)
• Datlow, Ellen, ed. Black Feathers: Dark Avian Fiction (2017)
• Datlow, Ellen, ed.  Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror (2016)
• Datlow, Ellen and Lisa Morton, eds. Haunted Nights (2017)
• Deady, Tom.  Haven (2016)
• Donohue, Keith.  The Motion of Puppets (2016)
• Dunbar, Robert.  Wood (2012) 
• Duncan, Glen.  The Last Werewolf (2011) 
• Ethridge, Benjamin Kane.  Bottled Abyss (2012)
• Everson, John.  NightWhere (2012)
• Faherty, JG.  Ghosts of Coronado Bay (2011)
• Farris, John. High Bloods (2009)
• Ford, Jeffrey. A Natural History of Hell (2016)
• Forry, Lauren.  Abigale Hall (2017)
• French, Aaron, ed. The Gods of HP Lovecraft (2015)
• French, Aaron.  The Time Eater (2017)
• Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book (2008)
• Garza, Michelle and Melissa Lason.  Those Who Follow (2017)
• Girard, Geoffrey.  Mary Rose (2017)
• Girard, Geoffrey.  Project Cain (2013)
• Golden, Christopher.  Ararat (2017)
• Grant, Mira.  Blackout: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 3 (2012) 
• Grant, Mira.  Deadline: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 2 (2011)
• Grant, Mira. Feed: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 1 (2010) 
• Gout, Leopoldo. Ghost Radio (2008)
• Hill, Joe. Horns (2010) 
• Hill, Joe. The Fireman (2016)
• Hill, Joe. Strange Weather (2017)
• Hill Joe, and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft (2008) 
• Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke and Key: Head Games (2009)
• Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows (2010) 
• Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez.  Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom (2011) 
• Hill Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez.  Locke and Key: Clockworks (2012)
• Hill, Joe.  NOS4A2 (2013)
• James, Russell. Q Island (2015)
• Janz, Jonathan.  Children of the Dark (2016)
• Jodan, Lee F.  Coronation (2012)
• Keene, Brian. Castaways (2009)
• Keene, Brian.  Pressure (2016)
• Kenyon, Nate. The Bone Factory (2009) 
• Kenyon, Nate. Sparrow Rock (2010) 
• King, Stephen.  Doctor Sleep (2013)
• King, Stephen.  Full Dark, No Stars (2010) 
• King, Stephen.  Joyland (2013)
• King, Stephen and Richard Chizmar. Gwendy's Button Box (2017)
• Klinger, Leslie S. The New Annotated Frankenstein (2017)
• Kozeniewski, Stephen.  Hematophages (2017)
• Kraus, Daniel.  Rotters (2011)
• Lansdale, John L.  Zombie Gold (2016)
• Littlewood, Alison.  A Cold Season (2013)
• Limbus Inc. (2013)
• Lukavics, Amy.  The Women in the Walls (2016)
• Maberry, Jonathan.  Dead of Night (2011)
• Maberry, Jonathan. Ghost Road Blues (2006) ed note: scroll to bottom of post for review
• Maberry, Jonathan. Patient Zero (2009) ed note: scroll to bottom of post for review 
• Maberry, Jonathan.  Rot and Ruin (2010)
• Maberry, Jonathan and George A. Romero.  Nights of the Living Dead (2017)
• MacLeod, Bracken.  Come to Dust (2017)
• Malerman, Josh.  Bird Box (2014) 
• Mamatas, Nick.  I Am Providence (2016)
• Manderino, John.  But You Scared Me The Most (2016)
• Marion, Isaac. The Burning World (2016)
• Marion, Isaac.  Warm Bodies (2011)
• Masello, Robert. Blood and Ice (2009) 
• Masterton, Graham. Basilisk (2009)
• Masterton, Graham.  The Devils of D-Day (1978)
• McCammon, Robert.  The Last Train From Perdition (2016)
• Merbeth, K.S. Bite (2016)
• Mitchell, David.  Slade House (2015)
• Morris, Keith Lee.  Travelers Rest (2016)
• Morton, Lisa.  Netherworld (2014)
• Oates, Joyce Carol. The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror (2016)
• Ohno, Nuzo. The Sleepless (2016)
• Owen, Lauren.  The Quick (2014)
• Percy, Benjamin.  The Dark Net (2017)
• Percy, Benjamin.  Red Moon (2013)
• Pessl, Marisha.  Night Film (2013)
• Phoenix, Jack.  The Tormentors (2013)
• Rawlik, Pete.  Reanimatrix (2016)
• Rector, Jeani.  What Fears Become: An Anthology From the Horror Zine (2011)
• Roux, Madeleine.  Allison Hewitt is Trapped (2011)
• Seeley, Tim and Mike Norton. Revival Vol 1 (2013)
• Seeley, Tim and Mike Norton.  Revival Vol 2 (2013)
• Silverberg, Robert, ed. This Way to the End Times: Classic Tales of the Apocalypse (2016)
• Snyder, Scott, Stephen King and Rafael Albuquereque.  American Vampire (2010)
• Snyder, Scott.  American Vampire 2 (2011)
• Sokoloff, Alexandra. The Unseen (2009)
• Stratford, Sarah Jane. The Midnight Guardian (2009) 
• Trombetta, Jim.  The Horror! The Horror! (2010)
• Vandermeer, Jeff.  Annihilation (2014)
• Whitehead, Colson.  Zone One (2011)
• Wilson, F. Paul.  The Tomb (1998, edited reprint) 
• Wilson, Jeffrey.  The Donors (2012)
• Wilson, Jeffrey.  Fade to Black (2013)
• Wolff, Nicholas. The Binding (2016)
• Wynne, Douglas.  The Devil of Echo Lake (2012)
• Zeltserman, Dave.  The Caretaker of Lorne Field (2010)

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