Top Zombie Books: Paul is Undead by Alan Goldsher

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Deni

Top Zombie Books, Paul is Undead by Alan GoldsherI first heard about Paul is Undead on a website about zombies called ZombieCommand and thought at first there was some kind of typo or the guy was making this up. But I tracked the book down on Amazon (there are still some left) and couldn’t believe how fun this book is.

I must confess that I am one of those people who is a rock star bio junkie, especially anything about The Beatles. When you combine that with being a zombie fanatic, well you know I just had to track this book down and check it out!

Alan Goldsher has the music bio patter so down pat it is scary. The world he sets up, the whole concept that in a world where zombies are part of the landscape, you could have had The Beatles be zombies. I guess the best way is to tell you the setup. It starts with John, who is a zombie and decides to reanimate local rock guitarist Paul. They then together add newly zombified George and when Ringo, who is not a zombie but rather a 7th level ninja plus drummer gets added in, you have The Beatles!

I love the bit where John’s mother Julia is interviewed and she has been reanimated by John a ton of times. Then there is Mick Jagger, the greatest zombie hunter ever who will stop at nothing to end this madness. Ah – if there was ever a book that could keep me up until four in the morning laughing, this one is it. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are an old Beatles fan and you love zombies you have got to check Paul is UnDead out!

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Best Zombie Stories: Zombies vs Unicorns

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Deni

Best Zombie Stories, Zombies vs Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine LarbalestierOkay – I think you would have hooked me on the title alone, Zombies vs Unicorns, but then this anthology of short stories also happens to have some pretty amazing writers in it. The basic premise is fairly simple: there is team zombies and there is team unicorns. Since Holly wouldn’t read a zombie book if it was the last thing left in the world and you would have to tear Justine’s arms off to make her read a unicorn story…well you get the picture.

The stories are all fun and some a bit surprising. I didn’t know there were dark unicorn stories but then outside of English mythology I didn’t know there was such a thing as a sub-set of fantasy called unicorn books. Shows how much I know.

The cool thing here is that these are all self-contained short stories, no one is bringing in their characters from a series to plop a new little story in the middle of it. So even if you have never read say Carrie Ryan’s Forest of Hands and Teeth, still you can enjoy her story here.

All top notch writers having a bit of fun with the concept. I love the fact that the stories are all clearly marked as either a zombie story or a unicorn story, just so those who love one kind of story or another don’t accidentally read the wrong one! Very fun, and in the end I must say that I am Team Zombie. So- you gotta read this one and decide which you are, because there are some pretty cool stories for both teams in this one. Check out Zombies vs Unicorns – and choose your team!

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Best Zombie Movies: Instant Zombie Movies for a Spring Night

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Deni

Looking for one of the best zombie movies for your movie night? I love how Amazon now has some great stuff in their instant video selections. It seems like between what you can find on YouTube and what you can download on the web and what you can instantly steam from Amazon, there is really no excuse not to watch your favorite horror flick if that is what you are in the mood for tonight! Here are a few that I thought might be fun for a spring night when the rain is coming down and you just want to snuggle up to a great zombie movie!

2012: Apocalypse of the Dead

best zombie movies, 2012: apocalypse of the dead, zombieland, resident evil: degenerationWhile Ken Foree made his mark in Dawn of the Dead, this is more of a B film, though perhaps one of the better ones when it comes to FX. If you have checked out plenty of US made zombie films, you may want to check this one out, it is made in Serbia and has plenty of scenes that are almost an homage to classic American horror. Yes, the acting isn’t exacting Academy Award material, but were you really expecting it to be? 2012: Apocalypse of the Dead is a great zombie movie. It is a true fun horror flick, with a bit of a twist to it.

 

Zombieland

best zombie movies, 2012: apocalypse of the dead, zombieland, resident evil: degenerationThis is really more of a comedy film with horror tones then it is a real horror film. That being said, it is brilliant with Woody Harrelson really taking the cake on this one. It’s a classic show down between humans and zombies with a cast that makes it all worthwhile. If you aren’t sure, just check out the trailer that is available on the page. Zombieland, for when just a great zombie movie isn’t quite enough.

 

Resident Evil: Degeneration

best zombie movies, 2012: apocalypse of the dead, zombieland, resident evil: degenerationThis is classic Resident Evil film making at its best! Special agents Leon S Kennedy takes along agent Claire Redfield as they battle a rising hoard of zombies at Harvardville Airport. Who really cares where this is supposed to take place? Just bring on more zombies! If you are fans of the video games you are going to enjoy this one, which has all the hard core action of the game. Get into Resident Evil: Degeneration and get yourself a good zombie film to get lost into tonight!

Well, I hope that you have found yourself the perfect zombie film for your late night movie cuddling. I don’t know why spring always brings this mood for me, but nothing quite beats the sound of spring rain on my roof while curled up all cozy watching my favorite zombie flick! Pass the beer, honey!!

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Best Zombie Tales: Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vine

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Deni

Roses of blood on barbwire vine by D.L. Snell, best zombie tales, top zombie stories, great zombie novelsI thought I had seen it all when it comes to some of the best zombie tales, but an off-hand mention of a book on a list of zombie titles made me stop cold and take a closer look. The title was interesting enough, “Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vine” kinda poetic for a top zombie stories book. But in just the same way that many lyrics to Heavy Metal thrash songs is actually like poetry when you write it out, I have found that many people who write something like a zombie book are not just your ordinary smash and run horror writers. There is something about zombies and the concept of the living dead that attracts a certain kind of thinker.

Beyond the title, there was a concept here that was pretty intriguing. The setup is pretty familiar. It is after some kind of viral infection has spread like wildfire and a huge percentage of the population are zombies. At the least, they are something that appears dead but for some reason won’t just lay down and die. Oh- and they need to eat your brains, for some reason.

But what makes this one a bit different is that the cavalry that arrives to a beleaguered holdout group of humans is not the usual military, but rather a band of vampires. They need to keep enough humans alive and out of the hands of the zombies to allow them to continue to feed. Otherwise, they are as doomed as the humans. It is an interesting proposal.

What then happens is beyond gruesome –with the vampires plans to move everyone to an island where they can continue to create their stockpile of humans, lobotomized and made into amputees so they are easier to breed and feed from. It is a life of horror and we are soon swept into the story of Ann, a slave to the maternity doctor who bargains his skills for his life. Even with the possibility of escape, she cannot abandon her sister with an unborn child. But the zombies are making headway into breaking into the barricaded building and soon the whole question may be moot.

And then there are the rumors. That something or what was once someone has mutated into something far more deadly than the vampires and zombies. Something even more far removed from its humanity, that has tentacles…

Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vine is not for the faint of heart. If you think you can read it and still turn out the light at night, or if you are the kind of reader who loves books that make you shudder, this may be just one of the great zombie novels for you.

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Zombie Survival Course Being Offered In Portland Oregon

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Deni

zombie survival course, fighting zombie class, zombie invasion, how to fight zombiesWe talked a few weeks back about an apocalypse survival course being taught at a university that included how to kill zombies. Now it appears that a group in Oregon has gone one step beyond. They are offering a course in surviving a zombie invasion including the best ways to kill a zombie. Want to find out just what it takes to kill a zombie who is intent on eating your brains? This may be your best opportunity yet to find out how.

The course that is being offered is a two-day workshop and includes such topics as how to rekill a zombie (because, of course, technically they are already dead), and what kinds of weapons work best to do the job. The name of the group is Trackers Earth and the workshop is titled Zombie First Responder Course, for those who think they might want to look this one up. The company generally offers various kids camps and adult outdoor training sessions for hiking and camping enthusiasts, with this one course being offered as a fun outdoor camp for adults.

zombie survival course, fighting zombie class, zombie invasion, how to fight zombiesSo if you are curled up with one of your favorite zombie books and thinking a weekend of dressing up like a zombie, this nerf-based week-end training camp might be just the ticket! You will get both urban and wilderness survival training for the eventuality of a zombie invasion. But the cool thing is that they teach you something called The Curriculum of Shadows which will show how a small band of survivors of any kind of disaster can develop ways to stealth their way around so that the brain eaters don’t even know you are there!

Looking at the site, it seems that they actually offer several courses, some for kids and some for adults. I have to admit it looks like tons of fun and would be a great weekend getaway with some buds for a weekend of silliness and total mayhem. Including, of course, a weekend of fighting zombies! What could be better?

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99 cent Zombie Articles for the Kindle – March 2012

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Sharon

Hello fellow Zombie fiction lovers! As we all know, you don’t always have to spend a lot to get quality fiction, and that’s certainly the case in the genre that we all enjoy. Here at The Zombie Librarian, we’ve put together a list of books for your Kindle that will cost you no more than 99 cents, but will provide you with hours of entertainment. Some of these books are pretty popular, but we’re incredibly fortunate that Amazon and/or the book’s publisher is willing to let us have it at a greatly discounted price. As all of us who shop at Amazon know, these deals don’t last forever, so snap these up while you can!

Dead Man Walking by Marty ShawDead Man Walking (The Infected)
By Marty Shaw

It should have been a routine execution, but when the condemned killer came back as an undead, unstoppable, killing machine, a handful of correctional officers and inmates are trapped within the walls of the prison as the walking dead stalk them. The ammo is limited, the zombie army is growing, and those trapped come to realize that death is no longer the end.

 

Voodoo Children - A Bubba the Monster Hunter Short Story by John G. HartnessVoodoo Children – A Bubba the Monster Hunter Short Story
By John G. Hartness

Meet Bubba the Monster Hunter’s a hero for the working man. If it goes bump in the night, Bubba’ll kill it. In this story, he’s chasing zombies through the hills of Tennessee. Follow Bubba through beer joints and graveyards as he and his best helper Bertha (a .50 Desert Eagle Pistol) make sure that what’s dead, stays dead.

 

Zombies Ate My Film Fest by Gabriel Luciano BacaZombies Ate My Film Fest
By Gabriel Luciano Baca

All Bill wanted was a week filled with film watching at his favorite film festival. What he got instead was an outbreak of zombies hell-bent on spoiling his good time and taking over the city of Austin. Teaming up with a bartender B-movie film star he’s totally crushing on, the two set out to get their town, and its eccentric film festival, back from the dead.

 

Atticus for the Undead (Legal Fiction Series) by John AbramowitzAtticus for the Undead
By John Abramowitz

Hunter Gamble is an idealistic young attorney who helps vampire, zombie, or werewolf clients. After all, they deserve their day in court too! When a young zombie walks into Hunter’s office accused of murder (by brain-eating), Hunter’s idealism is tested as never before as he struggles to secure the man’s freedom.

 

Bones: The Complete Apocalypse Saga by Mark WheatoBones: The Complete Apocalypse Saga
By Mark Wheaton

Bones, the loyal, easily distracted yet occasionally ferocious German shepherd, must battle a plague of dangerous parasites that brings the dead back to life. The cadaver dog is in LA to to hunt for earthquake survivors only to run afoul of armies of rage-driven rats and birds emerging from the rubble. Bones has to save humanity before civilization is wiped out.

 

The Plague Dead Solstice (Episode 1) by M. Scott BurgessThe Plague: Dead Solstice (Ep. 1)
By M. Scott Burgess

In the near future, the world has died and the dead began to rise. A small band of survivors work together to escape from Southern California in hopes of finding sanctuary from a zombie-infested world. But the world as they know it has been forever broken, and there are things hiding in the shadows, things that are even far worse than the living dead. Episodes 1 to 4 of this 14-part series are available at 99 cents this month!

The Plague: Dead Solstice (Ep. 1)
The Plague: Zombie Sickness (Ep. 2)
The Plague: A Man in the Darkness (Ep. 3)
The Plague: Empire of the Dead (Ep. 4)

 

Alice in Deadland by Mainak DharAlice in Deadland
By Mainak Dhar

Civilization as we know it has ended, leaving barren wastelands called the Deadland and hordes of undead Biters. Fifteen year-old Alice has spent her life in the Deadland, learning to survive the Biters. One day, Alice spots a Biter disappearing into a hole in the ground and follows it into an action-packed adventure that changes her life and that of all humans in the Deadland forever.

 

Whatever Happened to Thomas J. Reynolds (The Walker Chronicles) by Jason Kristopher and Dennis FanningWhatever Happened to Thomas J. Reynolds? (The Walker Chronicles)
By Jason Kristopher and Dennis Fanning

In the final days of the zombie apocalypse, a group of AEGIS soldiers land at McChord AFB. Attacked by religious zealots, the team took refuge and called for backup. When rescue arrived hours later, the only thing they found were tattered scraps of uniforms and empty shell casings. Reynolds and the entire 8th team were listed as KIA. This is their story.

 

Where would you want to be during the zombie apocalypse?

After reading this 70 page introduction to Voyage of the Dead you will probably want to be aboard the Sovereign Spirit. Welcome to their living nightmare.

 

Dead Cells by Adam Millard and Chris TaggartDead Cells 
By Adam Millard and Chris Taggart

A prisoner in one of the most brutal facilities imaginable, Shane has managed to survive his three years in one piece. With parole just around the corner, Shane has high-hopes for the future. When a new inmate is brought in, carrying with him a deadly virus, Shane soon realises that his plans, his release, and his very survival are in jeopardy. With the virus spreading, turning guards and inmates into flesh-eating zombies, it’s up to a few survivors to figure out how to escape the facility and stay alive.

 

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Body Count Rises on The Walking Dead TV Show

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Deni

best zombie show, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead TV Show, top zombie storyWell, I hope you aren’t letting yourself get too attached to any of the cast on the hit television show, The Walking Dead. It seems like every time I turn around, another character in the once-large cast is being killed. And not by a pretty means, even. This time around though, a lot of folks were shocked to see Deputy Shane go.

It should not have come as a big surprise to anyone who read the comic books; he was actually killed off in the books even earlier than this. But many of us were still reeling from the shock of watching Dale get not only killed but disemboweled; we just weren’t prepared to have another major character get killed off this soon. Didn’t exactly soften the blow to have the kid Carl do the killing either.

But Robert Kirkman, the creator of the series, sees all the killing off of many of the characters that we started the season off with as just part of the evolution of the story. According to Kirkman, this escalation of the mayhem began right off the bat at the start of the season when Sophia emerged from the barn. From there it just had to get bloodier and bloodier as we progressed through the season’s episodes.

Also, Kirkman points to this particular killing as part of the evolution of the child Carl, who sees himself responsible for Dale’s death because he couldn’t kill the zombie at that time. Now he has grown up some, and when his Dad is threatened he knows that he can pull the trigger and kill the zombie.

But if you are getting upset by all the killing off of characters you have come to know this season, you might want to skip the season finale coming up. Kirkman promises that what we have seen so far is just a taste of things to come. Because the shot fired by Carl is heard by many of the Zombies in the area, and so now they are heading for dinner. The farm is no longer a safe haven – and the coming hoard will soon arrive.

I don’t know if I can watch – but somehow it’s like that car wreck on the side of the road. You don’t want to look, but you have to!

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Zombie University??

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Deni

zombie apocalypse, zombie school, zombie classes, teaching zombiesWhen Michigan State University (MSU) started offering classes in surviving the coming zombie apocalypse, I am sure that more than a few heads jerked in wonder at just what was happening at their old alma mater. But his class is no laughing matter and once explained, makes sense to anyone who has ever read zombie books and wondered just what the real thing would be like.

MSU’s School of Social Work is offering the course in order to look closely at human behavior when it comes to disasters. I guess nothing beats a disaster like a good old fashion zombie invasion! The course does plenty of the traditional offerings in any college class: it takes a look at the real life histories of some major catastrophes in the past and how human nature dealt with them. But what really sets this class apart is that they include as part of the class curriculum a zombie apocalypse simulation.

The class, in the first week, divides the classroom up into survivor groups that are assigned the task of designing plans for surviving the coming zombie apocalypse. Then the class moves forward to study past catastrophes and how people survived them. At the end of the course, the survival groups meet again and revamp the plans based on the knowledge they have gained by studying the past.

So – how well do you think you would do if a zombie outbreak happened tomorrow? Could you take this class and score high based on what you know now? Maybe that World War Z book has more relevance to today’s world then we thought!

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