I thought I’d take a little break from working on my WIP to share some of the other novels that I have read in the same genre.
Some of you may know that I am currently working on a Zombie Apocalypse story set in England. The zombie novel has been a fast-growing field in the last decade or so, and I have absorbed many, many of these books. While a large percentage of the field is dedicated to books set in the US, there remains a portion of the published material given over to books set closer to home; both in the UK and other parts of the world.
My favourites sweep me up and pull me along, making me feel for the characters and internally shout at some of their questionable decisions. The most memorable books for me, are the ones that do something slightly different, whether it is with the plot or with the structure, books that surprise me stay in my mind.
Of course, I have read the classic, more traditional zombie apocalypse novels: Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and the Zombie works of Max Brooks; I have also enjoyed the spin off novels from The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga. Until the End of the World, by Sarah Lyons Fleming, was another more traditional style that I did enjoy initially but looking back I find it a bit too convenient how prepared the characters are for an apocalypse.
I was delighted when I found the ‘Feed’ series by Mira Grant; a modern update on the genre, this novel is set most of a generation into the dystopian future; the protagonists have a modern / currently relevant job as social media content creators – although these terms weren’t used in the books as they weren’t in common use when it was published. The main two characters are ‘vloggers’ who leave the confines of secure compounds to capture content of zombies in their natural habitats; one has the nickname of an ‘Irwin’ – so named for Steve Irwin – for his adventurous and risky activities designed to get the best content and the best viewing figures. I found the take different to the classic outbreak story, and the up-to-date career prospects of the youth of the future were credible and relevant (if not to me then to the next generation).
The other US based zombie story that really stuck with me was ‘Warm Bodies’; the almost sweet undead Romeo and Juliet inspired love story by Isaac Marion, since adapted into a reasonable movie which lacks a little of the delightful surprise of the novel. It is a sweet book, low on the gore factor, with the slightly contrived notion that Zombies can turn back human just by willing it – reminded me a little of the Adam Ant vampire movie ‘Love Bites’ in which we discover the cure for vampirism is abstinence from blood and eating pizza. Who knew?
But of course, I am writing a novel set in the UK – I live here after all – and I have enjoyed several novels written by British authors and set in the UK. In fact, I have read quite broadly in this field, some of which were less successful so are best left unmentioned here. The ones that stood out for me again were examples which did something different.
Zombie Apocalypse, Stephen Jones (2010), uses the mosaic style structure seen in World War Z, relaying the outbreak of a Zombie infection known as The Death as it spreads across the UK. I enjoyed references to places I could visualise, but I found the plot moved a little slower than other works. I did enjoy the mixed media approach as well.
Some of our YA authors have created apocalyptic worlds that have been quite a fun read – Charlie Higson’s The Enemy series features some surprisingly gory elements for a book aimed at older school children, but a delightful take on the ‘no adults’ situation in which the adults that exist are ferocious and dangerous monsters – just as William Golding’s boys on the island believed them to be - not the rescuers bringing the boys to safety at the end of Lord of the Flies.
For another ‘fun’ read, Darren Shan’s Zom-B series is definitely a good one, again detailing places I could imagine in my mind, using language that was familiar to me, and scenarios that you would expect in a zombie story.
I found both of these different enough to be memorable – children surviving the zombie apocalypse without adults; the sentient Zom-B who was already more than they appeared at the start.
Other, more traditional style, Zombie novels from the UK that I have read include Moody’s Autumn series, and Undead by Kirsty McKay; all good, familiar zombie action.
But the one that really stood out for me was Girl with All the Gifts by M.R.Carey. From the first words, we know we are not in an outbreak story and a short way in we discover our protagonist – Melanie, a 10-year-old girl – is more than she seems. In this one, the differences are many; it is set 20 years after the outbreak; the cause of the infection is not only different to the classic toxic waste or bioweapon gone wrong situation, but it is also based on a real fungal parasite; the protagonist is a child surrounded by adults, but she is not a victim or really in any need of rescue. Plot aside, the writing is excellent; the story is gripping and well structured, the characters are well portrayed and developed, and the settings are evocative and easily visualised.
Of course, it would be remiss of me to discuss British works in Zombie fiction without referring to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Seth Grahame-Smith). Another joyful play on the genre, it retains – in general – the original plot of the Austen classic, with amusing justifications for Darcy’s remote personality and unlikely yet enjoyable explanations of the way in which young ladies of the regency period might find themselves in possession of the skills to fight off the ‘Dreadfuls’. Better than its follow up Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies combines classic romance, swashbuckling, and vanquishing the undead in an effective and delightful way.
p.s. I don't do resolutions as such, but in writing this I have become aware that I am missing out on a wealth of Zombie fiction from other parts of the world (other than Handling the Undead by Lindqvist) so I am setting myself a challenge to make sure I have read at least two or three others by the end of the year.