What to do on Hiatus Week Four: Zombie Books

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

This book details the tricks, tools and techniques to surviving the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Brooks covers weapons, transportation and defensive strategies while providing humorous and intriguing commentary on the undead epidemic.

He even manages to fit in some historic zombie battles that may prove to be useful to survivors in the future. These brief, but detailed stories cover many generations of zombie slaying and are a useful stepping stone for Brooks’ next effort.

World War Z by Max Brooks

Brooks once again delves into the history of zombies with this interesting take. The novel follows an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission, who describes the events of “World War Z” a major globe-spanning fight against the undead a decade earlier.

Through first-person narratives, Brooks not only entertains, but delivers some very Romero-like social commentary, ranging from government ineptitude to economic downfall.

Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips

Robert Kirkman, our favorite zombie enthusiast tells the tale of the Marvel Comics universe…with zombies. In a world overrun by the undead, the few survivors must battle super powered zombie versions of characters like Iron Man and Captain America.

The book is the first in a long running line of Marvel Zombies titles, which later see Ash Williams from the Evil Dead series join the fray. Kirkman manages to play off of each characters storied past and powers, delivering a hilarious and often ridiculous story.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

The novel follows the main plot of the original classic Pride and Prejudice, but Grahame-Smith adds ninjas, action scenes and the titular undead stars to the mix. The book manages to feel like an original story to anyone who hasn’t read Jane Austen’s work, but also reads satirical.

Despite the ridiculous concept, Grahame-Smith’s tale of love and zombie slaying doesn’t hurt any of Austen’s original work. If anything, he has given a new generation a look into what makes this novel a classic. Reading these usually ordinary characters in extraordinary circumstances is what makes this story work so well.

Next week we’ll take a look at some more undead-related video games.

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