Zombie Awareness Month

They have risen.

In recent years the literary world has witnessed an outbreak of zombie inspired literature.   While many of these stories stay true to the genres cinematic roots (a desperate struggle for survival amidst a sudden and violent uprising of the undead), the literature expands upon the basic need for survival to explores the physical, psychological, societal, and moral implications of  living in a world where death is no longer absolute.  As May is officially Zombie Awareness Month here are a few of the favorite works from our library’s resident “dead” heads.

World War Z by Max Brooks

Ten years after “the Crisis” Max Brooks has taken it upon himself to create a historical record of the zombie pandemic that swept the planet.  Through the personal accounts of survivors he has gathered from around the globe, Brooks tells the story of the zombie outbreak and humanity’s struggle to overcome the undead hordes.  Written in a style and format reminiscent to that of noted historian Stephen E. Ambrose, Brooks weaves a complex tale of the zombie apocalypse as told through the eyes of those who lived through it.

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

This relentless graphic novel epic (and basis for the popular television series) chronicles the struggle of police officer turned leader Rick Grimes as he attempts to guide his family and a rag tag group of survivors to safety in a world gone mad.  During their odyssey the survivors strive to find meaning in a life devoid of hope.  Perhaps most difficult of all, though, is maintaining their humanity in a world where society’s values no longer apply and may even hinder their survival.   

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Mayberry

Fourteen years after First Night, Benny Imura is a resentful teen living in a world where the living dead represent a constant threat, both inside his community and outside the safety of its fences.  Most of Benny’s animosity is directed at his brother Tom, a renowned zombie hunter, who prefers to call himself a “closure specialist”. To most, he is is a hero, but to Benny he is the coward who abandoned their parents.  As he endeavors to find his place in society, circumstances force Benny to confront not only his assumptions about his brother, but the world as he knows it.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Fans of zombies and steampunk will enjoy this riveting adventure set in alternate history 1880’s Seattle. The Civil War is going on, and Seattle has been destroyed by  Leviticus Blue, mad inventor of the Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill. Fifteen years ago, Leviticus lost control of his machine which then hit a vein of poisoned gas that turned the residents of the city into the undead, or “rotters.” Now the doctor’s son sets out into the toxic city to find evidence to clear his father’s name, pursued by a resourceful mother determined to save him.

Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament  by S.G. Browne

A romance, a comedy, and an irreverent take on civil rights, Breathers turns all the zombie fiction around by being told from the zombie’s point of view. Zombies are the victims here, forced to flee from irate Breathers who are free to torture and hunt the living dead with impunity. Our narrator is forced to join a support group for zombies and the ensuing mayhem would enchant any Palahniuk fan as well as those who are generous in their appreciation of books that might not be zombie “canon.”