early warning systems: our only chance
I kind of like to think of zombies as the anti-vampire. Zombies, as far as the ‘enemy among us’ trope goes, are a useful palliative against the monster-with-a-heart vampire books that seem to be the recent trend. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy those kinds of books every once in a while, and will no doubt talk about some of them on this blog. However, if you want your monsters monstrous and more of the horror staple many of us have come to love, then zombies are a safe bet…and unlike certain vampiric creations, they don’t sparkle (unless they're also radioactive, and then well, you're doubly screwed).
Speaking of zombies, here’s a site that was recently introduced to me (thanks, Benn!): Tales of the Zombie War. The site is a collection of (free!) short stories and poems of zombie-related fiction. While it claims it is not strictly a fanfic site, World War Z does seem to be a major influence. Since it IS a collection of public submissions, however, browser beware – but in general the quality of the writing seems fairly high. At the very least, check out the first and second-place pieces featured.
Other fantastic ways to get your zombie fix, if you're looking for some summer reading:
Feed, by Mira Grant
Every Sigh, The End, by Jason Hornsby
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
Zombies are the one thing in horror that really scares me. Maybe it's because we're all going to die, so this could potentially happen to all of us...or maybe it's the gross-out factor. Either way, I can't watch zombie movies or play zombie-based games. Books seem to work and do give me chills. *shudder*
ReplyDeleteI love Zombies. My husband is a zombie nut, Romero style, so I've seen numerous zombie movies. We have our preferences, especially for the slow moving but somehow overtake you anyway ones. They are so creepy. I also love Shaun of the Dead, but you know. We read World War Z and it really is fantastic so I'll have to check out that free site you posted. This blog looks great, I'll have to add you to our Girly Geek bloglist!
ReplyDeleteRosalind
Girls Are Geeks
I Love Zombies! Me and my brother love turning off all the lights in the house and kill zombies with our wiimote guns via resident evil or house of the dead. Personally I like shooting them in the knees first so they can walk/run lol. Also have you ever seen "Dead Set"? It's a British miniseries that came on. I really liked it. And if you like anime "High School of the Dead" just came out it's zombie apocalypse Japanese High School student style. It's good minus all the ecchi. Although I haven't read any zombie lit I want to! Have you read "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies"? I wonder if it's good or all hype.
ReplyDeleteWell I like your blog I'll def keep checking it out! I just started mine about a month ago so I'm trying to network with other geek girl bloggers! Keep it up!
I like zombies because they're the most plausible of monsters. Maybe there is a virus, insect species, type of radiation or cell phone signal which could raise the dead (or degenerate the living). And history has shown us that it doesn't take much to resort to cannibalism.
ReplyDelete@Ruth - agreed. I don't go for Zombie movies, either; too visceral. I do love a good zombie story, though.
ReplyDelete@girlsaregeeks Thanks! I've added you as well :) I definitely prefer the slow, ineluctable ones too. Somehow they seem more like a force of nature that way, rather than scary undead beasties.
@girlgonegeek - I haven't seen Deadset, I'll check it out! I also haven't read PP&Zombies, but I want to :)
@Terry - agreed, they do seem plausible. History has also shown us that some forms of zombie-ism already exist - parasites, etc. Creepy!