Zombies! (again)

Via Reddit, World War Z author Max Brooks will be answering your zombie questions online on the 17th of August.  As the poster says, "Mr. Brooks will answer the top ten questions (using "best" comment sorting) in this thread as of Tuesday 8/17) at 12pm ET. This will be a video interview. Ask Him Anything."


Get your questions in here: Ask Max Brooks Anything

And, while you're waiting for the 17th to arrive, here's some reading: 5 Reasons You Secretly Want a Zombie Apocalypse (via Cracked)

Ready, Set, Shamble

early warning systems: our only chance

If you’re like me, you enjoy a good zombie yarn or two. At their best, they can be a fascinating look into the psychosis of constant terror and the politics of disease and warfare a la Max Brooks’ book, World War Z. As far as monsters go, they’re pretty high on the squick-meter: they’re us, only hungry, ineluctable, lizard-brain us. With more rot. But don’t worry…all they want to do is eat our brains.


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