Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Review: Married With Zombies

Jesse Petersen, 2010, Simon & Schuster

Sarah and David are on the verge of divorce, and of the opinion that their weekly marriage counselling sessions simply aren't going to save the relationship. Today, however, they've noticed a few odd things on the way to their appointment: the lack of cars on the highway; a missing security guard; the fact that their counsellor is eating the previous client... Now Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. But just because there are zombies, that doesn't mean your other problems go away, and if the zombies don't get them first, there's still a very real chance that Sarah and David are going to end up killing each other...

Married With Zombies, which is billed as 'a romantic comedy with braiiins', is an enjoyable romp. While the plot largely comprises a list of standard apocalyptic set pieces, the novel overall is raised well above the same-old by some extremely empathic protagonists, not to mention snappy dialogue that recalls the style of Buffy or Gilmore Girls. Although clearly aimed at a Paranormal Romance readership, the tone of the novel - while lighter than most zompocalyptic tales - is certainly darker than that of the average rom-com, and Petersen never undermines the bleakness of her protagonists' situation (including the state of their relationship) with flippant humour.

Even if you're no particular fan of romantic comedy, paranormal or otherwise, Married With Zombies has sufficient depth, drama, and zompocalyptic mayhem to satisfy even the pickiest zomfan on a whole bunch of levels. A worthy read.