Review: Rot and Ruin

Jonathan Maberry, 2011, Simon & Schuster

Benny Imura was only a toddler on First Night, but his last memory of his parents is tainted by the image of them becoming zombies, and he blames his older brother, Tom, for not saving them. Now Benny is fifteen, and Tom wants them to put their difficult relationship behind them and work together in the 'family business': as zombie killers. It's the last thing Benny wants to do, but he needs a job and thinks it'll be an easy ride. But when they head into the Rot and Ruin that surrounds their township, Benny soon realises there's more to the job than just killing the undead. And, as he's confronted by the grim realities of the world around him, Benny makes the most terrifying discovery of all: that sometimes the worst monsters you can imagine are human...

In this Young Adult expansion of Maberry's novella 'Family Business', which appeared in Christopher Golden's brilliant Zombie: An Anthology of the Undead, Maberry once again demonstrates why he's deservedly regarded as one of the greats of modern horror fiction, and especially of zombie fiction. His plotting maintains great momentum, navigating various twists and turns, to deliver a tense, atmospheric and action-packed post-apocalyptic 'coming of age' horror tale. The characters all elicit a great degree of empathy, if not necessarily sympathy, demonstrating a range of complex emotions, motivations and flaws that readers will immediately recognise and identify with. Maberry is also a master at using the blank canvas of the zombie hordes (thematically speaking) as a means to highlight aspects of human nature central to the plot.

Rot and Ruin is a fantastic read, and one that will appeal to both YA and adult readers. Expect an Australian release in early April.

Review: Wanted: Undead or Alive

Jonathan Maberry & Janice Gable Bashman, 2010, Citadel Press

While not a zombie-related title per se, this book may be of interest to zombie fans due to the involvement of zomfic supremo, Jonathan Maberry. Visit our parent site, HorrorScope, via the link below to read this review.

http://www.horrorscope.com.au/2010/12/review-wanted-dead-or-alive.html

Competition: Die in a Jonathan Maberry Zombie Novel!

Zombiemeister Jonathan Maberry is currently holding a competition, via his Facebook page, to find folks to kill...

...in his new zombie novel, Dead of Night, that is. Simply visit the link below, tell Jonathan how you'd like to be killed by the walking dead, and your name could make it into the book as a zombie fatality.

 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=803028269

The competition closes soon, so you'll need to be quick.

Pop Culture: Have Zombies Jumped the Shark?

A sacrilegious suggestion on NecroScope, right?

Head on over to Jonathan Maberry's blog to hear a bunch of people, including erstwhile colleagues Chuck McKenzie and Robert Hood, explain why zeds are still (un)dead cool.

Interview: Jonathan Maberry

Roving zombophile Scott Wilson is at it again, this time talking mutants, comics, and horror in general with Jonathan Maberry, perhaps (deservedly) the biggest name in zombie fiction today. Check out the interview on the official AHWA site via the link below.

http://www.australianhorror.com/index.php?view=246

Review: Zombie CSU: the Forensics of the Living Dead

Jonathan Maberry, Citadel Press, 2008


Have you ever seriously wondered what would happen if a zombie outbreak were to actually occur?; what agents might cause the reanimation of the dead?; how law-enforcement authorities might investigate a zombie attack?; how the armed forces, media, and society in general would react if the dead walked? If the answer is yes, then you – like myself – obviously have a serious and disturbing obsession, and should definitely secure yourself a copy of Jonathan Maberry’s Zombie CSU.

Zombie CSU begins with a hypothetical scenario: an attack upon a security guard at a medical facility by what eventually turns out to be a reanimated human corpse. From there, Maberry takes us step by detailed step through the procedures the police would follow in order to secure the crime scene, collect and process evidence, identify and track the perpetrator, and make an arrest. Every aspect of the process is carefully detailed; the hard facts of police and forensic procedure (as they would relate to any relevant real-life crime) explained simply and clearly, with the author then tackling ‘the zombie factor’ as an aside, examining how adding the walking dead into the mix might affect the investigation.

As the hypothetical investigation progresses, Maberry backs up his assertions with testimony and opinions from various experts in the field (most of whom appear also to be zombie fans), and continues to do so as the focus moves from the initial crime investigation to such topics as the psychological and spiritual implications of zombies, the legal ramifications of a zombie plague, and effective ways in which to protect yourself from undead flesheaters.

Despite the serious attention to detail in explaining the ‘facts’ of a zombie-related crime, this book is great fun to read; much of the speculative side of things is delivered with a welcome dash of humour, and the narrative of the ongoing investigation is regularly interjected with examples of zombie artwork, opinions from zombie ‘authorities’ (such as Max Brooks, Kim Paffenroth, Rocky Wood, Brian Keene, and others), lists of ‘best-’ and ‘worst-ever’ zombie movies and books, and a running symposium on the ‘Fast Zombies vs Slow Zombies’ debate.

This book will obviously appeal to zombie fans, but should also appeal to those interested in forensics, crime fiction, sociology, psychology, and media studies. There are plenty of surprises in store for the reader (seems the odds of an actual zombie uprising aren’t quite as unlikely as you might think – or wish), and also more than a few chills (the chapter examining plagues, prions, and other agents that might reanimate human corpses I found particularly horrifying). Zombie CSU is likely to become something of a classic in the ‘horror reference’ subgenre. For me, it’s up there with Stephen King’s Danse Macabre, and is similarly a book any genre reader will no doubt return to again and again.

Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead is available from Amazon and selected Australian specialist bookshops.

(Oh, and by the way – the blood-spatter pattern on the book’s cover most likely came from a zombie, not a living person. That’s the sort of invaluable deduction you’ll be able to make after reading Zombie CSU :) )

Review: Patient Zero

Jonathan Maberry, March 2009, Orion


When Joe Ledger – police detective, ex-army martial arts expert, and certified smartarse – is called upon to kill a terrorist suspect, he’s just a little shaken by the experience: after all, he’d already killed the same guy only a couple of days previously. And with that act, Joe finds himself drawn into a shadowy world of covert anti-terrorist operations, global jihads, flesh-eating zombies, and a laboratory-born pathogen that, if released, could destroy the world. And the clock is ticking...

The cover blurb for Patient Zero describes the book as a coming together of 24 and 28 Days Later, and that’s a fairly good thumbnail review. The plot is satisfyingly complex, with plenty of behind-the-scenes detail relating to covert operations, zombie ‘biology’, and fundamentalist culture, yet avoids getting too bogged down as the story charges along at an electrifying pace. The various protagonists and antagonists (a line which occasionally becomes blurred) are suitably motivated and interesting, if not always likeable. And Maberry’s zombies are terrifyingly credible, in addition to providing plenty of tension, frights, gore – and occasionally, some emotional soul-searching.

Patient Zero is a terrific action/horror novel that effortlessly and absolutely satisfies the requirements of both genres. It’s also – and I say this without making light of the fact – a truly post 9/11 zombie novel, and all the more terrifying for it.

With a major Australian publicity drive behind this novel, Patient Zero should be available this month from most bookshops across the country. As an aside, it would be nice to think that this will also lead to local suppliers picking up distribution of some of Maberry’s back-catalogue (as has recently happened with the books of David Wellington), such as the Pine Deep trilogy, which deserves a far bigger readership in this country. Fingers crossed!