BkRv: From Zero to Zombie Hero

Book Review / Patient Zero / Jonathan Maberry

Zombies!
Nothing puts as much "terror" in terrorism than zombies!





First Line / otherwise known as all of Chapter One (I'm not kidding!)

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week, then there's either something wrong with your skills or something wrong with your world.

And there's nothing with my skills.

The What About / in my own words

Joe Ledger likes his life as an average Joe: Go to work, get the job done, go home, eat, sleep, repeat the next day. His superiors will tell you that he can do great things if he wants to, but don't be surprised if he gives you the dirty finger while he shows you how terrorists are supposed to be captured for questioning. Unless these terrorists try to bite you, of course, then you have one millisecond to sink or swim. Joe thought the biting was some strange offensive tactic, but when he gets hauled off to the Department of Military Science and kills yet again the same rabid terrorist that had been killed point-blank just a few days ago, Joe realizes that terrorism has gotten far stranger than he ever imagined.

From page 34 / I may not be a scientist but one of those bottom-line factoids everyone - Eastern, Western, alternative health, all of them - will agree on is that dead guys don't try to bite you. In movies, yeah okay. Not in Baltimore.

From page 99 / And I was being asked to step up and be...what? Some kind of Captain Heroism who would lead the boys in the Red, White, and Blue to victory?.. Why were they asking me? I'm just a cop. Where are the guys who actually do this for a living? How come none of them were here? Where's James Bond and Jack Bauer? Why me, of all people?

His life is average no longer, and Joe finds himself leading a group of men to contain the latest bioweapon before it gets out of control.

The Review / I think Jonathon Maberry had the right idea when he opens with a quote of Part One:

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm not sure if Emerson is die-hard Team Zombie, but in this instance, he certainly captures the essence of Joe Ledger. Furthermore, I don't know if Emerson elaborates, but I am fairly certain that five minutes can definitely change a person. I mean, wouldn't it be safe to say that after these five precious minutes, a hero is no longer an ordinary man? He has seen something different, and that will affect the rest of his life. Ledger has killed a terrorist twice in one week - a terrorist who tried to literally rip his throat off - and that has prepared him to be the nation's #1 zombie slayer.

What really motivated me to read the book was not the plot (though it was very well done if you like the political suspense/thriller genre), but the character of Joe Ledger. He was very badass and sarcastic and didn't care if you had issues with him. He knew how to survive and how to keep you alive as long as possible (unless you deliberately don't want to stay alive).

From page 98 / "Okay, Major Courtland," I said, "it isn't my goal in life to get you to trust me. You jokers pulled me into this. I didn't submit a résumé. I'm not military. So if you have issues about trust or anything else up to and including liking me, then, seriously, please go and screw yourself, Major."

She blinked once.

"I did not and do not want my life tied up in cloak-and-dagger bullshit, dead guys, or pissing contests with either the testosterone crowd in there or some prissy-assed Earl Grey-drinking, scone-munching major who isn't even my freaking boss. I don't know you and I don't give a rat's ass if you trust me."

"Mr. Ledger - "

"I have to take a piss." I headed down the hall to the bathroom.

I just found Joe really endearing, even though he definitely would punch me in the gut for saying so. But I understand if no one else shares my opinion. It took a few pages or so before Joe really grew on me and I just had to keep reading to see what nonsense he had to mess with.

Then there were 2 moments where Jonathan Maberry really delighted me because they were so ridiculously random that I absolutely loved the references. Call me a dork afterwards, but sometimes it's the little things that make a story memorable and lovable.

From page 126 / I looked at the last guy. Jolly Green Giant. He towered several inches over me and had to go two-sixty, all chest and shoulders, tiny waist. Yet for all the mass he looked quick rather than bulky. Not like Apeman. One side of his face was still red and swollen from where I'd hit him.

"Give [your name] to me."

"Bunny Rabbit, Force Recon, sir."

I shot him a look. "You think you're fucking funny?"

"No, sir. My last name is Rabbit. Everyone calls me Bunny."

He paused.

"It gets worse, sir. My first name's Harvey."

From page 161 / "Captain," Church said, "let me introduce Doctor Hu."

I stared. "Doctor Who? Are you shitting me? This some kind of goofy code name or something?"

"H-U," Church said, spelling it.

"Oh."

So, there were funny bits throughout, but not much. Which makes sense since I don't think Patient Zero was going for funniest zombie book of the year. Like I mentioned earlier, it came across more of a political thriller. The actual plot was okay. If I was more into the genre, I think I would have been blown away. I think what deterred me was how the story sometimes detoured into the other characters' perspectives. It would have worked, I think, if there was no first-person narration of Joe Ledger. However, going from first-person to third-person of another character just did not work well for me. I did not care what the brains behind the terrorist operation were doing at the moment or their suspicions of being betrayed by each other. Patient Zero did not quite capture my interest beyond Joe's character, sad to say, though I really wished it swept me off my feet like World War Z / Max Brooks had last September (review here).

--- Want to win this book? Sign up for Zombie GRaB here!

These zombies were crazy-scary, and I would not be caught dead (or alive, for that matter) in a roomful of them. After reading Patient Zero, it does make me wonder how close are zombies really to becoming reality. Hopefully, beyond our lifetimes!

From page 19 / Even though this was all happening too fast I still had time to register the look in his eyes. Despite the twisted, ferociously hungry snarl of his face and the snapping of his teeth, his eyes were totally empty. No flicker of awareness, no trace of self-knowledge, not even the fire of hate. This wasn't the deadeye stare of a shark, nothing like that. This was freak-show stuff because there was nothing there; it was like looking into an empty room. I think that terrified me more than the teeth that were biting the air an inch from my windpipe. ...[L]ooking into those eyes nearly took the soul out of me. I could actually feel my throat closing up, could feel an icy wire sending electricity down through my bowels.
--- Disclaimer / Library

BkRv: Those zombies taste like cherry chapstick!

Book Review / I Kissed A ZOMBIE, And I Liked It / Adam Selzer

Zombies | YA

First Line / Watching a vampire make out with an idiot is kind of like going to the farmers' market and noticing just how many farmers have lost fingers in on-the-job accidents. Even though it's kind of disturbing, it's impossible to look away.








The What About / in my own words

Alley has been waiting her whole life for senior year - the final year she has to spend in the Midwest, the year she can finally break free from the small-town mentality and make a name for herself in glorious Seattle! But first she has to endure another year of poking fun at the lame, local bands for the school's journalism blog. Not to mention, another year of wading through the halls with total goth posers and stuck-up vampires, werewolves, and other post-humans.

From page 6 / When I was a freshman, back when everyone except a handful of conspiracy theorists thought vampires were just fictional characters, our cafeteria was like any other. There was the jock table, the prep table, the drama table, the band geek table and a table full of kids who were into role-playing games. But now it's just one goth table after another. When guys saw how the girls just melted over the vampires, they all started trying to be goths.

She was counting down the days of sweet freedom, but did not count on meeting Doug with a sinful voice that truly breathed good music. He was totally goth, but for the first time in her life, Alley didn't care - he was totally right for her, even if he did seem keen on staying in Iowa. When the truth comes out about Doug's zombie nature, their dating raises eyebrows and draws frowns of disapproval from their peers and teachers. Will this dampen Alley's relationship with Doug, and will she and Doug make it out of senior year alive?

The Review / I had really hoped to love I Kissed A ZOMBIE if only for its title which totally rocks out and its theme song "I Thought He Was A Goth" (see music player below). But sadly the story fell a little too short - lots of potential loving, but I needed more..."oomph" I guess. Not enough of that high school drama, doomed romance, head-butts with the popular crowd, etc. It was there, don't get me wrong, I just thought there would be more of it! I know, I could be easily demented and simply just crave to relive my high school idealisms :D

I haven't quite decided if I like Alley 100%. She has her awesome moments, but the Alley that greets us in the beginning seems a little too snarky that it borderlines mean. She has a super-hard exterior and doesn't really give anyone a chance to get close to her - I can understand her not wanting to establish any ties to a hometown that she prefers not to be in after high school, but it was even hard for ME to get close to her. After she meets Doug, Alley starts to show her marshmallow insides despite her natural instinct to snark.

And I know that not everyone will feel this way, but I loved how I Kissed A ZOMBIE was located in Des Moines, Iowa. Adam Selzer threw in a few local shops and references that I couldn't help but giggle with its truthiness. Mr. Pig (my longtime boyfriend) hails from a small town outside of Des Moines like Alley, but unlike Alley, chose to stick around the Des Moines scene.

From page 33 / He probably lives in Clive or Windsor Heights, the two tiny suburbs right next to West Des Moines. Everyone tends to forget those towns exist, so people who live in them usually just say they're from West Des Moines.''

What say I about I Kissed A ZOMBIE in the long run? Well, I didn't go zombies over it, but I think this would be a great introductory book for the zombie-innocent, especially if you prefer your YA not too bubbly and sticky sweet.





---Want a chance to win this? Enter the Zombie GRaB!

Like I said, perfect introductory book for the zombie-innocent. A little Twilight if real vampires became the new fad, a little reminescent of You Are So Undead To Me though not quite as bubbly or action-packed, and definitely food for thought if megamarts got wind that reanimation is possible.


---Disclaimer / Library

Hungry for... Andy Rash?

Andy Rash graciously had time today for a quick dine at The Epic Rat and dashed right on out before any zombies could show him how they eat...(er, treat)...their guest of honor.

---here enters Mr. Rash

My favorite zombie things:

1. AUDIBLE / That sound/music from Night of the Living Dead that's all quavery and goes woooooo-ah!!
2. VISUAL / That one zombie whose head gets knocked off with a baseball bat in Return of the Living Dead
3. TACTILE / The mud Diane Freeling couldn't climb up to escape the surfacing skeletons in Poltergeist
4. CULINARY / That black stuff that dumps out of the red-headed zombie in Thriller
5. OLFACTIVE / The Funk of 40,000 Years

---so departs Mr. Rash

Well, dear Readers, since the zombies barely had time to fully enjoy Mr. Rash before he took off to a remote haven, I have also included the infamous Thriller video (above) as well as the trailer for TEN LITTLE ZOMBIES: A LOVE STORY that Mr. Rash had put together in celebration of its recent release.




GIVEAWAY / And since I heart TEN LITTLE ZOMBIES so much (and the kickass trailer), I have decided that I must spread the zombie love to my most awesome Readers!

Leave a name & email address

+5 = follow The Epic Rat

+5 = comment on my TEN LITTLE ZOMBIES review

+10 = tell me what zombie book you totally heart!

What's At Stake / A copy of TEN LITTLE ZOMBIES and the adorable companion tote bag

Open WORLDWIDE
Ends September 21

BkRv: Zombies everywhere, but not a brain to drink

Book Review / TEN LITTLE ZOMBIES: A LOVE STORY / Andy Rash

Zombies

First Line /
Ten little zombies / walking in a line
One stepped in a campfire / Now there are nine







Rating

The What About / from the inside jacket flap

Nothing can stop love.

Wait... Not love... Zombies. Nothing can stop zombies.

When you and your sweetheart are on the run from ten little zombies, your only option is to systematically destroy them one by one, or else become zombie number eleven. All you need are nail guns, acid, a chainsaw, a grenade, and a love that will never die - or stay dead for very long.

Ten Little Zombies might just touch your heart.

Or eat your brain.

The Review / Mmm, I heart me some zombies and Andy Rash has created one really cute zombie love story that seriously melted my brain with its evil sugary goodness! :}

From the publisher / This darkly funny illustrated tale—think Bunny Suicides meets Edward Gorey meets Hallmark—celebrates the romantic side of a zombie plague, with plenty of BRAINS and a lot of heart.

Short and sweet, I cannot really say too much for fear of spoiling its charming surprises. The illustrations were simply perfect in every way with nothing too gruesome, but tastefully reddened at the right moments.

Read it. Love it. Heart it. Brain it.

---Want a chance to win this? Enter the Zombie GRaB!

A really adorable book that I would totally buy for my zombie lover in February because I heart him so much that my brain hurts! :)






---Disclaimer / Bought

Zombie Kill Of The Week, The Third

Welcome to the 3rd week of Zombie Kill Of The Week giveaway! I am a little sad that there was not a big turnout for the 2nd week, but I'll keep my hopes up :)

What's At Stake /
1. A killer (pun!) "Zombie Kill Of The Week" button
2. A zombie feltie handcrafted by my own two hands (which I may turn into a keychain, the feltie not my hands) - check it out below! Please note that this is one of the many possible designs you may end up with. There may be duckies and kitties and pirates...

The Rules / No, I do not require the head of a zombie, but please leave an email address!

Since I love hunting for cool, neat, weird, and strange zombie things both in the real world and cyberspace,

If you want IN on this giveaway, you MUST MUST MUST leave a link to a cool zombie discovery in the comments.

There are a lot of zombie happenings for ZOMBIE FEST as we speak - perhaps there was an awesome book recently reviewed ;)

The Deadline / Week 3 ends September 21 (Week 4 begins September 22)

Open For / The World :D

Waiting on.... Bad Taste In Boys (7.12.2011)

The Book / Bad Taste In Boys (no B&N linky yet...boooo!)
The Author / Carrie Harris

The Out When / 7.12.2011

The What About / from the author's website

Someone’s been a very bad zombie.

Super-smartie Kate Grable gets to play doctor, helping out her high school football team. Not only will the experience look good on her college apps, she gets to be this close to her quarterback crush, Aaron. Then something disturbing happens. Kate finds out that the coach has given the team steroids. Except . . . the vials she finds don’t exactly contain steroids. Whatever’s in them is turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless, flesh-eating . . . zombies.

Unless she finds an antidote, no one is safe. Not Aaron, not Kate’s brother, not her best friend . . . not even Kate . . .

It’s scary. It’s twisted. It’s sick. It’s high school.

The What For / OMZ! Who wants a bite from this book? (Hint: ME!!!) This sounds like a super-fun zombie teen read - and I hope it lives up to You're So Undead To Me / Stacey Jay expectations! The cover makes me a little thirsty, I have to admit, but hot zombies? Hmmm, let me think that one over...and hope that Kate finds an antidote!

News Flash: Zombie Kill Of The Week reminder

Hey, brainy Readers!

I am pleased to announce the first Zombie Kill Of The Week goes to...

Vampires and Tofu

Congratulations! I hope your unicorn friends make room for a zombie feltie ;D

There were some GREAT links provided, but I had some favorites out of the mix:

1) Icedream / Zombie Reagan brought back from the grave

2) Vampires and Tofu / Tofu the Vegan Zombie


3) Carrie Harris / Zombie jerky awesomely flavored "teriyucky" :)

"If a zombie bites you, it's bad.
If you bite a zombie, it's crazy delicious!"
- Dr. Amad Cyontist

Remember today is the last day
to enter for the
2nd weekly Zombie Kill Of The Week giveaway.

What's At Stake /
1. A killer (pun!) "Zombie Kill Of The Week" button
2. A zombie feltie handcrafted by my own two hands

Currently there is ONE eligible participant who have left zombie-licious links. I know there's more out there, so where's yours?

BkRv: Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, undeath goes on...

Book Review / Paul Is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion / Alan Goldsher

Zombies | Beatles

First Line / from the preface

For some, the most indelible memory of their television-viewing lives was the moment Jack Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963. For others, it was Neil Armstrong's 1969 moon landing. For today's generation, it might be the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, or the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001.

I realized television was more than sitcoms and sporting events on December 8, 1980, the night Mark David Chapman tried to lop off John Lennon's head with a silver scythe.








The What About / from the publisher

Are readers ready for a world in which the Beatles just wanna eat your brains? Goldsher (Hard Bop Academy) thinks so, and he may be right. In this humor-filled splatterfest, the rise and fall of the zombie Beatles unfolds through eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, and interviews. Violence and music go hand-in-hand as the zombiefied Lennon, Harrison, and McCartney fight, eat, and rock their way to fame and popularity while ninja lord Ringo Starr tries to keep them out of trouble. Nothing can stop them--not even a vampiric Pete Best, zombie-killing Mick Jagger, rival ninja Yoko Ono, or bad reviews. In fact, their only enemies may be one another, as personal conflicts threaten to break them up for good. Roughly paralleling the real-world career of the Beatles, this alternate history reimagines successes, failures, and rivalries with over-the-top bizarro charm.

The Review / Coincidentally (or maybe it was planned by the zombie gods) the day after I started reading this, the local newspaper included an article about Mark David Chapman being denied parole for the hundredth (exaggeration on my part) time again. Quite timely considering that Paul Is Undead mainly focuses on John Lennon as the earliest Liverpool zombie (besides the First) and not Paul McCartney as the title suggests.

I have yet to find a zombie parody that I can stomach to its fullest potential, and I had hoped that Paul Is Undead would be the one to break the mold. It started off well, but eventually I simply did not care for the interview format. I think that it might have gone a little better if it was a "story" story where we follow John as he goes about and makes zombie Beatles - not interviews from various people who recollect the making of the Beatles. It did not help that I am not a Beatles fanatic, so I could hardly tell if most of the interviewees were actual people. I did get a kick out of Mick Jagger's role in the zombie Beatles story

From page 109 / Regardless of the backstory, [Mick] Jagger has dedicated his life to three things: making music, having as much sex with as many of the planet's most beautiful women as possible, and ridding the galaxy of the undead.

One thing I will say is that this has, by far, the grossest description of how the zombie process happens. *shudders* It involves tongue lengthening and brain fluids and spitting and far too much information that I really don't want to re-read again to find out. However, I guess the Liverpool zombies were the cream of the crop somehow. They maintained their human personalities, had no slowing of movements, could heal themselves, and hypnotize their victims. I don't know if I buy much of that, but whatever works to make zombie Beatles rule the world.

From page 27 /
PAUL McCARTNEY: And I still believe that if we hadn't been in public, he probably would've murdered me on the spot. I don't know if he was thinking of giving me a straight-up transformative bite, or tearing me limb from limb, but that look in his eyes told me, I want you dead fast, mate. What makes me say that? Well, erm, I was dead fast. Veryfast. Eighteen hours later, to be exact.

JOHN LENNON: Of course I wanted Paulie dead. Anybody who played guitar like that well should either be in my band, or sucking on maggots six feet under. Or both.

Anyhow, another parody bust for me. I would probably recommend Paul Is Undead for those who like the Beatles AND don't mind zombies OR reading interviews to piece together a story.

---Want a chance to win this? Enter the Zombie GRaB!
Please, ever heard of the Beatles mania? Thousands of rabid teenage girls? Yes, the zombie Beatles would be cuuuuuuuuute - but I wouldn't want to be caught in their hypnotic stares or in biting distance!




---Disclaimer / Bought

BkRv:A time to sow, a time to reap (zombies)

Book Review / The Reapers Are The Angels / Alden Bell

Zombies!

First Line / God is a slick god. Temple knows. She knows because of all the crackerjack miracles still to be seen on this ruined globe.









The What About / from the publisher

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

The Review / Don't you hate it when you read all glowing reviews about a book, only to read it and find out it's not quite your cup of tea? It might still be an amazing book, sure, but honestly you simply cannot get into it for whatever reason (temporary or permanent). This was my reaction to The Reapers Are The Angels, and I'm not sure if I will ever be in the mood for it. The lack of quotation marks drove me nuts! It reminded me of This is what I want to tell you / Heather Duffy Stone except the story didn't distract me enough to not notice.

The story starts off just fine - the writing superb - Temple has been living on a remote island that finally gets breached with its first "meatskin" (zombie). Which means more will eventually be coming, so she decides to head back to the mainland (America) and make the most of her time left on Earth by seeing the sights. Which makes total sense - I mean, why stay holed up when you can travel the world, that is, as long as you are equipped to handle zombies. Thankfully, the zombies are the slow-moving type in this book, so really her chances of survival are pretty phenomenal.

From page 7 / Then she puts her fingers where the mouth would be. He has a set of upper teeth, cracked and brittle, but nothing beneath to bite down against. When she puts her fingers there, she can see the tendons tucked in behind his teeth clicking away in a radial pattern. There are milky white bones jutting out where the mandible would be attached and yellow ligaments like rubber bands stretching and relaxing, stretching and relaxing, with the ghost motion of chewing.

What you gonna do? she says. Bite me? I think your biting days are gone away, mister.

So I was reading along just fine for the first 50 pages or so, and then I hit a roadblock when Temple picks up a traveling companion who is virtually mute and things just get weirder and weirder. And maybe I didn't read too closely to see if their relationship changed, but I didn't appreciate Temple's attitude towards her unexpected (and unwanted) companion - sure, she showed pity by having him tag along, but did she have to treat him like a dog?

Long story short, The Reapers Are The Angels feels more like a literary zombie fiction that might fall in the same category as any of William Faulkner's books (which I haven't read, so maybe I'm off, but I totally had the same reaction!), but with zombies. It was like The Forest Of Hands And Teeth / Carrie Ryan, but the more adult version with some more grown-up themes, and without as much amazing vibes.

---Want a chance to win this and see what you think? Enter the Zombie GRaB!
It could have been "RUN FOR YOUR LIVE" but on second thought, these zombies are pretty slow movers. They will catch up with you when you grow too tired to find shelter or fight back. There were some pretty zombie-slaying moments, but I feel that the zombies were more of an afterthought not the main purpose of the book. And I definitely didn't want to hug them or munch on them as much as I typically do.

---Disclaimer / Bought

What a nice day for a Zombie wedding!

Okay, I definitely lack the brains (and the balls) for actually pulling off a zombie-themed wedding - but it does not mean that I can't consider it as a remote possibility! ;D A very very small remote possibility, but whatever. I haven't made any rash decisions...

Yet.

---

The Dress / I thought about doing the whole "blood-splattered white" deal, but I want my zombie wedding to be a classy one! Why go around blood-splattered when I can just have a dress that is the color of blood? I can't quite decide if I would like a train or not - on the plus side, it's pretty! but on the down side, it will probably trip me up if I chase after zombies or become one shuffling bride!


The Invite / Not a whole lot of card templates out there for zombie weddings - mostly halloween parties and whatnots. Then again, I didn't look too hard. This design was found on Zazzle. I thought it was simple yet touching for the them I was going for.




The Makeup / Even the groom will need to make a beauty appointment this day! Personally I haven't decided if I want the white-out contacts or the blood-filled look. One thing I do know is that I definitely want a wicked looking scar or two - perhaps a tiara actually wedged through my forehead... Hmmm, decisions. Who knew makeup would be so much fun?!



The Photographer / I will definitely have to scout out the more creative souls who are willing to work with me! The photo on the far left was actually done for a Trash The Dress shoot - so I definitely know that a zombie wedding should be a doable thing! And I love the starkness of the other photo. Too bad I don't want a white dress, though it is tempting to reconsider if the photographer is persuasive enough. :}



The CAKE / Mmmmm, cake definitely trumps brains any day! And I do love me some awesomely-decorated cakes! I think my parents would have a heart attack if I decide to get the black-and-white-and-red cake, but seriously that is my absolute favorite of the two! Who can resist the lawn mower action? And the red is classsssssy - it matches my dress! ;) As far as the inside cake goes, I am thinking red velvet or some sinfully-delicious dark chocolate.

---
Well, that's all the zombie wedding ideas I had to share. If you don't remember anything, just remember the CAKE! :)

From page 14 / The Reapers Are The Angels / Alden Bell / While she's eating, she thinks about how smart it was for God to make meatskins [zombies] not interested in real food so there would be plenty left for regular folk. She remembers an old joke that makes her smile - the one about the meatskin who gets invited to a wedding party. At the end of it they have twice the leftovers and half the guests.

Anyhow, on that note, I must scoot off and join in the festivities of the day

HAPPY WEDDING DAY, ERICA AND TYLER!
WHILE IT MAY NOT HAVE ANY ZOMBIES,
I'M SURE YOU'LL HAVE A BLAST :D

BkRv: My Boneshaker brings all the boys to the yard

Book Review / Boneshaker / Cherie Priest

Zombies! | Steampunk







First Line / from Chapter One

She saw him, and she stopped a few feet from the stairs.

The What About / in my own words

Due to a science experiment gone wrong, part of Seattle has been walled off in hopes of containing the blight gas which can turn people into rotters (i.e. zombies) if inhaled directly. Most managed to escape the blight gas and re-build their lives outside of the wall, but a few chose to stay behind with gas masks and take their chances of surviving. Everyone, however, remembers who to blame for this catastrophe: Leveticus Blue, and since he has long-since vanished from sight, they like to transfer the blame to his wife Briar Wilkes. She is also the daughter of villain / hero (depending on who you ask) Maynard Wilkes who released prisoners during the escape from the blight gas. Briar tries not to draw attention to herself by defending the innocence of either husband or father, but her son Zeke is determined to uncover the truth about the father whom he never knew. When he sneaks off into the walled portion of Seattle, Briar has no choice to go after him and try to save him from the evil awaiting there.

The Review / I am sure that it must have been my lack of paying attention, but when Boneshaker originally came out last year, I had not been too interested in it. The cover was cool, sure, but I had not been entirely sold on steampunk yet - let alone, steampunk with a dash of zombies. When gathering my pile of zombie books for September Zombies, I was surprised to see Boneshaker listed and, since curiosity has always been a strong suit, I finally decided to give it a go - and I'm sure glad that I did!

Cherie Priest had me enthralled right from the get-go with her prologue:

Unpaved, uneven trails pretended to be roads; they tied the nation's coasts together like laces holding a boot, binding it with crossed strings and crossed fingers. And over the great river, across the plains, between the mountain passes, the settlers pushed from east to west. They trickled over the Rockies in dribs and drabs, in wagons and coaches.

I don't know about you, my dear Readers, but I just found that opening paragraph as one of the most beautifully-written things that my eyes have ever read! The poetry just reeled me in, and I wanted to find out more about the Boneshaker, the great disaster that brought about the Blight gas, and Briar Wilkes and her son Zeke.

Airships remind me of Stardust (I never saw Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow), and I could totally picture Boneshaker as a movie as I became more engrossed with the book. The plot kept gaining steam (pun!) and roared into one amazing finish after leading us roundabout with the good and bad characters not exactly being forthright as they ought to be. I loved it!

The chapter bounces back and forth between Briar and Zeke as each of them have their own separate adventures in the walled portion of Seattle. Which worked most of the time until I got so into one of their stories that I didn't want to wait a whole chapter before finding out what happened to them! I think this was done deliberately, but it doesn't mean I have to like it! :)

I loved Briar - she was a tough cookie, tired of the world and its hatred of her husband and/or father, but willing to work among the hostility since it kept food on the table.

From page 23 / [Briar, to an interviewer] "I don't want to talk about Maynard, no. I don't have any answers about anything that happened to him. Nobody does. But you can ask whatever you want. And you can take your leave when I get tired of you, or when you get bored with all the ways I can say 'I don't know' - whichever comes first."

From page 41 / [Briar, to Zeke] "I didn't choose my parents; no one does. I could be forgiven for my father's sins. But I did choose your father, and for that, they will never let me rest."

When she goes after Zeke, my respect for her grew as she totally remained efficient and competent. She was no Buffy Summers, but she knew how to stay alive and would die fighting her little heart out if only to save her son!

---Want a chance to win this? Enter the Zombie GRaB!

I believe the term "zombies" was never used, only the term "rotters." There were some scuffles that involved biting, but mostly heavy sighings that sometimes did raise the hairs on the back of my neck. I suppose there were a lot of running away being done too.


From page 137 /

She sighed, and a second sigh gave it a funny echo.

Confused, she shook her face. It must have been a trick of the straps, or the way the device fit around her forehead. It could've been her hair, brushing against the exterior. It might've been her boots, scraping unexpectedly against a jagged paving stone. The sound could've come from anywhere. It was so quiet, anyway. Hardly a sound at all, really.

Her feet wouldn't move. Neither would her arms, or her hands, locked around the rifle. Even her own neck would barely turn, lest she recreate the noise, or fail to. The only thing worse than hearing it again would be hearing it again and knowing it hadn't come from her own careful movements.

From page 139 /

Those two quick looks had told her everything she needed to know: Run, and for heaven's sake, don't stop.

They were not quite on her heels. They were rounding the corner in a loping, ludicrous hobble that was shockingly fast despite the awkward gait. More naked than clothed, and more gray than the proper color of living flesh, the rotters pressed a rollicking lurch that tumbled in a wave. They rolled forward, over everything, past everything, around everything that might have otherwise slowed them down.

--- Disclaimer / Library, then later bought a copy :)

BkRv: I am the very model of a zombie major-general

Book Review / The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks / Max Brooks

Zombies! | Graphic Novel

First Line / Recent archaeological expeditions discovered a cave on the banks of the upper Semliki River, which contain thirteen homo sapiens skulls. All have received fatal trauma to the brain. Above them was discovered a painting that many believe to be a warning of what may be humanity's first (recorded) encounter with the living dead.









The What About / from the publisher

Those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

From the Stone Age to the information age, the undead have threatened to engulf the human race. They’re coming. They’re hungry.

Don’t wait for them to come to you!

This is the graphic novel the fans demanded: major zombie attacks from the dawn of humanity. On the African savannas, against the legions of ancient Rome, on the high seas with Francis Drake . . . every civilization has faced them. Here are the grisly and heroic stories–complete with eye-popping artwork that pulsates with the hideous faces of the undead.

The Review / ZSG: Recorded Attacks is a beautifully-crafted chronicle of how far back zombies have infiltrated human history. The black-and white illustrations manage to capture the horrendous moments without sickening my stomach too much (imagine if it was in full-color!), although sometimes it got a little graphic in terms of spewing entrails.

Max Brooks has really outdone himself - or maybe he simply gathered all those delicious zombie tales and spun them together into a graphic novel of epic proportions. Whatever it is, I really got a kick out of ZSG: Recorded Attacks and how clever some of these stories were (unless they're absolutely true, then how absolutely spine-tingling they were!).

Out of the 12 anecdotes offered, I have 4 absolute favorites:

• 3000 B.C. / Hieraconpolis, Egypt
• A.D. 1611 / Feudal Japan
• A.D. 1893 / French North Africa
• A.D. 1942-1945 / Harbin, Japanese Puppet State Of Manchukuo
  

The stories definitely bring to light questions that I did not consider - and, quite frankly, I'm sure it will change some of our zombie survival plans!

1. Can zombies survive underwater? Is nothing safe anymore? I think some zombie movies / novels rely on the fact that a body of water can create a space between zombies and survival - but if zombies are able to cross the ocean (albeit however long it takes them), how scary would this be?
2. Are zombies affected by cold temperatures? As in, can they freeze to immobile death - and upon thawing, they will simply resume their usual moaning and biting of human flesh? I don't know about you, but I really don't want to spend any time in Antarctica unless I really have to.

---Want a chance to win this? Enter the Zombie GRaB!
I was tempted to rate it "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES" but since I think we have ample time to gather our supplies and practice our killer aims, I think we can simply savor the moment and appreciate from what history we have the fortune of learning.



---Disclaimer / Bought

Zombie Kill Of The Week, Part Deux

Welcome to the 2nd week of Zombie Kill Of The Week giveaway! I hope that many of you are hunting zombies this week and ready to show off your mad slaying skills :)

What's At Stake /
1. A killer (pun!) "Zombie Kill Of The Week" button
2. A zombie feltie handcrafted by my own two hands (which I may turn into a keychain, the feltie not my hands) - check it out below! Please note that this is one of the many possible designs you may end up with. There may be duckies and kitties and pirates...

The Rules / No, I do not require the head of a zombie, but please leave an email address!

Since I love hunting for cool, neat, weird, and strange zombie things both in the real world and cyberspace,

If you want IN on this giveaway, you MUST MUST MUST leave a link to a cool zombie discovery in the comments (or if you find it in the wild, take a picture and email it to me / cecpham(at)gmail(dot)com ) in order for entry.

There are a lot of zombie happenings for ZOMBIE FEST as we speak - perhaps there was an awesome book recently reviewed ;)

The Deadline / Week 2 ends September 14 (Week 3 begins September 15)

Open For / The World :D

Waiting on... The Dark And Hollow Places (3.22.2010)

The Book / The Dark And Hollow Places
The Author / Carrie Ryan

The Out When / 3.22.2010

The What About / from the publisher

Annah knows she has a twin sister, but she forgot her long ago. Back when they went to play in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, she and Elias lost her, and after that there was no going back to the village.

Life's been hard, but Elias has taken care of her, and living in the Dark City can help one to forget the horror of the Unconsecrated—if you try hard enough.

But when Elias disappears, Annah's world crumbles. To her, life isn't worth much more than the walking dead who roam the wasted world she lives in. It's not until she meets Catcher that she cares to start living again.

Yet Catcher has secrets. Dark, terrifying secrets that link him to a past she's longed to forget and to a future too deadly to consider.

Annah must decide: Can she continue to live a world covered in the blood of the living?

Or is death the answer to all her problems?

The What For / I have not read The Dead-Tossed Waves yet, but I hope that I will get to it later this month. The covers are absolutely breath-taking, although this one borders on the side of a little "scary movie." I'll probably have to re-read all the books in order to remember who is who and what is what. Nothing sounds terribly familiar in the above summary. :/ Not that I mind because this month is for strictly ZOMBIE ZONE and that's what September should be all about! :}

This WoW meme is courtesy of Jill @ Breaking the Spine

News Flash: Zombie Kill Of The Week reminder

Hey, lovely zombie-hunting Readers!

Just a quick reminder in case you were out laboring in honor of Labor Day weekend - I'm having a weekly Zombie Kill Of The Week giveaway here.

What's At Stake /
1. A killer (pun!) "Zombie Kill Of The Week" button
2. A zombie feltie handcrafted by my own two hands

Currently there are TWO eligible participants who have left zombie-licious links. I know there's more out there, so where's yours?

Teasing you with... Boneshaker

From page 86 -- Boneshaker / Cherie Priest --

"Ma'am, allow me to introduce Captain Andan Cly. And there above his thick-boned head you'll see his ship, the Naamah Darling. Wake him with kindness, and - if possible - at a distance."

"Wait you're not going to - "

"Oh no. You're the one who wants the favor. You can nudge him awake for it. Best of luck to you, ma'am."

From Publisher's Weekly / Maternal love faces formidable challenges in this stellar steampunk tale. In an alternate 1880s America, mad inventor Leviticus Blue is blamed for destroying Civil War–era Seattle. When Zeke Wilkes, Blue’s son, goes into the walled wreck of a city to clear his father’s name, Zeke’s mother, Briar Wilkes, follows him in an airship, determined to rescue her son from the toxic gas that turns people into zombies (called rotters and described in gut-churning detail). When Briar learns that Seattle still has a mad inventor, Dr. Minnericht, who eerily resembles her dead husband, a simple rescue quickly turns into a thrilling race to save Zeke from the man who may be his father. Intelligent, exceptionally well written and showcasing a phenomenal strong female protagonist who embodies the complexities inherent in motherhood, this yarn is a must-read for the discerning steampunk fan.

This Teaser Tuesday meme is courtesy of MizB @ Should Be Reading

Hungry for... celi.a?

Yesterday's dinner simply ran away from us (catch a replay here) - let's hope that this doesn't become a trend because a hungry horde of zombies does not like to sit around for so long!

Thank goodness that I managed to invite celi.a from Adventures Of Cecelia Bedelia who is always the intrepid explorer and graciously came to today's dinner...erm, interview!

Will she be able to pass the salt to the zombies, or will she leave them ever-hungry?

These are the questions we have at the Epic Rat! Let's get the answers!


---
1. Who or what bit you and spread the infectious love for Team Zombie? How long have you been Team Zombie?
I had never read a zombie novel or had any desire to before THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH and Velvet's (of vvb32reads.blogspot.com

) influence. I didn't love FOREST, but I was hooked on zombies. Well, at least ironic zombies. I'm still scared stiff of serious ones.

2. If the zombie apocalypse starts tomorrow, what book would you like to read before your brain gets eaten and why?
I'd like to go with a comfort read, since I'd soon be feeling ultimate discomfort. Something by Diana Wynne Jones, Robin McKinley, Patricia C. Wrede or Mercedes Lackey. You know, fantasy. For the escapism aspect. But if the zombie apocalypse is really going to happen, I'd actually go with THE AXE WIELDER'S HANDBOOK or THE TACTICAL SHOTGUN: THE BEST TECHNIQUES AND TACTICS FOR EMPLOYING THE SHOTGUN IN PERSONAL COMBAT. And yes, those are both real books you can buy on Amazon.

3. The zombified books have infected the entire book world from Jane Austen to the Beatles. What book would you zombify? Who would be the lucky zombie(s)?
I'd like to see TESS OF D'URBERVILLES zombified. That book totally scarred me, and I think zombification is the only way I'd ever read it again. The zombie should definitely be Tess.

4. What is your favorite zombie thing (book, movie, person, picture, idea, joke, etc)?
Love me some ZOMBIELAND, though recent books I KISSED A ZOMBIE, AND I LIKED IT and MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES were winners as well.

5. Everyone has an idea of how they would like to die. How do you imagine your zombification playing out?
Well, I'm hoping to get bitten/infected somewhere that won't slow me down. Let's say a small bite on the shoulder, or on the fatty part of the thigh. I want to have as much mobility as possible for my own undead roaming. Also, the less mess, the better. It's just disturbing when the zombies only have half of an intact skull (maybe that's the point, but I'll take a miss, thanks!).

Any last words before we spill your guts literally?
I am Team Zombie, but if they ever come for me, you better believe I will run and/or annihilate them. With whatever comes to hand. Toilet seat, fork, whatever. I am NOT getting zombified. Hopefully. Crossing my fingers now.


---
Well, I will say that I've never seen a fork fight before - and sure enough, celi.a lodged a few forks into the zombies' heads (excellent shots, by the way!) and took off twice as fast as ZombieGirrrl! From a safe distance, she too will provide us with tips on surviving the zombie apocalypse!

I guess, thanks for helping me clean up a bit! I'll just have to figure out what to do with these dead zombies...

Cookies, anyone?

BkRv: I've never felt this way with a zombie before

Book Review / Zombie Felties / Nicola Tedman & Sarah Skeate

Zombies! | Crafts

First Line / Despite their horrid appearance, Zombie Felties are quite easy to sew provided that you follow a few simple guidelines and pointers for making your first one or two. Be warned, though, not only are these zombies far too unsettling for small children to play with, but most also have plenty of sharp or tiny detachable pieces.









The What About / in my own words

A perfect book for someone who hearts both zombies and crafts that involves needles, thread, and felt. 16 zombie designs that include:

• The Classic
• Puppy
• Kitty
• Ducky
• Bunny
• Pumpkin Head
• Day Of The Dead
• Surfer
• Baby
• Undertaker
• Vampire
• Thrilla (as in Michael Jackson)
  
• Pirate
• Fairy
• Folklore
• Bride

The Review / When I spied this book a few weeks ago, I definitely knew that it was love at first sight. I like crafty things and had been looking for something fun and simple. I don't crochet, I forgot how to knit, I have an off-again/on-again relationship with cross-stitching - but when Zombie Felties boasted of not having any hard sewing involved, I signed myself up!

The designs presented are really hit-and-miss for me. I'm not sold on the idea of a Zombie Vampire or Undertaker - they almost look like what you typically expect of them. The Surfer is also really way in left-field that I'm not sure if I will ever make one. I think my favorite so far is The Classic. I really want to try the Pirate and Thrilla because they look awesome, but it seems a little beyond my skill set at the moment.

I was actually quite pleased with the price of the material - the most expensive item for me had been the disappearing marking pen for $4.99. Here's the rest of the breakdown:

Felt sheets (9x11) - 29 cents each
(bought 11 sheets of different colors)
Sparkly felt sheets - 35 cents each
(bought 2 sheets of different colors)
Bags of beads - $1.29 to $3.99
(bought 7 colors and types)
Sequins - 79 cents each
(bought 2 colors)
Necklace cord - $1.29
Fabric glue - 59 cents
Toy stuffing - $2.99

Not terribly expensive as you can see, especially since I could probably make at least 20+ Zombie Felties with all that stuff! The felt sheets were "eco-friendly" which means they were made from recycled plastic bottles - which totally boggles my mind!

However, I might return the toy stuffing because that would last me 100+ years - I couldn't find an itty-bitty bags - and then the salesperson suggested beads and I thought it was genius! The only downfall is that I think the beads sometimes weigh down the head / torso and make the Zombie Felties contort to uncomfortable positions. Yet I don't think it would be a major issue if I decide to make keychains out of them! :)

The Zombie Felties do not take too terribly long. It takes me longest to get all the pieces measured out and cut. After you do a couple Zombie Felties, the assembly of the rest do not take so long. There are loads of embellishments and variations - one pattern's details may be easily transferable to a different pattern. My favorite is the dangling eyeball - so awesome! :)

---Want one? Check out my ZOMBIE KILL OF THE WEEK giveaway!
---If you're feeling crafty, don't forget craft challenge @ Book Rat!

These are terribly adorable that I cannot help but coo at them. So cute with their spilled guts and bullet wounds and dangly eye pieces! Who's a cute zombie feltie? ;)






--- Disclaimer / Bought