Zombie Reading List

Zombies seem to be showing up in more and more books. Some say that they are becoming the new vampire in fiction, but since the vampire trend has yet to significantly fade, I hesitate to make that comparison yet. Zombies are popping up in monster mash ups with classic works, as heroes in their own right or main characters in several works instead of just being monsters on the hunt for braaains. Zombies are evolving in literature, and I think we all should be both delighted and terrified with the trend. Here are my selections of the best and most unique entries in zombie literature.

Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall is part of the monster mash-up trend. This is a parody of several science fiction clich©s chock full of zombies and Star Trek references. Prepare yourself for mayhem and mirth as you join the disillusioned army vet Jim Pike working at a hotel in Houston. The hotel is getting ready to host GulfCon, a Star Trek convention said to be the largest in the South. The convention is already a little strange when the convention-goers start becoming cannibalistic zombies. Pike and a group of survivors, armed with Klingon bat'leths and Vulcan lirpas, fight to survive and escape. The blend of various geekdoms and camp make this a great read for zombie lovers, Trekkies, and flesh eating fiends.

Breathers: A Zombie's Lament by S. G. Browne details the problems of finding yourself as a newly woken zombie. Andy Warner is an average person, until he becomes a zombie. As you might imagine, there are some larger changes that he must make to adjust to his new life. Friends abandon him and society rejects him as no longer human. However, things start to look up for Andy when he goes to an Undead Anonymous meeting, but a happy ending might still be out of reach. This is a dark comedy, love story and comment on society all wrapped up in a book that will thrill fans of zombie movies ranging from George Romero's Night of the Living Dead to Shaun of the Dead .

The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell, a pseudonym for Joshua Gaylord, is a beautiful but bleak tale of a fifteen-year-old girl facing a world of zombies and human monsters. Do not assume that time is a young adult novel simply because of the heroine's age, the book is heart wrenching and contains some very painful adult situations. Temple is on the run from a man seeking revenge, her own conscience and the perils of a fallen America beset by zombies. She travels between the pockets of society that remain and brutal frontier, searching for salvation and a home. Despite the conflicts and peril, Temple continues to find beauty in the world.

The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks are brilliant additions to all things zombie. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead is a fully illustrated guide to surviving attack from hordes of brain seeking zombies. Even the government has suggested preparing for zombie attack, and if we cannot trust the government that who should we trust? World War Z gives the need for survival against zombies a more personal feel. The book details the suffering during zombie hostilities; including interviews with politicians, civilians, soldiers, and more. The book takes place after the ten-year conflict against the zombie hordes ends.

Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez is a great novel about paranormal misfits trying to do the right thing. Blood, gore and laughter are definitely on the menu. Vampire Earl and werewolf Duke need to stop for a meal while driving through Rockwood, a desert community regularly visited by strange situations. The pair stops to eat at Gil's Diner and end up helping Loretta, the diner's owner-operator, defend against a zombie attack. In their desire to do the right thing the pair soon find themselves taking on more tasks, like preventing the Queen of the Night Tammy and her less than intelligent boyfriend from destroying the world. The book is fast-paced plot and full of moments that are very memorable and funny.

Play Dead by Ryan Brown is a trilling yet humorous debut from Brown, a former actor. This gore-filled comedy details just how far a small town in Texas might go to have a championship football team. In Killington, drowning all but one of the players and the coach in order to turn the players into zombies is a viable option. However, if the team does not stop taking breaks to munch on people they might miss the game all together.

Other zombie books worth shuffling off to the library or bookstore include; The Rising and its sequel City of the Dead by Brian Keene, Paul is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion by Alan Goldsher, Cell by Stephen King, Beserk by Tim Leebron, Handling the Undead by John Aivide Lindqvist, The Walking by Bentley Little, Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, Dead West by Rick Spears and Darker Angels by S. P. Somtow.