Zombie Dice

I had heard of Zombie Dice before, but I never learned to play until I saw a demonstration at Comic-Con. It's a fast and fun game that's perfect for waiting in long lines or car rides or really playing anywhere, as long as there's a flat surface.

In this game, you are the zombie and you want brains!! There are 14 dice in 3 colors: green, yellow, and red. On each die is 3 possible outcomes: shotgun blasts, footprints, or brains. The shotgun blasts are bad and mean that you've been shot. The footprints aren't horrible, but they mean that your prey has walked away. The brains are awesome because the object is to eat them. The colors indicate the probability of getting good rolls, the best being green (84%), the worst being red (50%).

To win, you must have 13 brains saved. On your turn, you roll 3 random dice. You keep the shotgun blasts and the brains and you can re-roll the rest and add more random ones when needed, always rolling 3 dice. Your turn is over when you run out of dice, get 3 shotgun blasts, or want to save your brains. If you get 3 shotgun blasts, you lose any brains you may have gotten in that turn. When one person gets at least 13 brains, there is one more round to give everyone else a chance to catch up to or surpass that player. It's super easy to learn and fun to play with pretty much any amount of people of almost any age group.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

As The World Dies: The First Days

On a normal day just like any other, Jenni is making breakfast for her kids, wondering why her abusive husband never came home. Katie is getting ready for court later that day and kissing her girlfriend goodbye. Then disaster strikes and both of their families are torn apart (quite literally). Katie happens upon Jenni as she stands frozen in shock at her zombified children and saves her. Together (along with their dog Jack), the duo become a fierce zombie-killing team and go in search of Jenni’s stepson, who they don’t even know if he’s alive or not. He is trapped at a zombie infested camp ground and they have no idea how many zombies there are or how they will get away. Will they survive their rescue attempt? If so, where can they find a safe place from the zombies?

Rhiannon Frater grabs my attention on the very first page. The first image introduced is tiny, bloody fingers trying to grab Jenni from under her front door. Those fingers belong to her three year old son. If I remember nothing else from this book, that image of tiny, bloody fingers attached to an insatiable three year old zombie will be burned into my brain forever. It’s not surprising that the genesis of the novel came from that one scene. I also like this scene because it sets up the disturbing factor early. If you can’t handle a small child as a zombie, then you should just put down the book now (much like the opening scene in The Walking Dead TV show). Scenes like this and even worse would happen in such an event. Who are you around the most? Your friends and family. Of course you would certainly have to face killing one of them, no matter how young they are, because they are infected and want to eat you.

The characters are realistic, normal people who have found themselves in an extraordinary situation, so they adapt. Jenni was a beaten, empty shell of a person before the zombies. It took a while of being practically catatonic to become fairly normal and then she became a gleeful and adept zombie killer. Her zeal can be a little off putting, but she moved on from her old life and came to be a person without the constant fear of abuse. Each character had their own separate transformations of varying degrees, but I never thought that they grew to be too good. Mistakes are still made and people still die. The only thing I thought was unrealistic was the amount of supplies, weapons, and ammo. Conservation is important and needless wasting is never a good idea. Maybe this will become more of a problem in later books.

Frater’s zombies are normal for the most part. They shuffle, moan, try to eat people. The only different thing is that these zombies grow smarter as the book goes along. I would like to know the zombie science behind it, but no scientists are in their group. For now, I can accept that the virus may be mutating or going into a second stage of infection. I can’t wait to read the next book to see how the virus progresses.

The First Days is a good, solid addition to the zombie genre. I’m interested to see what happens after the initial outbreak and how the remaining survivors deal with sustaining for the long term.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Rot & Ruin

The First Night occurred 14 years ago, the day when the dead rose. Benny Imura was only a baby that night and only has fuzzy memories of being handed to his older half brother, Tom, and Tom running away, leaving his mother to die. This image is burned into his mind and he sees his brother as a coward. Now, society isn’t as it used to be. Instead of large sprawling cities, civilization is reduced to small, sparse settlements. Benny is 15, which, in the society left in the wake of the dead, means that he has to get a job or lose half of his food rations. He goes job hunting with a friend, but doesn’t have any luck due to being overly picky and generally lazy. His only option left is becoming an apprentice to Tom in his bounty hunting business. Benny figures this job will entail going out into the Rot and Ruin to slice and dice zombies, but the experiences beyond the boundaries of civilization will serve to not only change his view of his brother, but of life and undeath.

Jonathan Maberry is an accomplished zombie novelist (as in he writes awesome zombie novels and isn’t really a zombie...I hope). His writing style and skilled story telling translate well into a young adult book. Benny is a completely believable character who has the misfortune to grow up in a zombie-ridden world. Now, the society he lives in expects him to grow up and become self sufficient, which he resisted at every turn. I found him very annoying at this point. He is completely ashamed of his big brother and refuses to try to get to know him. The first half of the book consists of him whining, complaining, and running away from responsibility until he has no other option. After his brother takes him into the Rot and Ruin (which is the uninhabited ruin of the past that surrounds their small settlement), everything changes. Benny sees things he can never forget. He questions the other bounty hunters’ ethics when he sees them torture zombies and doesn’t see them as the epitome of cool anymore. Tom reminds him that zombies were once people and just because their corpses are walking around doesn’t make it ok to mutilate their bodies for amusement. He only kills them when it’s truly needed or he gets a request from a loved one. Only Maberry can make it absolutely heartbreaking to kill a zombie. Benny really grows as a person and makes decisions about his own morals and ethics as we all do when we grow up.

The world in the novel is both smaller and larger than it seems in real life. It’s smaller because technology and electricity are irrationally shunned and blamed for the zombie apocalypse. Their pockets of society stay small and can’t easily connect with other cities let alone other states or continents. It’s bigger because now that society is more compact, the wide open spaces are almost like the US before it was ever settled: full of possibility yet dangerous and wild. I have never seen a world quite like this one and the next book, Dust and Decay, should expand the view of it.

Rot and Ruin is an exceptional zombie book. Jonathan Maberry manages to capture the familiar coming of age experience to and transports it into a strange, post-apocalyptic, zombie ridden world. I would recommend it to any zombie fan.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

Allison Hewitt is Trapped

Allison Hewitt is trapped in a bookstore. Zombies started to walk the earth while she was at work and she witnessed a regular customer getting her throat ripped out by a zombie. So, she and her coworkers hole up in their break room. They venture out for the meager snacks at the café and front desk, but living in such close quarters is wearing thin especially when there is no access to showers or a working toilet. To stave of insanity and loneliness, Allison starts a blog where she publishes her experiences in the zombie apocalypse using SNet, an emergency military network. As her adventure goes beyond the bookstore, she posts about her budding romance, pseudomilitary bullies, religious zealots, and a zombie squirrel.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped is a zombie novel with plenty of humor, scares, suspense, and romance. I really like that Allison is like me: a lit student with no experience with weapons and is expected to die within the first hour of the zombie apocalypse. She beats the odds and becomes very competent and badass, learning to use weapons and getting in crazy shape due to necessity. Of course not all is roses and rainbows. Her will to survive and the lack of any societal or legal rules causes Allison to commit terrible acts she didn’t know she was capable of, including maiming a man who stole food and leaving him to be eaten by zombies. The zombie apocalypse also doesn’t get in the way of her love life when she falls for Collin, former astronomy professor. I like this aspect because human feeling doesn’t just cease to exist even during a world shattering event.

I really like the frame story and the blog format. The opening page is a letter urging the archive of Allison’s blog to be included in an anthology of biographical essays of important figures from the Outbreak. The author of the letter, Professor Michael E. Stockton Jr., asserts that Allison’s account is easy to relate to for the average person because she did what was needed to survive just like anyone in her situation would. The last page is the response to that later, which I won’t spoil. The blog format is what makes the novel a little more interesting than just a zombie story. I like that Allison is honest throughout, even when her accounts may not paint her in the most favorable way. People from all over the world comment on her blog and shed light on what is going on beyond Allison’s world. They serve as a support group for each other and dispense advice as well as share updates on their situations. This is a unique format is sustained through the entire book.

The only thing I felt was lacking was the one appearance of a zombie squirrel. This proves that the virus can be given to animals, but this fact ignored in the rest of the book. I think it’s significant, especially to those surviving off of hunting and fishing.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped is a good zombie adventure with a strong female narrator. I would recommend it to any zombie fan and fellow lit majors.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Aftertime

California has been reduced to a barren wasteland by a failed scientific experiment that created horrific creatures called Beaters. They are people who have turned savage, mutilating themselves, eating skin (both theirs and others’), and generally spreading around their sickness. Because of these creatures and the bioterrorism that created them, the government has fallen apart, leaving people to form their own factions and live by their own laws. Cass Dollar woke up horribly scarred and alone with no memory of the injuries, where she is, or how much time has passed. She also doesn’t know where her daughter, Ruthie, is or if she’s ok or if she’s even alive. Her daughter is everything to her and her main goal (besides, obviously, surviving) is to find her at any cost. Cass’s journey will take her to unlikely places and encounter many different types of people, but she will never stop trying to get to Ruthie.

I wasn’t expecting a lot from Aftertime because it was published by Luna, an offshoot of Harlequin. I figured the zombie aspect would take a backseat to the romance because of this and prepared myself accordingly. I was completely wrong and I am very impressed with Aftertime. Although there is some measure of romance with Smoke, the sexy, mysterious man who helps Cass, the real story of the novel is about the love of a mother for her child and the lengths she will go to protect her. Cass hasn’t always been a great mom. Before the Beaters, she was a promiscuous alcoholic and, as a result, Ruthie was taken away from her. When she woke up, she tries to turn it all around with perseverance and will alone. She still isn’t a perfect character, but I think anyone could relate to her (well, except maybe super judgmental people) because we all make mistakes. Even with her colorful past, I like Cass and I admire that she braves death and dismemberment to make amends and protect her child where so many other people would just stay save and give up.

This post-apocalyptic world is unique to others of its kind. Different factions argue for power and some stay neutral to befriend both sides. The Rebuilders try to take supplies and locations from people in the name of the government which no longer exists. They intimidate and harm people in the name of their false cause and make a lot of enemies. The Box is a small slice of hedonism that will sell drugs, booze, music, and sex in exchange for supplies. I’ve never really seen something like it in post-apocalyptic books, but it makes sense. People want to escape reality and drown their sorrows and now there are no laws in place to stop the drug and sex trade. The third faction is the Convent, a mysterious sect of religious women. Although devout in their own brand of religion, there is something weird about them, but they keep in the good graces of the Box and the Rebuilders to do trade and preserve their safety. They are incredibly creepy, but you’ll have to read to find out why.

The zombies in Aftertime aren’t they typical undead variety, but they are frightening nonetheless. They only like to eat skin, instead of indiscriminately chowing down on any given body part. I think this is even more frightening because chewing off your skin isn’t likely to kill you. You will be slowly tortured by being flayed and then turned into one of them. They are alive, so are frailer than the undead, but they don’t seem to feel pain the same way and can push their limits beyond what normal humans can. I really like this new take on zombies and I can’t wait to see where else Sophie Littlefield takes them, especially if the virus evolves.

Aftertime is an excellent zombie novel that surprised me with its realistic characters, post-apocalyptic societies, and crazy reimagining of zombies. The only negative aspects of the book were some editing problems, but I barely noticed them because the writing and story were so engaging. I would recommend this to any zombie fan and I eagerly await the next book, Rebirth.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

Zombie Music: Aaron Stoquert

I've featured many zombie songs on my blog, but I've never encountered zombie music quite like this. Aaron Stoquert released on EP called Run for Your Life. The 5 songs are about zombies and, unlike many zombie songs out there, are told from the undead perspective. Many zombie songs are either super heavy metal/scream-o (which I don't enjoy at all) or light and comical, like Voltaire and Laura Shigihara. Aaron Stoquert's music is rooted in folk and has a country undercurrent. His dark and haunting voice and his acoustic guitar create the perfect mood and feeling. The sparse arrangement is minimalistic and brings to mind a barren landscape dotted by smatterings of zombies. The music is emotional and serious without being overdramatic. The music is masterfully written and performed.

The subject matter is more serious and articulates the feelings and thoughts that zombies have but aren't able to express. This is a level of zombie emotion that isn't explored very often. Beyond this EP, I would say Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies is the only other work that comes to mind that does this really well. This EP is available on his Bandcamp and you can either name your price or download it for free. I would recommend donating some money because I would love to hear a full length album from Aaron whether it's about zombies or not.

Zombies in Art 1

I have scoured the internets (mostly just deviantArt.com actually) and found some amazing zombie art that I would love to share with you!

1) Om Nom Nom by *Alephunky

Who would have thought that zombie fingers could be creepy and funny? It's a very simple photo, but clever and silly.

2) Zombie Walk 2010 by ~proxybutterfly

This zombie makeup and costume is simply amazing. Through the bloody makeup, she actually looks quite beautiful and serene.

3) Zombie Day: Circle by ~BrunaBrito

I never knew how busy a zombie's day was! It's nice to know if I ever turn zombie I will have lots to do. The little zombies are just adorable. My favorite times of day are MJ Thriller Dance time, Catch on Fire time, and Hide from Military/Woody Harrelson time. To see all the individual times better, I would recommend clicking the title and full viewing it on deviantArt.

4) Sharing is Caring by ~FemmeBrulee

An adorable depiction of zombie love complete with brains in the popcorn. Awwww!

Have you done or seen zombie art you want to share?