4 out of 4 stars
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When I picked this non-fiction novel The Ultimate Guide to Zombies by Dave Robertson to review, I really didn't know what to expect. In the course of my reading, I came across this quotation from the book, that will form the basis of my introduction.
"Zombies are so prevalent in our society now that they seem to appeal, in one way or another, to a variety of demographic books."
This whole zombie phenomena as described by this book, came to me as a surprise. Hitherto, I was contented with its definition and taking it at face value, and as if to put me into the right perspective for my reading, the opening sentence to this book screams: "Zombies have invaded pop culture!"
The premise of this novel as can be deduced from the quote above, is the prevalence of zombies across major cities around the world and in the media. Including definition and everything is to know about them.
For starters, the author documents the earliest excerpt and description of this phenomena in Haiti, through the works of a noted journalist of that time namely Stephen Bonsal. His book recounts an interesting tale of a working class man who became sick and died under normal circumstances, only after two days the grieving widow to find her deceased husband's grave empty. The incident was reported to the police and ignored, apparently, they didn't want to get on the wrong side of a voodoo priest. In summary a mail carrier was to later stumble upon "a man dressed in his grave-clothes, tied to a tree, moaning and struggling to get free." That would be the first recorded zombie in history, and as the Stephen further defines the victim: "the apparent victim of a voodoo spell which brought him back from the dead, but destroyed his mind." The author would go on further and cite a different writer by the name of William Seabrook, who would expose the "living dead" onto the American entertainment scene. The novel closes this prologue by giving a chronological order of zombie themed movies produced since 1932 complete with the characteristics of its different genre.
A subsequent chapter looks at the deeper meanings behind zombie stories as featured on the big screen. For example, the early Haitian zombie stories can be considered a metaphor for slavery. Later the author would narrate how the best stories are less about the "shambling ghouls" and more about the triumph of the human spirit. Further the author would introduce the reader to different names of zombies across the world and even offer a course 101 on what he describes as the "zombie brain".
In summary, the author has picked what he thinks is relevant and true and put his arguments across to convince his readers about everything zombie in nature. He even discusses, in my own opinion, a preposterous idea on how to make a zombie. Now, who in their right faculties will want to do that, one may ask? To his credit, however, the author brings up a real practical way of cashing in on their popularity. This is already underway in official circles, where governmental bodies such as the Center for Disease Control are using the zombie craze to bring awareness to their preparedness campaign. Not to be outdone by their government buddy "zombies", individual zombie devotees have on another front come up with a "zombie" drink which is featured in this novel complete with its formula, which will no doubt appeal to any discerning palate and help spread this love.
This book is well written, it's descriptive and persuasive. From his material it is evident the author has consulted widely and researched well. To disseminate the information even more effectively, he even has a part at the end of several sections of the book called "zombie media", which is a quick guide to some recommended zombie movies, books, and games. The author also comes across as someone who knows his subject well and a "zombie" at heart (or is it head). On a chapter titled "events" he even describes how he participated in a zombie run in his town ("Tread of the Undead"). He signed up as a zombie, and applied his zombie make-up at home. (How cool is that?)
The book appears to be professionally edited and the formatting is also on point. I only came across one instance of a missing word: "of" on page 34. Further I enjoyed reading about the insights and arguments put across by the author, and believe they are comprehensive. Whether i will consider myself a new "zombie" or not is another matter all together. In conclusion, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
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The Ultimate Guide to Zombies
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Thanks Amagine for your kind compliments.
