REVIEW: Married with Zombies by: Jesse Petersen
Jesse Petersen’s debut novel in this series is a worthy installment into the zombie apocalypse genre. Centering on Sarah and David, a young Seattle couple with marital issues and on the verge of a potential divorce/separation, they find themselves working together when the Emerald City becomes a city of the dead. The action starts in their therapist’s office and continues from there virtually non-stop. Written from Sarah’s perspective, we are introduced to a couple that are cynical, sarcastic and appear right at home in the midst of adversity, especially a zombie infestation. What I found to be quite refreshing is the character’s quick thinking on what could be used at a weapon. In the beginning few chapters, Sarah uses a toilet seat to dispatch a zombie. This was hysterical and suspenseful at the same time. As the story is told from Sarah’s perspective, she seems at times to be more concerned about the mess and zombie sludge staining her clothes then the fact that zombies are now walking around.
Over the course of this novel, we see the formerly divorce/separation destined couple pull together and work as an efficient team. The tension is spot on as they try to leave their apartment then the city, encountering everything from zombie neighbors, infected building supers to a wacked out Jim Jones type cult.
Ms. Petersen’s writing is invigorating and fresh. The world she creates is one where the traditional zombies roam, full of black gunk and searching for more uninfected, human victims. David and Sarah are natural born survivors who just like everyone else, make mistakes and learn from them. The characters that Ms. Petersen brings to life are not the super human all powerful zombie killing larger than life heroes out to save the world. They’re out to save their own asses and maybe those that they encounter as they try to get out of the city. Just avoid getting bit and everything will work out just fine.
What I found to be appealing was the characters drive to leave the city not head to the mall or some other location in a weak attempt to imitate what other authors and film makers in this genre think will work. After all the three rules to follow in any disaster are:
- get out of the city
- Get out of the city
- GET OUT OF THE CITY
Of course, Dave and Sarah’s primary motivation is to get to David’s sister to see if she’s still alive but just getting out of the city is one major plus for Ms. Petersen’s characters. The journey takes them through several of the cities and towns south of Seattle as they head for South West Washington and more rural settings.
This first book is excellent and well worth adding to anyone’s collection of the genre. I’d like to predict a film being made from the series but considering the lack of imagination Hollywood has and the current trend of remaking mediocre television shows and movies from the 70s and 80s into big screen flops, it’s doubtful that this will happen.
But one can always hope.
Available on Amazon.
