Days With The Undead Book Review
 Hello all!!!
What can you say about the thought of a zombie apocalypse? It’s frightening. It’s brutal. It’s bloody. For most, there wouldn’t be any time to “insure your moral perspective†or to “maintain the political correctness of your base values  You’d either pretty much be stuck, barricaded in your home (or bug-out-shelter, if you have one) or running for your goddamn life.
In a setting such as that, I don’t believe he “iconic hero†type would do well. Let’s face it, if you try to play the hero and try to save everyone, and put yourself between other people and danger? You’re going to swiftly become an hors d’oeuvres for the shambling hordes.
Just sayin’…
This is not the case with the characters in Julianne Snow’s “Days With The Undead: Book One”. The book is written journal style as a series of web postings by the primary character (one: Julie) who works at the CFS (Center for Forensic Science) and begins on day 3 of the inevitable zombie apocalypse. While it crosses virtually the entire United States (North to South), the dead within the pages are spawned by Patient Zero in St. Michael’s Hospital, way up in the Great White North. Yup. This puppy starts out in Toronto. For those of you who just reached for your Garmin or something, that’s in Ontario. Above Lake Ontario? Canada? Work with me here people…
Now, you may be thinking, “WTF? Why would you start the zom-poc there, of all places??” Well, why not? It could start in a hidden genetics lab in Death Valley, or under the canopy in the Amazon Basin, or the sewers of Paris… Or yes, even in Canada. That being the case? I’m pretty sure North, Central and South America would all be screwed in fairly short order. Regardless of where it begins, I don’t think zombies would give two-shakes about “international boundaries”. There’s no Great Wall separating most countries on Planet Earth so unless some serious countermeasures were put in place quickly? They could roam virtually unchecked.
Question: Ever seen copious amounts of arterial blood on a freshly flaked and whitened field?
Well I’ll tell you what, the author brought said picture to mind for me. It was disturbing in the extreme. Snow’s description of the gestation of humankind’s greatest threat (mobile dead folk!)  is gut-wrenching and, in some parts, quite grotesque. Like the death, and subsequent reanimation of an elderly woman in St. Michael’s. Even more psyche-traumatizing is the consumption of a school bus full of victims, just south of Michigan State, by a swarm of-
Wait for it…
Undead chipmunks.
image found at www.free-extras.com
Yeah, you read that right. Undead by-god-chipmunks. The virus, or whatever it was that causes people to turn “face-eater” isn’t human specific. Some may laugh at this little twist but before you do, consider this:
Can you outrun a deer? How about your average house-cat? A rabbit? How about that annoying little, Beenie-baby-sized, sorry excuse for a dog your neighbor owns? The one he lets crap in your yard all the time…
You cant…?
Then why the hell are you laughing?
Think about it. Human beings aren’t the fastest, most vicious, or toughest animals on the planet. We’ve survived as top of the food chain because we use our brains to make tools and formulate plans. We use said tools and plans to dominate other species through superior intelligence, because we can inflict pain and cause catastrophic damage to their bodies. What happens if a species comes along (zombies!!!) that literally can’t feel pain and is incapable of experiencing fear?
Yeah. That’s what I thought, too. We’d be pretty screwed.
It’s for this reason, Snow’s tale of the Hungry-Hungry Hordes is well worth reading. It’s a striking mix of desperation and pain , with a liberal helping of fear and a shotgun blast of gore for good measure. Pick up “Days With The Undead: Book One” if you’d like to find out how to flee the dead. Then start running.
Until next time, drink your Dark by the pint, hold your redhead close, and keep your crowbar handy…
Available at Amazon.
