The Book
Follows Mary in Post-Apocalyptic “Unconsecrated” (read: Zombie) world. She has grown up in a medieval type village surrounded by a large fence. hat on earth could go wrong? When (spoiler) the zombies break through, Mary and her friends are forced to wander The Forest of Hands and Teeth in search of safety. Featuring: “our Zombies are Different,” The Friend Zone,
The Plot
– It had an interesting premise, medieval zombies, but I found that any sort of action for me was clouded. I felt one step (or more) away from it. Like someone was telling a story, not in the action .
– It was just sort of slow and ambling. Despite the danger in the book, it felt like a dream where you could see your goal but no matter how fast you ran the goal was always the same distance away.
The Characters
– I found the characters wooden and life-less.
– I also found them really difficult to care about. I felt nothing for these characters, and that is not commonplace for me!
The Conflict
– It was not memorable. It was as slow and ambling as the rest of the novel.
Points of Dis/Interest
– I found no sense of world building.
– It’s a tired dystopia. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of dystopia novels, give me something interesting.
Etc. How to make new Zombie Stories
- Focus on different people. In the Flesh does this really well. Instead of the same Zombie story, we get the aftermath. We get a Previously Deceased Syndrome Sufferer who killed himself back living with his parents who lived through the “rotter” apocalypse.
- If you can’t do that, tell an old story in a new way. The Youtube Short Zombie Musical tells the same story in a new format. A Musical! It turns the gore-y story in it’s head and turns into a comedy with better depth because we’re focussing on these two sisters making it in the Zombie Apocalypse, not the zombies themselves. We’re a step removed, but it’s a step in the right direction.
I’m no expert, Zombie movies are always my cup of tea, but there are ways to make Zombies interesting and new. And these are some of them.
Get Reading. Get Travelling.
Ash
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