Review by Creating Serenity -- The Ultimate Guide to Zom...

[Creating Serenity]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Ultimate Guide to Zombies" by Dave Robertson.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Dave Robertson wrote: The Ultimate Guide to Zombies.

This is a non-fiction in the fact that Dave Robertson is discussing what we know about zombies. He uses information found in the world from voodoo practices, and splices that information with the myriad of movies, books, television shows, and games that are out there. So, this is non-fiction but technically the subject matter is fictional. Let’s all hope they remain that way!

The book goes through the zombie timeline introducing his readers to a subject that started in the early 1900’s. Through this timeline, I was surprised to find that zombies have been more relevant throughout culture than I had imagined. Most people that love to talk about zombies, myself included, think that this is a relatively new subgenre of horror. It obviously had a great number of movies made in the 80’s and beyond, but what Dave Robertson brings to the picture is the fact that there are many, many more zombie movies than zombie lovers probably imagined!

While mentioning these movies, he also takes the time to describe the differences between the zombies. Romero’s zombies shambled, whereas recently we have seen movies where zombies can run. Some movies are acknowledged, like 28 Days and the sequel 28 Days Later, however Dave also brings up the discussion of whether or not these rage victims are even zombies. A topic that I can understand being debatable.

Interestingly, for a fiction discussion, there are rules to the zombie genre. Many of these rules are written here to remind readers how and why zombies came about. These rules also allow the reader to have their own idea of whether or not a movie hits the zombie culture. He says “28 Days Later either totally changed how zombies behaved or it wasn’t a zombie movie at all” which gives some food for thought! Or debate.

I especially loved the chapter headings and endings, and to make reading easier, he also divides these chapters into sub-chapters. Zombie History is full of these sub-chapters, which make this long history more readable and easier to see how zombies invaded pop culture. This book is chock full of information but he narrows down all the information given into a succinct chapter end, called Zombie Media. In this zombie media he narrows down all the information to what he thinks is the must read or see zombie films and books.

To top the zombie book sundae, Dave Robertson adds even more detail by adding in zombie events, drinks, and music. Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, you’re now going to feel inundated with zombie culture! For me, this is awesome, which is why I absolutely love this book. My favorite discussion is the discussion about weapons versus zombies. He utilizes The Walking Dead as reference showing people easily taking a zombie out with a flick of the wrist and inserting a rather short blade (a lot of times) into the skull. What separates this book from so many others is that Dave Robertson takes the time to talk about the human skull and how difficult this maneuver would be. He then segues into what to do in a zombie apocalypse but adds the caveat that each person is going to have a different fighting style. This means a weapon that I love may not be something you love and the different types of weapons out there. This discussion, in itself is amazing! Added to all the other zombie lore and it makes this book a great read.

The only downside to this is the idea that I thought I knew the zombie genre. It is painfully obvious that I had not done my homework, but this book makes that homework much easier. I now have a list of books to read and movies to watch to get me up to speed. Some of which shocked me, like the fact that Peter Jackson has a movie called Braindead. I cannot wait to see this one! Dave Peterson also describes a book with a neuroscientific view of zombies called Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?

I thoroughly recommend reading this. If you are not a fan of zombies, but interested in how the culture has evolved, then this book is for you. If you are a fan, this book is most certainly for you. I cannot wait to share this with friends and family that are zombie obsessed and for that reason this review gets a 4 out of 4 stars! There is a little in this for everyone, movies, books, drinks, games, and even the scientific viewpoints of what it takes to become a zombie. Thrilling and sometimes a bit hilarious, read!

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The Ultimate Guide to Zombies
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Like Creating Serenity's review? Post a comment saying so!

[MsTri]

Ha ha ha; what a great review! I could virtually feel your excitement about the book jumping off the page and now I'm excited, too! I love zombies, but don't know much about them and your details about the book's details make a very good case for reading this.

[Kalin Adi]

Wow! You definitely like zombies. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this book. I'm not a fan of zombies, but the information may be handy when someone brings out the topic. Thanks for your review!

[Creating Serenity]

Ha ha ha; what a great review! I could virtually feel your excitement about the book jumping off the page and now I'm excited, too! I love zombies, but don't know much about them and your details about the book's details make a very good case for reading this.

This would be the perfect book for you! I really thought I knew a lot. I know the "rules" surrounding the story making, but not to this extent. It is one of those Wayne and Garth moments where I just feel like bowing down and saying I'm not worthy!

If you do pick it up, I hope you enjoy.

-- 22 Sep 2017, 12:15 --

Wow! You definitely like zombies. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this book. I'm not a fan of zombies, but the information may be handy when someone brings out the topic. Thanks for your review!

Although this is strictly for those that enjoy the subject, it can be read by anyone, much like a non-fiction on history or vampires or something along those lines. If you're ever curious, I would suggest this one, for sure!