All Zombies, All the Time

I just finished two entertaining books: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith (author and film producer), and The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks (author and screenwriter; hmm... I sense a trend here). It's been a slimy pile of fun. Both take the zombie scourge very seriously. Although Brooks didn't mention the infestation of Regency England in his book, I'm sure it was just an oversight in his research.

I enjoyed the way Grahame-Smith interspersed Austen's wit with zombie-stompin' action sequences. Elizabeth Bennet, inseperable from her Katana sword, is as strong as she is smart. I especially loved, when Darcy made his first, insulting proposal, that Liz kicked him into a fireplace. You go, girl! Although Darcy believes her Chinese training was inferior to his family's vaunted Japanese ninja-style training (which Liz debunks by killing said ninjas), he nonetheless admires her ability. He also makes regular double-entendres (blush), which Liz understands (gasp)!

I'm hoping Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Ben Winters, will be as well-staged... er, I mean -written.

And then there's The Zombie Survival Guide, a thorough analysis of the long history of zombie attacks, and list of the best weapons and tactics for protection from zombies. The author debunks movie fallacies: machine guns and flamethrowers are NOT practical civilian weapons against zombies, but plain old crowbars and pitchforks work well. He reminds us repeatedly that physical fitness will be our primary weapon in escaping zombie attacks.

Brooks goes on to provide practical advice (and encourage well thought-out planning) for surviving a world potentially overrun by zombies. I think this book might serve well for surviving other apocalyptic world events, as well.