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Brains: A Zombie Memoir

by Robin Becker (Goodreads Author)

3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 · rating details · 1,269 ratings · 219 reviews

College-professor-cum-zombie Jack Barnes is a different breed of undead--he can think. In fact, he can even write. And the story he has to tell is a truly disturbing--yet strangely heartwarming--one.

Convinced he'll bring about a peaceful coexistence between zombies and humans if he can demonstrate his unique condition to Howard Stein, the man responsible for the zombie vir...more

Paperback, 182 pages

Published May 25th 2010 by Harper Voyager (first published May 18th 2010)

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Feb 10, 2013 sj marked it as abandoned · review of another edition

Shelves: grrr-arrgh, zombruary

To paraphrase Dr. Frank:

This book's like, "Yeah!"

And I'm all, "No."

And it's all "Come on, sj! Let's go!"

And I'm like, "I don't think so."

And it's going...

This book's like, "Um..."

But I'm all, "Hey!"

And it's all, "Come on, sj! Let's play!"

And I'm like, "That's okay..."

And it's going...

(view spoiler)

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 22, 2010 Mae rated it 1 of 5 stars

I started out kind of liking this book and gradually began to realize I hated it, so much so that I actually gave up on it when I was more than half way through. I love a snarky arrogant narrator as much as the next guy, I'm a sucker for pop culture references, and I'm even an English Lit enthusiast. But each line was packed so tightly with little remarks and puns and the type of self-deprecating humor that seems to be preempting the joke rather than joining in on it that I just started to feel...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Kristie rated it 2 of 5 stars

While refreshing and an original idea, there are two things that I really can't get past.
1. There were so many pop culture references just for the sake of doing it that it actually became cringe-worthy. Very few of them had anything to do with what was going on and rarely enhanced the story. It got to the point where if I read a paragraph and it didn't have a culture reference, I felt a wave of relief - occasionally going back to make sure I hadn't skipped a line.

2. The main character is an assh...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Tegan rated it 1 of 5 stars

I dug this book out of a pile of books meant to go to the thrift store. I really should have left it there.

As an avid reader of zombie novels, and this one started out with so much potential. A cheesy, short novel about life as an intelligent zombie - interesting! The first few chapters of the book are entertaining, fast-paced, and lively. Then, suddenly, the quality starts to go down hill.

Every other sentence is interrupted with a pretentious reference to some cultural quote or movie or person....more

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Jan 06, 2012 Justin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't hate this book -- which is why it got three stars -- but it was hard to enjoy. The narrator admits that he was an ass in his pre-zombie lifetime, but since his mind stuck around, he's STILL an ass as he's narrating this "zombie family" journey.

Throughout the book, he drops pop culture references so frequently that it starts to get annoying. Almost every story he tells about his life-before-death shows him being classist, sexist, and even a little bit racist during his zombie-ism, throug...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Ariel Tam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Brilliantly written, this book tells the story of an English professor that has been turned into a zombie during a world zombie apocalypse. However, when he turns into a zombie, Jack Barnes remains somewhat human because of his 2 traits--cognition and the ability to read/write. Other zombies are, well, zombie-like, with no cognition and only being able to sense human flesh so that it can devour the victim's brains and other body parts. But as Barnes strives to survive as a zombie, he finds that...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies, horror

Wow. That was truly an enjoyable read! I spoke with a young lady who works at the library and she had recommended a zombie book amongst a display of other books recommended by staff. I asked if I could check the book out, since it had a marker on it, and I happen to have asked the person who made the recommendation. She is a zombie book fan, which is great news for me. She had the latest scoop on other zombie novels to read.

Anywho, the narrative is entertaining, the zombie family is endearing, a...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Monster rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies-adult

Brains is billed as an intellectual zombie novel. It's about college professor Jack Barnes, who becomes a zombie during the zombie apocalypse, but retains his mind and ability to write. He finds other zombies who have retained their minds, and various other skills, and sets out to find his place in the world.

Brains is quite literate and well-written. Unfortunately, the main character is a complete pompous jerk who spends the entire book prattling on in academic and pop culture references about h...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Lily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-was-surprisingly-interested

I went to Borders this weekend and decided that to celebrate it being exam week I would pick up a little book to give a go because honestly, as of late I've read almost nothing for fun. The book I chose was a trendy little tome known as Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker (who is yes, a female though I can't see the writing style as anything but male. I'll have to ponder why that is later). As of late in the literary world it's been popular to write monster influenced satire. It seems like...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Lewis Terry rated it 1 of 5 stars

The book seems to be a method of the author massaging their own ego. Every page is crammed with references to other far greater literary works. In the space of the first few pages we are bombarded with references to Dante's Inferno, King Kong, Promethus, Romero's great works and a simile or metaphor after every verb.

Quite frankly it makes the story's intentions unclear, whether it is going for Shaun of the Dead humour, an analysis of all things zombie or a hard hitting story, with a character w...more

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Dec 31, 2010 BookMarc rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I first laid eyes on this book I actually thought it was an ARC due to the layout and design. Perhaps not so much the front, which looks fresh and crisp, but the back of the book just had that ARC feel about it as if it would get rearranged at some future point. Oh, and the stare of the authors eyes on the back cover had me freaked out. That's not to say Robin Becker freaked me out, as I think she's an attractive woman and I wouldn't kick her out of bed for farting, but there was just somet...more When I first laid eyes on this book I actually thought it was an ARC due to the layout and design. Perhaps not so much the front, which looks fresh and crisp, but the back of the book just had that ARC feel about it as if it would get rearranged at some future point. Oh, and the stare of the authors eyes on the back cover had me freaked out. That's not to say Robin Becker freaked me out, as I think she's an attractive woman and I wouldn't kick her out of bed for farting, but there was just something about that stare that seemed to be probing into my mind letting me know they would locate my darkest secrets if given the opportunity. It got to the point where upon putting down the book I had to make sure it was front cover up as I could feel those eyes watching me...always watching.
Although it's easy to jump to conclusions I should inform you that this is not an autobiography about one of the Olsen twins. Nope, 'Brains' is the memoir of Jack Barnes who is somewhat the hero of the book even though he is a zombie. You see, in this very unique take on the zombie genre the zombies are victims of a virus and some degree of sympathy is bestowed upon them. In addition to the regular, mindless zombie scenario a few of the main characters keep various aspects of their humanity for reasons never explained. Jack Barnes for instance is still able to think coherently and able to write, hence the memoir, even though he can't speak, drive a car or move about particularly well. On his journey to find the scientist responsible for producing the lethal virus he befriends other zombies each of who still retain an ability that they had as a human including a zombie who can speak, a nurse who can still administer aid and a girl who retains her remarkable ability to be a crack-shot with a weapon. However, they all still have the need to eat brains.
The story starts out strong with sharp, incisive humor with a quick immersion into the main story. As it progressed though I found the humor was too much and the storyline too shallow and it became obvious the author was attempting to keep it fresh by jaunting into various subjects and giving us Jack Barnes opinion of that said subject. For instance, about midway through the novel religion becomes very prominent in the analogies given and the one liners that are used. Then it fades out to be replaced by the next topic that the author decided to fixate upon for a while. It was as if Becker was thinking, "what topic should I make fun of next?" and then worked that topic into the storyline. Don't get me wrong the humor was smart and witty but there was just too much of it in comparison to the lack of storyline.
At times the novel becomes farcical, no more so than with the appearance of Oprah Winfrey (although never mentioned by name, to avoid a lawsuit or something, the reader is left in no doubt that it's Oprah the author is referring to) and, for me at least, this was too much of a sharp contrast to the otherwise clever and snarky humor that make up the memoir.
A few inconsistencies exist within the novel such as zombies being weak yet they somehow have the power to tear off peoples heads at will or rip apart peoples skulls with their hands. There was an inconsistency near the very end of the novel that pulled me out of the story when the main character, who at one point when inside a building, takes minutes to get up off the couch, minutes to walk to door and more minutes to open it (p140) suddenly "...climbed onto the ledge of the boat and jumped, flying through the air like Superman..." to land on a human in the space of a few seconds while gunfire was going on all around him. Very convenient for the storyline but a series of actions that went against everything we had been taught about Becker's version of the undead. In fact the ending was very weak overall, which was a shame as the story had enough guile and entertainment to keep me reading through to the end regardless of its faults, and the logic applied at the end as the reason for killing all zombies, even the ones who retain elements of their humanity, is very flawed...basically, once a zombie always a zombie. I'm glad society doesn't treat alcoholics, depressives, Jehovah's Witnesses etc. in that way otherwise they would all be shot dead!
Still, I did enjoy this offering and it was different from any other zombie novel I have read. Certainly not a classic in my opinion but a decent read nonetheless.(less)

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Oct 25, 2010 Brendan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fiction, humor, horror, memoir-autobio, scifi, zombies

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Brains: A Zombie Memoir follows former English professor Jack Barnes on his journey through the post-apocalypse zombie-infested landscape. His ability to think and write makes him special, so he hooks up with a few other thinking zeds and they go on an adventure (?) to try and find the man who created the virus. It took me a little while to warm to the tone (another way to say this is that the beginning overdoes the snarky comments that define Jack’s character), but after page 20 or so, I enjoye...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Debra rated it 4 of 5 stars

When “Brains” begins, the zombie apocalypse is already underway. It even reaches the door of Jack Barnes, literally, and so when he’s bitten by a zombified neighbor who crashes through the living room window (Barnes is distracted while bickering with his wife), the transformation begins. An English professor at a small college in rural Missouri, Barnes fares better than his mindless cohorts in that he remains sentient, and so he begins to focus on the two goals in his life: find others like him...more

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Aug 14, 2010 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

A friend of mine just reviewed "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." This summer I was curious about the zombie genre, and I happened to start with "Brains: A Zombie Memoir" by Robin Becker. Well, it's hard to say this fits neatly into the zombie genre-- it's the zombie apocalypse, and it's memoir, and it's an author's first novel, and a quest, and it's my favorite genre of all, fiction about college professors. (not that you'd know it's my favorite from the reviews I've posted here)

Superb concept...more

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Jul 21, 2010 Dlmoore83 Moore rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires-and-whatnot

Brains was a refreshing experience for Zombie fiction and it was the best kind of gift from a friend. I got a call saying "I have something for you, I think you'll love it. It would probably make me throw up." This friend, knows me very well. It was the best kind of gift because it was for no reason other than she saw it, thought of me and got it. That alone would've made me love it, but fortunately, I can also love it because it's well-written (yes, you CAN say that about a Zombie book - don't...more

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Jun 20, 2010 Monk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: macabre, humor

America is the land of promise. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Man is free to find destiny within the borders of this land and to make a path in the world.

But, what happens when you're dead? More importantly, what happens when you're dead, mobile after a fashion... and insatiably hungry?

Brains: A Zombie Memoir poses just such a question vis it's protagonist, Jack Barnes, a former university professor who finds himself undead after an viral outbreak turns the entire world into a Romero-...more

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Apr 07, 2010 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: speculative-fiction

Brains: A Zombie Memoir is the testament of Jack Barnes, Contemporary American Literature professor-turned-zombie. Professor Barnes is bitten during the outbreak of a virus that creates zombies, and learns upon waking to his unlife that he is not mindless like his fellow undead. Indeed, he has retained the ability to write, though he can not speak.

Jack decides he must meet and speak with the creator of the zombie virus, Howard Stein, to show that not all zombies are simpletons who live only for...more Brains: A Zombie Memoir is the testament of Jack Barnes, Contemporary American Literature professor-turned-zombie. Professor Barnes is bitten during the outbreak of a virus that creates zombies, and learns upon waking to his unlife that he is not mindless like his fellow undead. Indeed, he has retained the ability to write, though he can not speak.

Jack decides he must meet and speak with the creator of the zombie virus, Howard Stein, to show that not all zombies are simpletons who live only for the pleasure of eating succulent brains. In his travels to meet his creator, he finds other zombies who have retained previous human abilities. There is Joan, a former nurse who has the ability to stitch failing bodies together with any handy object; Guts, a boy who can move at human speeds; Annie, a teen girl with the aim of Annie Oakley; and Ros (short for Rosencrantz, so named by Jack) who has, amazingly, retained the ability to speak.

"Go ahead and sympathize," Jack tells the reader. "Construct me as the other."

It is a offer Jack extends early on, and taking him up on it becomes difficult the longer we follow him on his journey. Like Frankenstein's monster (who Jack pointedly references), he is "other," a creature not human, but he has the very human desire to communicate and be understood.

It is a demonstration of Robin Becker's writing ability that about halfway through the novel I found myself looking past Jack's narcissism and messianic complex, two traits almost guaranteed to make me dislike a character, to actually enjoy his endless literary and pop culture references and his single-minded determination to declare himself the zombie messiah. In his memoir, Jack desperately wants the reader to understand that in living death as in life, he is an intelligent being, not a mindless creature ruled only by id. He throws in references to the Bible, literature, movies, philosophy, and pop culture, anything to remind the reader that he is, compulsive need for brains and flesh aside, part of our culture. He is smart. Aware.

In addition to being a rare sentient zombie, Jack is also delightfully unrepentant about killing and eating (or deliberately biting and turning) the humans he comes across. He is who he is: a brain-craving walking corpse who stashes body parts in his pockets for snacks later on. He isn't interested in being human, recapturing his humanity, or slotting back into his old life. His goal is to travel across the country with a handful of other self-aware zombies and plead a case for equal treatment and equal rights with the scientist who created the virus that spawned them.

A self-appointed zombie messiah making a pilgrimage to meet his hallowed creator (god) to make the case for zombie equal rights, and collecting (or making) other "smart" zombies along the way sounds ridiculous. It is ridiculous. It is also funny, gory, and touching. Robin Becker, through Jack and his rag-tag group, asks the question any self-respecting writer of speculative fiction asks: What does it mean to be human? Jack, like any good literature professor, repeatedly hits us over the head with this question until we get the point. His memoir is his answer: Humanity is more than simply being human.(less)

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Mar 22, 2010 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie, speculative, own, humor, horror

Having a fascination with unique, humorous zombies (Shaun of the Dead), I was pleased when I recently had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker.

Brains is an autobiographical accounting of the “undeath” of Professor Jack Barnes, who is bitten by a zombie during the outbreak of an unusual man-made virus. When Jack comes back to himself after his death, he realizes that he still possesses one of the talents he had when he was alive: Zombie Jack can writ...more Having a fascination with unique, humorous zombies (Shaun of the Dead), I was pleased when I recently had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker.

Brains is an autobiographical accounting of the “undeath” of Professor Jack Barnes, who is bitten by a zombie during the outbreak of an unusual man-made virus. When Jack comes back to himself after his death, he realizes that he still possesses one of the talents he had when he was alive: Zombie Jack can write.

So he sets out on a journey to recruit others like himself and track down their creator, Howard Stein, inventor of the zombie virus. Once there, his plans are to use his written words to persuade the humans to give zombies equal rights. “The pursuit of life, liberty, and brains,” Jack writes.

On his journey, he meets Joan, a nurse with a deft hand for repairing zombie afflictions; Guts, a boy who can run like the wind (an unusual feat in a crowd of undead shufflers); Ros, a former soldier who has the unique ability (for a zombie) of speech; and Annie, a teenage girl with a pair of pistols and the aim of Annie Oakley.

At 192 pages, this book shouldn’t have taken me the several days that it did to finish; but somewhere in those several days I came to realize that Jack’s story isn’t just a zombie story. The zombies’ limitations speak not only to the plight of the undead, but also to the elderly, the infirm, and the mentally or physically impaired. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Perhaps I am. My maternal grandmother died very quickly of ALS (Lou Gherig’s disease) when I was 16, and the mental image I have of her possessing a perfectly sound mind while her body deteriorated around her has haunted me ever since.

“The pursuit of life, liberty, and brains,” Jack writes. It sounds humorous – and it is. But written between the lines are the further pursuits of open communication with other sentient beings, the ability to be cared for, of having ones needs met when one isn’t able to do for oneself. Of not being hated, feared, or mocked for what one looks like, or for being impaired physically or mentally.

I had no idea when I picked it up that I would read this short, humorous, light-hearted story so seriously. But I have, and I think that the plight of Professor Jack Barnes, zombie author, will be staying with me for a very long time.(less)

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Jun 11, 2012 Bri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Brains was my first zombie experience. Going into it I was skeptical. Hilariously, my opinion of the whole zombie craze was in the book: "I believed that anything with mass appeal was inherently bad[...]In my view, popularity proved inferiority, not worth." That's the protagonist, Professor/Zombie Jack Barnes, giving his opinion on Stephen King novels without ever having read one. Of course he then likes the King novel, just as I liked Brains. (Message: I'm not special, just snobby sometimes abo...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Janette rated it 1 of 5 stars

There are very few books that I do not finish once I start, but this would have been the exception. I wanted to stop reading so many times and only the knowledge that I am 10 books behind on my reading challenge kept me going. So, much like the hero in the story, I put my arms out and said "moooaaahhh" and kept going, checking the page number every couple of pages to ensure I was making progress.

I enjoy books with pop culture reference and sarcasm sprinkled in, but someone had removed the top t...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Kevin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

I picked up Brains: A Zombie Memoir, by Robin Becker because I wanted something light and funny to read. I figured it would be something along the lines of Shaun Of The Dead, and it was. I liked that it was told from the point of view of a zombie, rather than a survivor. Although, in this case, a select few zombies are seen as the survivors. The main cast of zombies each have a special "power" that they retained from life - the ability to write, run, speak, or "heal".

The book is the story of th...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Grace rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, for-fun, humour

Summary
The zombie horde have arrived and eaten everything in their path. Including Professor Jack Barnes. Jack Barnes is an intelligent zombie. Sure, he can't talk, but he can think and he can write. This is his memoir of what his life as a zombie has been like in the first months.

Characters
As the story is told from Jack's view, you don't really get an awful much in the way of character development. Jack, on the other hand, goes from being a narcissistic, self important professor to a narcissist...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker was brilliant, to say the least. It was edgy, refreshing and totally unlike anything I have read lately. It was a quick read, at only 192 pages. I only wish it would have been longer- but the author was clever leaving it as she did. I don't know if I will get to visit the courageous and cunning Jack Barnes again- though I would be the first one in line to buy a second book if there ever was one.

A scientist, Stein, has been trying to mold the perfect person...more Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker was brilliant, to say the least. It was edgy, refreshing and totally unlike anything I have read lately. It was a quick read, at only 192 pages. I only wish it would have been longer- but the author was clever leaving it as she did. I don't know if I will get to visit the courageous and cunning Jack Barnes again- though I would be the first one in line to buy a second book if there ever was one.

A scientist, Stein, has been trying to mold the perfect person. But, just like it should- it all goes wrong when they release the virus before it is ready. This leads us to the endearing college professor, Jack Barnes, and his wife being surrounded by infectious people. Zombies. He inevitably contracts the foul zombie virus that has been eating the country. Along with his newly decaying body he has found a new passion: Brains. He says it better than anyone, "...beautiful, bountiful, bubbly, bewitching, bedazzling brains." I am in love with the way this book is written. It made me laugh, cringe and hope. Hope for zombies? Who would have thought. I was utterly torn, do I want the zombies to get slaughtered?! Do I want them to survive to brutally eat more humans!? Geesh, I still don't know. But I DO know that I loved Jack Barnes and his little entourage of special zombies. Jack goes on an adventure with his fellow zombies to find their God, their creator... the reason this all started. Stein. I mean, he must appreciate their existence, right? He'll help them survive among humans.... right?

This is what I love about Jack- when you look into his eyes, they aren't vacant and glossed over like the majority of the undead. No, he is self aware. He can read. He can write. And he is smart enough to realize there are others like him. He finds Guts, Joan, Annie, Ross and Eve. All with their own individual zombie super powers. They will fight for equality, or die (again) trying!

I highly suggest this book to anyone- if you don't mind some serious flesh eating. The book is written in first person, which is why it is so much fun. Who doesn't want to be present for the thought process of a self aware zombie? I'm going to be reading this book more than once, and recommending it to all my guy friends. Can we have another, Ms. Becker? (less)

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Oct 14, 2012 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

I bought this book at a Borders going-out-of-business sale. I read the synopsis and thought, hey why not? Sentient zombies, pop-culture references, what's not to like?

Well, a lot.

I found the main character Jack Barnes to be completely insufferable and unrelatable as a narrator. He's a self-important intellectual who feels he is above the zombie proletariat, and frankly, I find him to be kind of an a-hole. The problem is, he isn't even a likable a-hole either. I found his constant references to...more

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Mar 15, 2010 Wicked Lil Pixie (Natasha) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Brains: A Zombie Memoir is a hilarious look at what happens when a scientist Mr. Stein (ha) tries to create the perfect person and of course everything goes to hell aka zombies are created. The zombies take over the entire USA, infecting or eating all humans in their paths.

Most of the zombies are slobbering morons, but not Professor Jack Barnes. Sadly Jack cannot speak, but his brains are still functioning enough for him to write a memoir of his experience. Jack had been locked up hiding in his...more Brains: A Zombie Memoir is a hilarious look at what happens when a scientist Mr. Stein (ha) tries to create the perfect person and of course everything goes to hell aka zombies are created. The zombies take over the entire USA, infecting or eating all humans in their paths.

Most of the zombies are slobbering morons, but not Professor Jack Barnes. Sadly Jack cannot speak, but his brains are still functioning enough for him to write a memoir of his experience. Jack had been locked up hiding in his basement with his wife when the zombies broke in and bit him, thus turning him into one of them….then he ate his wife. The whole premise behind Brains: A Zombie Memoir, is Jack and a band of zombies like him, functioning, and their trip to Chicago to find Stein.

Along the way Jack picks up other functioning zombies from a kid nicknamed Guts who can still run, a Nurse named Joan who still remembers her nursing though its newly “improved”, a pregnant girl that Jack bites who ends up giving birth to a zomboy & my favorite Ros a US Military member that gets bit but still can talk. There is also an appearance by the Queen of All Media (ahem O) who’s now a slobbering zombie.

Written in the first person, Robin Becker’s writing is full of all sorts of surprises. There were parts of the book that I just had to sticky note for quotes** My favorite being:

"It took zombiedom to give me a soul, death to make me “human” "

Or one that made me cackle out loud:

"But I didn’t want to eat Green Cap Sniper. Allow me to rephrase that: I very much wanted to eat Green Cap Sniper. I was horny for his brains."

Robin Becker’s writing makes you root for the zombies, while they eat people. Thought a short read of only 192 pages, Brains is full of well…um..brain eating goodness. The way the zombies, lead by Jack, are written you really want them to keep going on their quest to Chicago. Nor do you want the book to end. But the ending is left kind of open ended, so you don’t know if there’s going to be a book 2. Please Ms. Becker, MORE. Brains had me laughing one minute and contemplating human existence the next. An absolutely amazing debut!

**Quotes may change in the finished book. This is an uncorrected proof.**
(less)

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Aug 17, 2011 Ruby Tombstone rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People with a flair for mental editing

Shelves: bloody-shamblers-of-course

You know that friend of yours who is undoubtedly intelligent and well-read, probably still a virgin, and definitely not as witty as he thinks he is? Well, meet your narrator for the next 182 pages. The book you are about to read is crammed full of pseudo-intellectual puns that were certainly funnier INside the author's head, as well as being jam-packed with every pop culture and literary reference that even vaguely relates to the topic at hand.

I can understand how this happens to a first-time a...more

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Jan 11, 2011 pickfordm rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun read and it held my interest far longer than I ever expected, for a zombie story. That's because it's not your traditional horror book; instead, it examines -- with humor and an awful lot of zombie gore (a bit too much gore for my taste, but probably this would appeal to fans of the genre) -- the existential challenges to being a sentient zombie. As it turns out, it isn't all that different from the challenges we face as human beings. Thus the book manages to transcend the genre w...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Mandy DeGeit rated it 5 of 5 stars

RAWR BRAINS… Seems to be the ongoing “zombie style” for writing and movies. I personally get tired of the “same old-same old” zombie stories. When one of my friends suggested I check out this novel, due to it’s non-normal-zombie-story, I did. Sure, it still has the “RAWR BRAINS” moments in it, like you would expect from a zombie story, but “Brains” is something a little different.

Meet Jack Barnes, he’s a professor/recently turned zombie. He can’t voice what he wants to say, but he knows he is di...more RAWR BRAINS… Seems to be the ongoing “zombie style” for writing and movies. I personally get tired of the “same old-same old” zombie stories. When one of my friends suggested I check out this novel, due to it’s non-normal-zombie-story, I did. Sure, it still has the “RAWR BRAINS” moments in it, like you would expect from a zombie story, but “Brains” is something a little different.

Meet Jack Barnes, he’s a professor/recently turned zombie. He can’t voice what he wants to say, but he knows he is different than the others around him. On top of his want for brains, there’s something else, a glimmer in his eye or a cognizance, if you have to call it something. He knows he’s not like all the other brain-eaters out there. He knows this because he can think and write.

A newly zombified Jack sets out on a cross-country trek to find the creator of the zombie virus, hoping to prove that not all zombies are mindless brain munchers as he quests for zombie/human equality. Along the way, he finds other zombies who are like him and slowly builds a group of zombies who have “talents”.

The first cognizant zombie he comes to meet is Joan. She is, or was, a nurse and has the ability to maintain the decomposition zombies face on a daily basis. She can repair and mend injuries with things she finds, like a Dead Doctor McGuyver.

Guts, an eviscerated young zomboy, is the next one to join the ragtag group of zombies with abilities. Not only does he understand, Guts can also run even though he’s decomposing at the same rate as every other zombie around him.

Then comes Ros, the first zombie who can converse since he hasn’t lost his ability to talk or remember.

Finally, Annie joins the group. The dead little sharpshooter makes for a welcome addition to the ragtag group of undead.

Throughout the entire novel, Robin Becker manages to create humour in what should be a tale about a horrific, zombie-filled world. Becker manages to create feelings of sympathy in the reader for her characters, even though they are zombies. On the flip side, the reader gets to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes… on dead legs.

Brains is a fun, well-written, different kind of zombie story for those who want a tale that isn’t like all the others.

***Brains: A zombie memoir is recommended as Mandytory reading***(less)

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Apr 24, 2011 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The thinking man's zombie novel. Yes, I said that. A college professor gets attacked by zombies but after his change to the undead he realizes that he can still think and write. He sets out on a quest to find other "smart" zombies to join up with him on a trek to locate the doctor who created the zombie virus to see if there is a cure.

What I liked: Um, hello. It's a zombie novel so I liked just about everything. What I really liked: even though the professor can still think and write don't think...more

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Mar 21, 2010 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Since I have never read a zombie-centric book in my life, I decided to broaden my horizons when an opportunity to review one came up. And I think I have found yet another genre that I highly enjoy!

After reading and laughing (out loud may I add!) my way through the first chapter I had to keep going to see what antics Jack would get involved in with his search for his creator. This book was exceptionally clever and entertaining until the last page. I was infatuated with the idea that he still main...more

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