Walter Greatshell's Blog - Posts Tagged "paul"
What inspired me to write XOMBIES: APOCALYPSE BLUES
This is a question people ask me often, and I usually give an easy answer, but this time I thought I'd really try to parse it out. So here's at least a partial list of books and movies that inspired me to write XOMBIES:
For Lulu's narration, I was inspired by the wonderful character of Mattie Ross in Charles Portis's Western masterpiece, TRUE GRIT, and the strong female characters that populate Jane Austen's work.
The very idea of writing a zombie novel I owe to Richard Matheson's classic, I AM LEGEND. And the fact that my book is in the first-person probably comes from Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE.
For the fast-moving, unkillable Xombies, I was inspired by the '80s zombie flick, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Though the overall zombie concept must be credited to George Romero--in particular his DAWN OF THE DEAD.
For the submarine subplot, I have to give credit to the movie ICE STATION ZEBRA, as well as the novel ON THE BEACH, by Nevil Shute.
For the satire or black comedy elements, I was aiming for Stanley Kubrick, a la DOCTOR STRANGELOVE; Paul Verhoeven, a la ROBOCOP; and authors like Patrick McGinley (GOOSEFOOT), Joseph Heller (CATCH-22), and Thomas Berger (LITTLE BIG MAN).
There's a lot more, I'm sure, but that's good for now.
For Lulu's narration, I was inspired by the wonderful character of Mattie Ross in Charles Portis's Western masterpiece, TRUE GRIT, and the strong female characters that populate Jane Austen's work.
The very idea of writing a zombie novel I owe to Richard Matheson's classic, I AM LEGEND. And the fact that my book is in the first-person probably comes from Anne Rice's INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE.
For the fast-moving, unkillable Xombies, I was inspired by the '80s zombie flick, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Though the overall zombie concept must be credited to George Romero--in particular his DAWN OF THE DEAD.
For the submarine subplot, I have to give credit to the movie ICE STATION ZEBRA, as well as the novel ON THE BEACH, by Nevil Shute.
For the satire or black comedy elements, I was aiming for Stanley Kubrick, a la DOCTOR STRANGELOVE; Paul Verhoeven, a la ROBOCOP; and authors like Patrick McGinley (GOOSEFOOT), Joseph Heller (CATCH-22), and Thomas Berger (LITTLE BIG MAN).
There's a lot more, I'm sure, but that's good for now.
