Living With the Dead: With Spring Comes Fall

Title: Living with the Dead: With Spring Comes Fall

Author: Joshua Guess

Published by Josh Guess 2010

Format: Ebook

Genre: Horror, Zombies

ISBN:  0012707570

When the dead walk the earth, the only option left for the survivors is to learn how to truly live.

Josh is a regular guy, a self-proclaimed "nerd", and he also is obsessed with zombies. So when a series of alarming events begin to happen across the country, Josh knows immediately what is happening. Zombies are taking over the country…one bite at a time.

So he does what anyone facing a tragedy would do…he goes to Walmart with a credit card. And Lowe's and the gas station and any other supply store he can. His neighbors think he's silly when he starts to board up his windows and reinforce the whole exterior with sheet metal. They think he's off his rocker when he stockpiles dry goods and food.

But then they wish that they had done the same. Because he was right.

On the brink of a Zombie apocalypse, Josh has to make some tough choices about survival and death. The one way he keeps his sanity and a little piece of himself is by blogging. He isn't sure at first if anyone can even see his blog and how many there are left out there like him…just trying to survive…but then he realizes that his blog is something that is linking them all together and giving some the will they need to survive in a zombie eating, marauder filled world.

I wasn't quite convinced that this book would be worth the read but frankly, I had to read it. I was reviewing it on the blog radio talk show that I newly co-host (JournalJabber), and I can't very well talk intelligently on a book I haven't read. So.

This book is different from a lot of the books I have read for several reasons. One, it is written as a series of blog posts. I wasn't sure that I would like this style, but I really did. It pulled me right it with its conversational and friendly dialogue. There are quite a few mistakes in spelling and grammar but it is pointed out at the beginning of the book that it is unedited as to make it appear more original. Okay, so I can hang with that. I mean if you ever look at my blog it probably reads a lot like that because I don't usually spell check or edit my posts.

Second of all, I have read a few zombie books but never one that seemed to go this far. I mean this read like an actual account of an apocalypse. It sounded real. And it was also very thought provoking. In what ways? Let's discuss.

Oh, but first let me just say that you should get a copy of this book, if not just to enjoy but for survival purposes. That's right…this book might save your life. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, that is. This book has many lists in it. Lists of supplies, medicines and weapons that one might need for survival. It sounded pretty authentic and I was convinced that yes, these things would save me. LOL

While reading I often wondered, if this happened to me what would I do? I mean these people have to live primitively. They have to kill and fight, they have to be quick about constructing barriers and they have to one step ahead of these flesh eating creatures at all times. At the same time they are mentally beat down and half crazed knowing that the world as they know it is gone. Would you be able to look into the faces of the people you once lived next door to and beat them in the head with a weapon or shoot them with a rifle?

Now, now….this is not the time to remember the time they stole your newspaper and let their dog use your grass as a potty. These are not reasons for retaliation…well not violent retaliation…but feel free to TP or egg their house at will.

Back on topic…Would you have the resources to build a wall of cars and know how to reinforce your house with lumber and metal or to rig a school bus to be a weapon that travels? No? Yeah, not so much me either. In fact, this book kind of made me realize my flaws. GASP! Yes, I think I have some. Yikes!

I'm not sure I am savvy enough to survive in that kind of world without a huge heaping of luck. But man, this Josh dude, he knows his bizness.

Now, with the things that annoyed me with this book. Yes, there were some and I am keeping it real, so I will tell you what they are. Within the story there is kind of a sub-plot, if you will, in the romance department…if you could call it that. Basically, what happens is that survivors start making their way to Josh's camp (because he's the man!) and one of these survivors is the girl he lost his virginity too. He expresses concern about living with his wife and his old nookie partner.

This annoyed me. If you were being attacked daily by hoards of zombies and also being bombarded my looters trying to steal your home would you care about an old flame? No. You wouldn't. You would be too busy trying to survive.

What was worse was that Josh's new wife told him that she wanted him to sleep with this woman to get her pregnant, solely for re-populization.

Seriously?

No I am not kidding.

Women everywhere are gasping and rolling their eyes.

Let me just put on record that if a zombie apocalypse ever comes calling, and I happen to survive by building a rockin' compound and some hoochie came round that thought it was her turn with my husband I would feed her to the zombies.

Also, this was all very unbelievable in the plot. Who would be thinking about repopulating at a time like this? Who would want to bring an innocent child into these kinds of conditions? I might have been able to believe the whole re-population thing if the zombies weren't attacking still and people were beginning to rebuild.

What are your thoughts on this? Women and men?

The other major issue I found (for me) in this story was the cell phone use. I mean, would the cell towers even be up anymore? Would they work? Josh uses his phone (which is an iphone- Hooray for the iPhone!) a whole heck of a lot. I know about an iPhone and the battery needs charged nightly. I use mine a lot, and he did too, so how did he keep it charged? Sure they have generators and such but sometimes he was out rescuing survivors and he would call his buddy and leave the line open and in his pocket. This just didn't seem plausible. I mean the iPhone rocks, but in the state of an apocalypse, I think a dropped call or two isn't out of the question.

All in all, I liked this book a lot. It was written in an engaging sort of way and was very informative. I seriously would pull this book out if I ever needed a survival guide. I sincerely hope that there are a lot of people out there like Josh Guess because if this ever really happens then it is the people like him that will probably save people like me. If you want a read that has a fresh take on zombies I would recommend it.

So there you have it. My opinion.

This review is written by Cambria Hebert