Christina McMullen's Reviews > Zombie Zero: The First Zombie

Full disclosure: I received a copy of this work for free, not for the purposes of a review, but because I am one of the many real world folks the author 'borrowed' for his book universe. (For further explanation, see the foreword acknowledgements in the story itself)

The decision to review was based on my own, unbiased enjoyment of the story.

I confess: I'm not a fan of the zombie apocalypse genre. So much so that I parodied the genre myself. However, after reading Norry's Stumbling Backasswards Into the Light, I was pretty sure this wasn't going to be the typical gore-fest and I was pleased to see my assumptions were right. Right from the get go, we learn that zombies aren't so far removed from humans and the monsters have a scientific explanation that is rooted in our own genetic makeup.

Each chapter begins by foreshadowing future events and introducing characters who will come into play later, but then shifts back to the main story arc that follows a college professor, his daughter, and some of his students as they go off to study a newly opened chamber in the great pyramid and inadvertently set off the end of the world.

That there is a lesson here comes as no surprise. Humans can only do so much to the earth before she strikes back and boy, does she strike back. These are not mindless brain eaters, well, at least not all. These zombies have an agenda, rational thought, and most intriguing to me, the ability to reflect and have personal growth. Yes, that's right, a zombie who owns up to the fact that maybe they weren't always the person they thought they were being.

This is a fantastic set-up and I'm genuinely curious to see what the post apocalypse world bring and admittedly, I can't wait to see what role Norry's version of me plays in all of this. Hopefully, she's stronger than real world me, who will probably be a gibbering mess the minute her WiFi cuts out.