In my twenty three years on this earth I have learned one very important thing about people: we love to panic. Any excuse we can make to throw our hands over our mouths and widen our eyes at the news is more than enough to induce a state of terror over whoever will listen...which is usually quite a few other people.
There's no denying that human beings tend to blow things out of proportion based on our emotional state. Something that seems extremely frightening may suddenly become the object of mass hysteria, no matter how unlikely the occurrence of this thing or event actually is. For example: zombies. We all know the concept: dead people whose corpses reanimate with a new "life goal," if you will...to eat as many brains as possible before the rest of us shoot them all in the head (for those of you who don't know, this is the only way to kill a zombie).
Are they a real threat? It depends on who you ask. If you look at the current world news, the threat of Swine Flu-or, more specifically, the mutated H1-Z1 strain of the virus, is too dangerous to be ignored. Lots of people believe that this is the beginning of the "zombie apocalypse" and that humans should be a lot more alarmed than they really are. Just to show you how easy it is to induce panic, take a look: www.cealagar.com/2009/05/h1n1-virus-to-h1z1-swine-flu-scare-and-zombies/
I'm not saying it's total crap...hell, it scared me to death when I first read it. I thought, is this really the way it's going to end? Zombies? And then I remembered a book that I read out of sheer boredom less than six months ago and I don't feel nearly as panicked.
Author Max Brooks has quite a way with words, so much that when I picked up this book and opened it I was convinced I was beginning a novel. The Guide reads just like a story, with an introduction by the author and a fast beginning which describes the origin of zombies and warns its readers not to take the threat lightly, and to keep reading in order to know how to defend themselves.
The Guide is by no means a story with characters, plot twists, and appropriately placed humorous devices. Max Brooks has created a true manual for survival, writing the Guide as if the supposed "zombie war" has already happened and now humans must decide whether to fight back or be consumed by the horde.
The cause of all the trouble, according to Brooks, is the Solanum virus. This virus "works by traveling through the bloodstream, from the initial point of entry, to the brain...uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process" (Brooks, p. 2). The destruction of the frontal lobe of our brain (which is basically the center for all things related to our personalities) in addition to the spread of the virus throughout our bloodstream, eventually stops our heart and renders us "dead." However, that's not the end of the threat: our hearts have stopped, but our brains are still alive, lying perfectly still while the Solanum turns them into new entities that can operate independently of oxygen. Once the transformation of our brain is complete, our bodies reanimate and presto,change-o: zombies!
Okay, really not something to get excited about. However, Brooks has made the Guide extremely easy to read and very compelling, so that you want to keep turning the pages and teach yourself how to survive post-zombie war. He even includes an entire appendix of "Recorded Attacks" dating back as far as 60,000 B.C (Brooks, 182). The use of dry humor is an extremely addicting device that keeps you guessing, wondering: is he being sarcastic, or is he serious? The funny thing is that since this situation is sort of explainable and is potentially possible (I didn't say it WAS, mind you), you tend to think that Brooks is really writing this for our benefit and wants us all to be prepared for this eventuality. Or, maybe, he was just writing a funny book for the sake of playing off everyone's fears of brain-eating corpses.
That's the part that keeps you reading. Wondering if he's for real or if this is all just a joke makes it so hard to put the book down.
I highly recommend reading this book, if not for teaching yourself how to wield a machete, then for a good laugh. Also, if you end up liking it as much as I did, you should check out World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. A fictional spin on the zombie war, but one just as humorous and easy to lose yourself in. Also, check out Max Brooks on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Brooks
And, as always, happy reading :)
References: Brooks, Max. The Zombie Survival Guide. Three Rivers Press. New York, NY. 2003. pp. 2, 182.
Comments
Prepare to wield your machetes and march toward certain death...This sounds like it's just up my alley and I've got to borrow it. We can plan our survival accordingly.
Brooks' work sounds entertaining and disturbing. Thanks for the review. It makes me want to read it and get in better shape, since I'm not a very good shot and machetes are awkward to use!
Excellent stuff! Any time you enter a strange house, always ask two questions: Where would the Christmas tree look good? & Is this place defensible from a zombie attack?
This habit has saved my gray matter many times...
I just wish to point out that guns will run out of ammo quite fast so learning to use a bow might be a better option (arrows are recoverable and grow on trees).
I love fighing and stuff
Interesting read. However, his weapons knowledge is sorely lacking. And the ammo loadouts he recommends isn't even enough for a range session, much less an epic disaster. He should've also skipped out on the Solanum technobabble and faux scientific explanations on what makes zombies "tick". I'd rather leave zombies in my stories to the realm of unexplained phenomena, like in Night of the Living Dead.
Caillin says:
I just wish to point out that guns will run out of ammo quite fast so learning to use a bow might be a better option (arrows are recoverable and grow on trees).
June 29, 7:54 AM
ugh... ok have fun trying to reload your bow while running away from a hoard of flesh hungry zombies...
yes bowman ship would be a definite skill to have for zompocolypse, but you're going to need guns. hands down.
i believe that miss johnson has no place in underminding what could very well happen, no one knows what to expect for the future. There is every possibility of a zombie infestation.
Personally id rather be a little more vigilant in my daily life, instead of one day walking outside to find a zombie chewing on someone and have no idea what to do. My point is you NEVER know.
In the end, the possibility is there, and if for what ever reason it does happen, il be ready, and miss johnson will just have to stand there dumbfounded.
I see that Miss Johnson and the rest of you Commentors are not really comprehending that;
A. That all the genetic experimentation with viruses and such, CAN lead to Solanum to becoming a reality.(though not exactly as he describes)
B. In the ZSG he never states that Zombies eat brains, in fact he states the opposite!
C. As far as weapons are concerned, anything that DOES NOT need to be reloaded and or refueled would give the best possibility of surviving an Outbreak of any level. (even an outbreak of a virus of the 28 days later type) With manufacturing and and distribution factors collapsing, ammunition would eventually run out and look into what it takes to produce ANY fuel!
D. What harm is there in preparing for any kind of Holocaust, when their are crazy people out there like the Taliban, George Bush, that Korean President, and Scientists who experiment with Viruses, ad nauseum?
@Rob Why would you need that ammo if your trying to NOT alarm the zombies. Why risk death and valuable ammunition when you can simply walk past them. There is no reason unless it's a risk vs. reward situation. And be realistic. Bullets are expensive, no matter what the caliber. I'm sure we can afford a suitable amount but realisticly speaking, I'm sure most if not all of us don't even live within 15 miles of a gun/surplus shop. Also, we have melee weapons to dispatch them when they are in low numbers.
I HATE THIS I DONT WANT TO DIE I WANT TO GO TO COLLAGE IM 11 YEARS OLD !IM GOING TO GO TO CHURCH EVERY DAY AND PRAY IM FOR REAL AND THATS NOT COOL MY BROTHER IS ONLY ONE HOW IS HE GOING TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE YEAH I DIED OF ZOMBIES NO I RATHER DIE WITH SOMETHING ELSE INSTEAD OF FLESH EATING ZOMBIES!!!!!!!:( I WANT TO LIVE MY LIFE AND LIVE IN A MANSION HAVE A JOB TAKE CARE OF MY PARENTS WHEN ELDERS AND ALSO MY LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER!!:)(
I HATE THIS I DONT WANT TO DIE I WANT TO GO TO COLLAGE IM 11 YEARS OLD !IM GOING TO GO TO CHURCH EVERY DAY AND PRAY IM FOR REAL AND THATS NOT COOL MY BROTHER IS ONLY ONE HOW IS HE GOING TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE YEAH I DIED OF ZOMBIES NO I RATHER DIE WITH SOMETHING ELSE INSTEAD OF FLESH EATING ZOMBIES!!!!!!!:( I WANT TO LIVE MY LIFE AND LIVE IN A MANSION HAVE A JOB TAKE CARE OF MY PARENTS WHEN ELDERS AND ALSO MY LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER!!:)(
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