Illustrated Zombie journal

[RandomZombieFan]

Hey, all! I'm not seeing a thread about this, so I thought I should report to you all about a book that came out...sometime this year called Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection.

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/index/main...e,Zombies/

Published by Chronicle Books, this roughly graphic novel-sized volume is sold as a rare written record of the zombie outbreak of 2012. Chronicling the experiences of a hematologist named Dr. Richard Twombly, this book stands out as unique in the zombie literature market by combining an unusual writing format with tons of sketches and paintings of the things Dr. Twombly encounters on his journey. Since I'm apparently the first one to post I'm about it, I figure I'll also take the time to give you a quick review of it and tell you my thoughts on it following a first reading.

I'll start off with something basic. I liked this book, I'll confess. It kept my interest throughout and provided some concepts that really creeped me out and intrigued me all at once. For instance, if you're like me, the way that the virus initially spreads in this book is one of the most disconcerting ways imaginable short of being airborne. I'll try not to go into any further details, as I enjoyed the surprises this book held.

Firstly, I'll talk about the illustrations. These are of variable quality, ranging from some very nice pictures to some iffy ones that simply look off in their composition. Also, the illustrations don't turn out to be quite what the book markets them to be. You see, the book makes it sound like Dr. Twombly's focus was on recording details of the infected and the infection. However, he doesn't really make many notes or illustrations showing important details. Instead, may of the pictures are sketches of the scenes of carnage he encounters. They look good, yes, but they're not what I would expect from a doctor who's serious about solving the mysteries of a new virus. Speaking of which, some of the pictures do look really good, and that's actually kind of a problem, because it stretches the disbelief of the story. Someone who is busy trying to hunt for food and fight for his life probably wouldn't have as much time to draw these pictures as some of them clearly required. It didn't ruin the book for me, but I can see where it might bother some people.

More important to the book (in my opinion) is the writing. I very much enjoyed the writing in this book, but then again, I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, although I will admit that I find myself very nearly despising some zombie literature (for instance, Deathbringer or The Rising.) One of the only real problems I personally had with the writing was that most of the characters Dr. Twombly encounters don't get much development, which is a big deal to me. Often, a given character tells Dr. Twombly a bit about their story before they met him and that's about it. It's lacking, but understandably so, because Dr. Twombly isn't supposed to be writing this journal about the people he meets.

There were a few other things that didn't bother me, but might bother another reader. For instance, the book doesn't flow like a common narrative at all. It's written like a journal, which makes sense and gives it a unique place in zombie literature. However, it damages the potential suspense a bit, as any significant events that happen aren't reported about until several hours after they "happen." This is also what leads to the lack of character development. Still, it's something new, at least, relatively speaking, and the book still kept me interested throughout, though it does wind up ending rather abruptly and without much of anything resolved. On the other hand, I must emphasize again that it doesn't follow a common narrative flow at all, which means that if you like the usual conflict/climax/denouement flow of a story, you may well find this lacking. Also, for better or worse, this makes the book something of a quick read. I got through it in a few hours of focused reading at the most, though I'll admit I read fairly quickly.

It's also worth noting that the writing is typed in a font meant to represent a handwritten journals, which means it looks a bit scribbly and parts are crossed out, underlined, etc. Personally, I liked how this was done, but some other reviews I read upon finishing the book treated this as a downside. Your mileage will probably vary, but I believe there's a preview of the first few pages on Amazon. Some reviewers also claim that Dr. Twombly seems oddly detached and uninterested in the things he encounters throughout the book, but I personally didn't notice this.

This book ran me $20 when I picked it up from a nearby bookstore about a week or so ago, and admittedly, this is kind of a steep price. In spite of this, I enjoyed the book, and intend to read it again sometime soon. So, here's the real question I'm sure you're asking: Is it worth the price of admission? My answer is that it depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a longer or more dramatic read, there are definitely better pieces of zombie literature at less than half the price. If you don't mind that the narrative lacks flow and that the characters are a bit one-dimensional, then you could probably do worse than this.

One of the main things I find to recommend this book is that it is simply unlike any other piece of zombie literature I've found so far. It has a wealth of good looking pictures in it, decent writing, and several ideas that make it stand out in the steadily increasing supply of media related to zombies. Overall, I would recommend it to someone seeking a fresh take on the genre, as long as they don't mind that it's a bit lacking in substance.

Wow, this review dragged on a bit longer than I expected, so...

tl;dr: I liked it, but it's very unconventional. If you want epic heroes and lots of action, look elsewhere. If you want a fun if slightly overpriced new perspective on a thoroughly explored concept, look no further.

Put simply, I enjoyed this book, and if anyone else has read it, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[deadandwalking]

sounds interesting. i'll have to pick it up on amazon.

[fallensaviour]

Sounds very cool.I'll have to pick it up.

[BigDeano]

Got this one for Christmas really good read if you haven't got it get it.

[Sarku]

Looks great!!! I'm going to pick it up from Amazon today.

[Old Dwarf]

Nice & the Zombie infection makes for great narative,
but somehow I can't really get into it.

I don't know,the Zombie things has all I like in a
Game World,it has its own internal logic,Characters
are motivated to do what the do Game missions are
realistic.

I have LNoE & GH & some of the Card Expansions
but I just can't get into it:rolleyes:

I'm sure many feel the same way about my favorite AToE
people is just Weird:P

OD

[RandomZombieFan]

Well, to each their own. I love these things, but not everyone's going to be into the concept of a zombie apocalypse.