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A review by xterminal
Xombies by Walter Greatshell
4.0
Walter Greatshell, Xombies (Berkley, 2004)
Fairly standard zombie novel, when it's a zombie novel, but it very quickly becomes something else; the zombies are just a prop to get our core group of survivors onto a nuclear sub, where the real core of zombie novels-- the interplay between the survivors-- takes place. Not much chance to actually see too many zombies once they're on the sub, so some might consider this a bit of mismarketing. Me, I liked it well enough.
The plot: the survivors of a global plague of zombies (or xombies, as the case may be) caused by a virus called Agent X (you see where the term “xombie” comes from) force a ragtag band of Naval personnel, submarine yard workers, and the daughter of the sub's commander onto a nuclear sub headed for the icy wastes of the extreme north, where, it's presumed, the xombies will all be frozen. Roughly two-thirds of the book takes place on the sub, with the other third split between before-sub and after-sub.
The thing that's likely to make or break this novel for you-- assuming you're past the whole “it's not really a zombie novel” bit-- is the narrative voice. Normally I'd have likely found it grating, as the narrator, and many of the survivors with whom she has the most contact, are all eighteen or under. And boy do they sound like it. Yet there's something oddly charming about it in this case, with its badly-out-of-date (even in 2004) slang and devil-may-care attitude. This is important, given that the bulk of the book is nothing but this. I'm not entirely sure why it worked for me, but it did. The plot is solid enough to keep the pages turning, though it is derivative of a number of other works (the blurb that calls the book “a mix of 28 Days Later... and Lord of the Flies was written by someone who didn't have to look too hard). In short, it's not something that's going to break any boundaries, but if you're just looking for a good, solid thriller, this will fit the bill. *** ½
Fairly standard zombie novel, when it's a zombie novel, but it very quickly becomes something else; the zombies are just a prop to get our core group of survivors onto a nuclear sub, where the real core of zombie novels-- the interplay between the survivors-- takes place. Not much chance to actually see too many zombies once they're on the sub, so some might consider this a bit of mismarketing. Me, I liked it well enough.
The plot: the survivors of a global plague of zombies (or xombies, as the case may be) caused by a virus called Agent X (you see where the term “xombie” comes from) force a ragtag band of Naval personnel, submarine yard workers, and the daughter of the sub's commander onto a nuclear sub headed for the icy wastes of the extreme north, where, it's presumed, the xombies will all be frozen. Roughly two-thirds of the book takes place on the sub, with the other third split between before-sub and after-sub.
The thing that's likely to make or break this novel for you-- assuming you're past the whole “it's not really a zombie novel” bit-- is the narrative voice. Normally I'd have likely found it grating, as the narrator, and many of the survivors with whom she has the most contact, are all eighteen or under. And boy do they sound like it. Yet there's something oddly charming about it in this case, with its badly-out-of-date (even in 2004) slang and devil-may-care attitude. This is important, given that the bulk of the book is nothing but this. I'm not entirely sure why it worked for me, but it did. The plot is solid enough to keep the pages turning, though it is derivative of a number of other works (the blurb that calls the book “a mix of 28 Days Later... and Lord of the Flies was written by someone who didn't have to look too hard). In short, it's not something that's going to break any boundaries, but if you're just looking for a good, solid thriller, this will fit the bill. *** ½