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A review by holliereadsbooks
Zombie Apocalypse! by Stephen Jones
3.0
This review was first posted on Music, Books and Tea
I'm not sure if I've ever really vocalised this on my blog before...but I'm a huge fan of zombies. I'm literally team zombie all the way. Unfortunately, I haven't read nearly enough zombie fiction, so when I saw this book idly sitting on a shelf at my local library, I knew that I had to grab it. I found Zombie Apocalypse! to be an entertaining read that certainly helped pass the time during a very hot weekend in May.
What I loved most about Zombie Apocalypse! was its originality. This wasn't written in a typical story format, instead, the story is told through e-mails, verbal reports, diary entries and various other different ways. he book itself is set out in such a visually appealing way. The reports are typed out like official reports. The diary entries have been printed in a font similar to someone's handwriting. This really aided to the whole experience of the book.
The book opens with Britain in turmoil - the recession has hit us badly, and so the government have decided to put on a festival to try and boost people's spirits. The festival is going to take place on an old church site, and builders have been ordered to basically destroy the grounds. Eventually, a somewhat nosey professor gets trapped in a crypt, becomes infected with the zombie virus, and the story continues from there. All hell breaks loose, but not straight away. The government try to keep everything under wraps for as long as possible, but it doesn't work. Eventually, the virus spreads across the world, with people getting infected in America, Mexico and Australia to name a few countries. What creeped me out was how realistic this book could actually be. It really depicted how easily a virus, and I'm not talking about a zombie virus, just any virus in general, could be spread into a worldwide epidemic. That was probably what shocked me the most as I read.
My favourite entries were definitely those made by Maddy, a 13-year-old girl who wants desperately to grow up and be noticed by her best friend's older brother. She was just so normal, and I really came to care for her in a kind of sibling way. All I wanted to do was protect her and keep her safe. In a weird way, I was kind of happy about the way her story ended, even if it wasn't quite a happily ever after. I really enjoyed reading the hospital report too. This gave us our first proper look at what was actually happening to people as they were being bitten or scratched by the zombies. We also got our first real look at people who were resistant to the infection, although I did wonder if the doctor stayed human or if he too transformed.
Some of the entries, however, were a little too long for my liking. I found myself skimming through the first half of the police report, until the report started getting interesting, which I really did not like doing, in case I missed any important information. I also found myself doing the same with the incredibly long radio report that was included towards the end.
I was also really annoyed with the lack of closure in Zombie Apocalypse! I finished the book literally having no clue what had happened to a good majority of the characters, although I did like how the book ended with speeches from both the President of America and the Queen of England, and I liked the little twist that had been worked in with both of the characters.
Overall, Zombie Apocalypse! was an original, entertaining read. It's definitely one for zombie enthusiasts, set out in a unique way that is sure to keep you interested for a good couple of hours!
I'm not sure if I've ever really vocalised this on my blog before...but I'm a huge fan of zombies. I'm literally team zombie all the way. Unfortunately, I haven't read nearly enough zombie fiction, so when I saw this book idly sitting on a shelf at my local library, I knew that I had to grab it. I found Zombie Apocalypse! to be an entertaining read that certainly helped pass the time during a very hot weekend in May.
What I loved most about Zombie Apocalypse! was its originality. This wasn't written in a typical story format, instead, the story is told through e-mails, verbal reports, diary entries and various other different ways. he book itself is set out in such a visually appealing way. The reports are typed out like official reports. The diary entries have been printed in a font similar to someone's handwriting. This really aided to the whole experience of the book.
The book opens with Britain in turmoil - the recession has hit us badly, and so the government have decided to put on a festival to try and boost people's spirits. The festival is going to take place on an old church site, and builders have been ordered to basically destroy the grounds. Eventually, a somewhat nosey professor gets trapped in a crypt, becomes infected with the zombie virus, and the story continues from there. All hell breaks loose, but not straight away. The government try to keep everything under wraps for as long as possible, but it doesn't work. Eventually, the virus spreads across the world, with people getting infected in America, Mexico and Australia to name a few countries. What creeped me out was how realistic this book could actually be. It really depicted how easily a virus, and I'm not talking about a zombie virus, just any virus in general, could be spread into a worldwide epidemic. That was probably what shocked me the most as I read.
My favourite entries were definitely those made by Maddy, a 13-year-old girl who wants desperately to grow up and be noticed by her best friend's older brother. She was just so normal, and I really came to care for her in a kind of sibling way. All I wanted to do was protect her and keep her safe. In a weird way, I was kind of happy about the way her story ended, even if it wasn't quite a happily ever after. I really enjoyed reading the hospital report too. This gave us our first proper look at what was actually happening to people as they were being bitten or scratched by the zombies. We also got our first real look at people who were resistant to the infection, although I did wonder if the doctor stayed human or if he too transformed.
Some of the entries, however, were a little too long for my liking. I found myself skimming through the first half of the police report, until the report started getting interesting, which I really did not like doing, in case I missed any important information. I also found myself doing the same with the incredibly long radio report that was included towards the end.
I was also really annoyed with the lack of closure in Zombie Apocalypse! I finished the book literally having no clue what had happened to a good majority of the characters, although I did like how the book ended with speeches from both the President of America and the Queen of England, and I liked the little twist that had been worked in with both of the characters.
Overall, Zombie Apocalypse! was an original, entertaining read. It's definitely one for zombie enthusiasts, set out in a unique way that is sure to keep you interested for a good couple of hours!