Equal Parts “Omega Man” and “The Postman”

The Zombie Generation by Drake Vaughn (Dead Orb Press, 2012, 238pp.)

Plunk a man down in the middle of a nightmare zombie scenario, then arm him with only a Glock, a bottle of whiskey, and several dozen Furby-like children’s toys to defend himself with, and you’ve pretty much summed up Warner’s situation. To his knowledge, he and his girlfriend Pam are the only two people left in the world. An infection has spread, turning the rest of mankind into zombies. These despicable hordes share the genre’s normal hankering for brain matter, but Vaughn has made a few interesting additions to how his monsters behave. “Buggers,” as they’re referred to in the story, are more alive than undead. They’re also much less intelligent than the average person, and are easily distracted by obnoxious electronic children’s toys, such as the Googriff, a close cousin of the Furby. Although scientists claimed that the infection was not spread through blood or saliva, Warner’s pretty sure that’s not the case. After he’s scratched by one of the buggers, he immediately begins having blackouts and unusual cravings. Determined to hold on to his humanity, he frantically begins searching for a cure that may or may not exist. While the story’s pacing drags a bit in places, Warner’s plight—equal parts Omega Man and The Postman—is still interesting enough to hold the reader’s attention to the tale’s gory conclusion.

Similar Books:

• The Postman by David Brin