Zom-B by Darren Shan

Title: Zom-B (Zom-B #1)

Author: Darren Shan

Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company 2012

Genre: Horror, Zombies

Pages: 174

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; New Author; Library; 52 Books -- Week 16

How I Got It: Library loan

When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B's racist father thinks it's a joke-- but even if it isn't, he figures, it's ok to lose a few Irish.

B doesn't fully buy into Dad's racism, but figures it's easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. And when dodging his fists doesn't work, B doesn't hesitate to take the piss out of kids at school with a few slaps or cruel remarks.

That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers.

Wasn't the fast paced zombie thriller I thought it was going to be.  Granted, the last 25 pages are fast paced and terrifying, it's just that the first 150 pages are pretty slow.  I was fairly disgusted by B's behavior throughout most of the book.  B's constant swings from racist to nonracist get old really fast.  I was intrigued by the zombie angle with the owl man and the mutant henchman.  I would like to read more about what they are all about.  And the final encounter with Mrs. Reed, the not quite-normal zombie sparks my interest.  Unfortunately, I wasn't enamored with the rest of the book.  I probably won't be picking up the others in this series.

Zom-B (DNFed series)

• #1 Zom-B
• #2 Underground
• #3 City
• #4 Angels
• #5 Baby
• #6 Gladiator
• #7 Mission
• #7.5 Circus
• #8 Clans
• #9 Family
• #10 Bride
• #11 Fugitive
• #12 Goddess

The Doomsday Vault by Steven Harper

Title: The Doomsday Vault (Clockwork Empire #1)

Author: Steven Harper

Publisher: ROC 2011

Genre: Steampunk

Pages: 391

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Steampunk; Library; Eclectic -- Action Adventure; 52 Weeks -- W12

How I Got It: Library loan

In a clockwork Brittania, Alice's prospects are slim. At 22, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale-towards a clandestine organization, mad inventors, life-altering secrets, and into the arms of an intrepid fiddle-playing airship pilot.

I picked this up on a whim at the library.  It looked interesting.  And it was amazing!  I loved it!  Cross the Gail Carriger Parasol Protectorate series with George Mann's The Affinity Bridge.  I loved the twists and turns.  The action never stops...  And the characters are too much fun.  Alice has such spunk and life!  Gavin is the perfect hero.  I couldn't wait to see these two get together.  Of course, it had to be difficult and fraught with other complications.  The side characters round out the whole story.  I can't wait to see where this series goes.

Clockwork Empire

1. The Doomsday Vault
2. The Impossible Cube
3. The Dragon Men
4. The Havoc Machine

ZaC #11: Shaun of the Dead

Title: Shaun of the Dead

Year Released/Rating: 2004 R

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Written By: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: We own it

Trivia:

• The phrase "fried gold" originated behind the scenes of Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes andEdgar Wright's sitcom Spaced and was mentioned several times on the DVD commentaries for that series. It makes several fan-pleasing appearances in the film.
• When Shaun, Liz, David, Dianne, Barbara and Ed run into the alternative 'gang' as they make their way to the Winchester, there are quite a few comedy partnerships brought together again. Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes - Tim and Daisy from Spaced. Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman - Dawn and Tim from The Office. Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig - Bernard and Fran from Black Books. Julia Deakin and Nick Frost are, of course, in Spaced too, as Marsha and Mike respectively.
• Shaun (Simon Pegg) complains that Ed (Nick Frost) isn't his boyfriend, then says, "Thanks, babe." In season one of Spaced, a conversation begins in a similar manner between the two actors ("All right, babe?"). This was, however, a total mistake. The writers used the same joke again, forgetting they had used it in Spaced.
• When Shaun and the group are running out of Liz's flat they are all carrying weapons of some kind, but only Shaun actually hits any zombies. This was because only the cricket bat that Shaun was carrying was a padded fake, all the other items were real and would have hurt the extras playing zombies if they had been hit with them.
• According to writer-director Edgar Wright in the DVD commentary, when Ed attempts to cheer Shaun up at the Winchester with plans of binge drinking, he is actually summarizing the events of the next day (Z-day) entirely in drinking references. "Bloody Mary" - Checkout Girl, "Bite at the king's head" - Phillip, "Couple" - David and Di, "Little Princess" - Liz, "Stagger back" - impersonate zombies, "Bar For Shots" - firing rifle.
• Just when Shaun is exiting the Indian-run deli, which is tuned to a radio station playing songs from Indian movies, the song stops and a newscaster begins speaking in Hindi. The content of the news, when translated in English, is, "People are waking up from their graves."
• Shaun walks past a road sign for Weston Park which is a street in Crouch End, London, the same locale as Spaced and where Simon Pegg now lives.
• Shaun tells Liz that he's going to take her to "the place that does all the fish". When he opens the phone book you can see that the restaurant is literally called 'The Place That Does All the Fish'.
• When asked by an interviewer why they chose to have slow moving zombies instead of running zombies, Simon Pegg simply replied, "Because death is not an energy drink."

Summary: A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

Review: 

One of my absolute favorite movies.  I love every minute of Shaun of the Dead: the great on liners, the visuals, the references to other tv show stars, the homages to other zombie movies.  It never fails.  Every time I watch, I laugh my ass off and see something that I missed before.  All of the inside jokes between Frost and Pegg make the movie even more fun.  And can I just say that Bill Nighy as a zombie is just genius.

Best Bits (so many best bits!): 

• Dianne: SHAUN!  [Dianne throws a dart and misses]  Shaun: NO!  [Dianne throws another dart and hits the zombie]  Shaun: YES, yes, in the head!  [Dianne throws a third dart and hits Shaun in the head on accident]  Shaun: AHHHHHHHHH!
• [Shaun hits the zombie pub owner with the butt of the rifle]  Ed: Why didn't you just shoot him, man?  Shaun: Ed, for the last time...  [Shaun squeezes the trigger of the gun, and it actually fires!]  Ed: [gleefully] I fucking knew it!
• Shaun: [about Ed] He's not my boyfriend!  Ed: [handing beer to Shaun] It might be a bit warm, the cooler's off.  Shaun: Thanks, babe.  [winks]
• Ed: Who died and made you fucking king of the zombies?
• Ed: We're coming to get you, Barbara!
• [Shaun tries to get out of Philip's Jaguar]  Shaun: Philip, have you still got the child-locks on?  Philip: Safety first, Shaun.
• [describing the zombies]  Dianne: Just look at the face: it's vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who's lost a bet.
• [a jukebox begins playing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" while the zombie pub owner attacks the group]  Shaun: Who the hell put this on?  Ed: It's on random.  Liz: For fuck's sake!
• [Shaun has just fought a zombie unassisted]  Shaun: [sarcastically] Feel free to step in any time!  Ed: You did all right.  David: I didn't want to cramp your style.
• Shaun: David, kill the Queen!  David: What?  Shaun: The jukebox!
• Shaun: As Bertrand Russell once said, "The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation." I think we can all appreciate the relevance of that now.  Liz: Was that on a beer mat?  Shaun: Yeah, it was Guinness Extra Cold.  Liz: I won't say anything.  Shaun: Thanks.
• [David discovers that the zombies have somehow made it into the bar. Shaun, Ed and Liz are still beating the barman]  Shaun: Why is Queen still playing?  David: Ah, we have a situation here.  Shaun: I KNOW!
• Ed: [Directing Shaun on where to shoot] There!  Shaun: Where?  Ed: Three o'clock!  Dianne: Oh! Over there again. Quarter to twelve.  Shaun: What?  David: Eleven forty-five! Shaun: Keep it simple!  Ed: Top left!

ZaC #10: 28 Weeks Later

Title: 28 Weeks Later

Year Released/Rating: 2007 R

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle

Directed By: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Written By: Rowan Joffe, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Enrique Lopez Lavigne, Jesus Olmo

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  4/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• Most of the filming of the US Army Camp took place during the weekend of 21st/22nd October 2006 in the courtyard outside the Citypoint Building, Ropemaker Street, London EC2. A large number of tents with US flags, cast in military dress and vehicles were in place. Additionally access to the sub-floor car park area appears to have been given to shoot an underground scene.
• Robert Carlyle had turned down the Christopher Eccleston part in 28 Days Later....
• The boy who arrives at the cottage at the beginning of the film claims to be from Sandford. Sandford is the name of the 'fake' village that was used by British police to practice emergency preparedness drills. It's also the fictitious locale for the action comedy Hot Fuzz.
• Danny Boyle couldn't direct the sequel because of his commitments to Sunshine. Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris couldn't come back for the sequel either because of other commitments.
• The three survivors want to get from Regent's Park to Wembley, but their chosen route clearly takes them by Parliament Square, Whitehall and Charing Cross, which is in the opposite direction. They should be driving through St John's Wood.

Summary: Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes to plan.

Review: 

In some ways this is scarier than the first movie.  I love this idea that everyone believes the infection has gone, except of course it hasn't.  And i love the idea that someone could be immune from the symptoms, but be a carrier at the same time.  It makes sense.  This is a virus we're dealing with.  The movie definitely has lots of gore and lots of scary gotcha moments.  You are on the edge of your seat the entire movie.  I love it!

Best Bits: 

• Doyle: Did I hear that code red or am I losing my shit?
• Scarlet: It all makes sense. They're executing code red. Step 1: Kill the infected. Step 2: Containment. If containment fails, then Step 3: Extermination.
• Doyle: I got some strays.  Flynn: Dogs?  Doyle: No, puppies.
• Andy: I saw Dad.  Tammy: Dad? Where?  Andy: Tam, he's one of them.
• Scarlet: Who are you?  Doyle: Sergeant Doyle, Delta Rooftop Unit.  Scarlet: Why aren't you at your post?  Doyle: Why aren't you?
• [last lines]  French radio voice: We need your help.

ZaC #9: 28 Days Later

Title: 28 Days Later

Year Released/Rating: 2002 R

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston

Directed By: Danny Boyle

Written By: Alex Garland

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• For the London scenes, police would close the roads at 4am, and filming would begin immediately. After 1 hour, the police would reopen the roads. The producers correctly predicted that asking drivers (including clubbers headed home) to either wait for up to an hour or find another route might make some of them angry. They got several extremely attractive young women (including Danny Boyle's daughter) to make the necessary requests, and the drivers responded quite amicably to them.
• The hospital in the film is a real day hospital, open only during the week. The trust managers of the hospital hire out the building to filmmakers for weekends, and the productions pay the hospital directly, meaning the money from filming goes directly to the hospital's trust fund.
• Christopher Eccleston and the other soldiers in the film did a three-day training program with real soldiers to help them learn how to carry themselves believably.
• Jim, Selena, Mark, Frank, and Hannah's surnames are never revealed during the film or in the end credits. Likewise, Jim's parents names are never revealed.
• The 'design' for the symptoms of Rage was based on Ebola, which is communicable in all primates (including humans), and is transmitted through the blood. Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever which leads to a rash, red eyes and both internal and external bleeding. Indeed, in 28 Days Later: The Aftermath (a graphic novel set between 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, it is explained that the Ebola virus was being used by the scientists as a carrier for the inhibitor which mutated into Rage.
• The film was shot almost entirely in sequence; only pickups and a few reshoots were shot out of sequence.

Summary: Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.

Review: 

I'm watching this pair of movies with the understanding that the infected are really zombies.  It's a bit more complicated than that, but I prefer to think of the movies as an offshoot of the zombie genre.  That being said, I really do enjoy these movies.  We have tons of gore, but some really great characters.  Jim and Selena are perfection.  And Major West is a great villan.  He appears as salvation and then things turn south.  The movie has some great gotcha moments.  But the scariest sequence is in the tunnel.  Creeps me out!  I like that we get an ambiguous but possibly happy ending.  It's a different sort of tale.  Definitely one to watch.

Best Bits: 

• [Hannah hits Jim over the head with a bottle]  Selena: Hannah, it's OK. He's not infected.  Hannah: But I thought he was biting you.  Jim: Kissing. I was kissing her. Are you stoned?  Selena: It's a long story.
• Jim: And then I wake up today in hospital. I wake up, and I'm... I'm hallucinating or I'm...  Mark: What's your name?  Jim: Jim.  Mark: I'm Mark. This is Selena. OK, Jim. I've got some bad news.
• Jim: World's worst place to get a flat, huh?  Frank: Agreed. I think we better do this quick?
• Mark: A man walks into a bar with a giraffe. They both get pissed. The giraffe falls over. The man goes to leave and the bartender says, "Oi. You can't leave that lyin' there." And the man says, "No. It's not a lion. It's a giraffe."  [Jim doesn't respond]  Mark: Completely humorless.
• Jim: Oh, great. Valium. Not only will we be able to go to sleep, if we get attacked in the middle of the night, we won't even care.
• [finding a crate of fresh apples in a pile of rotting produce]  Frank: Mmmmmm... Irradiated!

ZaC #8: Resident Evil Retribution

Title: Resident Evil: Retribution

Year Released/Rating: 2012 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating: 4/5 stars

Where I Got It: Redbox

Trivia:

• The first movie of the series not to feature undead dogs.
• The character Becky was not originally to be hearing-impaired, but after an outstanding audition, the role was given to Aryana Engineer.
• This is the first time in Resident Evil history that Jill and Leon have ever met.

Summary: Alice fights alongside a resistance movement in the continuing battle against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead.

Review: 

It took me awhile to get into the movie.  I was a little lost on the concept, and then I get it: they have to escape the Umbrella facility.  So, it's more like a video game, reminds me of the first movie.  We have a contained area with an objective.  I appreciated the concept, if not the execution.  It was a little weak on the characters, but we did get to see some familiar (if not dead) faces.  I think this one was an improvement on the last movie.  Although I really would have liked to see what happened to the Redfields...

Best Bits: 

• Becky: I met your sister.  Rain: What?  Becky: She's not very nice.
• Luther West: [In a Rolls Royce] Sweet ride.  Alice: Well, this is Moscow. Heard gunfire. Thought you might need some help.
• Alice: There's a child here.  Rain: Your problem, not ours.  Alice: All heart. You haven't changed a bit.  Rain: I don't know you lady.
• The Red Queen: Don't listen to the traitor Wesker. I am in control now. Project Alice, Ada Wong, stay where you are.  Alice: [to Ada] Let's move.  The Red Queen: Project Alice, you're all going to die down here.  Alice: I've heard that before.
• Becky: [looks at a track of Alice clones] Mommy, who are they? Mommy, is that you? You're my mommy, aren't you?  Alice: I am now.

ZaC #7: Resident Evil Afterlife

Title: Resident Evil: Afterlife

Year Released/Rating: 2010 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  3/5 stars

Where I Got It: Library Loan

Trivia:

• Claire Redfield wears a red vest, her primary outfit from her game appearances.
• Wentworth Miller jokingly admits he was nervous about his character Chris Redfield being similar to his Prison Break character Michael Scoffield: in both cases, he is in a prison and his first lines are "I know a way out of here".
• The opening scene in the movie is quite symbolic - all people are wearing umbrellas in the rain except the zombie girl. "Umbrella" is also the name of the corporation who is responsible for the creation and spread of the T-Virus, on which the main plot of the Resident Evil series is based.
• The scarab device that are strapped to the survivors and the giant zombie Axeman are lifted from the video game Resident Evil 5.
• The ship Arcadia was actually shot moored on the docks in Toronto. The docks were then all stripped out digitally.

Summary: While still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors who want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia.

Review: 

I love the first 30 minutes and the last 20 minutes of the movie.  Other than that, this movie kind of blows.  The entire middle section at the prison is not very exciting and kind of silly.  But I still love Milla as Alice.  And it's nice to re-meet Claire and meet Chris Redfield.  Plus you get the nice reveal at the end of the movie aboard Arcadia.  Not a great movie, but I'll take it.

Best Bits: 

• Alice: Hey, boys. Is that anyway to treat a lady?
• Albert Wesker: Well isn't this one big family reunion? Chris and Claire Redfield, you've really become quite an inconvenience for me.  Alice: I told you I'd be bringing a few friends.  Albert Wesker: [removes sunglasses] You should have brought more.
• Alice: Day 6, 1800 hours, Los Angeles. No signs of life, not even the undead. They must have burned with the city. But what about the rest?
• Alice: Umbrella.  Claire Redfield: Of course. I remember them coming for us.  Alice: This whole thing, Arcadia, was a lie.  Claire Redfield: No, it's worse than that. It's a trap.

ZaC #6: Resident Evil Extinction

Title: Resident Evil: Extinction

Year Released/Rating: 2007 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Oded Fehr

Directed By: Russell Mulcahy

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating: 4/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• Alice's new costume was designed by Milla Jovovich's clothing line, Jovovich-Hawk.
• The film was originally intended to be filmed in the Australian Outback but was changed to Mexico.
• The accompanying music for the first theatrical trailer is The Crystal Method's "I Know It's You". Milla Jovovich provides the vocals/wailing for the song, which was released three years earlier.
• Claire Redfield's role in the movie is different than in the games. She leads a convoy of survivors across the dead desert, but in the games, she on a mission to find her lost brother Chris Redfield.
• Temperatures would often be excess of 130 degrees on the Mexican locations. Various members of the crew frequently would have to be treated for dehydration.
• A conscious decision was made early on to make this the bloodiest of the Resident Evil films.

Summary: Survivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp.

Review: 

And this marks the decline of the Resident Evil movies.  I liked this one, but it's definitely not a favorite.  The movie is a bit too much on the gore side and not enough on the scary side.  Although I do like the character of Dr. Isaacs.  He is clearly a fun baddie who definitely gets what's coming to him in the end.  And the bit with the crows is just too silly to be scary.  Undead crows?  How did the crows survive when none of the other wildlife did.  And if they did survive, how did they reproduce to last this long?  I was had a few issues here.  But in the end, I love Alice and will keep watching these movies.

Best Bits: 

• L.J.: [referring to the lack of cigarettes and marijuana] It really is the end of the world.
• White Queen: And Alice? Good Luck.
• Chase: Climb the Eiffel Tower with a high-powered rifle. A few years ago, that would've caused a stir. Well... Let the good times roll!
• [last lines]  Alice: You won't have to wait that long, boys. Because I'm coming for you. And I'm gonna be bringing a few of my friends.
• White Queen: I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you, I am the artificial intelligence which...  Alice: Yeah I know what you are, I knew your sister, she was a homicidal bitch.  White Queen: My sister computer was merely following the most logical path of preservation of human life.  Alice: Yeah kill a few save a lot.

ZaC #5: Resident Evil Apocalypse

Title: Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Year Released/Rating: 2004 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr

Directed By: Alexander Witt

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror

Star Rating: 5/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own t!

Trivia:

• According to the writer/producer commentary, Paul W.S. Anderson mentions that the character of Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) is a homage to actor Jason Isaacs, who made an uncredited cameo as Dr. Birkin and the film's narrator during the opening credits of the first film.
• The character of Dr. Ashford is named after the Ashford family of the Resident Evil game series. However, unlike the sympathetic film character, the Ashfords of the games were villains.
• The first sequence showing Alice waking up in the hospital through to her cocking a shotgun outside, consists entirely of footage shot for the first film.
• The weather map at the beginning clearly shows Raccoon City as being approximately where Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania. Other real-life towns such as Selinsgrove, Hazelton and Pottsville, all appear in their correct geographic locations.
• The city standing in as Racoon City at the beginning (right after the weather news) is of course Toronto. The famous CN tower is just to the left outside the frame. You can barely see its shadow. Most exterior shots were made in and around the city.
• Oded Fehr had little difficulty in playing a character so familiar with handling guns - he was trained in the Israeli army.

Summary: Alice awakes in Raccoon City, only to find it has become infested with zombies and monsters. With the help of Jill Valentine and Carlos Olivera, Alice must find a way out of the city before it is destroyed by a nuclear missile.

Review: 

Not quite as good as the first one, but I still really enjoyed this movie.  Thankfully we get the introduction of a few new characters, specifically Jill Valentine (straight out of the video games). I only wish the dogs were the in the movie more.  They were always a bitch to kill in the video games.  We should have more of those moments.  Oh well.  Still a great afternoon viewing.

Best Bits: 

• Alice: My name is Alice and I remember everything.
• Carlos Olivera: [throws a knife which hits an enemy guard getting up behind Alice] You missed one.
• [L.J. walks into a building and is surrounded by 12 S.T.A.R.S. members]   L.J.: Shit! Maybe I was safer outside. Get them guns out of my damn face.   [a S.T.A.R.S. officer hands him a shotgun]   L.J.: Motherfucker, please. Look.  [opens up his jacket revealing two gold guns] L.J.: My shit is custom.
• Major Cain: [to Alice] You're not mutation, you are evolution.
• Angie Ashford: Are you all right?   Dr. Isaacs: [a moment later] Program Alice activated.   Jill Valentine: What did they do to you?

ZaC #4: Resident Evil

Title: Resident Evil

Year Released/Rating: 2002 R

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, James Purefoy

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Horror, action

Star Rating:  5/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it!

Trivia:

• Like in the games, after something is switched on/off, something else happens elsewhere. When the Red Queen is deactivated for the first time, all doors elsewhere are opened.
• Milla Jovovich's character's name, Alice, is only revealed during the credits.
• When Matt's arm begins to mutate there are no digital effects until the very end.
• The pass code for opening the door in dining hall B, the one Kaplan has trouble remembering, is 04031965. Writer/Director Paul W.S. Anderson was born on 04 March 1965.
• Milla Jovovich did all of her own stunts except the pipe jump in the sewer scene. She used a stunt double in that scene, because her agent thought she would get strangled by the hanging wires.
• The crew had a hard time dealing with the dogs who kept licking the blood and meat off themselves.
• All the minor cuts and bruises on Milla Jovovich's character are real. No make-up was applied.

Summary: A special military unit fights a powerful, out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident.

Review:

I know this movie is super cheesy, but I love it so much.  It's a great adventure ride with twists and turns, zombies and monsters, and even some human monsters.  The first appearance of the zombies in the "cafeteria" is very scary and jumpy.  I love it!  The movie starts to fall apart a little with the appearance of the "lickers."  I know that that zombies mutant in the video games, but these were a bit cheesy looking.  Even with that, I love this movie way too much.

Best Bits: 

• Red Queen: You're all going to die down here.
• [Alice points her gun at Rain]   Rain: I'm not dead yet.   [Rain takes the gun from Alice]  Rain: I think I'll take this back.  Alice: I could kiss you, you bitch!
• Red Queen: I've been a bad, bad girl.
• Rain: All the people that were working here are dead.   Spence: Well, that isn't stopping them from walking around.
• Red Queen: I can give you the code, but first you must do something for me.  Alice: What?  Red Queen: One of your group has been infected. I require her life for the code.

ZaC #3: Land of the Dead

Title: Land of the Dead

Year Released/Rating: 2005 R

Starring: Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento

Directed By: George A. Romero

Written By: George A. Romero

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  3/5 stars

Where I Got It: Netflix instant

Trivia:

• George A. Romero was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead that he asked them to appear in this, the fourth part of his "Dead" series, and they appear as the photo-booth zombies in the carnival/bar-room sequence. They also feature prominently in the artwork for the unrated directors' cut.
• This is the first film of George A. Romero's "Living Dead" series which uses digital effects.
• Asia Argento (Slack) is the daughter of noted Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento, who was the co-producer and co-composer of one of the previous entries in George Romero's zombie series, Dawn of the Dead.
• George A. Romero's daughter appears in the film. She is the soldier who shoots the zombie on the electrified fence.

Summary: The living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation

Review:

Definitely not as cheesy as Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, but not all that great.  I am not a big fan of this movie.  I know it's Romero, but I feel like he crossed a line with the adapting zombies.  They have become too comical, not really that crazy at all.  So, I think with this movie, I am done with the Romero series.

Best Bits: 

• [from trailer]  Kaufman: Zombies, man. They creep me out.
• Riley: Make sure she doesn't hurt herself.  Slack: I can take care of myself, ok?  Riley: Fine. Charlie, make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else.
• Foxy: [Cholo is bitten by a zombie and Foxy hold a gun aimed at him] It's your call man.  Cholo: [hesitates then shakes his head no] Nah, I always wanted to see how the other half lives.

ZaC #2: Dawn of the Dead

Title: Dawn of the Dead

Year Released/Rating: 2004 R

Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer

Directed By: Zack Snyder

Written By: George A. Romero, James Gunn

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  4/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• The WGON traffic copter makes an appearance. The WGON traffic copter was the main transportation for the survivor in the original Dawn of the Dead.
• The mall scenes of the film as well as the rooftop scenes were shot in the Thornhill Square Shopping Centre in Thornhill, Ontario and the rest of the scenes were shot in the Aileen-Willowbrook Neighborhood of Thornhill, and the Township of Caledon East, Ontario. The set for Ana and Louis's bedroom was constructed in a back room of the mall. The mall was defunct, which is the reason the production used it; the movie crew completely renovated the structure, and stocked it with fictitious stores after Starbucks Coffee and numerous other corporations refused to let their names be used (two exceptions to this are Roots and Panasonic). Most of the mall was demolished shortly after the film was shot.
• Shot in chronological order.
• Most of the zombie makeup was modeled after real and gruesome forensic photos.
• The two zombies with missing limbs (the jogger missing an arm and the legless zombie in the parking garage) were both played by actual amputees. The same thing was done for one of the first zombies seen in the original Dawn of the Dead.
• The production had a blood cart on set all day due to the excessive amounts of fake blood being used.
• Zack Snyder said that the reason his zombies run at full speed is because he wanted to avoid the inherent comic impression given by slow, shuffling undead.
• The group in the mall had named the two parking shuttles; the first one, holding Nicole, CJ, Michael, and Ana was named The Pinta, the one carrying Terry, Kenneth, Steve, Glen and Monica was named The Santa Maria.

Summary: 

A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman, and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

Review: 

This doesn't have the same slow creepiness as the original, but it does have its fair share of "gotcha" moments.  It gore filled and crude at times, but overall I really enjoy Snyder's take on the zombie apocalypse.  Plus, he added so many nods to the original trilogy that I just have to love it.  The characters are interesting.  I loved Ana and Michael.  But even the villans are sufficiently interesting to keep my attention.  My big complaint with the movie is with the colorization.  Everything is super saturated and it somehow looks off.

Best Bits: 

• Michael: Truck's not gonna make it to Fort Pastor.   Steve: No, forget the truck. That place is fucked, man. Bloodbath city.   Kenneth: How do you know?  Norma: We just came from there. Kenneth: Is everyone there dead?  Steve: Or dead-ish.  Kenneth: [more firm tone] Is everyone there dead?   Steve: Yeah, in the sense that they all, sort of, fell down, and then... got up and... started eating each other.
• CJ: [after everyone enters an elevator to escape the zombies] I like this song.
• Michael: I want you to see this.  [shows how the chainsaw goes through the truck walls]  Michael: When those things are on the side of the bus, this'll get them off. Cool, huh?  Ana: Wow. That might be the most romantic thing anyone's ever shown me. Michael: I'm trying here.
• Steve: I have an idea. While we're at it, why don't we drop by the marina, hop in my boat and take it for a pleasure cruise, you jackasses!  Ana: Wait, that's a good idea. There's islands out there. There's not many people on them.  Steve: I was kidding.
• Ana: [everyone has run to the roof to watch the BP truck racing around the mall parking lot] What are we gonna do about that truck?   CJ: We're not gonna do anything about that truck!  Ana: There's people in there!  CJ: Yeah, and how do you know they're not all fucked up like everybody else out there?  Ana: Well, for one thing, they're driving a truck. [gunshots coming from truck]  Ana: Oh, and shooting guns.
• Kenneth: You sure you wanna do this?  Michael: Yeah. I think I'll just stay here awhile. Enjoy the sunrise.
• Michael: [Everyone is sitting down to dinner] Before that I worked in a stationary store. And I drove a snowplow. Fixed copiers.  Steve: God, it's such a shame that this whole "end of the world" thing's holding you back.

ZaC #1: Night of the Living Dead

Title: Night of the Living Dead

Year Released/Rating: 1968

Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman

Directed By: George A. Romero

Written By: John A. Russo, George A. Romero

Genre: Horror

Star Rating: 5/5 stars

Where I Got It: Library loan

Trivia:

• Bosco chocolate syrup was used to simulate the blood in the film.
• When the zombies are eating the bodies in the burnt-out truck they were actually eating roast ham covered in chocolate sauce. The filmmakers joked that it was so nausea inducing that it was almost a waste of time putting the makeup on the zombies, as they ended up looking pale and sick anyway.
• In the scene where Ben is nailing wooden boards to the door, small numbers can be seen on them. These were written on the backs of the boards so they could be removed and replaced in between shots, preserving continuity. Some numbers are visible because some of the boards were nailed on backwards.
• The film's first scene, the initial cemetery attack on Barbara and Johnny, was the last filmed, in November 1967. The actors had to hold their breath to avoid visible condensation in the frosty autumn air.
• Actor/co-producer Karl Hardman (Harry Cooper, the father in the basement), also served as makeup artist, electronic sound effects engineer, and took the still photos used for the closing credits.
• The house used for this film was loaned to the filmmakers by the owner, who planned to demolish it anyway, thereby ensuring that they could do whatever they wanted to the house.
• Readers Digest tried to warn people away from watching the film in 1968 by claiming if it's ever watched, it will inspire cannibalism.

Summary: A group of people hide from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse.

Review: 

I'm starting my Zombies and Candles week with the classic: Night of the Living Dead.  Of course, I hard to start at the beginning and the best.  This movie is a classic.  We jump right into the action.  I love the scene in the cemetery with Johnny taunting Barbara before being attacked.  The characters all act like I think they would during a zombie apocalypse.  I read that Romero was pressured to reshoot the ending and make it a happy one.  I'm glad that he didn't; the ending is appropriate for the storyline.  I'm going to skip Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead.  I've seen both many times and they are just too cheesy.  Plus, I don't own them and they aren't on Netflix instant.  Instead I'm going to move to the Dawn of the Dead remake.

Best Bits: 

• Johnny: They're coming to get you, Barbara, there's one of them now!
• Newscaster: It has been established that persons who have recently died have been returning to life and committing acts of murder. A widespread investigation of funeral homes, morgues, and hospitals has concluded that the unburied dead have been returning to life and seeking human victims. It's hard for us here to be reporting this to you, but it does seem to be a fact.
• [last lines]  Sheriff McClelland: Good shot! OK, he's dead; let's go get 'im. That's another one for the fire.
• [to Harry Cooper after having been locked outside]  Ben: I ought to drag you out there and FEED you to those things!
• Sheriff McClelland: All right, Vince, hit him in the head, right between the eyes.

Zombies and Candles

It's my birthday week (the big day is actually tomorrow).  And since we never really do anything for my birthday, I'm throwing myself a birthday week zombie marathon.  All week I'm going to cram in as many (good and bad) movies as I can.  Many we own, many I will find on Netflix.  Hopefully this weekend, I can convince J to watch The Walking Dead with me.  I'm sure I'll give myself nightmares, but this is going to be one fun birthday week!

Tentative watch list -- we own:

• Shaun of the Dead (some zombie comedy)
• 28 Days Later (zombie movie or no? discuss)
• 28 Weeks Later
• Resident Evil series (cheesy zombie movies)
• Night of the Living Dead (the classic original)
• Dawn of the Dead (remake)
• The Walking Dead (S1-S3, we never made it past S1)

Tentative watch list -- Netflix/redbox/Amazon:

• American Zombie
• Resident Evil: Retribution
• Land of the Dead
• Dead Snow
• Aaah! Zombies!
• American Zombie
• Autumn
• Etc...

2013 Zombie Reading Challenge

From Book Chick City:

SIGN-UP DETAILS

To sign up you MUST make a post on your blog about participating in the challenge. Please feel free to use the banner above, however, a link via the image back to this post, so others can join the challenge if they wish, would be much appreciated.

CHALLENGE DETAILS

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2013 – 31 Dec 2013
• Rules: There are FOUR (4) LEVELS to choose from

1.        One Chomp: Read 6 Zombie books in 2013
2.         Two Chomps: Read 12 Zombie books in 2013
3.         Three Chomps: Read 18 Zombie books in 2013
4.         Four Chomps: Read 24 Zombie books in 2013

• You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
• You can join at anytime. All books read in 2013 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.
• At the beginning of Jan 2013, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews.
• Audiobooks are accepted.
• This challenge can crossover to other challenges.
• You DO NOT have to write reviews of the books you read, but if you decide to then there will be a place each month for you to link up your reviews.
• You don’t have to have a blog to join in – for those without a blog but who use Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing etc, you can add the URL to where you track your books. If you don’t have a URL at all then choose a name you would like to use and then copy and paste the following link: http://wp.me/p2wdqf-6ZV

Finally!  I do love me some zombies!  This year I am scaling back a bit and only going for One Chomp (6 books).  TBR list to come later...

2012 Reading Challenge Round-Up -- Completed Edition

I hear 2013 calling my name.  I think it's time to call 2012 quits and start my end of the year posts.  In total I entered 27 reading challenges this year.  Let's see how I did...  Completed challenges edition.

I went for the highest goal on this one, 16 books, 16 categories.  It really wasn't a hugely difficult challenge as I read nonfiction all the time.  But it did encourage me to pick up different types of books.  My favorite book from this challenge was the Science Fiction and Fantasy pick of The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

• Classics – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (11/8/12)
• Biography – Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun by Gita May (9/21/12)
• Cookery, Food, and Wine – Chocolate by Shara Aaron and Monica Bearden (12/4/12)
• History – The Lost Millennium by Florin Diacu (9/12/12)
• Modern Fiction – Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin (5/22/12)
• Graphic Novel and Manga – Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham (4/23/12)
• Crime and Mystery – Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (5/17/12)
• Horror – The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan (3/1/12)
• Romance – An Offer You Can’t Refuse by Jill Mansell (11/14/12)
• Science Fiction and Fantasy – The Magicians by Lev Grossman (1/21/12)
• Travel – Paris in Love by Eloisa James (5/16/12)
• Poetry – Poems of Emily Dickinson (11/23/12)
• Journalism and Humor – The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs (2/26/12)
• Science and Natural History – The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson (4/18/12)
• Children’s and Young Adult – The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (6/27/12)
• Social Sciences and Philosophy – This Book is Overdue by Marilyn Johnson (9/1/12)

 I had been meaning to read more classics.  After reading only classics back in high school, I haven't really gotten around to any for a few years.  This was my chance.  My favorite read from this challenge was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (a once very few years reread for me, but still awesome).  I'm joining this one again next year.

• 19th Century – The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (8/6/12)
• 20th Century – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1/26/12)
• Reread Classic – Persuasion by Jane Austen (10/3/12)
• Classic Play – The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (8/29/12)
• Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime – The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (4/26/12)
• Classic Romance – Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (8/23/12)
• Translated Classic – Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes (12/3/12)
• Classic Award Winner – A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (11/21/12)
• International Classic – Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (11/16/12)

An odd challenge for me.  I struggled to find books that I was already going to read to fit the topics.  Once I did I really loved my choices.  My favorite read was The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, part of His Dark Materials trilogy.

• Topographical Feature –  The Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristin McMorris (12/2/12)
• Something in the Sky – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (1/13/12)
• Creepy Crawly –  You are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay (2/27/12)
• Type of House – Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean (3/8/12)
• Something from Your Pocket – The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman (8/16/12)
• Something on a Calendar – The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees (12/1/12)

I always love reading books and then see the movie.  It's even better when I have read the book before seeing the movie, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.  My favorite combo was Do Androids... and Blade Runner.  While the movie doesn't exactly follow the books it does have the same feel.  Loved them!

• Something Borrowed (Emily Giffin) (5/22/12)
• Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep — Philip K. Dick) (11/27/12)
• The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) (1/11/12)
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare) (1/27/12)
• Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare) (8/28/12)
• The Dark Compass (Philip Pullman) (8/12/12)
• Richard III (Shakespeare) (8/28/12)
• Persuasion (Jane Austen) (10/3/12)
• Dorian Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray — Oscar Wilde) (4/26/12)
• Beastly (Alex Flinn) (4/15/12)
• Kick-Ass (Mark Millar and John Romita Jr) (5/23/12)
• Starship Troopers (Robert Heinlein) (6/1/12)
• Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame-Smith) (5/25/12)
• The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum) (8/6/12)
• Tin Man (The Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum) (8/6/12)
• Northanger Abbey (Jane Austen) (8/23/12)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) (8/29/12)
• Twelfth Night (Shakespeare) (9/1/12)
• Ran (King Lear – Shakespeare) (9/4/12)
• Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) (11/8/12)

J has been trying to get me to read more science fiction for years now.  And I finally warming up to the genre, although I tend to go for softer scifi.  My favorite read was Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

• The Martian Chronicles — Ray Bradbury (11/23/12)
• Snow Crash — Neal Stephenson (10/30/12)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick (11/27/12)
• Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein (1/8/12)
• Starship Troopers — Robert Heinlein (6/1/12)

I super hard challenge to finish.  I think I just picked a ton of mediocre books and it made it really difficult to finish.  As it stands, I want to try to again next year, but with only 5 reads and hopefully better books.  From this year, my favorite read was The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.

• The Goose Girl — Shannon Hale (11/7/12)
• Mythology — Edith Hamilton (11/27/12)
• Beauty — Robin McKinley (6/5/12)
• Beastly — Alex Flinn (4/15/12)
• The Frog Prince — Stephen Mitchell (5/14/12)
• Sirena — Donna Jo Napoli (6/1/12)
• Adrianna’s Fairy Tales by Adrianna White (7/5/12)
• The Princess and the Hound — Mette Ivie Harrison (10/22/12)
• The Princess and the Bear — Mette Ivie Harrison (10/24/12)
• Flower Fables — Louisa May Alcott (11/16/12)

This was quite an interesting challenge.  Out of the 12 we read, I had already read only four.  So I got a ton more Shakespeare.  My favorite is still A Midsummer Night's Dream, followed closely by Much Ado About Nothing.

• January – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1/27/12)
• February – Macbeth (2/22/12)
• March – Henry V (3/25/12)
• April – Much Ado About Nothing (8/28/12)
• May – Antony and Cleopatra (8/30/12)
• June – Richard III (8/28/12)
• July – As You Like It (11/18/12)
• August – King Lear (9/4/12)
• September – Cymbeline (11/19/12)
• October – Twelfth Night (9/1/12)
• November – Othello (11/19/12)
• December – Pericles (11/19/12)

I adore zombies!  Reading 24 zombie books was not difficult, but picking my favorite definitely is.  I think I will have to choose the Newsflesh trilogy (Feed, Deadline, and Blackout), but only if you make me choose.

• You are So Undead to Me — Stacey Jay (2/27/12)
• Undead Much — Stacey Jay (2/29/12)
• Allison Hewitt is Trapped — Madeleine Roux (4/26/12)
• Night of the Necromancer — Kyle West (2/3/12)
• Feed — Mira Grant (10/8/12)
• Deadline — Mira Grant (10/14/12)
• Blackout — Mira Grant (10/17/12)
• Zombie Blondes — Brian James (2/4/12)
• Sadie Walker is Stranded — Madeleine Roux (10/2/12)
• The Dark and Hollow Places — Carrie Ryan (1/8/12)
• The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks — Max Brooks (1/7/12)
• Brains: A Zombie Memoir – Robin Becker (1/9/12)
• Autumn: Purification – David Moody (1/24/12)
• Autumn: Disintegration – David Moody (1/27/12)
• The Stupidest Angel – Christopher Moore (2/11/12)
• Rise Again — Ben Tripp (3/15/12)
• The First Days — Rhiannon Frater (10/4/12)
• As the World Dies — Rhiannon Frater (10/5/12)
• Siege — Rhiannon Frater (10/6/12)
• Eat, Slay, Love — Jesse Petersen (3/16/12)
• Aftertime — Sophie Littlefield (4/5/12)
• Hater — David Moody (7/19/12)
• Dog Blood — David Moody (7/25/12)
• Them or Us — David Moody (7/28/12)

This was a great chance to reread all seven HP books and rewatch the movies.  I haven't read these in a few years, so lots of great fun.

1. HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1/7/12)
2. HP and the Chamber of Secrets (2/22/12)
3. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3/29/12)
4. HP and the Goblet of Fire (5/13/12)
5. HP and the Order of the Phoenix (5/29/12)
6. HP and the Half-Blood Prince (6/22/12)
7. HP and the Deathly Hallows (9/28/12)

This was one of the easier challenges to complete.  I turn to romance novels when I need a break from the heavy.  I love predictable romances.  My favorites were the 2nd and 3rd books of the Tudor Rose trilogy (The Maiden's Hand and At the Queen's Summons).

• At the Queen’s Summons — Susan Wiggs (9/11/12)
• Regency Romance (3/23/12)
• A Lady Never Tells — Candace Camp (1/23/12)
• A Gentleman Always Remembers – Candace Camp (2/7/12)
• An Affair Without End – Candace Camp (2/10/11)
• Definitely Not Mr. Darcy — Karen Doornebos (4/12/12)
• Intentions of the Earl — Rose Gordon (6/29/12)
• Twelfth Night (anthology) (7/11/12)
• Carole’s Christmas by Anne Glynn (7/11/12)
• The Maiden’s Hand by Susan Wiggs (9/8/12)

This was my own challenge.  I started reading the Fables series in 2011 and fell completely in love with it.  My goal this year was to finish the back catalog.  Next year I'm definitely going to finish catching up with the published titles.  My favorite was definitely Vol. 14 Wtiches.  Amazing read!

• Vol. 14 Witches (1/6/12)
• Vol. 15 Rose Red (1/10/12)
• Vol. 16 Super Group (2/2/12)
• JF: Vol. 9 The End (1/6/12)
• Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love (9/2/12)

Another easy challenge for me.  My favorite was The Hunger Games trilogy, but I also really loved Anna Dressed in Blood.

• The Hunger Games — Suzanne Collins(1/11/12)
• Catching Fire — Suzanne Collins (1/12/12)
• Mockingjay — Suzanne Collins (1/13/12)
• A Great and Terrible Beauty — Libba Bray (5/15/12)
• Rebel Angels — Libba Bray (7/6/12)
• The Sweet Far Thing — Libba Bray (7/12/12)
• The Golden Compass — Philip Pullman (8/12/12)
• The View from Saturday — E.L. Konigsburg (4/20/12)
• Anna Dressed in Blood –Kendare Blake (6/5/12)
• Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher — Bruce Coville (7/7/12)
• Ashfall — Mike Mullin (7/30/12)
• Ashen Winter — Mike Mullin (8/2/12)

I also do love vampires.  This challenge was dominated by my reading of the Vampire Academy series, but it was a good one.  For my favorite, it was easily Sunshine by Robin McKinley.  That one is going into my reread pile.

• American Vampire — Jennifer Armintrout (2/2/12)
• The Radleys — Matt Haig (4/27/12)
• Sunshine — Robin McKinley (2/17/12)
• Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter — Seth Grahame-Smith (5/25/12)
• Vampire Academy — Richelle Mead (6/11/12)
• Frostbite — Richelle Mead (6/22/12)
• Shadow Kiss — Richelle Mead (6/27/12)
• Blood Promise — Richelle Mead (7/14/12)
• Spirit Bound — Richelle Mead (7/15/12)
• Last Sacrifice — Richelle Mead (7/19/12)

With J's influence, I really got into some comics this year.  While I stay away from the big Marvel vs. DC debate, I found some great titles out there.  My favorite was the first five volumes of The Sandman series.  I will be finishing that series next year with my Neil Gaiman RC.

• Hatter M Vol. 1 (1/15/12)
• Hatter M Vol. 2 (1/17/12
• Hatter M Vol. 3 (1/18/12)
• The Boys: The Big Ride (1/8/12)
• The Walking Dead Book 4 (4/22/12)
• Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1/27/12)
• Doctor Who: Through Time and Space (2/22/12)
• The Boys Vol. 10: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker (6/7/12)
• Doctor Who: The Forgotten (3/26/12)
• Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew (5/23/12)
• Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. (5/23/12)
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910 (5/30/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 1 Preludes and Nocturnes (6/4/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 2 The Doll’s House (6/6/12)
• The Boys Vol. 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men (6/12/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 3 Dream Country (6/30/12)
• Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (7/2/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 4 Season of Mists (7/2/12)
• Persepolis: The Story of a Return (7/4/12)
• The Sandman: Volume 5 A Game of You (7/5/12)

Easy peasy.  Although next year, I am putting myself on a library ban for at least the first four months (except for my book club selections).

1. Jack of Fables: The End(1/6/12)
2. Fables: Witches (1/6/12)
3. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (1/8/12)
4. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks (1/7/12)
5. Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker (1/9/12)
6. Fables: Rose Red (1/10/12)
7. Autumn: Purification by David Moody (1/24/12)
8. Autumn: Disintegration by David Moody (1/27/12)
9. Undead Much by Stacey Jay (2/29/12)
10. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (2/11/12)
11. Rise Again by Ben Tripp (3/15/12)
12. You are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay (2/27/12)
13. Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1/27/12)
14. Fables: Supre Group (2/2/12)
15. Doctor Who: Through Time and Space (2/22/12)
16. Macbeth by Shakespeare (2/22/12)
17. Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield (4/5/12)
18. Eat, Slay, Love by Jesse Petersen (3/16/12)
19. Doctor Who: The Forgotten (3/26/12)
20. Everneath by Brodie Ashton (4/1/12)
21. Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos (4/12/12)
22. The Walking Dead: Book Four (4/22/12)
23. Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham (4/23/12)
24. The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell (5/14/12)
25. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (5/17/12)
26. Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew (5/23/12)
27. Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. (5/23/12)
28. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910 (5/30/12)
29. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (6/11/12)
30. Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli (6/1/12)
31. Beauty by Robin McKinley (6/5/12)
32. The Sandman Volume 1 Preludes and Nocturnes (6/4/12)
33. The Sandman Volume 2 The Doll’s House (6/6/12)
34. Frostbite by Richelle Mead (6/22/12)
35. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (6/27/12)
36. The Sandman Volume 3 Dream Country (6/30/12)
37. The Sandman Volume Season of Mists (7/2/12)

Another fairly easy challenge.  Although those Es gave me some difficulty.

• T – Rise Again by Ben Tripp (3/15/12)
• O – The Boys Vol. 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men (6/12/12)
• B – The Zombie Surivival Guide: Recorded Attacks by Max Brooks (1/7/12)
• E – Jack of Fables: The End (1/6/12)
• F – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1/26/12)
• R – HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (1/7/12)
• A – Autumn: Purification by David Moody (1/24/12)
• N – Night of the Necromancer by Kyle West (2/3/12)
• C – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (1/11/12)
• E – Evermore by Alyson Noel (3/2/12)
• S – Harry Potter Film Wizardry by Brian Sibley (1/29/12)
• B – The Boys: The Big Ride (1/8/12)
• U – Undead Much by Stacey Jay (2/29/12)
• F – Doctor Who: The Forgotten (2/26/12)
• F – Beastly by Alex Flinn (4/15/12)
• E – Eat, Slay, Love by Jesse Petersen (3/16/12)
• N – Blue Moon by Alyson Noel (3/4/12)
• B – Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker (1/9/12)
• A – Autumn: Disintegration by David Moody (1/27/12)
• R – The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (1/8/12)
• G – The Magicians by Lev Grossman (1/21/12)
• E – Everneath by Brodie Ashton (4/1/12)
• R – Fables: Rose Red (1/10/12)

Blackout by Mira Grant

Title: Blackout (Newsflesh #3)

Author: Mira Grant

Publisher: Orbit 2012

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 660

Rating:  5  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; Mount TBR; Color Coded - Black; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

The year was 2014. The year we cured cancer. The year we cured the common cold. And the year the dead started to walk. The year of the Rising.

The year was 2039. The world didn't end when the zombies came, it just got worse. Georgia and Shaun Mason set out on the biggest story of their generation. The uncovered the biggest conspiracy since the Rising and realized that to tell the truth, sacrifices have to be made.

Now, the year is 2041, and the investigation that began with the election of President Ryman is much bigger than anyone had assumed. With too much left to do and not much time left to do it in, the surviving staff of After the End Times must face mad scientists, zombie bears, rogue government agencies-and if there's one thing they know is true in post-zombie America, it's this: Things can always get worse.

What a conclusion to the trilogy!  I am blown away.  I couldn't have imagined that the conspiracy went so deep and was so insidious.  I love that this series, while keeping the zombie scares, involves a huge political thriller.  This was definitely a departure, especially a departure from my last series (As the World Dies from Rhiannon Frater), but I loved it.  I loved seeing more of my favorite characters, loved Maggie so much!  I loved seeing more action sequences, love the shooting!  I loved hearing more witty quips, hello Alaric!  I must caution readers that this series is super addictive and super dense.  While I flew through the pages, I sometimes needed to take a moment to let certain events and revelations sink in.  A very well-written complicated zombie thriller.

Newsflesh

• #0.4 Apocalupse Scenario #683: The Box
• #0.5 Countdown
• #0.75 San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats
• #1 Feed
• #2 Deadline
• #3 Blackout
• #3.5 How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea
• #3.6 The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell
• #3.7 Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus
• #4 Rewind

Deadline by Mira Grant

Title: Deadline (Newsflesh #2)

Author: Mira Grant

Publisher: Orbit 2011

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 624

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn't seem as fun when you've lost as much as he has.But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

The second part of this series continues the saga.  I love this series.  We get away from the political intrigue, or do we?  As much as I missed Georgia, I really grew to love Shaun in this book.  Even his crazy conversations with Georgia added a great character flaw.  And we get to meet some of the beta bloggers who become alpha bloggers.      I especially loved Maggie and all her crazy teacup bulldogs.  Of course, the conspiracy keeps getting deeper and deeper.  I loved the science involved in this series.  The zombies are scary, but I'm more scared of the humans involved.  I stayed up last night way too late trying to finish this book.  I got to the end and sat in my chair stunned.  I knew there would be a cliffhanger, but good graciousness that was big cliffhanger.  Now I must start Blackout.

Newsflesh

• #0.4 Apocalupse Scenario #683: The Box
• #0.5 Countdown
• #0.75 San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats
• #1 Feed
• #2 Deadline
• #3 Blackout
• #3.5 How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea
• #3.6 The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell
• #3.7 Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus
• #4 Rewind

Feed by Mira Grant

Title: Feed (Newsflesh #1)

Author: Mira Grant

Publisher: Orbit 2010

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 600

Rating:  5 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.  NOW, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives-the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

A different type of zombie novel, less concerned about the horrors of the zombies and more concerned about the horrors of uninfected humans.  The novel focuses on politics and the news media.  We see how the world post Rising has resorted to fear and false security.  We see groups and individuals fall into the extremes in thinking.  We see a group of bloggers attempting to give people the truth no matter the cause.  I loved every minute of this book.  It shocked me, but deep down didn't surprise me how low some the characters could go in their effort to "save America."  In no way was this book predictive.  I was stunned at every twist and turn.

Except for the comment about zombies, this is a very appropriate comment on the news media and the truth.  I see this everyday.  Scary that things in a post-zombie apocalypse world have so much in common with the state of the world today.  Something to ponder.  And go read this book!

The trouble with news is simple: People, especially ones on the ends of the power spectrum, like it when you're afraid.  The people who have the power want you scared.  They want you walking around paralyzed by the notion that you could die at any moment.  There's always something to be afraid of.  It used to be terrorists.  Now it's zombies.

What does this have to do with the news?  This: The truth isn't scary.  Not when you understand it, not when you understand the repercussions of it, and not when you aren't worried that something's being kept form you.  The truth is only scary when you think part of it might be missing.  And those people?  They like it when you're scared.  So they do their best to sit on the truth, to sensationalize the truth, to filter the truth in ways that make it something you can be afraid of.

If we didn't have to fear the truths we didn't hear, we'd lost the need to fear the ones we did.  People should consider that. (pg. 346)

Newsflesh

• #0.4 Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box
• #0.5 Countdown
• #0.75 San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats
• #1 Feed
• #2 Deadline
• #3 Blackout
• #3.5 How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea
• #3.6 The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell
• #3.7 Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus
• #4 Rewind

Siege by Rhiannon Frater

Title: Siege (As the World Dies #3)

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Publisher: Tor Books 2011

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 364

Rating:    5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I won it

The zombie illness has shattered civilization. The survivors who have found tenuous safety in Texas defend their fort against the walking dead and living bandits.  Katie has made peace with the death of her wife and is pregnant and married to Travis, who has been elected Mayor. Jenni, her stepson, Jason; and Juan—Travis’s righthand man—are a happy family, though Jenni suffers from PTSD. Both women are deadly zombie killers.  In Siege, the people of Ashley Oaks are stunned to discover that the vice president of the United States is alive and commanding the remnants of the US military. What’s left of the US government has plans for this group of determined survivors.

What a conclusion!  When I go into a zombie novel, I kinda root for a happy ending, but realize that isn't not necessary for a good book.  Without giving away details, this series has a relatively happy ending.  I am satisfied.  Throughout the series, I grieved over the loses.  And yet I rejoiced at the triumphant moments.  Overall I think the series is a story of hope.  Even in the zombie apocalypse, we must have hope.  While the religious areas got a bit cliched, the overall message of hope was nice to hear from the survivors.  The characters are real people to me now.  I see each of them in my mind.  I want to be friends with Katie and Jenni.  I want to play with Jack.  I want to help Jason build his contraptions.  I want to train with Nerit.  I want to gather in the dining all with all the residents.  I want to sit in Juan's memorial garden and reminisce about those we lost.  For me to get so deeply into the world of the series, I know it's a great one.  Check it out!

As the World Dies

• #1 The First Days
• #2 Fighting to Survive
• #3 Siege
• #4 Untold Tales Volume 1
• #5 Untold Tales Volume 2
• #6 Untold Tales Volume 3
• #6.5 Deadly Night: Jenni and Katie's Untold Tale