No no. It’s just me, your average zombie lovin’, horror readin’, urban fantasy author. Though I’m seriously considering taking on the above monicker for review purposes. None of you will tell who I really am will you? I’ve been reading way too many books at the same time and decided this weekend to actually finish one, lest I be forced to turn in my author card. Actually, I don’t think it can be revoked as long as I BUY books. It’s unclear whether they even expect me to read them at all.

So, I finished World War Z a couple of days ago and I’m still blown away. The scope of it is as fantastic as the title implies and damn but does Brooks have some interesting zombie ideas. My favorite is the water zombies, not often seen in film or books. But when multiplied by a million, damn but your Myrtle Beach weekend could get mighty fucked up.

The author’s method was a little daunting to begin with. An oral history, for those that don’t know, is basically an interview. Questions followed by lengthy answers form the framework, so it’s not a traditional structure by any means, but it’s always interesting. Whether Brooks is delving into politics, social unrest, or an epidemic of fear, it all works toward the same purpose, suspending disbelief and creeping you the fuck out.

I’m not sure I’d even consider the book horror, the tension is stripped away by the simple fact that it’s told after the fact, as a history. But in the survivor’s stories are some precious little nightmares. I’m not giving any spoilers here, but if you’ve read it, the evac from India by sea is astonishing. Oh my God, that gave me shivers.

I can’t wait to see what Brad Pitt does with this book, I’d be happy to see any of the scenes done well and I don’t expect all of them to make it. As it is, the film is going to cost a fortune.

You know what else has zombies in it? Road Trip of the Living Dead (preorders are a lovely gift for your favorite authors), but there’s still a chance to win the ARC going on at my website’s contest page. Head on over there and get to work pimpin!

And while I’m talking about awesome books, Team Seattle wordsmith Cherie Priest has a new release in stores today. Fathom! Not to be confused with that 1967 swingin’-as-shit spy thriller Fathom, starring Raquel Welch as sexy dental hygienist turned skydiver, Fathom Harvill. No. Cherie’s Fathom actually tells a story. Here’s what Publisher’s Weekly had to say in there STARRED REVIEW…

A decidedly dark departure from Priest’s Eden Moore saga (Four and Twenty Blackbirds, etc.), this stand-alone novel is equal parts horror, contemporary fantasy and apocalyptic thriller. During a summer vacation to her aunts coastal Florida home, innocent teen Nia sees her cousin Bernice commit a brutal murder and then get dragged into the ocean by a monstrous water witch. Nia becomes inadvertently entangled in a conflict between primordial creatures that endangers the very existence of humankind. Entombed in stone for countless years, Nia eventually emerges from her cocoon transformed, only to realize that an old god is close to awakening and destroying the world. Priest’s haunting lyricism and graceful narrative are complemented by the solemn, cynical thematic undercurrents with a tangible gravity and depth.

I don’t know what any of that means, but it’s forcing me to believe it. Plus I’ve yet to be disappointed by Cherie’s stories, on the page or off. Seriously pick up Fathom now! I might be able to get her to sign it for you. You’ll want a first edition. I’m not fucking around here. Get yourself an archival cover for this bad boy.

Well, that’s it for me.