"The Walking Dead" by Mess'rs Kirkman, Adlard and Rathburn: A Book Review

Now these people know how a corpse should behave.  This is actually the second compendium of awesome zombie rotten-ness.  I admit that this series of graphic novels took a while to click with me.  I initially didn't like Adlards art which I now view as nothing short of epic, and the premise I thought was a bit video-game inspired and an not good way.  I do not like the comatose amnesiac protagonist as being creatively lazy.  That aside the question is asked - in a world gone nuts to what ends would you go in order to survive?  And apparently to these three men its a wide open smorgasbord (now there's a Scandinavian innovation I can support!) of human depravity.  Cannibalism, murder, rape, wanton pillaging ... turns out humans are far more disgusting than the undead.  Its layered, complex, and gross all in one - Love It!!

"Handling the Undead" by John Ajvide Lindqvist: A Book Review

Did not care for this book.  Dour, dull Swedes are all the literary rage since "the girl with the dragon tattoo" foisted its boring depressing craptastic writing on an unsuspecting America.  Lindqvist (how droll - spelled with a "qv" rather than a "qu", reinforcing how Swedish this guy really is) is touted as the Scandinavian Stephan King and a "master philosopher of the horror genre."  I always said what the horror genre needed was a philosopher to put all the gory killings in perspective for me.  Enter one John Ajvide Lindqvist.  This book promised a "humanistic take" on zombies; when I think rotting shambling brain munching corpses I think whats missing is the humanism in all the brain eating.  I never thought I'd hate zombies until I read this book.  Be forewarned these zombies get down and...dance.  What!?

"Halfhead" by Stuart B. Mac Bride: A Book Review

A Sci-fi thriller/mystery that claims to be an "International Bestseller."  I always wondered what nebulous criteria must be met to claim that moniker.  I think it must be sheer gall, if you have the nerve to claim it then its yours.  Nothing screamed bestseller to me but I really wasn't disappointed even if you could see the ending broadcast a mile away.  Its an imported book a first edition bound and printed in Great Britain (can't we all agree that the "Great" is long past and it should be simply Britain?).  I wonder what a first edition paperback is worth?  Not much, I'm afraid.  Set in future Glasgow I'm getting a lot of colorful colloquialisms like "sodding," "bloody," and "bollocks," but my favorite being the inscrutable "bamheid" which I believe contextually means "looney."  Its got a decent premise and setting, a truly fearsome female serial killer, and a protagonist that you don't want to kill yourself.  Its also got a very sadistic take on the future of crime and punishment with a brutally heavy focus on the punishment aspect.  It seems criminals (the worst of the worst [hate that phrase!] are subjected to "halfheading" - hence the title.  Man, nothing escapes me!  Half-heading consists of removal of the lower jaw, followed by lobotomizing and retraining to do manual labor.  In the future there are no janitors just goofy looking simple minded criminals.  Apparently this approach has done nothing to lower crime rates as there seems to be a veritable army of creepy looking felons.