This time around I’m going to pitch this story to those people who aren’t fans of the zombies. For starters I’ve been trying to understand where the dislike comes from. A few examples of why I’ve found, “ew they’re gross”, I don’t like gore or that kind of thing, zombies are outdated we’ve seen them alllllll! The one that surprised me the most was, “They don’t make sense, they always come from the same thing. Why do they eat brains?”
First I’ll address the ew about zombies and how HWR handles them. You see a new look at zombies not instantly dismembered or decomposed. I don’t think that’s how it works. HWR’s virus is different (spoilers ahead) the zombies are still more human than what you’d expect at the start of the book. The first book is the very start of the outbreak. So if that’s your hang up give it a try and I think you’ll be less grossed out than you think.
As for the gore.. you can’t really have zombies without some zombies kills. However at no point was the intent to gross out the reader as with some zombie apocalypse media. Any time we see a kill or Zeek itself any gore that follows is done so to drive the story forward. I also believe it’s done so that it paints a picture but leaves some to the imagination so the reader can decide how detailed to see it. If that’s why you haven’t picked up your copy of HWR all I’m saying is I’m not a fan of violence for violence sake it has to have a purpose.
So you’ve seen every zombie apocalypse and zombie already? Not like this you haven’t. Most take the same set of rules and start there; bite>turn>bite>turn.. that is old. Patient zero is always some dumb doctor or a lab trying to stop the next big disease.. again getting old (and not just for zombies). HWR creates a world where the infection in its origin is spread like a flu. Our hero is face to face with it but as already stated the turn isn’t so instant that he can even tell it’s more than a drugged up criminal. With out giving to much away the story is more important than the zombies. The relationship between the cast is more important, imagine you had to go to the store and boom apocalypse? That’s how the others do it, not here buddy. I ask you to give it till chapter 4 “The Road Less Traveled” before you write it of as the same.
Remember I said spoilers ahead? Well here we are skip to the next paragraph if you want. If you are of the thinking zombies don’t make sense, too unrealistic or can’t suspend your disbelief for the undead. You are the exact person who needs to read this book! I wrote this book for you, this book is more logical in its approach. The characters may have dumb in them but the story is driven by a different approach. I spent a lot of time early on asking people like you what they find hard to believe about zombies. I tried to answer what they said from a real life way not a fantasy “it’s a book I can do what I want” point of view. Spoiler if something seems to far fetched to believe it’s probably for a reason. You ever watch those crime shows and you figure out the killer ten minutes before the investigation team? The writer set that up to get you into the story and make you feel like you’re one step ahead. As for why do they eat brains? No, they don’t, flat out that’s not really a thing after the 80s. My virus is based in a very real very scary sickness that affects 520,000+ Americans. I don’t ask you to believe in a made up virus, I ask you to believe in proven Science and a little bit of intent to speed up the way that Disease shortens your life. The HWR virus at it’s very real roots actually mimic what we would understand as a zombie, almost every symptom in context mirrors that of what we understand to be what zombies are down to the walk. I can’t stress enough how you should give HWR a shot.
So you made it past all of that? First thank you, second the last person that could be reading this but still on the fence about snagging a copy of HWR is you. Weather things like this aren’t you thing just because they just aren’t. That’s ok I still think HWR could be for you! Yes there are zombies, yes people die, but the biggest and most important part of HWR is the family at its center. I believe how the characters are written will still speak to you in a way any other book would if not more just for the fact that you can see how important they are to each other more so feel it. With every line they grow or respond in very human ways. It’s also funny, you may not know me but trust me when I say I don’t take myself too seriously. This book has that fingerprint all over it. Smart and witty, conversations that flow like they would in your circle of friends. I think you’ll be surprised by how much you start to care about Mark and his family or Sarge and his team.
After all that if you don’t think you want to give HWR a chance comment why and I’m sure there’s something in there for you or I can make improvements to the next two books. I hope I get the chance to entertain you- MH
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