...and the future includes zombies.
I'm sorry, Alexis, but it's going to happen at some point. And none of us are gonna let you put yourself out of your misery when they come for us. We will fight. Here's why.
One of the things I tend to do on a daily or every-other-daily basis these days is visit Barnes & Noble. I go there before work to wake up, I go after work to decompress, I go to see what's listed on the new literature tables and shelves, I go to see which copies of Neil Gaiman are selling better than others, I go to find new and interesting novels to devour. I'm aware of how creepy all that is. But it's not important right now. I recently discovered a book with a SWEET title and SWEET cover art. Observe.
Allison Hewitt is Trapped. I mean, first of all, she's standing atop a pile of books, possibly wearing Doc Martens, and hefting a SERIOUS axe. (The fact that she's using my name with a different spelling isn't important at all. It's not like I project myself into every heroine I read just to try them on for size or anything. It's not like I imagine playing every heroine I read in a film or TV adaptation of the book. It's not.) The cover art and the title instantly roped me in. Insta-purchase. I knew exactly what it was going to be about and I needed to know how it ended. (Note the use of the word 'need' -- this is a side-effect of good book marketing, okay?)
Author Madeleine Roux is a graduate of Beloit College in my home state of Wisconsin and this book here before you was written originally as a blog. Yes, that's right, a BLOG. Like, a side project. For fun. Here's the original blog for your perusal, but I do highly recommend picking up the actual book. The book itself does keep the blog format for the most part. The general idea is that Allison Hewitt, employee of a local Brooks and Peabody bookstore, is trapped in the break room of said bookstore with her coworkers and a few customers at the time of the 'outbreak' and once she discovers infinite access to the internet thanks to something called the SafetyNet (SNET) she begins blogging through the survival process. Commenters on the blog appear and let Allison know they're not alone, that others have survived, and everyone is just as confused and terrified as they are. Allison's blog posts are relatively frequent, so that her communications of what befalls her and the other survivors are relatively seamless, and let me tell you, the events that unfold are shocking. It starts off with your typical zombie hide-and-seek, run for supplies, search for help kind of ventures, but then things take a turn for the worse. Shit. Gets. Real. Allison Hewitt has to deal with serious shit, but she does it with so much determination it's stunning. It's clear that if anyone is going to survive the Zombiepocalypse, it's Allison Hewitt.
This is one seriously great read. Stayed up all night because I couldn't sleep without knowing what the HELL was going on. It's fast, it's shocking, it's incredibly smart and heartfelt without being sappy (don't know how you could write a sappy zombie novel, though) and the threat of the shuffling, shambling undead seems very real. I applaud Madeleine Roux for her youth, ambition and fucking all-around SKILL at telling this story. I look forward to reading more by this new author.
Moral of the Story: pick up something by an author you don't know. Even if it's just because you like the title or the cover art. Pick up something NEW. And then tell other people about it. Some author out there will love you for it, and it's good karma. Also, I fully expect you to pick up MY book (whatever it is) when it gets published (someday). Good karma, people. Book karma.
Second Moral: get really comfortable with using unusual things as weapons. Just in case.
Lady Aly
This sounds great! I would like to add this to the list of things I would like to borrow from you please!
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