Zombie Ohio by Scott Kenemore

Note:  Okay so I've tried this review a couple of times, but there is just no way to review the book without giving away some spoilers.  So if you hate that sort of thing just skip to the last paragraph for my wrap up. 

This is an interesting book.  It starts off with our main character Pete waking up after having a terrible car accident.  Or at least he thinks it was him that had the car accident.  See Pete has amnesia and isn't sure who he is.  Though he does have the good sense to check his wallet and figure out what his name is.  He makes it back to his house only to discover that the dead have risen from their graves.  With the help of a friend he heads off to find his girlfriend Veronica.  Though by then he has discovered something about himself.  Yeah he died in the accident and seems to be the only walking talking zombie roaming about.

I could talk more about the story, but I don't want to ruin for you guys.  I found Zombie Ohio to be an interesting read.  It is unlike any other zombie book that I've read.  Some of them have had zombies as one of the main characters, but this one is all about Pete and his journey.  And as surprising as this might seem it is a very interesting story.  The character has an arc that takes him from hiding his condition, to reveling in it, to eventually using it to save his friends.  Along the way we see him come to grips with what he is.  I thought it was a nice touch to have him be a bit of a villain as well as sort of heroic.  Sure we all have plans for how to survive the zombie uprising, but haven't you thought about what you would do if you were "turned"?  Come on I can't be the only one. 

Now while this isn't a movie I always like to talk about the "effects".  That is to say how well does the author capture the zombies and the attacks.  There are some brutal attacks in the book.  From a survivalist that gets his comeuppance to a couple of hunters trapped on the roof of a cabin.  When Pete embraces his zombie side he really goes all out.  Leading a band of mindless undead he uses his intelligence to hunt down a couple of groups of survivors.  And regales the reader with the details of dining on some tasty grey matter.  As the founder of gutmunchers.com I can say that I approve of this...  Yeah I'm sort of weird.

Zombie Ohio is a nice bit of genre fiction that switches up the tired old Romero inspired narrative that dominates most of the books that I've read starring my favorite undead creatures.  It is an interesting read that I encourage everyone to track down and check out.  I also found out that the author, Scott Kenemore, has also written several other zombie inspired books.  I will be tracking those down and reading them as well. 

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer