The Zombie Cookbook edited by Kim RichardsMy rating: 4.8 of 5 Panic Attacks
The world has changed its view on the monsters of yesteryear. Women now swoon over vampires and werewolves are the heroes of their own tales; the reader sympathizes with these characters instead of fearing and wishing them dead. It seems there is only one constant in modern monsters: Zombies are zombies are zombies. And their hungry!
But if that is to be true, how does the world of zombies survive without becoming completely boring to the readers? Though a new title such as The Zombie Cookbook helps, what really keeps the idea of zombies “fresh” in the mind of readers around the globe is its collection of stories, poems, sketches and recipes which orbit around a subject everyone can sink their teeth into: Food!
“It goes to show that some cliché’s never die,” said Karina Fabian, author of Cookbook tales My Big Fat Zombie Wedding and Wokking Dead.
Fabian, who disagrees that the subject of zombies seems to be taboo in the publishing world, said that titles such as Pride Prejudice and Zombies and World War Z—The Zombie Survival guide have helped to bring the “dead” subject back to life. Though she said she’s not looking at changing the readers’ perceptions of zombies, “What I hope to give the world of zombies…a good, long laugh. That gives me time to run away!”
But readers should not run away from The Zombie Cookbook. Within its pages are stories such as:
Secret Ingredient—There’s a zombie in the kitchen! That may be the case, but when spaghetti-eating zombie Clete takes a job as the assistant chef at the L-Double-J ranch, he’s not the one you need to watch out for. It’s a tale of catering and culinary revenge. Would you have added the secret ingredient?
Express Cuisine—Zombie attack on a speeding train--is there really any escape? Fight, hide, jump--none of it can stop you from becoming...Express Cuisine.
Brain Food—Ah, domestic zombie bliss! It’s the Undead Cleavers mixed in with a little Arsenic and Old Lace. Can’t tell you much about this story except that the ending will surprise you as much as it did Thelma!
And many others.
Each story, recipe and poem is well placed. The stories have full characters that readers can relate to and a pace that keeps the reader moving. Before too long the reader is lead through the 84 pages as if no time has passed at all.
I didn’t become a fanatic of zombies until my wife began her fascination with them. Soon after, zombies began popping up all over the place and now we have a cookbook to accompany the pride and prejudice, giving us something to munch on while making our way through the various survival guides and Resident Evil games. To sum up my impression of The Zombie Cookbook (Damnation Books, September 2009) is six simple words: I can’t wait to see more!
Note:
- The Zombie Cookbook can be purchased at
Damnation Books and more can be found about it at:
http://www.zombiecookbook.net/.
