The Walking Dead Season One

Ten years ago, to the day, The Walking Dead premiered on AMC. It was, for a good while, a cultural phenomenon. The zombie genre had reached new heights, with it taking over popular culture for all intents and purposes. Truly, you couldn't find anything that didn't have zombies in it, from video games to cinema. George Romero was even making his film finale in his Living Dead film series. However, it was Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead which spilled the zombies onto the serialized small screen.

My first brush with The Walking Dead came from high school. I actually have fond memories of flipping through a friend's copy of the first issue of the comics, Days Gone By, as we excitedly chatted about the board game Zombies!!! and gushing over this comic series my friend had brought to our attention. I quite liked it and remember briefly borrowing them from him and drawing nostalgic connections to Issue 3, Safety Behind Bars, and events from Max Brooks The Zombie Survival Guide.

Having read the first few issues way back when, and now in 2020 having finished the series with the fantastic conclusion to Kirkman's comics in 2019, I've now re-watched the 2010 pop-culture phenomenon that is The Walking Dead. This is just my own reminisces from ten years on, and why I think this show managed to become so popular.

This story opens in presumably the not too distant future or past of our own world in rural Georgia. Sherriff Rick Grimes and his partner Shane are discussing life and Rick's strained marriage when they get a call about a high speed chase in progress, and along with other officers, respond. In the ensuing shoot out, Rick is shot and badly injured. He lapses into a coma. 

Roughly a month or so later he wakes up in the hospital. He finds it abandoned, in a state of serious disrepair, and sees signs of fighting, badly mutilated corpses, and a field of bodies. Though first he stumbles on one of the major changes of the series, finding a door which reads, "DON'T OPEN DEAD INSIDE" which produced one of the most visually arresting shots in the whole show, which sticks out to to people who haven't even watched the series. 

It's actually one of the first changes from the comics where Rick instead wanders into a cafeteria full of zombies and, through blind luck, manages to extract himself from a life threatening altercation with the undead. 

Escaping to his family home, he finds it empty of his wife Lori and son Carl, instead he is found by fellow survivor Morgan and, after a brief interrogation, discovers the sudden fate of the world. The dead have risen to eat the living, civilization has collapsed, and his family has headed to what they hope is the safety of Atlanta where the government has tried to establish a safe zone for refugees. After arming up, he rides off into the new world, and is almost immediately nearly devoured by a horde of ghouls before hiding in a tank. On a walkie talkie he gets in contact with a survivor observing him from the outside and finds his way to, relative, safety.

Upon doing so he meets Glen, Andrea, Meryl, T-Dog, Jacqui and Morales. They devise a way out of the city, in a very good departure from the original comics which leads us to a more drawn out escape, but some clever looks at the fall of Atlanta and the dynamics of surviving the zombie apocalypse. And our first big plot conflict emerges as Meryl, an unrepentant asshole, is left behind in the escape.

When they do make it back to camp, they encounter the rest of the survivors. In a very heartwarming scene, Rick finds his wife and son, who have been protected by his former partner Shane. This little community manages to have a few good days, but are interrupted by the return of Darryl, a show only character and the brother of Meryl, which prompts another expedition into the city. Though a success, all good things come to an end when walkers attack and kill many of the survivors. In the aftermath, there is a dispute about where to go, and it's a toss up between Fort Benning and trying for the CDC headquarters in the city.

In a very different take from the comics, the show has a fascinating look at how the virus started, the failed study for a cure, and some interesting science behind how the virus is spread. It's a welcome change, which made for a very fresh take on the show and a fantastic final episode. It was quite ambitious for both a finale and in how bold the decision was to depart from the original material.

At only six episodes, the first season is extremely short and, I would argue, that's to its overall benefit. The Second Season, at the time almost universally hated, but in recent years remembered fondly, was stretched over thirteen episodes, which with only one location and a radically different cast and story was bound to frustrate fans and new audiences with its slower pace. The Third Season set things back on track however, hewing closer to the original story and then making it a massive television success. Though the shows viewership has declined markedly from Season Seven onwards. I'll personally say that I have only watched intermittently beyond Season Five.

This being said, the First Season was a real tour de force with an opening episode which really drives home the suddenly changed world. Gory visuals and some simply fantastic zombie killing action. The acting is wonderful, and the show was done in a way which turns your expectations from the comics against you so very well. Re-watching it I was struck by how much my initial expectations were happily raised by the departures from the original comics. Darryl became such a fan-favorite that he is the face of The Walking Dead now. In only six episodes we managed to get a great new story, some unexpected surprises, and no matter what you think of the show now, ten years later those six episodes still stand out.

Definitely worth a viewing this Halloween!

Shattered Hourglass

The third installment of J. L. Bourne's Day by Day Armageddon series manages to bring our story to an international world, and tie off some loose threads which we have been dealing with since the dead first walked. In a story that provides the best of Robert Kirkman, George A. Romero and Tom Clancy, we see the end of the world from the Arctic to Honolulu in Shattered Hourglass. 

Minor SPOILERS for the last two installments follow.

In this next installment of the series we have a new look at the world ravaged by the zombies created by the "anomaly" which causes the dead to rise and seek to devour the living. This story switches from previous first person narrative as journal style to a multi-POV, third person style novel which has more in common with fiction usually found in this genre. The main protagonist is still Kilroy, but now we have Special Operators, some of the original Hotel 23 survivors like John and Tara and scientists trapped in an Antarctic Research outpost. It's a dizzying array of characters providing a greater look at the global zombie outbreak. We get hints of what happened in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. 

Our focus though does remain on Kil and his drafting into Operation Hourglass, which is a mission charged with finding out what the Chinese government was working on prior to the dead rising. Inside a secret facility on the Chinese mainland, there may be a way to cure humanity and prevent the dead from continuing to rise. Meanwhile, special operators working in support of the remaining US government are working to both sustain Operation Hourglass, and to deal with the shadowy organization known as Remote Six, which may put our embattled protagonist in mortal peril. Finally, his former Hotel 23 family lives onboard the USS George Washington while trying to aid the remaining US military command and keep the American Dream from fading into undeath. 

I will admit that beginning the third installment was a bit jarring, as I had immensely enjoyed the original journal style entries and the intense focus on our single protagonist. However, the sheer scope of this tale and the many complex moving parts did necessitate an expanded cast to keep things going. It did add some freshness to the story which kept my expectations high, and allowed for more varied and scary plots. From the isolation of the Antarctic research team, to the constant running and gunning the Special Operators had engage in, I found that this story never had a dull moment.

The final twist to the story though, in my opinion, made this really worth it. There was a great set up, and an answer, to why the world suddenly became the way it did. I won't spoil it, but if you want something that works as a zombie virus story, and perhaps helps keep you in the world and a high stakes international mission, this was a great way to do it. It honestly combined everything good about Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six novel and Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead for an exciting high stakes plot.

While I didn't enjoy it as much as the original two installments, I will admit I had a great time reading this book again for Halloween!

I will be discussing some spoilers below the cut, so if you haven't read the first two novels, I highly recommend checking them out and you can find my reviews for each, here and here. SPOILERS below! 

Devolution

In our very tech focused and hyper-integrated world, it can be hard to imagine just how brutal and unforgiving nature can be. Try to picture then, a quaint and cute little haven away from the hustle and bustle of the technological world, surrounded in an oasis of natural phenomenon. This is the small planned community of Greenloop, situated in the Pacific Northwest and in the shadow of the magnificent Mount Rainier. Still hyperconnected to the comforts of the modern world though, wifi, great cell reception, drone deliveries, and biofueled houses which you can adjust at your leisure. 

Truly a small piece of paradise.

Until the mountain erupts. In a flash of fire and fury, the modern world is swept away, leaving the people lounging here stranded. All one once the inhabitants of Greenloop are cut off from the outside world, their access gone, drone deliveries, gone, and they're stranded in an unforgiving environment at the onset of winter. But it's just a matter of time until they're rescued right? Perhaps, but what if the eruption of Mount Rainier has driven something more dangerous, something more deadly, something more primal towards them? What happens when these modern people, who have never known the terror of primal nature, its mercilessness and its hardship, come face to face with their potential primitive past? You get a severe case of Devolution.

Max Brooks new novel sets out to tell an engaging scary story, one quite appropriate for the modern world.

The story is told in the familiar scrapbook style, revolving around the nameless journalists' interviews with those familiar with the incident, excerpts from news pieces, and the main meat of the story, the diary of Kate Holland. Her story is one told with an interesting twist as she writes a diary to deal with her stress from the overwhelming nature of everyday life, to keep her therapist abreast of how she's feeling, and chronicle her own state of mind to see her progress and express herself.

Her trip has, with her husband Dan, been undertaken to improve their marriage, give them some piece of mind, and help them get back on track. 

They meet the colorful cast of other eccentrics coming from the Pacific Northwest to relax and unwind in this isolated, but technologically connected community. Run by the stunningly beautiful and technologically savvy team of Tony and Yvette Durant, the community looks amazing with its individual houses and common house. 

The other members of the community, the overweight and arrogant philosopher Reinhardt, the power couple of Carmen and Euphemia with their adopted daughter Palomino, husband and wife Bobbie and Vincent, and the reclusive but powerful presence of the elderly and diminutive Bosnian artist, Mostar. This little group, thrown together from diverse backgrounds, will suddenly have to survive their own little apocalypse.

It tells an interesting story of city dwellers who are expecting nature to revolve around their needs. They feel that, with technology, their little group can tame nature. That they've all only lived in the city, never interacted with untamed nature, and have no survival skills that don't revolve around technology, doesn't really occur to them. It puts human need for technology and community front and center, and shows how the hyper-individualistic and society of instant connection can be sorely tested by extreme situations. They also learn the hard way that nature is not nice.

All of the issues of being cut off from greater society, planning for long term survival, and otherwise pulling together, might have been overcome if it were not for the sudden intrusion of another group of equally desperate primates. The Sasquatch. This throws everything into turmoil as these new critters are desperate and hungry, and the humans of Greenloop, while smart and intuitive, are not exactly equipped to fight them off. Whether from sheer lack of preparedness, a semi-naïve philosophy of harmony with nature, or simple inability to understand their new neighbors, the people of Greenloop are very much unprepared for the danger they face.

Like most of Brooks works prepping does feature, to a greater or lesser degree, into the overall story. He tries to outline practical examples of disaster preparedness, reminders about the fragility of high technology in emergencies, and that most people don't really know how to survive in the wilderness. It's an honest, not really preachy, way of putting forward the idea of keeping yourself ready for even a mild natural disaster which, I can say from experience, can really throw you for a loop. It also takes a few potshots at tech gurus, thinking nature is calm and pleasant, or that humans can be effortlessly on top of the food chain. Though most of all, reminding us that nature is full of wild animals and not tame petting zoo critters.

We have a great slow build to the story, with the gradual encroaching disaster, a slow creep of the monsters, and a build up to a tense, unknown situation with a brutally climactic ending. One of the true triumphs of the book is so comprehensively dealing with the modern problem of instant communications in horror, by using the destruction from the Rainer eruption to so totally cut off the characters. It gives you a real feeling of isolation and horrible solitude that is hard in our modern world, and I think that every time this is pulled off well for an author it should be applauded.

I definitely think it's great to have Max Brooks back in the game of horror. He writes phenomenally well, establishes a diverse, exceptional, and unique cast of characters, and uses them in an unexpected and interesting way. They really do jump off the page, through the biased views of the narrator, and with the "after action report" of the various interviewees. A great read for 2020 and anyone who loves the horror genre! 

Mexican Gothic

 A recent release which I picked up because goodreads kept recommending it to me, I was very happily surprised as I found myself suddenly immersed in the world of Mexican Gothic. 

Set in 1950's Mexico, it follows debutante Noemi Taboada, as she answers a seemingly madness filled letter from her cousin Catalina, who has married into the obscure Doyle family. In the letter, Catalina accuses her husband Virgil Doyle of trying to poison her. Catalina's father, wary of scandal, sends his daughter to check on events in the remote province of Hidalgo at the Doyle home of High Place. As Catalina arrives, she realizes things are not quite as they seem.

This is the most recent novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This is a Canadian author who I had not read before, and I am pleasantly surprised by what I have found! Having explored more of her work upon completion of this novel, I am happy I started with this one and will certainly be checking out more of what she does!

Mexican Gothic has everything you could hope for in a good tale of Gothic horror. There's a creepy house, a mysterious family, and dark, twisted secrets. Instead though, they are transplanted to the highlands of Mexico and set against the backdrop of Mexican society and expectations. The very foreign people are almost part of the horror as their entire setting is alien and unsettling, with its many references to both the Mexican Revolution and foreign exploitation of the Mexican people.

Noemi is a fantastic narrator. She is a sassy socialite who likes to bend the rules and frustrate her opposition. That she comes from a world of parties, learning, and language, makes it very difficult for her to adjust to the dark, dreary, rigid ways of the Doyle family of High Place. She's like a beacon of light there, but one which almost instantly strikes friction with those inhabiting the place. She clashes immediately with the family head Virgil, instantly dislikes the patriarch Howard, and the 'mother' of the house Florence has an instant distaste for her smoking habit. The only person she doesn't seem to bring out revulsion in is the black sheep of the family, the shy and nervous Francis.

She isn't one to play a damsel in distress either, and is always thinking to try and get one over on the Doyle's and save her cousin, who seems to be slowly losing her mind. Though Noemi finds herself questioning her own sanity the longer she stays in High Place.

What I really enjoyed was how my initial assumptions were twisted and turned on me, until I came to a stunning and shocking conclusion. In the first few pages I rather foolishly assumed I knew how things would end up, but man did the twist really show me wrong! Very well done and very, very scary! Highly recommend this wonderful new book!

World War Z

 A few years ago I had the misfortune to see the Bradd Pitt film, World War Z which was extremely loosely based on Max Brooks phenomenal 2006 novel of the same name. The book though, as is often the case, is undoubtedly better. Rather than the swift running, barely discernable from their victims, monstrosities we saw in the film, here we have the classic Romero zombies which have slouched their way into my nightmares since I was a child. The world is stumbling towards its demise and consequently it becomes engulfed in the great Zombie War.

Welcome to the real World War Z

This book is, in essence, set in a similar world to the authors first novel, The Zombie Survival Guide which details the zombies seen in this story. I picked up the Zombie Survival Guide in high school, having had a recurring series of sleepless nights and nightmares regarding the undead thanks to games like Resident Evil (and its attendant film) and Dawn of the Dead. This semi-serious and slightly comedic guide to dealing with the undead really helped me overcome a semi-childish fear of being eaten alive by the undead. When I learned that there was a novel coming out set in a world besieged by the undead, it was a no brainer I was going to get it!

I also, unsurprisingly, agree with Max Brooks on why zombies are scary: "They scare me more than any other fictional creature out there because they break all the rules. Werewolves and vampires and mummies and giant sharks, you have to go look for them. My attitude is if you go looking for them, no sympathy. But zombies come to you. Zombies don't act like a predator; they act like a virus, and that is the core of my terror. A predator is intelligent by nature and knows not to overhunt its feeding ground. A virus will just continue to spread, infect and consume, no matter what happens. It's the mindlessness behind it"

With that in mind, Brooks sets out to write this fear very well. From the first bite, to the expanding hordes, we see the zombies grow in threat and menace. In a world too similar to our own!

At the time this was written, it was set in an undetermined time some twenty minutes into the future. With 2020 upon us, it becomes a bit of fun alternate history really. But the novel itself is probably the single definitive work on the zombie apocalypse. It takes us through the eyes of people all over the world from all walks of life and deals with how they struggled to survive the Zombie War.

The novel has a very American oriented focus, which simply makes sense. However, it delves into events the world over from China, India, Japan, France and even outer space! It provides a smorgasbord of fascinating little looks into how different countries fought the zombie menace or dealt with the little quirks of fighting zombies. Whether in the infamous catacombs under Paris, the constant de-thawing ghouls of Russia, or dealing with those that roam the sea floor in a terrible form of eternal damnation.

When I first read this book, and when the zombie craze was reaching it's zenith around 2012 when the film was in production, there were numerous discussions on the internet of how plausible the whole set up was. I remember how many people scoffed at how 'no one could be that stupid' or 'governments would not ignore the dead walking' and such other arguments. With others pointing out that accepting the walking dead as a fact of life would be far too difficult for some. Well, I personally think that 2020 has really put paid to the idea that people will react rationally in the face of zombies. The book's "Great Panic" is horrifically realistic.

This Great Panic was, for me, one of the high points of the book. It showed that the zombie problem had become accepted, understood, and out of control. People fleeing with no destination, outbreaks too large for the government to control, and a terrible attempt at a "shock and awe" battle at Yonkers to try and restore faith in the government. The Battle of Yonkers might be the most unrealistic moment, but it was a great piece of writing.

After this we see a series of implementations of the Redeker Plan, where governments retreat behind safe zones, hoping to ride out the wave of the undead so that they rot away. Of course, that eventually changes! And we get to see a new way of fighting the undead, and the genuine fear of the swarms in their hundreds and millions!

With later stories taking place (including one which is essentially The Hunt for Red October meets Dawn of the Dead) above and around the world, you get a wonderful feeling of this being a global war. I did enjoy how this played out in the end, and I loved feeling like humanity was not just curling up behind its walls. The post-war world might have been fleshed out a little better, and one of my personal criticisms is that the 'wrapping up' section was way to American oriented. Some vagueness and a sense of mystery is necessary of course, but for some parts I felt the novel was almost too short!

Overall though, this one is absolutely a standard read for anyone that loves the zombie genre. It's a fast read, full of unique and clever zombie action and thinking, and deserves your time this Halloween!

Origin to Exile

Two years ago I reviewed Day By Day Armageddon and commented on how it is one of my favorites in the whole genre of zombie literature. Here I present the sequel, Origin to Exile (or Beyond Exile) and would like to simply add on why I believe this novel is an amazing sequel to an already powerful first installment.

In the first novel we established that the dead now walk the land. Anyone who dies, for any reason, reanimates as a corpse hungry for the flesh of the living. Following a failed government campaign to eliminate the bulk of the walking dead, we now have to contend with radioactive zombies who not only spread deadly contagion wherever they walk, but also are more intelligent, agile, and deadly than their regular brethren. 

Now we put on our boots, load our guns, and follow our protagonist as he works his way across the horrific wasteland that is the former United States where the casualty rate is 99%. The dead surely outnumber the living, and we see a road to exile.

Spoilers for Origin to Exile follow.