A Fiendish Review

Hey,

So zombies have been the monster du jour for the past 10 years or so. I like me some zombies (and I won't say no to another Left 4 Dead sequel), but it's all gotten a little...tired. I like to joke that humanity is better prepared for a zombie apocalypse than it is for climate change. So when I pick up zombie-related media these days, I need to see a little originality.

So I was pleasantly surprised by Fiend by Peter Stenson. The main twist is that everyone turns into a zombie overnight. However there is something that will prevent people from becoming a zombie if they take it regularly.

This magic ingredient? Crystal Meth

So the survivors are all speed freaks which, as you can imagine, are not the people best suited for surviving disaster. Although maybe they are. Our narrator is Chase Daniels and as he notes, junkies are some of the most inventive people on Earth when it comes to getting their next fix. Their way of life hasn't changed, they just have zombies to deal with now. Still, it's a tough row to hoe and this is not a pleasant book by any means.

A grim, gritty, book and an interesting take on a well-worn genre.

later
Tom