Sean T Page

Sean Page writes grand vistas in broad strokes. Some, like me, will enjoy that, others will probably decry the lack of character development. It's always difficult to delve into a character when your story plays at such a grand scale. For me, this was a very nice read, showing something other than the traditional undead necromancer/infestation, in stead approaching the whole concept from a middle eastern perception and mixing it with some Mythos type references. The only thing I did not like was the length of the story in relation to the amount of information given. I can easily see this story as a full novel. Overall, well worth my time.… (mere)

I was so excited to begin reading War Against the Walking Dead - there's so much focus on the actual zombie apocalypse and short-term survival, the idea of a guide focused more on long term survival and prosperity was really interesting.

War Against the Walking Dead is broken up into several sections - Know Your Enemy, From Survival to Fightback, Lessons from History, War Against the Walking Dead, Weapons, Tactics, Victory and some great references to websites and further reading.

With sarcasm that would make me proud, Mr. Page also uses an element of humour that prevents the book being a dry, tactical manual but instead makes it serious with moments of light relief. Some of the section headings in particular made me snicker: Transmorphers - Zombies in Disguise (yeah, I heard the Transformers theme in my head when I read that!) is my favourite example.

Particularly interesting for me were the sections on dealing with other survivor groups - religious nuts, power-crazy barons, cannibals - the ideas on how to best interact and deal with these groups are reflected in so many zombie books, but War Against the Walking Dead offers far more practical advice than just 'run awayyyyyyyy'. There is also a mention of roving 'entertainers', court-jester style - an interesting way to boost morale or make a living!

War Against the Walking Dead is a great book if you are interested in the practical side of surviving after the zombie apocalypse, with some excellent ideas on how to fight zombies tactically, find great locations to rebuild humanity, and how to best utilise your survivor community for both prosperity and fighting. So if you want to be prepared, grab a copy and read up, and then keep it close by - this should be one of the first books you have on hand when the dead rise!… (mere)

There is a very 'popular' zombie guide/almanac/guidebook that has gained something of a cult following in recent years. I won't name names, but it would't take a zombie to work out which book I'm talking about. Now, I did buy into that hype, and........hated it. Wasn't funny, wasn't interesting and almost managed to turn me into a zombie-phobic (I had a Google fail, couldn't find a scientific term for such a phobia.)

So when I stumbled across The Official Zombie Handbook: Australia on Amazon late one night, I had instant flashbacks and almost scrolled right on by. Almost. Only one thing got my attention - Australia.

The majority of Zombie books take place in the US, with a few in the UK. I've never come across a zombie-related book set in Australia, so I had to have it. Although I'm currently living in Europe, I was interested to see just how I would survive the Zombapocalypse on my own turf....

The Official Zombie Handbook: Australia has five distinct sections: A Survivor's Guide to Zombies, A Zombie Apocalypse in Australia, Complete Zombie Defence, Surviving Zombies Down Under and Recommended Reading / Further Information.

This book is written with some great sarcasm - with the survivial tips also comes some fantastically snicker-worthy one-liners that made me laugh out loud several times, particularly when paired with some visualisation. Here's a few examples that tickled my brains:

''However, wearing your bow across your body with your arrows in a quill around the belt may give you a decidedly elfish appeal."

''The humble dart is a common part of pub culture and there is no doubting the accuracy of the weapon in the hands of some players. However, in the stressful conditions of a zombie attack, it is unlikely your mate from the Grand Hotel will be able to get his pack of darts out, check their flights and then stand still to throw them at ghouls."

The Official Zombie Handbook: Australia is a good Zombie resource, particularly for us Aussies, but also for anyone living in a country with much stricter gun control laws than the US. The book gives in-depth analysis of how law-enforcement and government bodies would respond to the crisis, case-studies on particular locations, establishing your home-base, foraging for supplies, how to move location, vehicle choices, weapon choices (complete with a 4-stage rating system), and even how to say ''I'm not a Zombie'' in 25 languages (including Swahili, never know when you're going to need to know that one!).

I liked this book far better than The One Which Shall Not Be Mentioned - it was funnier, more comprehensive and relevant, and entertained me the whole way through. My faith in Survival Guides is restored!… (mere)