Customer Reviews

Paul Is Undead

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There's no doubt about it. A clever title and a cool concept can sell a book to publishers and customers alike, but while there are highlights of inspired silliness (most revolving around Ringo's Ninja status), the execution of the book as a whole left me flat. The author certainly knows his Beatles history and personnel, so those who know already about the "butcher's cover" and the various "fifth Beatles" will get a bit more out of the book than the average (or younger) fan, but there are two key problems that pull the tale away from ever becoming great. First, because it is a zombie version of Beatles history, there is no plot to propell the story forward--merely a chronological recitation of what happened in what year. Second, the author goes for gross-out and scatalogical humor at every opportunity, which gets old fast. By the way, when you get to the end of the book, you will find that the incident referenced in the preface to hook the reader is never even mentioned again and seems internally inconsistent with the zombie mythology elsewhere in the book--which feels like a bit of a cheat. Fun in parts, icky in lots of parts, but lightweight and tedious in too many parts.

I'm not entirely convinced PAUL IS UNDEAD isn't an elaborate ruse.

I have a theory.

What if Lewis Carroll, Salvador Dali, Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and George Romero ran a Beatles History Fan Club and Hunter S. Thompson kept the minutes from each meeting? Would it be that hard for Alan Goldsher to steal those minutes and seamlessly piece them together?

Hmm...I wonder, because PAUL IS UNDEAD full of that kind of bawdy brilliance.

Mick Jagger, Zombie Hunter? Check.

Ringo Star, Ninja Lord? Check.

Dismembered Body Parts? Double Check. (I'm still giggling over each reference to `beans & franks' or `plonkers')

But fear not, PAUL IS UNDEAD is not mere frippery. The personalities, the events, they mythos of the Beatles are still here, meticulously catalogued. Goldsher has simply taken the authorized history of the Fab Four and coated it with a thick varnish of blood and brains.

The book chronicles the band's rise to the Toppermost of the Poppermost all the way from the Liverpool days to the to the maniac massacre at Shea Stadium to the Battle Royale with Yoko in the Abbey Road Studios. The reader need not understand the intricacies of Beatles lore to enjoy the narrative, but knowing Beatles' fans will wink at Goldsher's insider jests. Indeed, there are plenty of honest moments, wrapped in jaw-dropping tomfoolery.

Yes, for the connoisseur of both the Beatles and fresh brains, PAUL IS UNDEAD is just the dish.

What do a famous music band, The Beatles and zombies have to do with each other...a lot when Paul is Undead! Yep, you read this right. The Beatles may have come from England and but they were they were not of this world.

John Lennon was already a zombie when he helped formed the Beatles. He was getting better at turning others into zombies without anyone suspecting anything was up. John later recruits Paul. They both go in search of Ninja warrior and talented drummer, Ringo. Eventually, the group obtains George. The Beatles are on the rise. Though, they will have to watch themselves from Mick Jagger. Mick hates zombies and eliminates them every chance he gets.

I really had a blast reading this book. The hilarious plot, wild antics of Paul, Ringo, John, George and the great illustrations made Paul the Undead a pure delight to read. I had a smile on my face pretty much the whole time I was reading this book. Paul, Ringo, John, George were so funny. I liked reading how each one would share their perceptive on the details of what was happening at that moment or during a specific situation. Mick Jagger as a zombie hunter...LOL. Paul the Undead is a zombie chomping, brain munching, gut busting, good time! I can't wait to read Mr. Alan Goldsher's next novel, Midnight Movie.

When you think about The Beatles, your mind may think heartthrob at first but in this book, you can see them in a whole new light. If you see them, you better run! John Lennon is a zombie who has a knack for turning others into zombies without anyone noticing. Oh and did I mention that he's forming a rock band? He and Paul are ready to find other members to complete their zombie band. They run into one slight problem. Mick is a zombie slayer making music with the undead. Can you think of anything more ironic?

Sometimes you just need a book that makes you laugh out loud and mutter WTF? I enjoyed this book because everything was so off the wall and it made me remember being a kid and using my imagination to come up with something that will never happen but for a while I get to escape into another world.

It's easy to shrug off this novel as a funny book about the most famous and influential rock band of all time. Look deeper. You'll see scribe Alan Goldsher veils stunning truth behind humorous fiction in his tome, "Paul Is Undead."

Were three of the Beatles really zombies? Before shaking your head no, examine the connection between the band and author Edgar Allan Poe. In his immortal 1967 song "I Am the Walrus," John Lennon cries out, "Man you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe." Less renowned but no less pertinent is Paul McCartney's shout-out to Poe in his 1968 song unreleased by the Beatles, "Thingumybob." This tune's title is a blatant reference to Poe's "The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq." Combine these unassailable facts with Poe's most famous tale, "The Fall of the House of Usher," noted as "the basis of zombie mythology in modern pop culture" (see [...]), and one conclusion alone raises its rotting head: Goldsher is dancing around shrouded truths, not beguiling lies. In the Beatles-Poe nexus, Poe was the legendary "Fifth Beatle" who ushered the band in all things zombie.

Still unconvinced the Beatles were zombies? Find a vinyl copy of the band's 1966 album "Revolver." Play the song "She Said She Said" forwards on a standard turntable at precisely 33 and 1/3 RPM, and confession emerges clear as day to the astute listener: "I know what it's like to be dead." Kudos to Goldsher for venturing where no Beatleologist before him dared.

That said, no way Ringo's a ninja. That's just silly.

Whether or not you love The Beatles and zombies- this brilliant rendition of what music and history would be IF The Beatles were brain junkies will have you rolling.


I don't even have much to say about this book, I simply loved it- don't want to spoil anything for readers. I really went into this book rolling my eyes, but I'm glad I read it anyway! Hilarious. Ninjas! Zombies! Rock 'n Roll! This is the best mockumentary I have experienced since watching "Best in Show" back in 2000. We have all the top dogs dropping cameos: Jesus, Santa Claus, Mick Jagger, Elvis and Roy Orbison. This is Beatlemania in an entirely new light- those of you trivia addicts will be excited that music trivia from the 1960s litters this book.


Dark and humorous- those of you that love The Beatles and don't mind your fabulous four devouring civilians and having an alternate history, will really get into this book. Maybe not for those that aren't into a little bit of gore in their stories... but this is a zombie book, I wouldn't have expected any less. I strongly recommend this book, the wonderful world of humorous horror and zombies collides blissfully with The Beatles to create an enjoyably gruesome fun for all story ;)

Given the number of really good Vampire Hunter and Zombie books out right now, I had high hopes for this one. I hate it. It is just really, incredibly dumb. Obviously, the author has done some research because he was able to warp the facts and produce his "story." That gets it one star. I can't even finish this horrible thing, it's SO bloody bad! A serious waste of money, even if I had bought it used for $.01, which I unfortunately did not.

I have yet to find a zombie parody that I can stomach to its fullest potential, and I had hoped that Paul Is Undead would be the one to break the mold. It started off well, but eventually I simply did not care for the interview format. I think that it might have gone a little better if it was a "story" story where we follow John as he goes about and makes zombie Beatles - not interviews from various people who recollect the making of the Beatles. It did not help that I am not a Beatles fanatic, so I could hardly tell if most of the interviewees were actual people. I did get a kick out of Mick Jagger's role in the zombie Beatles story.

One thing I will say is that this has, by far, the grossest description of how the zombie process happens. *shudders* It involves tongue lengthening and brain fluids and spitting and far too much information that I really don't want to re-read again to find out. However, I guess the Liverpool zombies were the cream of the crop somehow. They maintained their human personalities, had no slowing of movements, could heal themselves, and hypnotize their victims. I don't know if I buy much of that, but whatever works to make zombie Beatles rule the world.

Anyhow, another parody bust for me. I would probably recommend Paul Is Undead for those who like the Beatles AND don't mind zombies OR reading interviews to piece together a story.

What an amazing writer! I am a huge fan of the Beatles but always in my head thought of each of the through the songs i read, not the actual person behind the Beatle. Just bought the book yesterday and cant put it down!

buy it, own it, zombie is back!
-hal

While I am no huge fan of the Beatles, I grew up listening to their music on a regular basis. I know most of their songs and thanks to my Junior High Music teacher I know most of their history (even after all of these years).

This book took the true history and changed just where it needed to in order to fit in with the concept of the story, and it did it perfectly :).

As I am a slow reader, I was able to tear through this book in 3 days. That says a lot.