Publication Date: October 16, 2012 | Series: Zom-B (Book 1)
When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B's racist father thinks it's a joke-- but even if it isn't, he figures, it's ok to lose a few Irish.
B doesn't fully buy into Dad's racism, but figures it's easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse that will surely follow sticking up for Muslims, blacks, or immigrants. And when dodging his fists doesn't work, B doesn't hesitate to take the piss out of kids at school with a few slaps or cruel remarks.
That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers.
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Gr 7-9-B Smith (gender not revealed until the end) is a punk, a bully, and a thug, easily falling into the trap of racism because of an overbearing father. B silently questions that ignorance but ultimately finds it easier, and safer, to conform to Dad's ideals rather than take a stand, as well as another beating. When the zombies attack, B is able to channel this aggression and anger and help lead fellow students trying to find a safe haven and escape. Finally, B's father comes to the rescue and, for a brief moment, all is well. An unfortunate choice, however, causes B's fragile faith to crumble and even worse tragedy ensues. B's self-loathing and doubt make this more than just your average zombie tale, and the subject will strike a chord with many teens, especially those who may find themselves at odds with the beliefs of their parents. Once the zombies attack, however, the soul-searching is put to rest and the action comes fast, furious, and relatively gory. This is the first book in a 12-volume series (with other titles being released at a projected rate of four a year), and it leaves plenty of questions unresolved. This is a promising beginning, and it's sure to have teens eagerly anticipating the next installment.-Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TXα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review
Praise for Zom-B:
"Shan packs in the bites, and he rips out enough entrails for even the most jaded zombie fan; the cliffhanger ending...closes on just the right note to leave the audience gnawing for more...A series opener to sink your teeth into."
(Kirkus Review)
"A raw and deeply observant tale of a morally questionable kid trying, and usually failing, to move beyond the ingrained racism instilled by B's father. It is a brave move by Shan to posit such a bigoted hooligan as our protagonist." (Booklist)
"Character development is impressive...and Shan executes the transition from normalcy to wholesale terror masterfully."
(Publishers Weekly)
"Horror with a social conscience...This compelling page-turner builds steadily to the climax then throws the reader off the cliff with a twist that is impossible to see coming." (--VOYA)
Darren Shan's real name is Darren O'Shaughnessy (pronounced O-Shock-Nessy, though it can also be pronounced O-Shawn-Essy_. Although he is Irish, he was born on July 2, 1972, in St. Thomas' Hospital, London -- directly across the river from the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, which may explain his fascination with evil bloodsuckers! He lived in South East London, near the Elephant & Castle. He started school at the early age of three (he was such a wild child, no pre-school facility would have him!), in English Martyrs. At the age of six, he moved to Limerick in Ireland, with his parents and younger brother, and has lived there ever since.
Shan went to primary school in Askeaton, where his mother was a teacher, then to secondary school in Copsewood College in Pallaskenry. Later, he went back to London to study Sociology and English at Roehampton University. He then worked for a cable television company in Limerick for a couple of years, before setting up as a full-time writer at the age of 23.
Although Shan always wanted to be a writer, it was only in his teenage years that he began writing in his spare time for fun (before that, he only wrote stories if they were for homework). He bought his first typewriter when he was 14, and never looked back, knocking out loads of short stories and comic scripts, and making false starts on several books, which he never completed. He enjoyed his first taste of literary success at age 15, as a runner-up in a television script-writing competition for RTE in Ireland, with a dark comedy script titled A Day in the Morgue (he was morbid even then!).
Shan was 17 when he finished his first novel. Although it was never published, he relished the writing experience, and found himself focusing more on novels in the coming years, leaving behind the short-story format. For the next several years, sandwiched between university and work, he wrote an average of one book a year, experimenting with different ideas, genres, lengths and styles. When he started writing full-time, his output shot up to 5 to 6 books per year! But that has dropped back to 2 to 3 recently, due to all the travelling around he's been doing to promote sales of his books.
All of these early books were adult-oriented. Although Shan quite liked the idea of writing a children's book one day, he considered himself an adult writer first and foremost. In fact, Shan's initial breakthrough was with an adult book, in 1999, titled Ayuamarca (since re-released in the UK as Procession Of The Dead, and coming to the USA in 2010).
In January 2000, his first children's book, Cirque du Freak, which he'd written as a fun side-project, was published. The first book in a series titled The Saga of Darren Shan (or Cirque du Freak, as it's known in America), it attracted rave reviews and an ever-growing army of fans hungry to learn more about vampires which were quite unlike any that anyone had ever seen before!
Shan loved writing for children so much, that for the next several years he focused exclusively on his books for younger readers. First, he wrote a total of 12 books about vampires. He quickly followed up his vampiric saga with The Demonata, a series about demons. Running to ten books in total, The Demonata cemented Shan's place in the UK as the Master Of Children's Horror, and saw him score his first UK #1 bestseller. He also wrote a one-off short book, called Koyasan, for Wold Book Day in the UK.
There was a very successful manga adaptation of Shan's vampire series, drawn by the Japanese artist, Takahiro Arai. It was originally serialized in Japan, but collected volumes are now on sale in the USA, UK and other countries.
In addition to writing for children, Shan has now returned to his first love and is once again writing for adults as well. He has had two adult books published in the UK, Procession Of The Dead and Hell's Horizon. They have been released in a number of other countries too, and are due to hit the USA in 2010. A third, City of the Snakes, goes on sale in the UK in March 2010. His first adult books were released under the name of D B Shan, but they are being reprinted under the name of Darren Shan in March 2010, and City of the Snakes will be released under the Darren Shan name.
By the start of 2010, Shan's books were on sale in every continent, in 39 countries, in 31 languages, and have been children's bestsellers in America, Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and other countries. The books have topped adult bestseller charts in Hungary, Japan and Taiwan. In total, Shan's books have sold close to 15 million copies worldwide!!!!
The movie rights to Cirque Du Freak were bought by Universal, and the first movie (which combines elements from the first three books in the series) was released on October 23rd, 2009, starring newcomer Chris Massoglia as Darren Shan, along with a wide array of established stars such as Josh Hutcherson, John C Reilly, Salma Hayek, Willem Defoe and Ken Watanabe. The movie was called Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in February 2010.
A big film buff, with a collection of more than four thousand movies at home, Shan also reads lots of comics and books, and likes to study and collect original artwork, especially comic art and impressionist and post-impressionist art. He has recently started adding sculptures to his collection, making use of the large, empty field outside his back door. Other interests include long walks, watching football (he's a Tottenham Hotspur and Ireland fan), listening to pop and rock music, theatre, worldwide travel, sampling the delights of both gourmet cuisine and finger-licking junk food, and dreaming up new ways to terrify his readers!!!
Shan spends most of his time in Limerick, Ireland, with his girlfriend Bas. He has no pets, but a neighbourhood dog called Goldie joins him on his walks most days. He also feeds a variety of wild birds, and spots the occasional hare and pheasant strolling through his back yard. In addition to his main home in Ireland, Shan has an apartment in London, to which he escapes for a burst of high-speed living every so often, when he feels the need to get his juices flowing!! Shan rarely writes when in London or on the road, preferring to tie himself to his computer when at home in Limerick, where he can work away solidly without any distractions in the peace and quiet of the Irish countryside.
When B's father first sees the news reports about zombies in Ireland, he laughs it off. Even if there were zombies, he doesn't care much about the Irish...or blacks, or Indians or anyone not up to his British standards. This bigotry infest B to. At first B makes like it's just an act, just pretending to have this hatred. When B acts out in school though, it seems to be more than just pretend hatred. B's friends also hear about the zombie attacks, they are a bit less skeptical. They are more concerned about B's racism. B's best friend is black and it doesn't make sense for B to hate others based on their skin. When the zombies come though, B will have to decided what really matters in life. Does being a person not native to England make you less important? Can B make it out alive and save some people too?
This is going to have to be a fairly short review. There's is such an amazing twist in this book and since this book is so short, I don't feel like I can talk too much about it without spoiling it in some way. B was an interesting character. It's weird to be in the mind of a maybe racist person. B's father is part of the Klan, so it's interesting to see how that affects B. B's father is also abusive towards B and his wife. B's almost too scared not to be a racist. It made me cringe a little all the hatred that is in this book and radiating from B.
Past the bigotry though, you get the gore. There was definitely a great amount of gore for a good zombie story. The only problem is how long it takes to get to the zombies. B's encounter with zombies takes up a small portion of this small book. It seemed a little rushed once they showed up. It was really amazing still though, but don't read this if you have a weak stomach.
Unfortunately, since this is an ARC I did not get to see the illustrations, but I have a copy coming soon so I'll get to check them out. I hope they fit well with the story.
The last 30 pages or so totally make this book shoot up to 4.5 stars. It was a good 3-3.5 star book before, but the last couple chapters just pulled everything together and punched me in the gut. The book sort of ends with a cliff hanger. I think the ending would work find as a stand alone novel. I crave more, but I feel satisfied with how it ends.
Definitely check this book out if you like a good zombie read. I can't wait for more of this series!
First Line: "THEN...It was the darkest, most wretched hour of the night when the dead came back to life and spread like a plague of monstrous locusts through the village of Pallaskenry."
Favorite Lines: "It's no different in the dream. Except in a way it is. Because I know something worse than a crash is coming. I sense it in the air. The roar of a plane engine is always menacing, but this sounds worse. It sounds hungry."
This is the first Darren Shan book I have ever read and I'm going to look into reading more of his works. He does a good job pulling you into the story and making you feel for the characters both negatively as well as positively. The way he brings the reader into B's world is brilliant even though most of the time I just wanted to strangle the main character. At the same time, however, I understand how B's personality came to be what it is and I wanted to see how things would play out. B's internal conflict is the one redeeming element that kept me engaged in the story instead of just setting it aside out of frustration. You may have concluded already that Zom-B is more than just a zombie book and you would be correct. The zombies don't even show up in full force until at least half way through the book. The first half of the book deals with B growing up in an abusive family. The main conflict in B's life is whether to succumb to the idealogy and abuse of the past and present or to break free and become a better person. The zombies seem to be a catalyst to B's final decision in that respect. I like the fact that this book is a quick and easy read. I would have finished it in one day as opposed to two if I wasn't so busy yesterday. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in this series to see how it develops.
Not part of my usual reading diet, this. I read it on the way to Scotland (in the back of my Dad's car on my new Kindle Fire), with my brother and sister asleep on either shoulder. Must say that the blur of the white lines bi-secting the motorway, and the emphatic darkness pooling at the back of our car, made this book all the more sinister (and so pleasing).
Shan does not hold back, and nor does his illustrator (indeed, being able to zoom in on parts of the images on the Kindle Fire added to the joy of reading this book). Strangely, the novelty of hearing about this character or that being eaten lasted the entire book. I was not expecting it to. And why . . . why . . . did I read about zombies eating people with a smile stretching from ear to ear? I suppose because - at the core of this book - is a weird sense of justice. Of not always very nice people receiving not very nice justice.
I don't knock books like this.
There is a place on my shelf for all sorts. This type of book is great for when I feel like something 'in-between' my normal books. It's like when the body tells us that it needs something not entirely healthy for us, but simply good for filling a hole. That makes this book perfect for a car journey (though don't expect it to be a long read - even dwelling on the illustrations, I had 'consumed' this one in under two hours).
As for the Kindle Fire aspect of reading this book . . .
I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much. I love paper. Just love it. Love its texture . . . love its smell . . . love the effort that goes into making it. I enjoy running my fingers over the ink, and like the weight of 'real' books.
But, I have to tell you: reading this book on the Kindle Fire was a pleasure. Being able to navigate my way around the pictures, and explore background details (which I am convinced I would have missed in a 'real' book) by zooming in, added a new angle to my reading experience.
