Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead [Paperback]

Scott Kenemore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 2011

“No one is safe in a zombie apocalypse. Not even a zombie.”

When rural Ohio college professor Peter Mellor dies in an automobile accident during a zombie outbreak, he is reborn as a highly intelligent (yet somewhat amnesiac) member of the living dead. With society crumbling around him and violence escalating into daily life, Peter quickly learns that being a zombie isn’t all fun and brains. Humans—unsympathetic, generally, to his new proclivities—try to kill him at nearly every opportunity. His old friends are loath to associate with him. And he finds himself inconveniently addicted to the gooey stuff inside of people’s heads.

As if all this weren’t bad enough, Peter soon learns that his automobile accident was no accident at all. Faced with the harrowing mystery of his death, Peter resolves to use his strange zombie “afterlife” to solve his own murder.

Skillfully combining the genres of horror, humor, and film noir, Zombie, Ohio weaves an enthralling and innovative tale that any fan of the current zombie craze is sure to relish. Followers of detective and horror fiction alike will find something to love about Zombie, Ohio—a tale of murder, mystery, and the walking dead.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

George Romero, director of the original Night of the Living Dead and its sequels, should snap up the rights to this novel. It has everything: zombies, gore, brain-eating, love, death, even a murder mystery. All of it revolves around Peter Mellor, who wakes up after a car accident a little discombobulated. Even though the country is in the midst of a “zombie apocalypse,” it takes Peter a while to figure out that he is now one of the “moving cadavers” because, unlike your typical zombie, he can talk, reason, and, well, pass for human. As he’s trying to come to terms with his new undead state, reunite with his girlfriend, and figure out who was responsible for his car accident, Peter winds up the leader of a zombie horde and the target of human rednecks and intense military scrutiny. Kenemore, author of the humor books The Zen of Zombie (2007) and Z.E.O. (2009), combines humor with horror in a way that is guaranteed to make any zombie fan stand up and shout, “Braaaaaains!” --David Pitt

Review

“It has everything: zombies, gore, brain-eating, love, death, even a murder mystery.... combines humor with horror in a way that is guaranteed to make any zombie fan stand up and shout, 'Braaaaaains!'” (Booklist )

“There's plenty to satisfy zombie fans who've come to expect some philosophy with their gore.” (Publishers Weekly )

“A delicious slice of undead Americana. Funny, tragic, and nicely weird—it’s Monty Python meets Night of the Living Dead. Definitely take a bite out of this one!” (Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin and Patient Zero )

“Zombie, Ohio delves into questions of identity, purpose, and morality, without skimping on the requisite gore and action that zombie fans love. This will be one of the most unusual and satisfying zombie novels you read this year.” (Kim Paffenroth, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Gospel of the Living Dead and Valley of the Dead )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (February 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616082062
• ISBN-13: 978-1616082062
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #556,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Scott Kenemore is the author of the Zen of Zombie-series of humor/satire books, and the novel Zombie, Ohio. Born in New York and raised in Indianapolis, he is a graduate of Kenyon College and Columbia University. A member of the Zombie Research Society and the Horror Writers Association, Scott lives in Chicago where he is the drummer for the musical band The Blissters.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book! February 3, 2011

By Rhonda Kachur

Format:Paperback

I've been trying to come up with the right words to describe my feelings for this book. It's not only a fantastic zombie novel with all the blood and guts a gal could want, but it's also a love story, a murder mystery, AND a comedy all rolled into one killer debut novel! Peter was killed in a car accident, but doesn't realize for a little while that he is one of the undead due to the fact that he can still think and talk. He also realizes that his car crash was no "accident", hence the murder mystery aspect! DUN DUN DUN! Now, we have a smart zombie looking for the man who murdered him and who's trying to put the pieces of his life, or what's left of it, left back together. Now the book just came out, so I don't want to give too much away. What I can say is this book is the funniest, bloodiest, best damn zombie novel I have read in a while and I would KILL to see it made into a movie! I think I've finally found the perfect phrase to sum it up...All that and a bag of chips! Oh and did I mention it takes place in my home state? O-H-I-O!

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 & 1/2 stars: not as good as I was hoping for June 14, 2011

By A. Boston TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

I had heard rave reviews on this book, so I was looking forward to reading it. I love zombie & apocalypse stories, and a book written from a zombie's perspective sounded unique and fresh. It started out interesting, but for the majority of the book I was bored. While I was ready to really love a zombie's take on everything, Peter seemed to go on and on and repeat himself a lot. Yea, he was a zombie technically speaking, but really just more of a regular guy who happens to be undead and munch on brains now and then. So Zombie, Ohio for me was just run of the mill as far as enjoying it. Didn't love or hate it.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brains! This Book has Brains!!! February 14, 2011

By Sybil Starr

Format:Paperback

I am a huge fan of all things zombie, and to be honest, this has sometimes made me fall prey to less than well written, self-published, needs-actual-editing, type of novels. Lacking depth and, at times, imagination, these books left me feeling a little brain dead myself upon their completion. FINALLY I found the Kenemore! I have been a fan of his humor books from the beginning (starting with The Zen of Zombie), these books are pro-zombie and very tongue in cheek type of humor (comparing Jesus to a zombie, oh my!) And while these are humor books, I have always found them very thoughtful and well written. I have also read some other Scott Kenemore work which was published in the Kenyon Review a while back, and it wasn't a zombie story at all, but about a man tattooing a dead body. Scott Kenmore's a writer capable of many layers, and I believe he especially proves his mastery of the horror genre itself in his latest, and first, full length novel. Zombie, Ohio is a rip roaring fun, tearing up the country side with my zombie horde at my back, in this ultimate "I was raised from the dead and I can still think" adventure type of novel! Wow, that was really a mouth full!

Zombie, Ohio had me chuckling with it's asides to HP Lovecraft (where was the meteor reported?) And it's knowledge of everything from local folk lore (Wild Black Turkeys representing some type of witch?) to the intimate layout of the Ohio countryside. This book was well thought out and planned in three parts. I believe you could actually make a study of some the additional symbolism that Kenemore uses in the book, but you also would need to be aware of his allusions to Zombies in pop culture (movie references throughout also). . again, this is a novel with many layers, on the basic level it is a book about a sad, alcoholic professor who loses his life in a zombie outbreak and finds himself a lucid zombie. But on another level, it is about a man who finds himself ineffectively prepared to live courageously until he becomes one of the undead, and then, we find he is not only effective but indestructible and fearless! Scott Kenmore's novel is also the first "pro-people" Zombie novel I have read, where the people keep it together and adjust and fight the zombies back, another statement of social commentary? And that's not the only example throughout the book of social commentary, and no it is not all positive either.

I would also like to give a big nod and a chuckle to the "first time" scene. . ahh Kenemore says, you never forget your first time. Stinking hilarious! Also, because I am also a baseball fan, the reference to the minor league ball team "The Kernels" was very well received by me! Again, this book had many layers, including it's final part labeled "redemption" which ends without such a thing, if you ask my opinion (I will not give it away, this is a MUST READ, not only if you like zombies but if you enjoy horror at all!) left me very thoughtful and also feeling like Mr. Kenmore was making a statement without ever saying a word. . perhaps, in the end, there is no redemption for any of us, except in death? hmmm. . . ?
This is it guys and gals, the Zombie novel you have been waiting for and craving. . . with BRAINS!!!!!