Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection [Paperback]

Don Roff (Author), Chris Lane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2009

The year is 2012, and what starts as a pervasive and inexplicable illness ends up as a zombie infestation that devastates the world's population. Taking the form of a biologist's illustrated journal found in the aftermath of the attack, this pulse-pounding, suspenseful tale of zombie apocalypse follows the narrator as he flees from city to countryside and heads north to Canada, wherehe hopesthe undead will be slowed by the colder climate. Encountering scattered humans and scores of the infected along the way, he fills his notebook with graphic drawings of the zombies and careful observations of their behavior, along with terrifying tales of survival. This frightening new contribution to the massively popular zombie resurgence will keep fans on the edge of their seats right up to the very end.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This illustrated journal was discovered in the aftermath of the worldwide necrotic infection that began on or around January 7, 2012 and lasted for approximately one year, killing more than 5 billion people.

The journal is a unique record of the time of infection in that its author sought to understand the undead by living among them. It is also the record of the author's day-to-day experiences at a time when such records were not commonly kept.

The manuscript was found inside an empty cottage at the edge of Hudson Bay in northern Canada. The fate and the whereabouts of the author remain unknown.

The contents of the journal are reproduced uncensored and in their entirety.

About the Author

Seattle-based writer and filmmaker Don Roff and Oakland, California-based illustrator Chris Lane share an abiding taste in the macabre. This is their first collaboration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Printing edition (October 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811871002
• ISBN-13: 978-0811871006
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.4 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roff grew up in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. He worked at the local drive-in theater and made Super 8 mm movies with his neighborhood friends, writing many of the scripts. He graduated from McLoughlin Union High School in 1985.

Roff joined the United States Army in 1989. He was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia in the 3rd Ranger Battalion. He was a part of "Operation Just Cause" in Rio Hato, Panama, December 20, 1989.

Roff graduated from Walla Walla Community College in 1995, and The Evergreen State College in 1997.

In 2000, he was The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Semifinalist for his coming-of-age screenplay, LORD OF THE YARDS. In June 2006, Roff received the prestigious Zola Award for screenwriting from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association for his science fiction adventure script, OUTBOUND.

Roff's bestselling book, ZOMBIES: A RECORD OF THE YEAR OF INFECTION is available from Chronicle Books/Simon & Schuster UK. The audiobook is available from AudioGO. The calendars are available from Universal Publishing (a division of Rizzoli International Publications).

He resides in Walla Walla, WA.

Official website: www.donroff.com
Like him: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Don-Roff/146998938751232
Follow him: https://twitter.com/DonRoff
Like ZOMBIES: A RECORD OF THE YEAR OF INFECTION: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zombies-A-Record-of-the-Year-of-Infection/130102614736

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Any Zombiephile October 23, 2009

By Ursula K. Raphael TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is another twist in the zombie genre. Unlike the survivor's journal Day by Day Armageddon, this is more like a research journal complete with statistical research, illustrations, and personal experiences. In this documentated book, the survival information is more sporadic than The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead.

People fell ill, died, and reanimated. No scientific explanation. In some cases, infection spread without bites or any other obvious contact. Mobility/strength depends on the original physical fitness of the person and bodily damage, but variables like rigor mortis are unknown. While some of the personal accounts may remind you of other zombie-apocalypse stories (ex: pharmecutical company may have had a hand in it), there are a few sick surprises that I haven't come across in my zombie obsession.

i totally loved that it takes place in the year 2012. I really felt like I was reading someone's notebook with drawings, rather than a graphic novel. There is no lack of gore, for those of you who prefer the gut-ripping undead. Even though the book is written from the doctor's point-of-view, the other characters were believable, as far as their decisions, reactions, and so forth.

If you truly believe yourself to be a zombie fanatic (or your friends tell you to "shut up about zombies, already"), you definitely need to add this to your collection.

Other unusual zombie-literature include Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry For Your...Brains, Z.E.O.: How to Get A(Head) in Business, and Zombies for Zombies: Advice and Etiquette for the Living Dead.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully illustrated October 31, 2009

By mellion108 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Don Roff and Chris Lane have given all us zombiephiles a beautifully illustrated and chilling account of the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Dr. Richard Twombly, a hematology-oncology specialist at a Seattle blood treatment facility, uses his birding journal to write down his daily observations of a mysterious virus that at first seems to only make people violently ill. When humans begin to viciously attack and eat each other, Dr. Twombly and the few other survivors try to barricade themselves from the attackers until Twombly finds himself alone and running out of food. Luckily for us, the good doc has his ink with him, and he's able to include detailed illustrations of the decay process, methods of killing the hungry undead, other survivors, etc. He also leaves little clues about what might have caused the virus (surprise, surprise...we do it to ourselves), as well as the frightening possibility of evolution of the undead.

Given the subject matter, it might sound odd to say this is a beautiful book, but it truly is. The illustrations are so detailed, and a lot of the pages look like pieces of art. I know some have complained that there is "nothing new" here, but there actually are some unique bits added to the zombie genre. This is a good, solid story with amazing illustrations, and it's a fun read to find out what happens to dear Dr. Twombly. My only complaint is that this is an oversized paperback. If this were hardcover, it would make the perfect gift/coffee table book for a diehard zombie fanatic. I'm glad I took a chance on this one, and if Roff and Lane want to continue the saga of this apocalypse, I'll gladly line up to read it!

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I really wanted to like this book more November 13, 2009

By Greg A. Tirevold VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

First let me say that I am a BIG fan of the Zombie genre. I love the Walking Dead graphic novels, the Max Brooks' series of books and the many films and games set in such situations. I was very interested reading what looked to be a Zombie journal done in the style of a naturalist's sketch book.

The production quality of the book is excellent, thick and semi-gloss pages with full color artwork over a textured background give the book the right feel for a "found journal". The text is all a font designed to resemble handwriting and while it gets the job done I think the limited amount of text would have been better done by hand by the artist. Fonts like this are ok for short notes and things but it is distracting when used so much as it obviously isn't what it is trying to resemble.

The format of the book is in a journal style that follows the 1 page picture, 1 page notes layout with some pages being a mixture of text and notes like a detail drawing. The story itself is pretty bland without anything new for Zombie fans. I thought once the author arrived at the assumed source that the story would take a turn at revealing perhaps the back-story or foreshadow possible future complications but instead it just turns into another stop among many along the road. There is no ah-ha moment or sense of building tension so the story tends towards to the dull side. I understand it is supposed to be a journal not an "entertaining book" but I think the formula was too strictly followed.

The artwork is variable. Some pieces are really haunting and well done while others have an amateurish bent. Since this is supposed to be a journal illustrated by the single fictional author I thought the artwork should not have had the variance it had. I think the effect they were going for is that some artwork was supposed to be done in a "rushed" style while some was intended to be more detailed and meticulous. I don't think the effect came out all that well and instead gave an uneven appearance that detracted from the immersion.

A "found manuscript" book like this is really all about immersion since you are trying to get reader to subtly go along with the idea of the content being handmade. The overused font and uneven artwork took away the immersion for me and all that was left was a point A to point B travel log with Zombies. Some of the characters introduced during this travel log, like the rock band or the female loner, had TONS of possibility to take the book in an entertaining direction but failed to go anywhere.

In short I think this book tried to replicate a travel journal too much and the result was as boring as a real one, despite taking place in a Zombie apocalypse. Great premise for a book but poor execution of the idea.