Zom-B City by Darren Shan
Zom-B bk. 3. Simon and Schuster, 2013. ISBN 9780857077608.
(Age: Teens) London is not the place to holiday in Darren Shan's new
teen horror series, Zom-B. This is post apocalypse London,
where zombies roam the streets and eat the brains of any poor non
zombie creatures they find.
The unusual heroine of this story is B Smith. B is a form of zombie
who doesn't associate with the living dead and tries to help the
surviving humans. In fact, she belongs to neither world but is free
to wander the streets observing the horrors of the city.
In book 3 we see a cult who feel they can communicate with zombies
and remain unharmed, an artist who wanders the streets drawing what
he sees and the very creepy clown Mr Dowling who enjoys tormenting
his human captives (the 'baby' episode is particularly cruel). He
features on the front cover, his clothing decorated with human
entrails and eyeballs. This is teen horror and has a cover to appeal
to its fans.
Shan has commented that this series of books are based on a post
9/11 world of fear and hatred. This is a dark and horrific creation
with both zombies and unattractive humans. B is the only positive
character is the story and it is hard to see how she can find any
optimistic ending.
Where can this story go? It will be interesting to see how Shan
continues the Zom-B tale. His fans are enjoying this new
series and will look forward to the next instalment. This is a book
for secondary school libraries.
There are several trailers made by fans on You Tube i.e.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jby_TFUfrCE
Jane Moore