Reviews

Panty Raid @ Zombie High by Rusty Fischer

smashattackash's review

Courtesy of Smash Attack Reads

For those who aren't in the know, Rusty Fischer is kinda funny. He takes the zombie genre and pokes fun at it, but keeps his stories interesting and entertaining as hell. I read Zombies Don't Cry and was greatly amused, especially be the mean, spineless, snarky asshat Zerkers. I received Panty Raid @ Zombie High from Rusty and completely forgot to review it for him. I'm a terrible book blogger, I know, but I am now highlighting it because it is worth reading.

Toby, our geeky, awkward protagonist, is desperate to find his love interest best friend, Molly, who has gone missing. Toby and a group of teenagers set off to find Molly, whom they believe has been turned into a zombie and is now being rehabilitated at Zombie High. Toby is anything but brave, but has put on his big boy underoos to save his gal.

Toby's internal monologue was insecure and funny, in only the way a teen boy's internal monologue can be. The group of misfits that tag along with him offer pure entertainment. Along with Toby and Spud, an annoying, weird little dude whose father runs the facility, are two jocks and their two bitches girlfriends. These morons tag along for what they believe will be a night of panty-raid partying. You see, they plan to snag a pair of electric undies that the zombies wear. Think cattle prod. Or that scene from Face-Off in the prison. You remember those wacky metal shoes that kept them glued in place on the metal floors? Yea, these panties remind me of those shoes. Anywho, those 4 idiots think they are visiting Zombie High for a panty raid because Toby hasn't been exactly honest with them. The resulting escapade through a facility that is nothing at all what they expected is full of laughs, spooks, gore and adventure.

The book is totally campy, tongue-in-cheek, silly, *insert your favorite word here.* It is quick and easy, as any panty raid should be, and will totally take your mind off life for a few. Next time you need a pick-me-up, give this one a go. How can you go wrong with a panty raid?

Quotes to prove my point

"Well, they've never made it that far because they never took me along," Spud brags uncharacteristically, avoiding my penetrating glare as I give him major WTF face from ground level.

Oh God, I think. This is becoming a really bad late-night Scream Channel B-movie, complete with dancing thugs and trampy skanks in mini-mini-skirts who lick soda off their fingers while zombies prowl the halls.

I turn, inch even closer to Spud and hold my house key like a weapon.

Don't hate. Mom saw it on 20/20 or something, and I've never had a chance to try it out until just now.

My first fight is going to be with an eight-foot-tall living dead cage fighter with a thigh for a neck and a tree trunk for a thigh?

katrinamarie's review

3.0

This book is a decent read. I was hoping it was going to be a lot like Zombies Don't Cry, but it wasn’t. The story line was very interesting, and there was great back story on the characters. The main character got on my nerves though. He is your typical teenage boy. The thing I found annoying was his constant inner commentary about female anatomy. Although I’ve been told that all boys that age think like this. So I don’t completely hold this against Toby. Molly is a very strong character when she finally reappears in this story. I really connected with her. This novel has a very “mad scientist” feel, but it’s a good read if you need something quick.

asphaltcowgrrl's review

4.0

I'm not exactly sure what to say about this little e-book. It was definitely fun and different and kept me laughing. Although a bit juvenile at times (which, in all honestly, just adds to the silliness of the story line, so it fits), the campiness and energy really carry it through to the end. A really fun and different kind of young adult novel.

inlibrisveritas's review

4.0

This is my second novel from Rusty Fischer and it’s just as fantastic as the first one I read (Ushers Inc.). It certainly has me wanting to read another, so I guess it’s a good thing I have two more of his just waiting to devoured on my Kindle.

If you are familiar with any of his novels then this one won’t disappoint, it has what I’m starting to call “classic Fischer” style. He takes a rather serious and gory topic, zombies, and makes them…super enjoyable. They are still the hungry in the scariest possible way, and the gore is still very present (it made me gag at one point). But Fischer somehow manages to make it feel like a light read by giving the main character, Toby, a comedic yet wholly believable voice. I get Toby, he’s a geek and like me his mind goes to weird places even under stress. The comparisons he threw out made me chuckle but it also really got the point across and actually made certain things even clearer. To some it up, it has a sort of…tongue-in-cheek kind of feel to it. The plot is certainly different and a new take on zombies, I love that there is a whole building devoted to the undead and i love the fact that teenage zombies are being ‘rehabilitated’.

The characters are fantastic as well. I’ve talked about Toby already and how his voice really lends a great amount of wit tot he story. Spud is…well I didn’t like him at all, even in the beginning. He’s a good character because I could easily picture him and I got his reasoning, and I did kind of like his rather pathetic outlook. Boner and Zack are the typical high school jocks, brutish and rather stupid…but these guys take it a bit farther and then there is Lilac and Hailey. Hailey is the tag along pretty girl…but Lilac is a totally different breed and to be honest she kind of creeped me out. She’s popular and pretty, she’s also kind of brain dead or at least acts like it but the way she’s described at times just gave me a disturbing mental image of her. After awhile I didn’t see her as stupid, I saw her as a tad unconcerned and that’s just weird.

It’s a fairly quick read and great if you are in the mood for some creepy fun.