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mxsallybend's review
5.0
Although Love & Zombies doesn't quite manage to deliver upon the truly twisted potential of its unusual premise, that's probably a good thing, since I doubt few readers would have stuck around for the ugly climax. Instead, Eric Shapiro deftly teases, traumatizes, and torments us, constantly raising the stakes of his darkly comedic brand of over-the-top horror, before he finally relents, ultimately tweaking our expectations with a few twists of his own.
We begin with a narrator who is brutally honest and upfront about his failings, constantly warning us that we're not going to like him. By the time he lays it all on the table, outlining for us just what we've gotten ourselves into, there's still plenty of shock value to the basic premise, but there's also a grudging appreciation for a very real payoff to all that narrative foreshadowing. Rather than growing tired of all the self-depreciation, we're left wondering what he hasn't told us yet.
Henry is a man with a problem . . . okay, a lot of problems. He's a wanna-be writer/director working in a pizza place, dreaming not of Hollywood glory, but of managing his own store. His girlfriend is one of the hottest women on the planet, but the pressure of topping their exhibitionist strip-club affairs has all but rendered him impotent. She is, as he so eloquently puts it, "so hot that she makes mentally healthy other girls rapidly begin to contemplate suicide" with a "face that could make you weep till dawn, then telephone Merriam-Webster when their office opened and demand they work harder on defining “gratitude.”
He only has 2 friends in life, and one of them is a crazy, messed-up, drug-addicted, rich-boy with ties to organized crime. When Sam comes knocking, demanding Henry's help in a money-making scheme that marks a new moral and ethical low for both, he knows he should decline, but not because it's just amoral and wrong, but because Teresa won't approve.
As for the scheme itself, Henry and Sam are planning nothing less than finding a beautiful young woman, kidnapping her, deliberately having her get bit by a zombie, and then turning her over to be bound and restrained for use in a little zombie porn. You heard that right, zombie porn. Try not to dwell on it.
To his credit, Shapiro carries on with that simple premise for about half the novel, presenting us with a psychotic zombie road-trip comedy that makes The Hangover trilogy look like something that Disney passed on for being too cute and innocent. It's funny, action-packed, and completely over-the-top. There's a significant twist about halfway on, where the mission turns from kidnapping to rescue, but the pace never falters, and the humor only gets darker.
Clearly, this is Henry's story, and he develops quite nicely throughout. You can't help but appreciate his deadpan honesty, and his reluctant urges to do the right thing actually make him quite likable. He needs help - mentally, emotionally, and sexually - but he knows it, and isn't shy about admitting it. The introduction of Becca as his sidekick for the second half changes both the story and his character for the better, putting the Love element into Love & Zombies, and allows Shapiro to navigate that crucial twist towards an ending, rather than away from one.
It's a story that is just wrong on so many levels, but Henry works great as a narrator, and some of the language he uses to spin the tale is just priceless. It's both a bloody, catastrophically gory tale that makes perfect use of the 'fast' zombie, and an insanely black comedy that will leave you feeling guilty over every laugh. It's also, at it's heart, a love story - not a normal, happy, romantic one, but a love story all the same. You have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it, but if you can trust Shapiro to carry you beyond the zombie porn premise, you'll have one hell of a time.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
We begin with a narrator who is brutally honest and upfront about his failings, constantly warning us that we're not going to like him. By the time he lays it all on the table, outlining for us just what we've gotten ourselves into, there's still plenty of shock value to the basic premise, but there's also a grudging appreciation for a very real payoff to all that narrative foreshadowing. Rather than growing tired of all the self-depreciation, we're left wondering what he hasn't told us yet.
Henry is a man with a problem . . . okay, a lot of problems. He's a wanna-be writer/director working in a pizza place, dreaming not of Hollywood glory, but of managing his own store. His girlfriend is one of the hottest women on the planet, but the pressure of topping their exhibitionist strip-club affairs has all but rendered him impotent. She is, as he so eloquently puts it, "so hot that she makes mentally healthy other girls rapidly begin to contemplate suicide" with a "face that could make you weep till dawn, then telephone Merriam-Webster when their office opened and demand they work harder on defining “gratitude.”
He only has 2 friends in life, and one of them is a crazy, messed-up, drug-addicted, rich-boy with ties to organized crime. When Sam comes knocking, demanding Henry's help in a money-making scheme that marks a new moral and ethical low for both, he knows he should decline, but not because it's just amoral and wrong, but because Teresa won't approve.
As for the scheme itself, Henry and Sam are planning nothing less than finding a beautiful young woman, kidnapping her, deliberately having her get bit by a zombie, and then turning her over to be bound and restrained for use in a little zombie porn. You heard that right, zombie porn. Try not to dwell on it.
To his credit, Shapiro carries on with that simple premise for about half the novel, presenting us with a psychotic zombie road-trip comedy that makes The Hangover trilogy look like something that Disney passed on for being too cute and innocent. It's funny, action-packed, and completely over-the-top. There's a significant twist about halfway on, where the mission turns from kidnapping to rescue, but the pace never falters, and the humor only gets darker.
Clearly, this is Henry's story, and he develops quite nicely throughout. You can't help but appreciate his deadpan honesty, and his reluctant urges to do the right thing actually make him quite likable. He needs help - mentally, emotionally, and sexually - but he knows it, and isn't shy about admitting it. The introduction of Becca as his sidekick for the second half changes both the story and his character for the better, putting the Love element into Love & Zombies, and allows Shapiro to navigate that crucial twist towards an ending, rather than away from one.
It's a story that is just wrong on so many levels, but Henry works great as a narrator, and some of the language he uses to spin the tale is just priceless. It's both a bloody, catastrophically gory tale that makes perfect use of the 'fast' zombie, and an insanely black comedy that will leave you feeling guilty over every laugh. It's also, at it's heart, a love story - not a normal, happy, romantic one, but a love story all the same. You have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it, but if you can trust Shapiro to carry you beyond the zombie porn premise, you'll have one hell of a time.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
meg_k_white's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! It had me laughing the whole way through, and it was shocking - in a very refreshing way! I didn't expect this at all when I started reading a book about zombies, which made the story all the better.
iam_griff's review
3.0
I currently am without a pithy comment for this!!
I enjoy Love & Zombies immensely!! Was very cleverly written with a lot of laughs! A few times I wasn't sure where the story was going, but was laughing the whole way thru. It reminds me of "The Hangover", but with a wolf pack of one. Loved the perspective of seeing everything from Henry's perspective.
I enjoy Love & Zombies immensely!! Was very cleverly written with a lot of laughs! A few times I wasn't sure where the story was going, but was laughing the whole way thru. It reminds me of "The Hangover", but with a wolf pack of one. Loved the perspective of seeing everything from Henry's perspective.
ctorretta's review
5.0
Ok, this starts and I was totally floored.
I recently read another blogger saying if she isn't pulled in by page 100 then she hangs up that book. I did not have any such problems with this book! It grabs you from page ONE and takes you for a tremendous ride.
Firstly, I love the narration. Henry is a bit kookie (only word I can think of to describe this guy!) but we all are a bit, right? And it shows as he's telling his story. It's flat out hilarious at points and heart stopping in other areas. There are some things he does that I totally agree with and then in the next instant I'm like WHAT?!!! But I love that about him. He's unpredictable and in this story, you need to be to survive.
Secondly, I freaking love these zombies! They are the take no prisoners type, seriously! They run, and leap, and freaking tear your throat out before you even get the chance TO scream! No way can you walk fast around these guys. You better have a plan of escape and if you don't do it fast, then you're zombie food! I loved every bloody minute of it! Now, I know some of you out there are the hard core Romero zombie types, but it's a book, why not have some fun with it!
And lastly, the plot was amazing. This does not stop once it gets started, and it started on page one. Absolutely fabulous writing. I felt like my life was hanging in the balance and then looked up and realized, hey zombies really don't exist and my dogs need to go out! The two main guys are hilarious, Henry and Sam, and while Henry is going on about what is happening in his life and with his girlfriend, Sam is just absolutely a nut case! They make this story fabulous. Even the non-zombie parts are worth reading!
Can't wait to read more of Eric Shapiro's work! Totally a new fan!
Ohh... and I love this cover!!! Ohhh and those that love zombie books, this does have some cursing and some talk about sex... Definitely an adult book!
I recently read another blogger saying if she isn't pulled in by page 100 then she hangs up that book. I did not have any such problems with this book! It grabs you from page ONE and takes you for a tremendous ride.
Firstly, I love the narration. Henry is a bit kookie (only word I can think of to describe this guy!) but we all are a bit, right? And it shows as he's telling his story. It's flat out hilarious at points and heart stopping in other areas. There are some things he does that I totally agree with and then in the next instant I'm like WHAT?!!! But I love that about him. He's unpredictable and in this story, you need to be to survive.
Secondly, I freaking love these zombies! They are the take no prisoners type, seriously! They run, and leap, and freaking tear your throat out before you even get the chance TO scream! No way can you walk fast around these guys. You better have a plan of escape and if you don't do it fast, then you're zombie food! I loved every bloody minute of it! Now, I know some of you out there are the hard core Romero zombie types, but it's a book, why not have some fun with it!
And lastly, the plot was amazing. This does not stop once it gets started, and it started on page one. Absolutely fabulous writing. I felt like my life was hanging in the balance and then looked up and realized, hey zombies really don't exist and my dogs need to go out! The two main guys are hilarious, Henry and Sam, and while Henry is going on about what is happening in his life and with his girlfriend, Sam is just absolutely a nut case! They make this story fabulous. Even the non-zombie parts are worth reading!
Can't wait to read more of Eric Shapiro's work! Totally a new fan!
Ohh... and I love this cover!!! Ohhh and those that love zombie books, this does have some cursing and some talk about sex... Definitely an adult book!
countkarnstein's review
5.0
Stunning. I was going into this story humming and hawing, not really interested in reading a story in the tiresome 'zombie' genre.
Even throughout the story, as it was gaining in speed and I was getting deep into it, I would occasionally think 'man, this is pretty cool, why, oh why, did the author have to use zombies in his story though. A murderous swarm of cloned Biebers would've been cooler and less overused'.
Two thirds in though, the author got me. He made me overcome my jaded anti-zombie stance and I loved this story. Action packed, funny, and quite cool.
Even throughout the story, as it was gaining in speed and I was getting deep into it, I would occasionally think 'man, this is pretty cool, why, oh why, did the author have to use zombies in his story though. A murderous swarm of cloned Biebers would've been cooler and less overused'.
Two thirds in though, the author got me. He made me overcome my jaded anti-zombie stance and I loved this story. Action packed, funny, and quite cool.
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