Zombie Handbook, The (Book)
Reviewed by Elaine Lamkin
Written by Rob Sacchetto
112 pages
Published by Ulysses Press
First there was Max Brooks and his Zombie Survival Guide. Now there is Rob Sacchetto and his The Zombie Handbook. Illustrated in gruesomely ghoulish color, also by Sacchetto, the book is a fun and freaky read, explaining all of the zombie traits we may not have considered before (mating habits, anyone?) as well as how to identify zombies (a supermodel may LOOK like a zombie, but let Sacchetto’s guide help you make sure before you shoot some hollow-eyed, uber-skinny beauty in the head).
From recognizing zombies (the Exhumed Corpse Zombie, the Recently Dead Zombie, Soul Suckers, etc.) to the Zombie Diet (did YOU know there are side effects to a no-brains diet?) and Zombie Digestion as well as Zombie Indigestion (gross), there is more information here than I ever realized. There is a brief overview of Zombie History, Ten Zombie Facts, Zombie Sex (I REAALLLY did not want to go there!) to Zombie Religion and Politics. All with the wonderfully gruesome art of Rob Sacchetto.
There is also an entire section, probably one third of the book, on Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. Chock-full of useful information for Zombie-Proofing Your House (I didn’t know zombies don’t like stairs) to Choosing Your Weapon and Zombie Weaknesses (microwave technology anyone?), you too can survive the approaching End of Days. Need to know how to lure and trap zombies? It’s in here. What sort of armor should you choose to wear? Just take this book to your local military supply store (and expect some strange looks as well as questions) and stock up on machetes, grenades, infrared night-motion vision and eye protection, steel-toe boots with shin and calf protectors and more. You’ll look like The Terminator when you’re finished. But isn’t that the point?
And finally, there’s a chapter on whether humans and zombies can co-exist and what the future of zombies might look like. All in all a very fun book and a great accompaniment to Brooks’ book (although I wouldn’t advise loading yourself down with all of the Surviving Zombie books out there; it might slow you down, and one fact about zombies is, not all of them are “shamblers”). Nom…nom…nom…nom…
3 1/2 out of 5
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