I have been saying it since Generation Dead came out, but I am convinced after a tour through the coming books. Generation Dead‘s sequel is already out, and the zombie cheerleaders are starting to line up. Zombie movies and games started moving that way a while ago, with 28 Days Later and Left 4 Dead featuring fast-moving zombies like angry rabies victims, with the former even having them convert victims with a single bite. Vampires started going sparkly sometime in the Anne Rice years, and I am surprised how quickly the zombies have followed. We are probably on the verge of a unified undead-dom, or maybe the next author will decide that they are all variant forms of revenants, and we will see epic fantasy adventure wherein revenant dragon-slayers work with undead witches to save the kingdom. I see movies, lousy console game tie-ins, and a cartoon version that mimics anime stylings.
: Zubon
After being so disappointed in the way Anne Rice and those Twilight books took vampires, I was happy to find David Wellington’s “13 Bullets” series. Puts the monster back in vampire. His zombie series, starting with “Monster Island”, aren’t too shabby either.
But friendly zombies aren’t anything new… the movie “My Boyfriend’s Back” came out in 1993. I do agree, however, that zombies are absolutely everywhere now.
Will there soon be teenage Zombie love-angst stories?
Fast moving zombies are kind of a sell-out, but the final nail in the coffin (ha) will be when zombies stop being brain-dead monsters and start being clever like vampires. Then you might as well call them the same thing.
Yeah it’s weird how zombies suddenly became the big thing. A few years ago no one cared about them but now they’re everywhere. I wonder what will be next. Mummies?
Generation Dead: teenage zombie love story with angst mostly on the human side of it. And some of them are clever.
http://www.zombielovethemovie.com/
I really do not think zombies and love stories go together at all. Zombie games and zombie survival movies yes but love stories noooooooooo! Twilight works because vampires have some human emotions and werewolf are human for the most part.
Zombie games
For my money, the best undead/zombie books I’ve read are David Wellington’s Monster Island/Nation/Planet series.
Read that and tell me there’s not a great game in there.
@Julian: Agree! Also, they would make a great series of movies.
You aren’t the only one trying to figure out why Zombie fever is hot now. Some even blame 9/11.