By Matthew J. Barbour
These days, zombie horror is everywhere. For those who enjoy the zombie apocalypse, there has been a golden age of television, movies, video games, literature, podcasts, and more. All of these media outlets are trying to capitalize on the public’s thirst for zombie-themed content. Some of it is good, and some of it is bad.
Ending: An Examination of the Inhuman Condition Written by first-time Shropshire, UK author Adam M. Booth. This is a zombie novel that is unlike any other of its kind in that it takes the reader into the consciousness of a woman who has become the walking dead. Her body movements are not her own, but those of the beast she has become. Yet, she has a brain, she remembers her life, she remembers who she is, and deep down, she is still human.
This is a curse. Our narrator, 30-something middle-class Zoe, must live with it. She has no way to stop it, or even to voice her displeasure, as she tears through human flesh and watches the world she once knew crumble and decay. She is both the victim and the perpetrator of unfathomable horrors.
The narrator witnesses through Zoe’s thoughts FinishUnsurprisingly, the view is rather pessimistic. The story is nihilistic, poignantly showing how fragile and empty the world we currently live in is. This unique view is brought to life through vivid and imaginative descriptions.
The concept of an unwilling participant forced to unwillingly bear witness to events beyond her control parallels our lives right now in many ways. Every evening news show forces us to see in our own world the horror of witnessing others die from preventable wars or curable diseases. Zombie horror works best when it offers social commentary. Booth does this brilliantly.
While the perspective and narrative description in Booth’s story are excellent, the events and settings provided are typical of the zombie subgenre. The zombies presented here are the zombies we expect to see, doing what we expect them to do, in the environments we expect to find them. There are some notable exceptions, including some that are beautifully handled, but they are rare.
All in all, the angle is unique and the descriptions are great, but the story fails to break away from the common tropes in the zombie subgenre and keep the reader on the edge of their seats. It will be interesting to see where the author takes this in future writing. Overall, Finish For a budding writer, this is a good first attempt.
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score: 3/5
