Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Author: Steven C. Scholzman, MD

Release Date: 3/25/2011

Pages: 208

MSRP: $19.99 (Hardback), $14.99 (Paperback), $9.99 (Digital)

Zombies are a huge part of American pop culture and science fiction. They have invaded every single form of media known to man, but Schlozman takes a different approach to the genre, one that has never been explored before. He creates a small fictional story, but inside is a journal written by a scientist who does autopsies on zombies on a remote island base. He explains everything in real-world scientific form, and it’s hard not to believe that isn’t real.

This is probably the first time I have been almost convinced that zombies could really exist. This book is written like a government briefing, and inside contains the journal of Dr. Blum, who sacrifices himself to go to an island with two other world-renown doctors to help find a cure for ANSD, or “Zombiism.” The book follows a two-week period of the doctor’s life and what he discovers, which is fascinating. Everything is explained in exorbitant amounts of detail, but in between are the happenings of what’s going on on the island. The book is gory, scary, and surreal all at the same time, which is almost revolutionary for the zombie genre.

The actual journal part is written on gray pages and in a handwritten font. This makes the book feel more real. The illustrations are crude, anatomically correct sketches of what the doctor is seeing. I only wish the journal part was longer than 150 pages. The last 50 are appendices that explain the meaning of the journal. The first few are pretty dry and written in formal official document form, but the final ones are emails, letters, and short journals of what’s going on in the post-nuclear world, where only one-third of humanity remains. The book is brief and leaves you craving more, only because of how well-written and believable this novel is.

I can’t wait for more from this author, but zombie fans are rejoicing in a breath of fresh air in the genre. This is a creatively written book and one that deserves some earned accolades. Pick this up if you are a fan of science, anatomy, or zombies, but beware of the graphic content within.