ZOMBIES: Review - 'Zombiestan' by Mainak Dhar is a wild ride

ZOMBIE JIHAD UPS THE ANTE ON THE TYPICAL ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE TALE
by
Bowie V. Ibarra

You thought the concept of the Zombie Apocalypse was bad.  How about a Zombie Jihad Apocalypse?

That's just the twist that Mainak Dhar adds to the tried and true zombie apocalypse concept in his magnificent title, Zombiestan.

Look, if you can accept the possibility of a zombie apocalypse, then you need to accept the possibility that is central to the books' plot.  The story is about a bizarre zombie plague unleashed by a chemical weapon that makes its victims and subsequent folks they infect become jihadists.  These zombie jihad members are hard to put down, and are most aggressive by night.  A navy SEAL joins two young children and a toddler on a journey across India to escape the madness.  The journey poses challenges to all of them as they face not only the wild zombies, but cruel humans as well.

The story delivers on all the proper zombie apoc fronts:  Great blood, great action, great story.  But the book has themes even deeper than that, including the coming of age of a young man in the story, love, friendship, and courage.

This is a unique and effective title that you need to pick up now in paperback or kindle.  'Zombiestan' is a bold title that explodes in the reader's hands with plenty of zombie action and an amazing amount of heart.  Pick it up today HERE.

Check out Mainak's previous ZBFbooks.com interview HERE.

BOWIE V. IBARRA is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press.

Down the Road, Down the Road: On the Last Day, and Down the Road: The Fall of Austin.  Pick them up in paperback or Kindle today.

BOWIE V. IBARRA earned his BFA in Acting and MA in Theatre History from Texas State University.  Network with Bowie at his official website,ZombieBloodFights.com today.

ZOMBIES: Recap - The Walking Dead 'Walk With Me' into town, Ep. 3, Season 3

by Bowie Ibarra

Welcome back to another recap from the boys and girls at ZombieBloodFights.com.

"I can't get no.... sat-is-fac-tion!"

Episode 3 opens with a Huey flying through the zombie infested sky.  Seems to suggest some military are holding out somewhere.  Too bad for them they get shot out of the sky and crash-land a few miles away from Michone and a still-sick Andrea.  And, naturally, Michone's pack mule zombies.

When they get to the crash site, a group of living roll up on them before they get a chance to investigate.  The crew kills the mortally wounded survivors, helps the only survivor, and disposes of zeds walking to the site.  Michone and Andrea are eventually exposed by the pack mule zombies, who somehow get agitated.  They are captured by an old friend of Andreas:  Daryl's brother, Merle, who now has a bayonet strapped to his stumpy hand.

The two are transported into this secure town, where they are both nursed back into health.  Merle joins them, telling his story of survival and how the people of the town picked him up.  Andrea also catches him up on the deaths since they last met, including Andrea's sister.

As tensions rise, that's when the mysterious man that led the initial team to the crash site appears, giving them the reason for killing the wounded survivors.  He offers them to stay, but says they can leave with assistance.

Instead of leaving, he introduces them to Woodbury, the secured town.  He leads them to a big makeshift barrier where guys with military equipment are defending the gates.  One of the defenders calls the man, 'Governor', and Andrea takes note of that description.  Then, Andrea and Michone are provided lodging.

Truth is, the concept of a city official securing a town was also explored in the ZombieBloodFights.com title, 'Down the Road: On the Last Day'.  You should check it out.

In the morning, they find the city lively and filled with people living life like nothing ever happened.  They are told they are defended by the townsfolk, and that the interior is safe and has been without incident for months.

The Governor is a busy man.  First, he goes to talk to the survivor from the chopper crash.  The survivor tells his story, then reveals the location of his buddies.

The Governor then goes to a research room in the city.  The researcher tells him that the pack mule zombies were docile since their arms were cut off and jaws knocked out.  He then realizes that the zeds served as camoflauge for Michone, where zombies would not bug her because she walked with the zombies.

The Governor and the researcher feel its best to have supper with the girls to get more intel.  They discover the pack mules were family members of Michone.  At the meal, Andrea gets sweet on the Governor.

The Governor leaves abruptly to join his strike team, who have found the National Guardsmen the pilot mentioned.  The Guardsmen get jumped and all their stuff is taken back to Woodbury, where the Governor plays it off like the Guardsmen died before they got there.  He then gives a budget dictator-style impassioned speech about how the Guardsmen died with honor, but implored the people to realize how lucky they were to have the walls, the city, and the safety.  The obvious subtext was that he was the one responsible for that.

As he leaves his makeshift pulpit, Andrea approaches him.  They share a moment, a spark of interest in each other, when Andrea asks his name.  He doesn't reveal it.

The Governor goes home to pics of his past life and some whiskey.  But there's something strange in the back room of his man-cave:  Pickled human heads, including the helicopter pilot and Michone's pack mule family members.  There are other heads as well, all still dead-alive.

WTF?

Until next week...

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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the 'Down the Road' zombie horror series from Permuted Press and Simon and Schuester.  His latest zombie story, The Fall of Austin, tells the story of military, police, convicts, and citizens of the Texas capitol as they deal with the zpoc.

You can network with Bowie and read about his Tex-Mexploitation stories at his personal website, ZombieBloodFights.com.

ZOMBIES-Travis Adkins was right. The ultimate weapon for the ZPoc is a Hanzo Sword

           (ed.note - As I reflect on this post, it's clear Travis Adkins got it right in his story "Twilight of the Dead".  A katana style sword and training is the ultimate weapons against zombies.  Thank you, Travis.  And you can pick up his book here:  Twilight of the Dead by Travis Adkins

"Pick your poison, zombie scum!"

           It’s a discussion that is rehashed and rehashed and rehashed some more since even before Ken Foree and Scott Reiniger busted into the old school gun shop in the Monroeville Mall. 

(And, may I say, those were the good old days in America when you could buy your firearms at the shopping mall.  Not like today.  Perhaps the gun-grabbers in the ‘U.A-yes gummint’ want to take our guns so when they unleash the zombie apocalypse, we’ll be defenseless, begging for their help as they stick us in FEMA camps and inject us with mercury-laden vaccines that… wait, what was I saying.  Oh, yes….)

Since those four renegades made their temporary home in the Monroeville Mall, Romero disciples and lovers of zombie horror have had their dream weapons for the zombie apocalypse.  Naturally, firearms come to mind.  People pick machine guns, shotguns, lever action, the works.  Even explosives.  I, personally, would like a good ‘ol wooden bat.

But there are some simple facts that make these devastating choices BAD choices during the zombie apocalypse, at least when it comes to battling the undead.  There is clearly one true weapon that would be THE weapon to use, if you could find it.  A weapon so devastating, yet so simple, anyone prepping for the zombie apocalypse now would be a fool to ignore it and start training with it, simple training that could mean the difference between life and death.  Yes, my friends, I am talking about the Hattori Hanzo sword.

"Now serving: 1.  Number 1."

First, lets establish the context of this hypothesis.  This hypothesis is for the zombie apocalypse with ‘Romero Shamblers”.  ‘k?  k.

“But Bowie,” you say.  “You’re a dumb ass.”

Then I say, “Thank you,” and take a bow.

Then you say, “I said you’re a dumb ass.”

Then I say, “Oh.  I thought you said ‘awesome’.  Go f**k yourself, then.”

Then you say, “Bowie, tell me about the Hattori Hanzo sword.”

Well, the legend of the Hattori Hanzo sword starts with a true legend from Japan.  In short, Hanzo was a, “samurai and ninja”, and Hanzō,

“…was known as an expert tactician and a master of spear fighting. Various magical tricks such as disappearing and appearing elsewhere, psychokinesis and precognition were also attributed to him.”

You can read more about him here:

Historical Hattori Hanzo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattori_Hanz%C5%8D

Or, at least, what the ‘internet’ has documented about him.  Because, in the immortal words of “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, “if its on the internet, then it must be true.”

            I first heard of Hanzo in the classic SNK video game, “Samurai Showdown”.  He was the ninja character, and he leads a band of ninjas that, “…specializes in assassination attacks against their enemies”.  Imagine that. 

Here’s the video game characters history where you can read more:

Hattori Hanzo wikipedia

http://snk.wikia.com/wiki/Hanzo_Hattori

Oh, and here’s a tribute video if words aren’t enough for you.  C’mon, gamers, you already know you’re clicking it:

Hattori Hanzo MegaMix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx38JqdB5uQ

            The legend of Hattori Hanzo made its way to the silver screen with the release of Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” series.  In it, the protagonist named “The Bride” travels to Okinawa to have a Hattori Hanzo sword custom made for her so she can make a run to kill her former team of assassins who tried to kill her.  If you haven’t seen the two-part movie, go ahead and NetFlix it now.

           

Here’s a video from the flick, with the Hanzo-style sword presented to her in a special ritual.

Hattori Hanzo gives The Bride what is potentially the zombie-killingest sword ever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmJTYfhBiP4

            “C’mon, Bowie,” you say. “A sword does not top a firearm in regards to zombie-killing power.”

            “For sure,” I say.  You’re a sh**head, I think to myself.

            But let me tell you two good reasons why a sword would be superior over a firearm.

1. Firearms take ammo – Sure, its fun to pretend to be Wooly, “Go Apes**t”, and blow zombies heads off.  But that’s one shell.  You’re probably going to need a few more shells when the Zpoc rolls around.  And who’s got to carry that?  You do.  Sure, you look and feel bad-ass carrying around that M-16 with the M-203 attachment.  Or perhaps the mini-gun is your favorite.  Great.  Walk a block with that weapon.  Two blocks.  A mile.  Two miles.  Then see how much fun it is to carry that weapon and the ammo.

2. Ammo – So you carried all that ammo.  You’re mowing down zombies like Elvis would if he were still alive.  And then you run out of ammo.  Now what?  “Wise men say only fools rush in… without a backup!”

3. Care – If you are going to have an effective firearm over a period of time, you have to know how to take care of it.  If it breaks, do you know how to fix it?  Can you handle the upkeep?  Can you clean it?

With training, using a Hattori Hanzo sword when the dead rise from the grave and attack the living would be the best course of action.  Why?  Simple.

1. No bullets.

Buy a whetstone, learn how to use that to keep it sharp, and you’ll be set.

Wooden bats break.  Bats, in general, take some work and effort.  Regional weapons, like Cricket Bats, can also break, and take effort to down the zombie.  Machetes get stuck in zombie’s heads.  Just ask Tom Savini and Lenny Lies.  Those precious seconds could cost you your life.

So get a Hanzo sword and train.  Train now.  And find a legit Hanzo-style sword.  No, not the swords you find at the ‘Pulga’ off of Eisenhaur Rd. in San Antonio, Texas, for $20.  Find an honest to goodness Hanzo sword.  Then learn how to use it.

Then run.  Run laps.  Or, in the very least, get on the ellipse machine.  Get your wind up.

Think I’m kidding about the effectiveness of the Hanzo.  Consider this video evidence.  Yeah, it’s an exhibition, but imagine this kind of skill against the shamblers.

Exhibition of The Hanzo Sword:  Bride vs. Crazy 88

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdjuS17DGlA

            The number one theory in ‘Zombieland’ stands true.  Conditioning is key.  Then, make a plan.  Then, train in the Hanzo sword. 

fin

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Bowie Ibarra is the author of the successful “Down the Road” zombie horror book series.   His books include the Simon and Schuster release of “Down the Road”, the Permuted Press title “Down the Road:  On the Last Day”, and the upcoming “Down the Road:  The Fall of Austin”, set to drop on May 28^th, 2011.  You can learn more about Bowie at ZombieBloodFights.com