HVZA: Hudson Valley Zombie Apocalypse

by Michael J. Worden
(Port Jervis, NY)

Is a real zombie apocalypse coming? You may believe so after you read this book. I have always been a fan of zombie movies, particularly the films by George Romero, and have loved the plots, special effects and of course, the zombies munching on human victims! But there was always something implausible in those films... dead, rotting bodies moving with no real scientific basis; vague references to a `virus', or `radiation' as being the cause. Essentially, there has always been enough artistic license and fantasy to make the films psychologically tolerable. Yes, they could be scary, but there was no reality behind the story. Well, Linda Zimmermann has just taken away that safety blanket. Hudson Valley Zombie Apocalypse takes you to a place where no other zombie story has ever taken you: reality. The science behind the zombie plague in HVZA is frighteningly plausible. Zombies are no longer something that just seems to happen because a space probe fell to earth or some unspecified virus has contaminated the human race. Rather, there is a medical reason behind zombies and their rapid and deadly proliferation. Zimmermann's zombies are also unique. Yes, they feast upon the living - and one another at times - but Zimmermann rattles your soul and sense of safety by making the zombies a physiologically based reality! Bottom line: Zimmermann's zombies are a real possibility!
In addition to the well researched and thought out plot, the characters are believable and easy to identify with. Zimmermann really hits home with her depiction of life during the collapse of civilization, and the heart wrenching losses, choices and sacrifices that people must make in order to survive. Zimmermann is a master manipulator of emotions: the love, fear, sadness, pain and suffering of the various characters are surprisingly real. Set in the Hudson Valley, the authentic locations and settings lend an additional layer of realism that so many other works of fiction neglect. These just are not zombies that are attacking people - these are zombies that are attacking your neighbors and family and friends. The bleak and desolate picture that she paints of life during a zombie apocalypse is always lightened by the always present notion that the human spirit, no matter how badly beaten, will triumph.

When I read HVZA I could not put the book down. I literally read the first half of the book before I forced myself to go to bed (and only then because it was 2 A.M. and I had to get up for work in the morning!) I found myself anxious to finish the book - wanting to know what was going to happen next.
I have always regarded zombie films and stories as being a fanciful journey into an improbable scenario. I now can't help but wonder: can there really be a zombie apocalypse? Read HVZA and the answer may surprise you.