James Marshall (2) (1973–)

I received this book from NetGalley free for review. I do not have to publish a favorable opinion of the book due to this, so all thoughts are my own. I do have to notify that it was free, so consider yourself notified.

I honestly wanted to publish a one word review for this book- unreadable and if I had purchased the book (thank God I didn't), I would have stopped after the first section. The reason for the desire to stop is the entire opening part of the book is written without any punctuation except commas. Yes, you just read that correctly. It is done in the form of a teen writing (I am guessing), hence the bad punctuation, but it makes the opening parts (as well as other parts of the book) almost unreadable.

The main character is Guy Boy Man (yes, that is his name) who is a HS student who sees zombies everywhere. His goal is to kill his principal who he thinks he is a zombie. The reader doesn't know if this is delusion or truth or whatever, but to be honest, I didn't care. In fact, right now, I feel I am doing too much analytical work than the book deserves.

I picked this book as an introduction to NetGalley. I thought it might be cheesy fun, such as some of the recent Pride, Prejudice, and Zombie type books. I knew it would be sub par and so I lowered my standards. I figured I would breeze through it in half a day. It took a week, simply because I did not want to read it. Bad writing style, bad character names, terrible plot, and the revelation that this is going to be a series! Please don't, just don't.… (altro)

I found this book at Worldcon / MidAmericon II. For publicity, various publishers were giving out books. I picked up ZVFFA this book because it bothered me. The title - Zombies Versus Fairy Featuring Albinos sounded like something that shouldn't be. It was way over the top but the book stayed in my hand. There was a sign saying 3 books a piece and there were maybe 10 books out. Before making my final decision, I checked out who the publisher of ZVFFA and noticed it was from ChiZine Publications so I was happy as I associate them with good things.

When I brought it back to the hotel my husband gave me The Look. I have more books than time to read, so why free book zombie book let alone one with a green-haired fairy? I told him I would read a few pages of ZVFFA and would probably just bring it back to the table.

I was peeved by a sentence on the first page but got over myself and read on. I ended up liking the book more and more. I packed it and read bits of it when I could as I came back from my vacation to work being in the phase of EVERYONE'S HAIR IS ON FIRE!

Getting back to the book - James Marshall is an excellent writer and I love all the ordinary but powerful details he includes such as the discarded stuff animal. Marshall has scary insight into the business world. His characters are interesting. It is an odd book but I cannot think of anything bad to say about it. I had fun reading ZVFFA and I really hope to read the next installment soon.

(And those other free books - funny how they too are from ChiZine Publications.)… (altro)

Book Info: Genre: Horror/Dark Fantasy satire
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of the series, people who are interested in a new take on zombies
Trigger Warnings: murder, mutilation, killing and eating humans
Animal Abuse: a character kills and eats a cat

My Thoughts: I've had this on my wishlist ever since I read the first book in this series, Ninja versus Pirate Featuring Zombies almost exactly a year ago (that review is here). I had planned to pick it up once it was released, but to my joy and excitement, I received a copy from ChiZine about a week before the release date so I could read it!

I did not like this one as much as the first, and I think it's because the story is not told from Guy Boy Man's point of view. Buck is an interesting character, but what I enjoyed about the first book was the ludicrous, Monty-Pythonesque humor, and that wasn't there in this one. Not to say it was a bad book—I did enjoy it, and I will definitely be looking for the next book, Pirate versus Vampires Featuring Dragons to see where things are going—but I missed the ridiculousness of the first book.

That said, this series is about something (I theorized to my husband that it is, in part, a metaphor for the mindlessness that infects so much of modern society) and going somewhere, and I am definitely interested in seeing where. This falls together a bit more in this book with the addition of the albinos and supernatural creatures, and I liked what Marshall did with giving us the zombie point of view. If you read and enjoyed the first book, if you like this author, if you want to read a new and different take on zombies and urban fantasies, then definitely check out this book.

Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this book by ChiZine, the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: In a perfect world where everyone destroys everything and eats human flesh, one zombie has had enough: BUCK BURGER! When he rebels at the natural disorder, his marriage starts deteriorating and a doctor prescribes him an anti-depressant. When Buck meets a beautiful, green-haired pharmacist fairy named FAIRY_26, he quickly becomes a pawn in a Cold War between zombies and supernatural creatures. As Fairy_26 flies him between her tree-branch apartment in Fairyland and an aircraft-carrier pirate ship in a zombie-infested dystopia, Buck Burger struggles to make sense of it all and remain faithful to his overbearing wife. Does sixteen-year-old spiritual leader and pirate GUY BOY MAN make an appearance? Of course! Are there mind-controlling albinos? Obviously! Is there hot zombie-on-fairy action? Maybe! WHY AREN'T YOU READING THIS YET?… (altro)

Please note: I first read this almost exactly a year ago. This was a re-read in preparation for reading the sequel.

Book Info: Genre: YA Fantasy/Horror Satire
Reading Level: YA (probably 16 on up due to language and sexual content)
Trigger warnings: In the course of battling zombie teens, there is a school shooting. This book is also extremely non-PC, so if you're easily offended, you might want to skip it.

My Thoughts: I just love a silly book, and the description of this one led me to believe this would be high up there on the silliness scale. Oana’s explanation as to why there were no hs or js in their names cracked me up. Actually, quite a lot of it cracked me up. James Marshall manages to provide a book that is wonderfully grammatic yet full of extra-long, run-on sentences. One of my favorite aspects of it was Guy Boy Man’s constant explanation as to what he really means whenever a sentence could be taken more than one way. The descriptions are hilarious. Guy Boy Man is one of the very few people who see that there are so many zombies – apparently most people don’t even notice that the people surrounding them are undead.

A sequel is in the works: Zombies versus Fairy featuring Albinos, which is scheduled for release later this year. You know I’ll be watching and waiting for it. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a good laugh.

Disclosure: I received a free eGalley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: In a world where Zombies control banks and governments, only one young man sees the way things are and emerges from the Chaos and destruction: Guy Boy Man. While he tries to end human suffering worldwide and in his high school, Guy Boy Man meets a cute Pink-Haired girl named Baby Doll15 who has a Unicorn that follows her everywhere. An Epic Romance begins, but forces Beyond Their Control are intent on keeping the young couple apart. One of those Forces may - or may not be! - Guy Boy Man's closest friend, a handsome African-American Ninja named Sweetie Honey; another could be four Exotically Beautiful, genetically engineered and behaviorally modified Eastern European Girls; yet another, the principal of their High School ...not to mention an impending standardized test known as the Zombie Acceptance Test! Will Guy Boy Man find a way to be with Baby Doll15 in a World Where Everyone Is Doomed to become either zombies or zombie food?… (altro)