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.) ( )

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? ( )

Aside from the weirdly sweet rela­tion­ship, ZVFFA is an often grue­some (oh, hell, even the rela­tion­ship is grue­some) satire of los­ing your way in the uni­verse and try­ing to fight your way back, as well as a highly enjoy­able take on con­sumerism and the social con­tract. Mar­shall keeps the antics lively, but there is a seri­ous mes­sage at the core. It’s a bit­ter pill; luck­ily, it’s enveloped in mad­cap super­nat­ural hijinks. It’s a mind­job of a novel, and I’m eager for more.

Read the full review here. ( )