So Now You're a Zombie: A Handbook for the Newly Undead

There are any number of handbooks for surviving a zombie apocalypse. These days, with the popularity of the variously undead, it’s practically become a genre in and of itself. But this is the first entry in the field that’s set up to help the apocalypse by teaching the newly zombiefied how to handle their new abilities to the best of their advantage.

Set up like a textbook, So Now You’re a Zombie covers everything from a zombie’s view of history, how to identify other zombies versus things that are somewhat like them (such as drunk humans), identifying what sort of zombie you are, how to track and hunt your human prey, and how to avoid re-death as said prey fights back.

Brilliantly tongue-in-cheek, this handbook conveys, quickly and concisely, everything you’ve ever needed to know to be a zombie. And lest you think that as a human reading it, you’ve now got an upper hand, there’s a warning at the end that the pages have been laced with the z-virus, and you’re now infected—and you already have your handbook!

Austin’s book is equal parts funny and gross, and manages to point out all the places where zombie lore is really unsettling, recasting them as points a zombie should be proud of. In only 224 pages, the book manages to comment on everything from feeding and infecting to attack tactics and hunting plans. There’s information for classic shambling zombies and modern speedy zombies with statistics about how likely you are to be either and information on what your particular role should be in the horde. It’s an indispensable guide from first infection all the way to the inevitable end of a zombie apocalypse and what to do when you get there.

In a field where humans have published all sorts of manuals for survival, it’s only fair that the zombies should have one of their own to level the playing field. This is an excellent addition to the genre, and a must for all fans of spoof manuals and zombies alike.