Since high school, I’ve been close to bordering on lame, many times gleefully (or woefully) treading over the line between ‘weird’ and ‘lame.’  Anyway, my fascination with zombies, for a long time, simply was dismissed as a passing fad (and, you guessed it, lame).  Few people can brave the wonderfully done Dawn of the Dead, much less the terribly done (and yet remarkably hilarious) Redneck Zombies.  But I digress.

Zombies, right now, are really really hot, and it’s hard for a discerning zombie enthusiast to find the exceptional material out there.   Even Time magazine is writing about them! Yet, when you won’t be able to buy an RC Zombie any more, and Zombie walks aren’t as cool, and eventually people become as ashamed of them as Hammer Pants, I’ll still be thinking of that sweet, sweet zombie apocalypse.

I’d like to take a moment to discuss the zombie mashup novel I read:

The infamous Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies

The infamous Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies

That’s right,  Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies.  I had blogged about it before, and I ordered it off of Think Geek when it was finally available.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical that it would be as entertaining as its core notion, but I found myself reading it obsessively until it’s end — yet I’m not sure which kept the pages turning — Jane Austen, or the zombies.  I will give credit where credit is due — the zombie plot is not ‘extraneous’ (lots of people like to just . . . add zombies). Within this text it is done quite a bit thoughtfully, especially while keeping in mind some of the tropes and themes of the original book), and overall I found that I was enjoying myself.

The book has the added bonus of lovely little black and white illustrations of key scenes:

Illustration and sneak peek at the text.

Illustration and sneak peek at the text.

Truly well done.  And, most importantly, do not skip the study questions at the end — they are vital!

I’ve taken a break from zombie gaming (sorry, Steve — we WILL get some Resident Evil in at some point!) because of this little game named Oblivion.  Dear God, am I glad that this game wasn’t around in my college days — I never would have graduated.  It truly is a stunning achievement — made by the same developers who have birthed the magnificent world found in Fallout 3:

Fallout 3s Washington, DC

Fallout 3's Washington, DC

Even better?  They made Pittsburgh:

Pittsburgh . . . I mean, The Pitt

Pittsburgh . . . I mean, "The Pitt"

Fallout 3 is an amazingly done game (with a few annoying bugs) that really does give you hours and hours and hours of gameplay.  I’ll also admit, it’s damn fun to watch.

Oblivion is also stunning, also intensely fun (less buggy).  But, as a long time RPG’er, I found something interesting about Oblivion.  I hate leveling.  I got my first character to about level 18 in the first two days — and all of a sudden, every fight was impossible.  Now, my character is a super bad ass level 2, with all over her minor skills higher than her major skills.  You see, unlike in, say, Fallout 3 or Fable, the world levels up with you, which makes it impossibly hard.

Anyway, back to zombies.

I wanted to close with two wonderful links:

exceptionally entertaining article forwarded to me by my dear Lou Ann.

and the stinque zombie bible (thanks, hipspinster!)

Just in case you haven’t been listening?  I’m telling you.  They’re here.