Monster Nation by David Wellington

Published by Running Press Book Publishers
285 pages
September 2006
Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781560258667

The glut of zombie novels churned out by the small press is often overwhelming. And it isn't like all of them are really good, or even horribly creative. Sometimes they are just by the book guts and glory zombie fiction, and while I'm often a fan of that, there are times when the genre gets tired. Then along came David Wellington.

Much like the first time I read Autumn by David Moody, Wellington 's tale grabbed me by the short hairs and never let go. Unlike the aforementioned Autumn , Monster Nation is anything but a by the book zombie tale. The sequel to Monster Island (which I have unfortunately not yet read) the book picks up in the supermax prison in Florence Colorado , where the zombie virus has taken hold of the entire population. Bannerman Clark is called into to investigate the scene.

Meanwhile a woman wakes up in a hospital, unable to recall who she is, or how she got into the hospital. Unable to think of anything she decides to name herself Nilla, like the wafers. Then all hell breaks loose in the hospital, and Nilla flees. And she discovers that she has a taste for human flesh and the ability to disappear.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in Wellington 's opus. In this tale Wellington takes the opportunity to explore several ideas that seem unique to the zombie genre as a whole. He takes the opportunities to not only delve deep into the psyche of Nilla (a nearly unique zombie) but also to look into the mind of your average everyday flesh eater. And he does both with the same cunning ability, so that you never get bored with either of the characters.

What's more is that Wellington uses the zombie novel to do something that zombie tales (in literature and film) excel at. He uses it to make his own comments on some of the situations that the world is experiencing now. By making reference to the current situation in Iraq , and also delving into the thoughts of Bannerman as he is forced to fight against an unarmed populous, Wellington has the chance to very clearly articulate some of the difficulties that the modern solider faces. This is a zombie tale with some meat to it (pardon the pun).

Then on top of that the cause of the zombie infection (which I won't ruin for you) is like something that I have never read before. That in and of itself puts this novel head and shoulders above many of the zombie tales that I have read over the last year. This book makes itself stand out. And while it stands out, it also stands up, on two shaky reanimated legs and lurches for you. Hoping to take a nice sized bite out of your brain. Well worth the read. Now I just have to go back and read the first one.

by Gabriel Llanas
web only