Zombies: Not My Thing




I've debated back and forth in my mind whether this actually merits a post. I mean, I'm not writing a review, or a spotlight. There isn't much of a link to books, except a very tenuous link to one series of books by Lia Habel. However, I can't get this out of my head so maybe writing it will help me finish Dearly Beloved.

Zombies creep me out.



Well, duh, you say. They have rotten flesh. They're dead bodies. They want to eat your braaaiinns.

Yeah and that's gross. I can't understand any romantic involvement with a zombie without shivering. It feels icky to me.

Now you mention vampires. Aren't they icky too? Like, they SUCK YOUR BLOOD. They have fangs. You like vampires. Actually, you love them. Damon Salvatore anybody?



Mmm. Damon is yummy. This complicates the issue because it makes no sense that in my mind, vampires are okay and zombies aren't. My mind is kind of a weird place, and this doesn't make much logical sense. I can have crushes on book vampires because there's something so alluring about them. When I think of a zombie, it grosses me out.

This tends to be an enormous issue, especially when I'm reading a book like Dearly Beloved where zombies are meant to be loved. I can't do it. Every time Nora is with Bram, it doesn't feel right. If I was in the book, I would totally hide from the zombies.

I feel awful about it. Why can't I just accept zombies? They're dead people too, like vampires whom I seem to have no problem with. To give a little bit of context, in Lia Habel's series, the zombies aren't all evil. They can turn you with a bite and have some sort of animal instinct that doesn't always end up consuming them. There are intelligent zombies out there who love and think and deserve a chance at an existence. I acknowledge that.

I'm having a lot of trouble reading Dearly Beloved because of the zombies and how conflicted I feel about them. Even if they're sentient beings, I don't know if I would want them in society. Habel's world does have vaccines, but let's just say it's not fool proof. The zombies want rights in government. They want to live alongside everyone else in society, and I feel like the right answer is to welcome them with open arms.

That decision doesn't seem true to me though. If there truly were zombies, they'd be capable of eradicating humanity. They'd overrun us. They would constantly desire to eat our flesh. Even if they are smart and good, how do you separate the conniving, evil ones that are only pretending from everyone else? Especially when they have heightened senses and capabilities. You can't. Just one evil zombie can have some disastrous consequences. This is my dilemma. Society isn't safe with zombies. They have a disease and I pity them, but they should have died. Their life puts people at risk

I was imagining myself in the story and I can't see myself ever letting someone I care about like my sister get close to a zombie. I wouldn't want to take the risk and associate with them, which is all sorts of awful. And then you'd say, what if a family member I care about, like my sister, was a zombie. Would I shut the door on her?

I don't know. I don't actually want to imagine this and hopefully it will never happen so I'll never be in a position to see my choice. It's just that zombies are a risk. I can't see myself welcoming them with open arms. It's awful, but it would probably be easier to kill every one of them than integrate them into society.

If they were to be part of society, I'd want them to be regulated. All their names and locations should be known. They should have weekly or monthly testing, psychological and physical, to see if they could hurt people. I would feel bad about it, but I, under no circumstances can accept putting my family or society at risk by welcoming zombies openly.

The bad thing is, the above paragraph is TOTALLY the starter of some creepy dystopia. The government would know a lot more than they should. That's scary, but I don't see any other solution. No one pities sociopaths even if it's said not having empathy could be a mental thing.

That's why I can't accept zombies, at least not right away. I don't see a harmonious future with them. What am I missing, zombie lovers? And have you ever read a book that you couldn't connect with because of the setting or premise?

*Also, I realize I'm taking a fictional premise created for reader's entertainment way too seriously. Whatever, that's just me.

-P.E.


22 comments:

  1. I am not a big zombie fan, either, but I'm very, very okay with vampires, so you're making perfect sense to me! The few zombie books I've read didn't leave much of an impression on me; I'd rather read about just about any other paranormal creature, probably because of the whole flesh-eating thing, which grosses me out. I definitely wouldn't want to live next door to a zombie, no matter how sentient it seemed. Awesome post!

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    1. I totally agree. I feel like it's a little sad because there are a ton of zombie books out there that I have a hard time reading because zombies are icky. I'm glad I'm not alone at least :p

      -P.E.

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  2. I love zombies, but not as romantic interests. I do see them as reanimated corpses. I don't know if I've read a book where they are meant to be the boyfriend/girlfriend...I mean, I could probably handle it...but in general, vampires make more sense for that. They are dead too, yes, but they are essentially the same person. Zombies are the bodies but not the brains, you know?

    -Lauren

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    1. That makes sense. I've read a few... Generation Dead, Dearly Departed, and I've heard of a few more. I've always had this feeling but never so strongly until a zombie and human started making out and I was grossed out.

      -P.E.

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  3. I'm not a big fan of zombies. And vampires are iffy for me but zombies, NO. Honestly, they're not as bad as angels (blergh) but I can't imagine a zombie book being very good. Because...zombies don't have personalities? In my mind, zombies are basically tinier versions of Frankenstein except avec the scent of rotting flesh.

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  4. I love zombie books, but ONLY when it's a true zombie apocalyptic story, not when they try to romanticize them because well. WTF? Zombies are meant to be monsters not things you want to kiss I will never get into that! A zombie book for me is about survival. You see how the people are surviving the end of the world and it's like a good horror novel. HORROR!! NOT romance!!

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    1. Exactly. Zombies in horror are awesome (and extremely depressing, in my experience). Zombies as love interests are disgusting.

      -P.E.

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  5. Confession: We're not big on vampires. But we are ALSO not big on zombies, lol. We agree with you: the attraction just isn't there.

    That's probably why, of all the zombie books we've read, we've most enjoyed THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH and THIS IS NOT A TEST -- because the zombies are not love interests! They're more like forces of nature (like a hurricane or a plague) that present a conflict for the characters.

    Don't worry, it's not weird to not be into zombies!

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    1. If there's one thing I've learned from this post, it's that a lot of people aren't into zombies.

      "force of nature" is a pretty good way to describe them. They're absolutely terrifying when used in that role. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is one of the scariest stories I've read because everything feels so hopeless.

      -P.E.

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  6. I'm not a zombie fan either, so I totally understand! I think of them as decaying so really there's not much future in that (and it is really icky) Vampires I guess seem more sophisticated and they can drink your blood and not kill you so it's a bit more feasible seeing them in romantic leads. But zombies? No thank you. I was glad to read your post, cause I totally feel the same way!

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    1. Yeah, the decay is super icky. I imagine a bad smell and if it gets bad, flies... *shudders* Yeah, somehow vampires seem way more sophisticated which is all kinds of ridiculous when you really think about it.

      And it seems like lots of people feel the same. :)

      -P.E.

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  7. I love zombies but I agree that they shouldn't be love interests AT ALL! I also TOTALLY AGREE with Damon Salvatore...I swear those eyes get me every time :)

    Christy @ Christy's Book Addiction

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    1. His eyes are amazing. I'm super excited for the start of TVD in October!

      *ahem* We were talking about zombies. Right. In essence, I agree. I can't deal with them as love interests. Seems a pretty popular opinion. I wonder what the other side sees...

      -P.E.

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  8. I agree. I'm just not into necrophilia. If both main characters are vampires, I'm okay. And the zombies... no. As love interests or any kind of part of society, just no. I want flesh-eating, rotting zombies like the ones in The Walking Dead or no zombies at all. As for Damon... now that he's Elena-whipped, I'm not sure I like him. He was fine when he was evil and killing people.

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    1. I feel like Damon is nice to look at either way. I like when he's badass though. I hope Elena learns from him.

      The zombies in The Walking Dead probably contribute to the really gross mental image I have of them in my mind. But yeah, creepy zombies are better.

      -P.E.

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  9. I'm with you. Zombies are all dead and rotting, with dangly eyeballs and stuff. They just creep me out. I mean, people who become vampires apparently get more attractive, but you can't say that about zombies. If they tried to get romantic, their limbs would probably fall off and stuff...

    Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. Yeah, and making out with a zombie? Like I don't want any part of a rotting flesh to touch me. Yeah, I'll attractive vampires any day, even the sparkly ones. :p

      -P.E.

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  10. I'm not a big fan of zombies either. First, because they are gross and second because they are scary. I can say the only book I've read and really enjoyed about zombies is THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH.

    I still don't get how zombies & romance mix. I recently watched the Warm Bodies movie (still haven't read the book) and it was weird but also different from what I was expecting. Some of these zombies have heart and feelings, etc...but they still eat people. It was kind of funny xD

    But you left me thinking. What if we compare zombies with a disease like maybe HIV, and the society wouldn't accept them fearing getting sick? Definitely material for a dystopia!

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    1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is probably one of the better zombie books. I've heard a lot of good things about Warm Bodies, but I'm not sure if it's my thing because I don't like romantic zombies like in Dearly Beloved.

      The last thing is totally what Dearly Beloved is about... the conflict between allowing them to stay and not. I was on the uh, not side, while all the main characters were pro zombies which inspired this post.

      -P.E.

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  11. I don't understand why those zombies would want rights! They are zombies? They can't say anything but argh!!! and brains!!! That book confuses me. I can see what you are saying about the love interest although the Warm Bodies trailer from what I've seen looks adorable. He looks real and he's becoming human so it's not weird...? I don't know. I can't really get into zombie books myself because it's just so foreign to me which is a bad excuse but it's the one I'm using. The one zombie book I did finish sucked. And it wasn't the zombies it was the way it was written. So I honestly don't know how to feel about zombies or their books either. And unless they get cured I totally agree that we wouldn't be able to get along. It makes no sense. Awesome post!
    Yes, Damon Salvatore <3

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    1. In Lia Habel's series, the zombies are intelligent. There may even be a cure, I just didn't read about it. Mari also told me to watch/read Warm Bodies, so I'm getting a little curious. In general though, I understand what you mean.

      -P.E.

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  12. I don't like zombies or vampires really but at least vampires still look like humans. Zombies are rotting flesh, maybe slower than an unanimated dead body as in the Habel series but they're still slowing rotting away. Plus they like to eat brains while vampires drink blood. I don't know why but that seems like an important distinction to me.

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What do you think?