Wednesday 14 November 2012

What I've Been Reading:
'Zombies at Tiffany's' by Sam Stone


As you could probably tell by one of my previous posts, Meeting Sam Stone, I'm a huge fan of the horror writer and couldn't wait to crack on with her two newest books. On Saturday night, I started reading 'Zombies at Tiffany's' her steampunk Zombie Novella, and despite being extremely tempted to stay up reading all night, I reluctantly put the book down at 11pm and returned to it the next day. By mid afternoon on Sunday I'd finished the 180+ page novella. 

I simply hadn't been able to put the book down. I'm not normally interested in Novella's if I'm honest. I can count the number I've read on one hand. There's just something about them that doesn't appeal to me. But now I'm thinking I just haven't read the right ones. This novella was fast-paced, had the speed and momentum of a short story and yet still maintained the breadth of character and well-developed plot that you usually only find in the best novels.

The heroine of the novel, Kat Lightfoot is instantly likable. You can tell from the moment you meet her that there's more to this woman than being a shop girl at Tiffany's. She's beyond her time. She's destined for something. I like heroines like that. They're few and far between in horror literature these days, gradually being replaced with weak women in need of rescuing by Supernaturally powerful men. Sam Stone doesn't go there with her literature. She's all for empowering her female characters. It makes her books much more interesting reads.

I'm being careful not to reveal too much of the plot here, but the Zombies in this Novella are brilliant, a real surprise. They jump off the page, feel real, in that, this could really happen kind of way. And there's a whole aspect to do with cats that I thought was really inspired.

For anybody who hasn't read any of Sam Stone's books yet, this is a brilliant introduction to her work. Everybody, go out and buy it. If not for yourself, then as a Christmas present for the Horror fan in your life.

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