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I’m not a big zombie fan. Seriously, I’ve seen some Walking Dead and own both Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. I played a lot of Resident Evil and Left 4 Dead, but I’m not a zombie addict. Mostly, I think they’re scary, but a little odd at the same time. They get you with the swarm, so running makes the most amount of sense. I’m not hear to discuss tactics though.
A common complaint I hear from some of my zombie-loving friends . . . that didn’t sound right. Anyway, people seem to get angry when you alter a zombie. Give them the ability to run and some fans will lose their freaking minds. Slow, shambling, groaning, feeling no pain mobs is all they want. It is a little ridiculous to me, but I come from a different area than most.
Rewind to March, a few days after I published Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero. I started getting messages about how it was cool that I used zombies in my fantasy book. WUH!? Remember that I played Dungeons & Dragons where zombies are the next level of undead you start fighting after skeletons become easy. They’re the bread and butter of necromancers, so I thought they were a fantasy standard. Apparently, they’re not even though I swear I’ve seen them in others.
I messed with my zombies from the beginning too. Immune to holy magic, keep on coming after being set on fire, and then there are the vast zombie species I came up with for Legends of Windemere: Allure of the Gypsies. I went wild with my necromantic creations when our heroes enter Kalam’s lair. I’m excited to see what people think of them when they debut. I’m not even talking zombies of various species, which opens up new abilities too. Grafting, magical enhancements, and the sky really is the limit if you can give even a mild explanation.
Magic is key here, of course. If you put zombies in a non-magical setting then you have limitations to worry about. So, keep the technology/magic/realism of the world in mind if you go away from shambling swarm. Though, it’s best to keep the swarm because that’s the core of the zombie fear. Imagine getting surrounded by an unstoppable wave of flesh-eating creatures instead of having to battle one quick one. This is a mentality to take into account too. Will people be afraid of zombies or are there scarier things out there. Could there be others reasons zombies are so feared even in a world with dragons and vampires? This quirks can change and deepen your zombies mythos to bring you away from the pack.
I think we’ve come to a point where zombies can be altered and you can have fun with the idea. Vampires and werewolves are there. The original has been done so much or slightly altered that you’ll really have to twist to get praise for being highly unique. I think many authors aim for the unique origin or use the zombies as background. It’s the human struggle that’s important these days. Still, have some fun with zombie types if you can find a way to do so. Although, you will probably have to deal with a few vocal traditionalists, so prepare for criticism. People really love their zombies . . . okay, I see why that doesn’t sound right this time.
J: After finding his family had succumbed to the ravages of the zombie apocalypse, Ranger Martin, a shotgun-toting former truck driver, makes a life mission of eradicating as many eaters as he can with the little resources he has at his disposal. Making things complicated are a group of kids tagging along, aiding Ranger on his quest to discovering…
