Category: Reading

I came across this book when I did a bit of googling for a good horror read. It got some great reviews, so I thought I’d give it a go. It was complete coincidence that a dramatised version has recently been screened on the BBC.

At first, it seemed long, slow, overly technical, and descriptive, and frankly, a bit weird and boring. Basically, life in the navy in 1845, stuck in the Arctic with a big, scary monster.

I am SO glad I persisted. By the end, when it all came together beautifully, I absolutely loved it. So much so that I read the last chapters between 1 and 3am – I couldn’t put it down and I went to sleep with a warm fuzzy feeling and a satisfied smile on my face.

I didn’t like:

The first half when I was reading it – but I have long since got over that as the second half was outstanding and I get it now!

The excessively detailed descriptions of the ships and all the naval procedures and rules and regulations – again all is forgiven now – somehow the seemingly long drawn-out first half actually contributed to the epic nature of the story and the slow build to the dramatic conclusion.

The vast number of characters – I’ll be honest I lost track of who was who, and who died when and how – maybe Crozier’s rather anal, mental list-making of who had lived and who had died, rank by rank for both ships, as he hauled his sled across the ice for weeks on end, was a gift from the author to help us with that?

The disgustingly vivid descriptions of violent deaths, gruesome injuries, frost-bite, scurvy, filth and squalor and cannibalism. By nature of the fact that I didn’t like them, it is evident that they were well-written and provoked the desired response in the reader. I was looking for horror and I got it!

Honestly, now that I have finished, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about this book. I almost feel the need to read it all again.

I liked (loved):

The whole story and its wonderful conclusion.

The way it built up the sense of desperation and inevitable tragedy.

The way it all came together in the end and all the mysteries were explained.

That it was so much more than a horror. It was a historical novel, based on a true story. It was a horror story. It also had a touch of the mystical fantasy about it. It was a factual account of the features of an Arctic climate, the Eskimo culture and the navy in 1845. It was also a romance.

That it had a bit of everything! Madness, murder, sex (straight and gay), love, loyalty, courage, despair, death and disease, scurvy, botulism, suicide, traditional myths and stories, mystery, horror, cannibalism, nature and much, much more.

The *SPOILER ALERT* end. The happy, happy end!

I bloody loved this book. One of the best I have read during the Time of Covid!

Because I kind of enjoyed Into the Drowning Deep, I gave this a go. Zombies are much more my thing than Mermaids, and I love post-apocalyptic fiction in general, so I had high hopes for this one.

If I had taken a moment to try and remember why I started it a couple of years ago, but didn’t get past the first couple of chapters, I might have saved myself the disappointment.

But, let’s start with what I did like!

I did like the world that Grant created 20 years after the Zombie Apocalypse, where people had learned to live with the Zombie threat through segregation, bio-scans, rigid security protocols and “clean-up” procedures. I might go so far as to say I loved this aspect of the book.

I did like the main characters, even if they were a bit cliched and cheesy at times.

I did like the “believable” premise for the Zombie Apocalypse.

I did like the tight brother/sister relationship between the two main characters, that appeared gruff and narky on the surface, but was based on a deep and mutual, love and respect.

I did like the end. Not just because it meant I had managed to finish the book, but because it was surprising and actually quite moving.

I’m struggling to think of much else that I liked.

I didn’t like:

The story! It wasn’t about Zombies at all! It was about a load of young bloggers (who took themselves far too seriously in my opinion) and American politics (yawn). Essentially, it was a political “thriller”, set 20 years after a Zombie Apocalypse. If I’m honest, I felt a little conned.

The repetitive, and overly detailed, descriptions of screening procedures, blood tests, scans, security systems and “clean-up” operations.

The repetitive references to George’s eye problems and migraines, and Shaun’s continual desire to “poke dead things with sticks.”

For me, far, far, too much opiniated expositioning and info-giving, and not enough action.

I found the whole book very, very dry. Maybe, it was just me. Maybe, I’m just not serious enough. I read Zombie Apocalypse and post-apocalyptic fiction for fun. I read to be entertained, and sometimes moved. This just didn’t entertain me. I struggled to finish it. Thank goodness we had a bit of drama in the last few chapters. They helped to carry me through to the end.

(Contains spoilers!)

Reading and reviewing this book has been a genuinely interesting and learning experience for me. It has required me to examine my personal prejudices and biases about writing, as well as reconsider my criteria for what makes a good book.

And this is a good book! I enjoyed it far more than many books I have read by “successful” and established writers.

A huge factor for me, when making a judgement about a book, is what I refer to as the writing quality. Convention dictates that a “good” book should exhibit perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation. This book does not. The text is littered with spelling mistakes, incorrect and missing words, and various typographical errors that, at first, made me think I was not going to be able to read it.

But I persevered and was richly rewarded. Z Notes is a GREAT story!

It is book 2 in a series and picks up linearly from where the previous book ends and finishes at the point where the next will begin.

There is so much to like about Z notes:

• The fast-moving, imaginative, and exciting plot. The author manages to create some real moments of tension that had me so on edge I found myself reading as fast as I could to find out what happened next.
• The witty and authentic dialogue.
• The brilliant characters – Matt and Frank remind me of a mix of Bill and Ted and Ben and Mickey from The Battery.
• The humour that made me laugh out loud in parts.
• The ZOMBIES! Oh, my goodness, we have fast ones, slow ones, big ones, small ones, blind ones, super-strong ones – we even have giant zombie crocodiles!
• The romance – both of our protagonists have romantic interests, but poor Matt seems to have fallen for a girl who … let’s just say … is not really interested in an exclusive relationship.
• The locations. One of the things I love reading (and writing about) is how familiar locations take on a new and unfamiliar feeling after the world has ended. I also like to entertain myself by imagining how different settings would lend themselves to the purpose of escape and evasion, or survival, in a Zombie Apocalypse. Z notes does this exceptionally well. Matt and Frank find themselves in a variety of different everyday settings and the author plays with how the features of these settings might come into play in a Zombie conflict scenario. We have a farm, a ballpark, a construction site, a multi-story car park, a train yard and many more.
• The vivid and atmospheric scene setting and images.
• The hilarious chapter titles – “Farm House e-i-e-i-o.”
• The use of some excellent metaphors and descriptions:
  • “they could swear they heard the grass squeak under their feet.”
  • “you could hear a mouse peeing on cotton.”
  • “the smell of hot trash in summer.”

As well as all that, it has everything you would expect to find in any good Zombie tale, including gore, violence, heroism, and a wide variety of lethal weapons.

The ending was both intriguing, in terms of what they find on the other side of the fence, and shocking, when Matt finally gives Kimberly her comeuppance and an uncharacteristically brutal act of revenge.

I know it’s not the same, but when someone like Bernardine Evaristo writes without capitalisation and punctuation, she can call it prose poetic patterning and win a Booker Prize. I doubt that writers like Shawn and I could carry this off.

The debate about whether grammar and spelling are “elitist” rages on, and I don’t want to get into that here. Not do I want to make assumptions about the author of Z Notes, other than to say that it would be a sad day if a few issues with grammar, punctuation and spelling were to have prevented this highly entertaining story from being told.

Let me just end by saying that a good story is a good story and leave it at that!

I love swimming but the sea has always terrified me. I like to be able to see what’s beneath me and touch the bottom with my toes. After reading this, I’ll definitely never be venturing very far from shore again.
Grant has brilliantly and terrifyingly transformed the pretty little mermaids of fairy tales and Disney films into nightmarish, slimy, slithering monsters that will pursue you with unnatural speed and tear you apart with horrible mouths crammed full of pointed, razor-sharp teeth.
The book is well-written and easy to read, although the frequent use of clichés at the end of paragraphs to create added drama is a little irritating. “They didn’t. But then they never did.” “The screaming takes longer to end, but in time, it does. Everything ends.” etc.
The plot is gripping and compelling. It moves quickly and held my interest throughout.
The dialogue is authentic and witty. There were moments of humour that made me smile, if not actually laugh out loud, but I’m very difficult to please where comedy is concerned.
Although it was technically science fiction, the premise felt frighteningly believable.
There were some scenes that felt a little contrived and threatened the overall authenticity, such as when the protagonist falls into a sea boiling with hundreds of murderous sea creatures that have been killing everyone on sight but, for reasons that are not well-explained, choose to leave her unharmed. Really?
I liked the main characters and cared about what happened to them. I enjoyed the little romance between Tori and Olivia. However, it was impossible not to notice that people from every possible diversity group were represented in the cast; age, race, culture, nationality, physical and mental ability, sexual preference etc. etc. Very correct and appropriate of course, but maybe a little bit over the top for authenticity? Almost every character exhibited at least one of the UK 2010 Equal Opportunities Act “protected characteristics”.
For me, it all came to a rather rushed and unsatisfying conclusion. All of a sudden, the boat shutters come down, the mermaids are dying, the rescue boat arrives and all the survivors live happily ever after.