Zombie Autopsies by Steven C. Schlozman, MD

I found The Zombie Autopsies while browsing through Barnes and Noble, it was one of those trips I should have avoided because I walked out with books when I should have left empty handed. Damn books, destroying my budget!! Zombie Autopsies was one of several zombie books I looked at that trip, and after much deliberation I adopted it.

I was attracted to this book because of it's different take on a zombie story. It is written like a research journal kept by a scientist as they try to develop a cure for the plague. The fact that the author is a real doctor added a certain amount of realism to the research feel of the story. The anatomical drawings that are included as part of the research notes are beautifully rendered, though grotesque and disturbing.

The journal pages are interspersed with military reports and comments on the research which was collected from the research facility at a later date. Dr. Blum, the research scientist whom wrote the notes, was sent to the research facility after a garbled message was sent by the previous doctor in charge and all contact was lost. The facility is in a race against time,  not only because it's a world wide pandemic, but because the research itself is a death sentence. All the researchers and guards at the facility are volunteers.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about the book, and an aspect that added to the reality of it, was that you can see the loss of the doctor's ability to focus and concentrate as the story goes on. This fits wonderfully with the description of the diseases progression and the drawings showing the deterioration of the previous victims.

I would not recommend this book for those with week stomachs as the drawings are extremely detailed and life-like, or rather death-like despite being pencil sketches. If you are a lover of zombie stories and fascinated by science, I recommend this book.

Happy reading.