A couple months back I was contacted by Skyhorse Publishing and was told about some pretty interesting sounding books. Now, as you all know I can’t get enough books and I’ll read each and every one sent to me (well, almost each and every one). They offered to send me those books and of course I was not going to turn them down.
Tonight’s evening post here on Zombie Mall is a review of Scott Bowen’s book The Vampire Survival Guide How to Fight, and Win, Against the Undead, Illustrated by Adam Bozarth.
This books should be in every horror fan’s library. You can simply thumb through its 288 pages and tell that loads of research went into crafting this book. And trust me, the vampires in this book most certainly to not sparkle!
VSG covers almost every imaginable aspect of what will happen when vampires finally decide to tear up their Diner’s Cards and decide the entire human race is their buffet.
The book has little boxes throughout, telling of vampire facts (did you know that some people of European folklore once thought that seeds could be used as a vampire defense? The thought was that vampires had compulsive tendencies that when they ran across scattered seeds they would spend the entire night gathering them up and forget all about the rising sun). Other boxes ask random questions (What’s the deal on silver bullets – should I hand-load a few?) Yeah, and you thought the silver bullet was only for werewolves!
Yeah, it’s a comedic book, but its just so full of really thought provoking information! The topics covered here are certainly topics that me and friends used to chatter about until the wee hours of the morning, as if we ourselves were vampires. Stuff like;
Signs to look for in people around you who might have turned into vampires.
How to make your home a good place to defend yourself against vampires.
What to do when you yourself have been bitten by a vampire.
While this is a comical book, even categorized under Humor in your local book store, it’s not written with a slap-your-knee, listen to this joke style. It gives a pretty serious take on what to do in order to survive in a world in which vampires lurk in shadows. What gives it the humor category is simply the subject matter.
What you won’t find in here is all the typical movie versions of what we think vampires are, no no, you get vampires as seen in historical folklore and myths. You will find the nitty gritty down and dirty world of what vampires will really do to us when they get hungry, and that’s a good thing.
Why, you ask?
Because it will teach you what to look for! This is afterall a book on survival plain and simple. It covers vast topics and ramifications such as consequences of your actions from a (not so) legal aspect, how to deal with loved ones who have been turned, how to truely kill and dispatch a vampire to keep it from coming back and much more.
All in all, if you have even a mild curiosity of vampires, this is a pretty entertaining read.
Zombies recommend it. Why? Because when you are busy with the vampires, the zombies will get ya!
$12.95 ($14.95 Canada)
288 pages
Paperback | 5 x 7
Rights: World
Color Illustrations : 25
Published: August 2008
ISBN: 9781602392748
PS: Keep an eye out for our review of the follow books also from Skyhorse Publishing:
The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead by Scott Kenemore
Z.E.O.: A Zombie’s Guide to Getting A(Head) in Business by Scott Kenemore
Vampire Seduction Handbook: A Guide to the Ultimate Romantic Adventure by Luc Richard Ballion
