Review: Quirky. Burlesque. Macabre. Hysterical.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 9, 2014
I have never read a zombie book other than the mediocre spoof "Pride Prejudice and Zombies" so was apprehensive as to try "Paradise Rot" by debut author, Larry Weiner. But for the giveaway price of $1.99, meh! Why not? The first page has a Wikipedia description, "A separate ethical distinction can be made between killing a human for food (homicidal cannibalism) and eating the flesh of a person who was already dead (nacre-cannibalism)"... which made my brows furrow, and then right below it, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." Scarlett O'Hara. LOLOLOLOL-- I was in!"Paradise Rot" opens with ad man, Kyle Brightman, hog tied in a Seattle psyche ward after he has cracked in a grocery store. When he asks the strapping orderly what will happen to him if he doesn't recover, he is told, " 'You will,' Hap said. 'I been doing this a long time and I can tell the ones who are gonna make it and the ones who fall through the cracks. You're the first one.' 'What do you tell the ones who are gonna fall through the cracks?' Kyle said. 'Same bull* I told you,' Hap said." Funny banter!While undergoing treatment, he gets a job offer as an art director on a soon-to-open luxury resort in the Caribbean, catering to middle income families. (Curiouser and curiouser.) As soon as he is able to get released, Kyle finds himself on board a private plane off to a beautiful island and working with a gorgeous and very pale copywriter...with cold hands. But almost from the first, things are "odd"-- but as the new guy with a swank opportunity, who is he to ask driving questions? At the resort and in the jungle, he meets a series of unconventional (quirky) characters, full of witty (burlesque) innuendo adding to the chilling (macabre) suspense. All my prejudices against zombie books have been blown out of the water as author Larry Weiner has crafted a clever, perfectly paced, and down-right hysterical tale. Surprisingly, I can't wait to read Book 2