I was a huge fan of Scott's when he first put out The Zen of Zombie (if you haven't checked it out, please do), a "self help" book that teaches you how to live better by living zombie. With his new book, Z.E.O., he helps us learn how the awesomeness that is being a zombie can help us get to the top of the corporate ladder. He kindly sent me the book for review here on DBH.
First off is the content of the book itself. It's separated into two sections: Business Tactics of a Zombie and a Quarterly guide to becoming a Z.E.O. in one year.
The first section has many smaller sections detailing everything from time management and taking initiative to how to be like Tiger Woods (see interview below)! It's well written and funny as hell. He even goes through the, well known in other "self help" books, 48 Laws of Power and shows you how zombies inspired them.
The Second section gives you a step by step guide of what to do each quarter of a work year to get to the top in that short amount of time. Although some of what the book suggest actually sounds like it might work, in not sure if demanding to be C.E.O., no matter how much you've help improve the company, is gonna work for ya. But none the less, It's entertaining and not meat to be taken seriously (another reason I like this book).
Lastly is the artwork. I have read other reviews that thought it was too amateur, but I thought they worked well with the humorous nature of the book. If the pictures were to realistic, It wouldn't have went with the funny feel to the book. Plus I just like the way they look.
Overall, I would recommend this book to all zombie fans and those who want to get a head in the job the have now, a new job there just starting, or even use a zombie's business sense help run a successful horror blog!
Scott was also kind enough to sit down for a little chat about the book and upcoming projects.
Q: What got you into Zombies?
A: I've always liked horror-- I grew up reading H.P. Lovecraft, and he's still my favorite author-- but in college, I really got specifically into zombies. My most formative encounters were with Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and King of the Zombies.
Q: How did you come up with the concept of "Self Help" books that teach you the wonders of being like a Zombie?
A: My mother is a social worker who has foisted self-help books upon me since childhood. I have grown to be healthily skeptical of them. When I sat down to write a comedic zombie book, the idea of satirizing the self-help genre was one of the first that came to me.
Q: I differ from other reviews I've read; I love the artwork in the book! Could you tell a bit about the illustrator?
A: Sure. My illustrator is named Adam Bozarth. He works on staff for my publisher, Skyhorse Publishing. I've only met him once (at the book launch party Skyhorse did for The Zen of Zombie in New York City), but he was a super-cool dude. Here's an interview with Adam on YouTube where he talks about working on The Zen of Zombie and other books: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774kqcxT0r8
Q: One of my favorite chapters in the book is how not to be a "Tiger". With the recent events concerning Tiger Woods and...well his "wood", would you like to add anything advice to wanna be Zombies out there?
A: When I picked on Tiger in Z.E.O., I was really picking on the boorish, uninspired authors who write "inspirational" business books based on the accomplishments of pro athletes. These books make no sense to me. Probably, the sensationalization of Tiger's marital infidelity just means that these same writers will now look to different athletes as prompts when writing their lousy, nonsensical business books. But I still really like the Tiger Woods chapter in Z.E.O. (I'm glad you did, too) and I think it still stands up as funny, even though it doesn't include his sex scandal.
Q: Could you tell us about your upcoming projects and where we can learn more?
A: Sure. I have two more zombie humor books--The Art of Zombie Warfare and The Code of Zombie Piracy-- coming out later this year. Both will be published by Skyhorse, and both will feature more excellent illustrations by the talented Adam Bozarth. I have also recently completed a zombie novel that my agent is shopping, and I hope to have good news about that very soon. If your readers want to learn more, I write a blog about zombies at http://scottkenemore.wordpress.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment