It's been a long time since I've seen a choose your own adventure book but I still go to websites where you can do them. So you can imagine my joy when I found a choose your own adventure zombie book, "Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?"
Can't say everything in the book plays out logically. Some stories are ultra realistic and others border on teenage wet dreams. The zombies however are always consistant and clear in their presentation.
The choices aren't what I would call the best. Some choices are down right stupid and the reader can see other options but only has two or three choices to go for. Usually the only time you are called on to even make a choice is when picking which weapon to use or which location to go to. The book does however display how good choices early on can make all the difference as some situations have no happy endings. Even most of the good endings in the book sit uneasy, they are not so much endings as temporary safety or escape, an end to that part of the story yes but I, for one, was left rather empty by many of the endings in which I wondered... so what happens now?
The brutality and pain of death is captured extremely well. As well as the simple math and unstoppable power of the undead forces. Watching one become two, become four, become eight. All a zombie has to do is get one bite in before someone kills it and the cycle continues.
Now I would like to go through some of the endings in more detail so you know, stay away if your scared of spoilers, I will try to avoid as much as I can but I am talking about the endings so...
So your first choice is made on page seven (7), cab (204), subway (205) or walk (22).
Now from that point on there are many more choice to make but the results are somewhat limited. Basically you can end up dead, escaping, in a safe house or at one of three strange endings. Now the death endings are pretty obvious and the most plentiful, some paths also lead to choices which only result in death. The escape endings are definately the weakest of the bunch as they end more or less like many zombie movies, with the hero or heroes sailing away on a boat or flying away on a helicopter. There is no real closure, nothing is fixed or established just temporary safety, which in most cases is all one can ask for I suppose. Then there are safe houses, these are my favorite endings. Where the hero has established a place where he can live out the rest of his days surviving the apocalypse. In most of these cases the safe house is somewhat reliable and would stand the test of time, other cases the safe house is dodgy at best but might keep the hero/heroes alive for some period of time. Finally are the three "other" endings. Two of these I feel are cop outs by the writter, forcing the reader to choose a more rash and "heroic" option, which in real life will often lead to death. These two endings basically result in the writter questioning the reader's manlihood and insulting his choice to take the safer option. While somewhat humorous, it does destroy the idea there being a safer choice. Finally we are left with "The End" as the writter calls it. The hero discovers the cause for the zombies but even then is left with a strange sort of open ending because he does not try to stop it, to either succeed or die trying as everything else in the book seems to focus on. The source of the zombies? Why it's George A. Romero of course! No wonder he backed out of Calgary Comic Con with this book diffulging his neffarious plans! Broken arm, a likely story!
I did keep track of all the endings and how to get to each but I thought putting that up would be to easy and take away the fun of the book for you. It is a book that can pass a lot of time. And provide much entertainment so long as you can stomache some of the more gruesome endings and put up with the unrealistic heroism or battles in others.
"Dear Calgary Expo Fans,
Sorry I can't be there with you this weekend. As luck would have it, I banged up my arm the other day and can't autograph. I was looking forward to seeing Calgary and meeting all of you. I hope you all have a great weekend, and I look forward to getting there next year. Thank you for your loyalty and understanding!"
Stay Scared!
George A. Romero"
Stay vigilant, may you make the right choices, and those close to you have the resolve to do what is needed should you be so mistaken, Mike D.
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