Are we past peak zombie?

[nancylebov]

I'm reading Elizabeth Bear's Karen Memery, a steampunk novel set in the old west and enjoying it, and suddenly I realize that there are no zombies. Actually, there are no fantastic elements so far (I'm about a third of the way through). There are no werewolves. Unless I missed something there are no robots, though there are robot bodies controlled by humans.

And then I realized I don't think I've seen a new story about zombies for a year or two.

It's not that I hate zombies, and there have been a few zombie stories that I've liked very much, it's just that they don't delight me.

Favorite zombie stories: "Iphigenia In Aulis" by M.R. Carey-- his The Girl with All the Gifts is loosely related to it and quite good, but the short story is the finest thing about love and courage I've read in sf. Carey's Felix Castor novels also had a zombie character I'm fond of. He was determined to hold off entropy as long as possible-- lived in a refrigerated warehouse and sold old movies.

Working Stiff by Rachel Caine: zombie-ism used in a metaphor for employer-supplied health insurance. It works very well. The book is the first of a trilogy, but I think that Caine becoming easier on the main character made the books less interesting. Avoid them if you can't tolerate nanotech which can do just about anything.

Sidetrack: I don't think I've seen any sf with literally magic nanotech. That could be fun.

I can't remember author or title, but there was an entertaining book about a zombie uprising and fans trapped in a hotel. The romance was about whether a Star Trek fan and a Star Wars fan can get together.

Have you been seeing zombies in fiction lately? Any new elements that might become fads?

Comments

[lethargic_man]

Just wanted to say I love your title for this post.

[tam_nonlinear]

I subscribe to a couple of lists that let me know about free or discount ebooks, and there's still a lot of zombies there. I'm kinda past it, myself. I think they're now in the same category as vampires and werewolves- likely to remain a steady, somewhat oversaturated market for a while, and new books will not get much notice until someone comes up with a significantly new twist on it.