#LetrasMacabras: Max Brooks and Zombie Literature

By Casandra Vicario

In recent years we've been struck by a zombie fever: marches, comics, and a great deal of literature, not to mention, of course, the huge number of films starring the walking dead. If we're going to talk about zombie literature, without a doubt, the genre's finest exponent is Max Brooks.

Maximilian Brooks was born in New York City in 1972. He is a writer, screenwriter, and also an actor, and is the son of film director Mel Brooks (“Young Frankenstein,” 1974).

Between 2001 and 2003, Max was a member of the writing staff of the American television show “Saturday Night Live.”

Max Brooks's first book is titled “The Zombie Survival Guide”, published in 2003, and in it, the author describes in great detail the origin of the zombie virus, the characteristics of the undead, and how they move on land or in water, as well as how the famous zombie virus attacks humans until death and reanimation occur.

Without a doubt, the clear and realistic way the book is written seems to suggest that the zombie threat is only a matter of time. (!)

Just three years after learning all these important details about zombies and the best way to fight them and survive, Max Brooks drops us onto the battlefield with “World War Z”, a text now known to many through its 2013 film adaptation. Other books by Max Brooks in Spanish:

1.- “The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks.” (2009)

2.- “La Marcha Zombi” (2011)

3.- “Punto Final S.A” (2012)

So if you're looking for a good read to devour with your lovely eyes during these days of lockdown, any of Max Brooks's books is a great choice. Here is an excerpt from his work:

“Hearing. There is no doubt that zombies have excellent hearing. They can not only detect sound but also determine its direction. Their basic range appears to be the same as that of humans. Experiments with extremely high and low frequencies have produced negative results. Tests have also shown that zombies are attracted to any sound, not just the ones made by living creatures.”

The Zombie Survival Guide. Max Brooks, p. 28.

This is Max Brooks. The finest exponent of zombie literature.