This was a fun romp through a small slice of history and the more indelicate side to being a walking, talking corpse. Taking elements from the Prohibition Era and detective noir, Kozeniewski has come up with something original. Filled with zombie humor and fast-paced, I looked forward to reading a few chapters each night. Braineaters humor was also amusing, being a bit rough and crude. Hey, when you can inadvertently scratch a body part off while idly considering a bug on the ceiling the humor is bound to be a little crude.
In a neighborhood where one can be separated from ones body parts, and still be able to wiggle them, the local cathouse has got to have a few new twists, right? I wont give away anything, but I was not expecting that, nor was Braineater. So I had fun being surprised and a little wierded out with him. Specialty doctors can be paid to keep the dead looking recently deceased. And the living have an interest in the walking dead, sometimes leading to less than necessary experiments. Whatever turns a person zombie isnt limited to the full-grown either just check out The Old Man who runs the show at the zombie speak easy. Theres a reason he resides in a jar folks.
If I have any complaints, it is that the women had limited and predictable roles. While there are stereotypes for women of the 1930s, I had hoped that one or more of those ladies would have something more going on, something to surprise Braineater. But perhaps he couldnt handle any more surprises in this book. Still, the language used in the book, such as the various words for one kind of woman or another, reflects the time period and that added to the detective noir ambiance of the book.
As the description of the book notes, there is a talking head sidekick (Alcibe) for part of the novel. Ever seen a talking zombie head eat? Hehe.yeah, dont try to picture that. Alcibe had some of the most amusing circumstances, since he really only had the ability to kind of shrug-walk on his neck stump or roll around.
I also liked that one of the characters swung one way in his breathing life and another way in his zombie life. The fluid sexuality of this character was handled well, and was really just a side note that simply added to the character, instead of overshadowing him.
Towards the end of the novel, the plot really ramps up. Braineater has been facing more than one opponent and he finally untangles the different threads of the mystery. His short stature doesnt keep him from taking the challenge to the most nefarious of his opponents. And no, I was not expecting that ending but I quite liked it. And I want more. I really hope this is simply Book 1 in a series.
In a neighborhood where one can be separated from ones body parts, and still be able to wiggle them, the local cathouse has got to have a few new twists, right? I wont give away anything, but I was not expecting that, nor was Braineater. So I had fun being surprised and a little wierded out with him. Specialty doctors can be paid to keep the dead looking recently deceased. And the living have an interest in the walking dead, sometimes leading to less than necessary experiments. Whatever turns a person zombie isnt limited to the full-grown either just check out The Old Man who runs the show at the zombie speak easy. Theres a reason he resides in a jar folks.
If I have any complaints, it is that the women had limited and predictable roles. While there are stereotypes for women of the 1930s, I had hoped that one or more of those ladies would have something more going on, something to surprise Braineater. But perhaps he couldnt handle any more surprises in this book. Still, the language used in the book, such as the various words for one kind of woman or another, reflects the time period and that added to the detective noir ambiance of the book.
As the description of the book notes, there is a talking head sidekick (Alcibe) for part of the novel. Ever seen a talking zombie head eat? Hehe.yeah, dont try to picture that. Alcibe had some of the most amusing circumstances, since he really only had the ability to kind of shrug-walk on his neck stump or roll around.
I also liked that one of the characters swung one way in his breathing life and another way in his zombie life. The fluid sexuality of this character was handled well, and was really just a side note that simply added to the character, instead of overshadowing him.
Towards the end of the novel, the plot really ramps up. Braineater has been facing more than one opponent and he finally untangles the different threads of the mystery. His short stature doesnt keep him from taking the challenge to the most nefarious of his opponents. And no, I was not expecting that ending but I quite liked it. And I want more. I really hope this is simply Book 1 in a series.
