The joint winner of the inaugural Terry Pratchett Anywhere But Here, Anywhen But Now award, Apocalypse Cow delivers on blood, gore and laughter
In a suburb of Glasgow, an unusual zombie terror has been unleashed.Several books over the last few years have started on a similar theme. Few, however, have decided Patient Zero, the source of the outbreak, would be bovine in nature.
Opening at an abattoir where a stampede of infected cows break out to unleash animal zombie havoc on the British Isles, the narrative follows Geldof, a teenage vegan, Lesley, a young reporter in her father’s shadow and living on the brink of unemployment and Terry, the only survivor of the abattoir massacre as they embark on voyage to unmask a cover-up, save humanity and avoid an ever-increasing number of raging, rampaging, nymphomaniac animals.
Funny and at times shocking, this is an inventive take on what has quickly become a classic genre. Stand out characters include the put upon Geldof and his Eco warrior mother Fanny, who considers her love of hemp and detest of carnivorism sanctified by the outbreak, bring humour and a sense of warmth to proceedings. There’s also plenty of gory details for the traditional zombie fans, with descriptions of rotten cows, killer squirrels and a repulsive neighbour creating the expected air of unease associated with the zombie genre. Just when you think the story is tipping into pure horror, Logan deftly paints yet another dark,comical image such as fending off a squirrel attack with a badminton racquet, to pull his readers back from the brink of fear and into laughter.
If Apocalypse Cow’s blend of gallows humour and genuine horror sounds intriguing, be warned: you may never look at a cow (or even a squirrel) in quite the same way again.
readitribbit 