Zombie Odyssey:
Introduction to the online novel.
Artwork by LJFHutch.
Introduction/Forward by WHutch.
I have always been a lover of good horror stories, especially Zombies as
this seems to be such a basic, almost primal fear most of us first encountered as young kids. As adults, we know zombies aren't real. Many writers and script writers have sought to explain the origins of the "infection" as they like to call it these days, Its so hard to hypothesise, that I may just not go there in this book, for fear of creating some idiotic excuse for creatures best left in our imagination to exist at all. I am more interested in the human behavioural aspect and it's nice to play around with the different possible outcomes both good and bad.
The zombie situation poses so many questions, for example, how would you survive such an event for any extended period of time, given that things like food and petrol actually go off over time, so constantly raiding the supermarket or petrol tanker is not really a viable option.
There is the issue of maintaining some of the basic services, such as secure shelter, medical, dental, electricity, sewerage, garbage and electronic communication of sorts. These are all noteable considerations in a post apocalyptic, zombie ridden world. There's always room for one more (good) zombie story too. I hope this will be one such story.
I could have created characters that are complete idiots with no apparent survival skills like we usually see in movies. Surviving once you throw in a multitude of infectious serial killers, does get slightly more difficult, but not impossible. Much more interesting though for us readers, to bad for the characters though.
Although I feel you don't need lots of gratuitous violence and buckets of blood to create fear and tension, I think they have to be there in a zombie story, it helps set the mood and add to the threat. You can't demolish the head of a zombie without breaking a few eggs, so to speak.
Suppose someone in your team got bitten. You would like to think you would shoot them immediately right, unless it happens in Australia, (oh it is?).
Oh shit, we don't have a lot of easily accessible guns here, but that also makes it much more interesting and we are a resourceful and adaptable bunch. We have axes, knives and baseball bats. What was I saying about violence? How do you despatch such an unfortunate infected friend humanely, with only garden tools? Maybe you would just lose it and run around like the proverbial idiot after all and probably die like one too. Many possibilities.
I am also striving to make the story at least a little believable in terms of behaviour and scientific facts and I underline facts, the existence of zombies excluded of course.
The main questions I considered were, how does the infection occur? (do we care, or need to know? I don't see why, or how, so I won't) How fast and far does it spread? How long can the so called zombies or "infected" (please think of some better name...) live? How many people, if any, are actually immune to it? How fast can they move and how strong are they? Do they die first then come back to life?
Who is my intended audience here? you ask I say, "who likes zombie stories? That's them, easy".
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the following instalments in this epic tale of hope and despair. Coming Soon, I'm working on it. WGHutch, Author...
The zombie situation poses so many questions, for example, how would you survive such an event for any extended period of time, given that things like food and petrol actually go off over time, so constantly raiding the supermarket or petrol tanker is not really a viable option.
There is the issue of maintaining some of the basic services, such as secure shelter, medical, dental, electricity, sewerage, garbage and electronic communication of sorts. These are all noteable considerations in a post apocalyptic, zombie ridden world. There's always room for one more (good) zombie story too. I hope this will be one such story.
I could have created characters that are complete idiots with no apparent survival skills like we usually see in movies. Surviving once you throw in a multitude of infectious serial killers, does get slightly more difficult, but not impossible. Much more interesting though for us readers, to bad for the characters though.
Although I feel you don't need lots of gratuitous violence and buckets of blood to create fear and tension, I think they have to be there in a zombie story, it helps set the mood and add to the threat. You can't demolish the head of a zombie without breaking a few eggs, so to speak.
Suppose someone in your team got bitten. You would like to think you would shoot them immediately right, unless it happens in Australia, (oh it is?).
Oh shit, we don't have a lot of easily accessible guns here, but that also makes it much more interesting and we are a resourceful and adaptable bunch. We have axes, knives and baseball bats. What was I saying about violence? How do you despatch such an unfortunate infected friend humanely, with only garden tools? Maybe you would just lose it and run around like the proverbial idiot after all and probably die like one too. Many possibilities.
I am also striving to make the story at least a little believable in terms of behaviour and scientific facts and I underline facts, the existence of zombies excluded of course.
The main questions I considered were, how does the infection occur? (do we care, or need to know? I don't see why, or how, so I won't) How fast and far does it spread? How long can the so called zombies or "infected" (please think of some better name...) live? How many people, if any, are actually immune to it? How fast can they move and how strong are they? Do they die first then come back to life?
Who is my intended audience here? you ask I say, "who likes zombie stories? That's them, easy".
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the following instalments in this epic tale of hope and despair. Coming Soon, I'm working on it. WGHutch, Author...
cool pictures!
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