During a zombie outbreak, 98% of individuals will have to destroy an undead opponent without the aid of a firearm. Will you be ready?
The Zombie Combat Manual is a comprehensive guide that demonstrates how anyone, from seasoned fighter to average citizen, can become an effective warrior in the inevitable battle against the undead.
With detailed illustrations and firsthand accounts from zombie combat veterans, this manual provides readers with the information they need to emerge victoriously from a close combat encounter with a walking corpse. Now is the time to learn how to survive a hand-to-hand battle against the advancing army of the undead - lest you fall prey to their growing ranks.
THE ZOMBIE COMBAT MANUAL, by Roger Ma; Berkley Books, 2010; 320 pages; $14.00
Zombies…so are we sick of them yet? Well I’m not. I still love the shuffling, smelly guys. That is, as long as they are in good movies, video games and books. Luckily that is the case with this book, despite my surprise. Yes, I must admit that when I first heard about this book I thought it would just be a riff on Max Brooks’ awesome THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE and as such it would be pamphlet sized at best. So imagine my surprise when I got it and saw that it over 300 pages. My mind reeled at that, I mean how far could they carry a single joke? Well then imagine my surprise carried to the tenth power after reading Mr. Ma’s very funny book and not only never getting bored with it, but completely loving it. I know, I’m as surprised as you are, but let me explain.
Roger Ma tackles the topic of fighting the undead in desperate hand to hand combat very seriously and that is one of the reasons this book is so funny. He obviously knows the basics of fighting well, or else he aced his research because when he tells you the pros and cons between using a baseball bat to cave in a zombie’s skull, or attempting a decapitation with a machete, you believe he knows what he’s talking about. Roger also does his best to cover all the bases you could possibly think of when going hand to gnashing choppers against the living impaired.
The book begins with popular misconceptions of zombies, like zombies only eat brains or that they can be trained. Next is a crash course in undead anatomy so that anyone tussling with the recently risen knows what to look out for and where to hit the capering corpse where it will do the most damage. There is even a handy chart on the speed of zombies in various states of decay and disrepair. Want to know how fast a legless ghoul can crawl after you? The answer is one mile an hour.
Real world melee weapons and fighting techniques are spotlighted and how they would affect an opponent that can’t feel pain. Mr. Ma is partial to tomahawks and pitchforks, so if you’re a Native American farmer then you should be hell on wheels come the zombie apocalypse. As for fighting styles, both long and medium range fighting is covered in detail, as in unarmed and CQC, or close-quarters combat; the fancy fighting made popular in the BOURNE movies. But one word of advice, don’t every try beating up a zombie with a rolled up magazine like Matt Damon did in his movie. Trust me, you’ll lose.
There are plenty more bloody bon-bons sprinkled throughout this book. There are interviews with those that went toe to toe with zombies and lived to tell the tale. Exercise regiments that will whip you into fighting shape for Z Day including how to turn your calves into iron for that all important stomping on the head of a fallen zombie in order to keep it down. There are also an abundance of illustrations, most of them hilarious, all of them informative. The step by step diagram showing precisely how to insert, twist, and then remove an ice pick from the ear of a zombie I found to be very educational.
In closing there are three reasons for you to buy this book. First, you are a die hard zombie fan. Second, you like well written and very dry humor. Third, there’s a horde of zombies banging on your front door right now. If you fall into any of these three criteria then do yourself a favor and get THE ZOMBIE COMBAT MANUAL today.
- Brian M. Sammons
* * * * * * * * * *
Enter to win a copy of THE ZOMBIE COMBAT MANUAL (This will open your email program - if it doesn't open, send an email to horror.world@gmail.com and put Zombie in the subject line. Please included your mailing address)
**Please note - any information collected will only be used to notify the winners and is not sold or provided to any third parties**
