Zombie novels have always left me kind of “blah.” They never have really scared me, because you need to see a zombie attack for it to be effective. Sure, you can write prose passage after prose passage about Dracula sneaking up your back alley and stalking you, but with zombies, that style is about as shufflingly slow as their movements.

It was with these ultra-low expectations that I wandered into Bowie Ibarra’s DOWN THE ROAD: ON THE LAST DAY. But, after a shaky setup, the novel completely shook my mentality toward the genre, not only proving me wrong, but leaving me ecstatic, mostly for the author’s utterly unique twist on the whole situation.

Taking place in a small Texas town primarily filled with Hispanics, DOWN THE ROAD is a zombie-fied, post-apocalyptic Alamo of sorts, as the remaining townies band together against the newly empowered U.N. and its murderous forces, intent on turning what’s left of America into a One World Nation, be it through loading citizens into boxcars to be taken to detainment centers (concentration camps?) or via a bullet through the head for not complying.

It may come off as a conspiracy theorist’s nightmare, but Ibarra’s admittedly rough writing style – once deciphered – really puts an honest, almost prophetic spin on things, what with all the Homeland Securities and such.

Ibarra has a basic writing style that at times gets a bit too heavy on the arbitrary descriptions and directions – but, as a fellow Texan, it’s good to get an HEB name-check – and it gets a tad grating for the first few pages. But I was able to look past it quickly because what impressed me most about the book is the fact that Ibarra casts mostly Hispanics – and very heroic, non-stereotyped Hispanics – as major players, which is very rarely done in horror, unless a pimp or cholo is needed.

It kind of makes me wish this could get made into a movie, if only to complete that Hispanic circle of media domination. Look out, Jews!

DOWN THE ROAD: ON THE LAST DAY is the finest zombie novel I’ve ever read, but, to be honest, it’s the only zombie novel I’ve ever had the will to finish. I’d like to check out Ibarra’s prequel DOWN THE ROAD: A ZOMBIE HORROR STORY; maybe he’ll make me a literary zombie fan yet. –Louis Fowler

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ZOMBIE FICTION:
• BRAINCHILD edited by Omnibucket
• CELL by Stephen King
• DEATHBRINGER by Bryan Smith
• ESSENTIAL TALES OF THE ZOMBIE: VOL. 1
• MARVEL ZOMBIES by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips
• MONSTER ISLAND by David Wellington
• THE MORNINGSTAR STRAIN: PLAGUE OF THE DEAD by Z.A. Recht
• REMAINS by Steve Niles and Kieron Dwyer
• THE UNDEAD: ZOMBIE ANTHOLOGY edited by D.L. Snell and Elijah Hall
• WORLD WAR Z: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ZOMBIE WAR by Max Brooks