Podcast
Zombie Book Club
Hosted by Zombie Book Club · EN
Welcome to Zombie Book Club! We're a Podcast that's also a book club! We talk about Zombie / Apocalyptic horror novels, TV and movies.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Dan Finished the First Draft of 'The Bad Road' | Zombie Book Club Ep 158
1w ago00:58:01Tap to summarizeDan finally admits what he's been hiding: while everyone assumed he was still deep in his long-gestating zombie apocalypse novel, he secretly drafted an entirely new novella, The Bad Road, in two weeks flat. The origin story is almost stranger than the book itself; it started as a 3D-rendered, fake Instagram book cover of two bikers outrunning a dust-churning zombie horde down a dead-straight highway, an image so convincing that people kept asking where to buy a book that didn't exist. So Dan wrote it. The result follows brothers Ty and Michael, months into the outbreak and out of fuel, fleeing a city-sized horde across the mirror-flat, flood-prone expanse of Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats along I-80.Relevant to this episode's topics:Bonneville Salt Flats: https://www.visitutah.com/articles/bonneville-salt-flats-planning-guideSerial Fiction Success for Indie Authors: https://indieauthormagazine.com/the-intentional-craft-of-successful-serialized-fiction/Publishing Novellas: A Niche Format for Aspiring Authors: https://spines.com/self-publishing-a-novella/Support the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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'The Twelfth House' with special guest Robert de la Chevotière | Zombie Book Club Ep. 157
2w ago01:16:32Tap to summarizeWe sit down with Robert de la Chevotière ahead of the August 25, 2026 release of his novel The Twelfth House; a literary work steeped in West African folklore and magical realism. At its center is Etta, an ogbanje: a spirit trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, whose desperate will to live pulls her father Bako from the coast of Benin onto a slave ship bound for colonial Dominica. We talk with Robert about writing unflinchingly about slavery while still leaving room for lyricism and beauty; about the mountains, forests, and ancestral ocean that act as living characters in the book, and about villains who are complicated rather than simply "evil."Robert discusses teaching middle school after burnout, and what it meant for Robert to feel like Etta "took the pen" from him mid-draft. Along the way we dig into reincarnation as a metaphor for diaspora, the dedication to Wai'tukubuli (the Kalinago name for Dominica), and the uneasy line between allyship and complicity. It's a conversation about memory, resistance, and what we owe the dead.Guest Contact & Social MediaAuthor website: robdelabooks.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/robdelawrites/Preorder 'The Twelfth House' (Before August 25th, 2026): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-twelfth-house-robert-de-la-chevotiere/1149880270?ean=9781645662037Audible author page: https://www.audible.com/author/Robert-de-la-Chevotiere/B0F1MYKPNPSupport the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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We Learn The Hard Way That The Apocalypse Has No Air Conditioning | Zombie Book Club Ep 156
3w ago00:24:49Tap to summarizeWe record this one crammed into a sweltering camper with the AC off during a heat wave, accidentally running the most honest apocalypse simulator we've ever tried and quickly learn the real survival threat isn't zombies, it's summer. Forgotten bug spray turns the outdoors into a West Nile virus exclusionary zone full of diseased monsters that want to eat us alive.Leah apologizes for everything she said while she was suffering from a mild heat stroke, Dan regrets nothing but the audio quality.Relevant Links / ResourcesYonge Street history & "longest street" myth — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonge_StreetYonge Street Guinness World Records entry (background on the claim) — https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/62917-longest-streetSupport the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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Zombie Nightmare - Lick the Snick | Zombie Book Club Ep 155
Jul 500:49:38Tap to summarizeThis is an unfiltered check-in where the laptops stay closed and we just talk like the two zombie-obsessed humans we are, and discuss an internet video of a man de-veigning a snickers bar to make Jesus happy.We have two big community updates: a new Kickstarter for the Path of the Pale Rider trade paperback (issues 5–8), and our next book club pick, Intercepts by T.J. Payne; a novel that hooked us so hard we couldn't stop reading until it was finished.Then we swing into a full teardown of Zombie Nightmare, calling out what doesn't hold up; racist framing, misogyny, and assault played for plot; before widening into camper life, remote work on the road, and the small joys keeping us upright through a heavy news cycle. We close on the stuff a lot of people are sitting with right now: politics, protest, direct action, and how loaded words like "terrorism" get weaponized. Lick the Snick, everyone!Relevant Links:Path of the Pale Rider Kickstarter Trade Paperback 5-8: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pathofthepalerider/path-of-the-pale-rider-trade-paperback-5-8Intercepts by T.J. Payne — publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/833286/intercepts-by-t-j-payne/T.J. Payne's author site: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayneZombie Nightmare (1986/87) — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_NightmareMST3k Zombie Nightmare (1994) — Fandom https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/Zombie_Nightmare_(film)Support the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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"Feed" by Mira Grant - Book Club Discussion | Zombie Book Club Ep 154
Jun 2801:03:23Tap to summarizeFeed by Mira Grant promised us zombies and delivered a political thriller, and our book club had FEELINGS about that. Dan and Leah bring a full courtroom vibe to Newsflesh Book 1: praising its ambitious post-apocalyptic world where society survives by way of constant biosecurity surveillance, Romero-rules-as-cultural-canon, and bloggers covering a presidential campaign instead of mainstream journalists. The double meaning of "the feed" opens up rich questions about media trust, who gets to claim objectivity, and what we owe each other when the truth is literally life or death.But the jury is hung. Between 608 pages of procedural detail, repeated exposition, and a zombie threat that feels more bureaucratically managed than terrifying, Feed didn't fully land for everyone at the table. We dig into representation (disability, body diversity, race, queerness), why a beloved and foundational book can still frustrate readers, and what feels urgently resonant right now: the way "safety" becomes a justification for checkpoints, surveillance, and the normalization of controlled movement.Links & Contact InfoMira Grant (pen name of Seanan McGuire)Website: miragrant.com | seananmcguire.comBluesky: @seananmcguire.bsky.socialAlice B. Sullivan (zombie author whose love of Newsflesh helped inspire her own fiction)Website: alicebsullivan.comInstagram: @zombieauthor_alicebsullivanSupport the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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The Dead Will Walk: Living Dead Weekend 2026 Recap | Zombie Book Club Ep 153
Jun 2101:02:49Tap to summarizeDan and Leah survived an eleven-hour drive, a basement "murder bathroom" straight out of Barbarian, and the humbling reality of vending books at a zombie movie convention. Welcome to Living Dead Weekend 2026 at the legendary Monroeville Mall. They break down what indie authors actually face at genre cons: the economics of competing with $5 DVD stacks, the split-second power of cover design, and why one patron-saint reader buying from every table can change the whole vibe of a weekend.The highlights hit hard though; meeting John A. Russo to talk ghouls vs. zombies, coming face-to-face with the iconic Hare Krishna zombie from Dawn of the Dead, and soaking in a fandom that refuses to die. They confess their biggest regret (missing Tina Romero), share lessons to carry into future cons, and lay out what's coming next.Links & Contact InfoLiving Dead Weekend / Monroeville MallOfficial site: thelivingdeadweekend.com — https://www.thelivingdeadweekend.com/ Living Dead WeekendA note for listeners: this may have been the final Living Dead Weekend at Monroeville Mall, which is reportedly set for demolition after being acquired by Walmart. Here's a write-up: https://www.publicsource.org/monroeville-mall-last-living-dead-weekend/ PublicSourceSupport the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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Laurie Calcaterra and The Golden City PotPR Issue 8 | Zombie Book Club Ep 152
Jun 1401:19:46Tap to summarizeComic creator Laurie Calcaterra joins us to break down the world of Path of the Pale Rider; her genre-bending indie comic where death isn't a virus or magic, it's just broken. The "living impaired" keep rotting, brains decay at different rates, and even animals rise again, turning every meal and moral choice into a survival equation. We dig into what makes this series unlike anything on the shelf: QR code scavenger hunts, hidden videos, riddles, sign language, and layered clues that reward rereaders — plus a frank conversation about why real innovation keeps living in indie comics while big studios recycle the same tired stories.Then we crack open Issue 8 and step inside the Golden City, where Jude St. Clair finally arrives at the place that's haunted the series since page one. Hot showers. A buffet. Showgirls and tuxedos. It sounds like heaven after five years on the road... and that's exactly the problem. We unpack the auditorium sequence, debate the symbolism of the split angel portrait, theorize about who (or what) broke death, and wrestle with the ugliest question the series keeps asking: what are people truly willing to trade for comfort when the world outside is falling apart? Plus, Laurie previews the upcoming trade paperback Kickstarter for Issues 5–8.Guest & Relevant LinksLaurie Calcaterra / Path of the Pale RiderWebsite: pathofthepalerider.comInstagram: @path_of_the_pale_rider Kickstarter CampaignsTrade Paperback Issues 5–8 Kickstarter (from show notes): kickstarter.com — Path of the Pale Rider Trade Paperback 5–8Issues 1–8 Kickstarter: kickstarter.com — Path of the Pale Rider Issues 1–8Support the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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George Romero almost directed Resident Evil | Zombie Book Club Ep 151
Jun 701:20:28Tap to summarizeWe finally watch George A. Romero's Resident Evil — the 2025 documentary unpacking one of horror's greatest what-ifs, and trace the whole messy story: Romero hired by Constantin Film in 1998, his meticulous approach to studying the game scene-by-scene, the commercial footage that proves he could have nailed the tone, and the moment "creative differences" quietly buried a zombie legend's game-faithful script. Along the way we get into the Biohazard origins, horror ratings pressure, and why studios keep chasing a PG-13 that imagined box office math demands instead of the movie the genre deserves.Then we turn it into something bigger; the social critique running through Romero's entire Living Dead catalog, why zombies became cinema's sharpest tool for talking about race, consumerism, and survival, and why the horror community keeps attracting the most empathetic people in any room. This episode drops right before we head to Living Dead Weekend 2026 at the Monroeville Mall — the last year before the mall closes — and we're going in loaded with books from zombesties Sylvester Barzey, Rebecca Cuthbertson, Dia Van Gunten, and Laurie Calcaterra, bunking with Alice B. Sullivan, and looking forward to seeing Brandon Starocci of Avalon Comic.LINKS & INFOThe DocumentaryGeorge A. Romero's Resident Evil (2025) — Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fiIdvhCLMIIMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21990960/Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_A._Romero%27s_Resident_EvilLiving Dead Weekend 2026 — June 12–14, Monroeville MallOfficial Site & Schedule: https://www.thelivingdeadweekend.com/Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/living-dead-weekend-june-2026-the-dead-will-walk-the-mall-tickets-1980534479944Living Dead Museum at Monroeville Mall: https://monroevillemall.com/store/living_dead_museumGreenMan — Pittsburgh ArtistInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/grnnann/AuthorsAlice B. Sullivan | Tomorrow Never Came + Elementary Undead | https://alicebsullivan.com/Sylvester Barzey | Intense BIPOC-centered zombie horror | https://sylvesterbarzey.com/Rebecca Cuthbertson | Waves of Undead | https://rcuthbertsonwrites.com/Dia VanGunten | Pink Zombie Rose graphic novel series | https://www.diavangunten.com/Laurie Calcaterra | Path of the Pale Rider comic (issues 1–4 trade paperback) | https://pathofthepalerider.wordpress.com/Brandon Starocci | Avalon zombie comic series | https://avaloncomic.com/Support the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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The Kara Mason Series with special guest Jill N. Davies | Zombie Book Club Ep 150
May 3101:17:42Tap to summarizeThis week we settle a burning physics question; can an inflatable pool "self-level" on a hillside, or is it doomed? To answer this very important question, we welcome scientist, science teacher, and zombie sci-fi author Jill N. Davies. Jill writes the kind of body horror that will make you cringe in her Kara Mason Story series, a world rebuilt after the outbreak where the promise of a cure becomes a power structure, fear becomes policy, and the "safe" choice can quietly cost you your humanity.We get into why there's rarely one clean "right" decision, how the fear of being wrong fuels everything from authoritarian control to cringe culture, and why constant surveillance drains the joy out of learning and living. Jill also shares how the devastatingly premature birth of her first child pushed her toward publishing, how writing has carried her through hard times, and why she believes AI threatens markets but never human storytelling.Guest Contact & Social LinksWebsite: https://jillndavies.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillndavies_books/Goodreads (author page): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20334595.Jill_N_DaviesRelevant Links from the EpisodeThe Kara Mason Story books (all editions): browse from https://jillndavies.com/index.php/books/Due North (Book 1): https://www.amazon.com/Due-North-Kara-Mason-Story/dp/B089267Y5QInto the Deadlands (Book 2): https://www.amazon.com/Into-Deadlands-Book-Mason-Story/dp/B0CH1XVPNWHearts of a Vanishing City (Prequel, 2025): https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Vanishing-City-Prequel-Mason/dp/B0F4B3WJBHDue North audiobook (narrated by Samantha Norbury): https://www.audible.com/pd/Due-North-Audiobook/B0DD5MQKW7Support the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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We're Back from the Dead | Zombie Book Club Ep. 149
May 2401:01:27Tap to summarizeWe crawl back from the zombie plague with a fever-dream catch-up that somehow turns into a sharp conversation about power, autonomy, and who gets to make the rules. We dig into our HOA annual meeting; a real-life "Survivor" moment where alliances formed around one loaded question: do we leave each other alone, or do we pile on rules to control what neighbors do on their own land? From petty bylaw enforcement to short-term rental panic, we trace how community governance becomes a proxy war for fear, control, and NIMBY instincts.Then we pull the thread from our previous Apocalypse Tech episode and go deep on surveillance capitalism, degoogling, and the creeping feeling that the internet has shifted from a decentralized commons into a centralized control mechanism. We cover data brokers, AI as a "truth gatekeeper," always-on vehicle tracking, and why your "free" apps aren't free. We end on a hopeful note: LoRa radios, Meshtastic mesh networks, DIY cyberdecks, and the case for physical media ownership as a practical act of digital self-defense and zombie preparedness.Relevant Links:Meshtastic (off-grid mesh networking): meshtastic.orgPrivacy Guides (degoogling & privacy tool recommendations): privacyguides.orgr/degoogle (community): reddit.com/r/degoogleDuckDuckGo (private search engine): duckduckgo.comCyberdeck Cafe (the hub of the Cyberdeck community, FAQ, build guide, curated parts list): cyberdeck.cafer/cyberDeck (Reddit community — builds, inspiration, troubleshooting): reddit.com/r/cyberDeckSupport the showZombie Book Club LinksJoin us on on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ZombieBookClubJoin the Brain Muncher’s Zombie Collective: https://discord.gg/rn3nPDa4CBZBC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zombiebookclubpodcast/ZBC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/710957975263518/Zombie Book Club Voicemail: (614) 699-0006Zombie Book Club Email: ZombieBookClubPodcast@gmail.com
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