As a young teenager I loved horror. I was indifferent to
zombies, but aliens were frequently in my nightmares because they looked so...
creepy. A year or two ago, however, I became a zombie fan. Not a fan of the boring
shuffle and moan zombies who decay, but a fan of the more predatory living dead
and infected. For this reason it's hardly surprising that I picked up a book
from the Zombie Fairy Tales series
written by Kevin Richey. Strangely I picked The
Zombie Pinocchio. I've never really been a great fan of the Pinocchio tale,
but I figured zombies would make the tale much more enjoyable. I was right!
Everyone knows the tale of Pinocchio, right? It's about a
child/puppet who is created by a male toymaker who dreams of being 'a real boy'. In this retelling, the
toymaker wants to make the perfect child to fill the lonely void in his heart,
but things go horribly wrong (as you probably guess from the title of the
book!). The Frankenstein like elements, I think, are what make this book great.
It has a setting with dark forbidding streets, the plague, chopped up body bits
and even a nosy priest for good measure.
The powerful vocabulary reflects the sinister darkness of
the tale. The use of language helps make this story vivid and really 'come
alive'. Despite being a reinvention of a well known fairy tale this book
succeeds at being gripping. The small doses of well written gore fits this
horror perfectly without overdoing it and turning into a gore fest. As a mature
reader I would not have minded the book being a bit longer and including more gory
descriptions and happenings to really get me scared and repulsed. But, this is
a short story so the elements were well portioned for the length of the book.
While it is sad that Geppetto feels such an
emotional void, it's also quite disturbing how he goes about collecting the
body parts of children and even loving Pinocchio despite the horrific things he
does. I certainly get a mad toymaker vibe from this character.
Ultimately, this is a short story, perfect
for reading before bed (unless you're prone to nightmares!). Due to how easy it
is to read you could probably finish this book in one sitting or even over the
course a few commutes. It's a perfect quick read for those who love horror and
all things creepy. While I do have a reading list as long as my arm at the
moment, I will certainly revisit this series and read them from start to
finish.
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