55 – Daniel Kraus and a Bag of Squishy Organs in an Elastic Hide

Talking Scared

Our show this week is part interview, part homage, all zombie!

Daniel Kraus, the author of zombie magnum opus, The Living Dead is in the hotseat. But he isn’t alone. Both he and his novel are accompanied by the spectral presence of the master himself, George Romero.

When Romero passed in 2017, he left behind years of work and ambition in telling the whole story of his zombie uprising in novel form. It’s a project that was passed on to Daniel, and he joins us to talk about that book, how it came to be, and what it was like collaborating posthumously with his idol.

We also get DEEP into zombie ethics. What they are, how they work, and what they mean! We talk about the pleasure and pressure of playing in Romero’s sandbox, how to integrate detailed research without ruining the flow of story, and I start to sound a bit paranoid in my theories on zombie’s as cultural propaganda.

It’s a great chat. Insightful as hell. And I think George would be delighted with how Daniel talks about their work.

Enjoy!

The Living Dead was published September 7th by Tor Nightfire

Other books mentioned in this episode include:

• The Plague Dogs (1977), by Richard Adams
• The Cipher (1991), by Kathe Koja

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