Zom-B by Darren Shan opens with a bloody scene in an Irish village overcome with zombies. Everyone in London thinks it’s a hoax and even if it isn’t, B Smith’s racist father thinks it’s alright to lose a few Irish. The master of horror, who is best known for his Cirque de Freak series, reels you in from the beginning and keeps you at the edge of your seat till the end. The gore-fest, in this fast paced first book in the series, plays like a George Romero movie. Most of the book is set in London and is about B Smith: a punk, bully, shoplifter and racist. B’s prejudices are rooted in the teachings of a father who believes there should be no immigrants or people of color in England. B’s best friend is black so B claims not to be racist, even though most of B’s behavior is bigoted. The zombie action kicks in when there’s an attack at B’s school, forcing B and a group of fellow students to work out a tactic to escape and survive the mayhem. The book ends with an exciting cliffhanger. The good news is the second book, Zom-B Underground, is already available.