World War Moo

The zombie onslaught continues in this off-kilter sequel to Apocalypse Cow, which sees most inhabitants of Great Britain, humans and animals alike, transformed into rage-fueled monsters by a brain-destroying virus. When English journalist Lesley McBrien gets wind of a plan to utterly annihilate the British population, she tries to expose it but only ends up in trouble. Teenage refugee Geldof Peters joins a mercenary team sent to extract his mother from hostile territory, and nothing goes according to plan. The interim British government considers taking drastic measures to preserve its own existence—such as using weapons of mass destruction on England. The story is entertaining, but readers expecting a raucous laugh riot may be surprised to instead find dry British wit (“Extreme cases aside, the virus seemed to have translated into more arguments, a lot more sex, and an inability to queue. They’d become Italian.”) that occasionally veers into pure zombie horror. (June)