Zombie, Ohio

Kenemore's debut is a darkly humorous depiction of one zombie's struggle for enlightenment and redemption. When college professor Paul Mellor recovers consciousness near the wreck of his car, he finds himself in an apocalyptic landscape populated by desperate survivors and the walking and hungry undead. Soon Paul discovers that he is a zombie himself, albeit an unusually intelligent one, and that the crash that killed him was orchestrated. Determined to track down his murderer while dodging resentful breathers, Mellor struggles against his yearning to eat the brains of the living. His lapses are epic, even for a zombie, but nothing compared to the excesses of the living who see the apocalypse as license to indulge their worst impulses. There's plenty to satisfy zombie fans who've come to expect some philosophy with their gore. (Feb.)