WORLD WAR MOO

The stakes are raised when opposing forces threaten all-out war in the midst of the zombie apocalypse.

Scottish journalist Logan (Wannabes, 2014, etc.) returns to the gore-filled world portrayed in his debut, Apocalypse Cow (2013). This is very much a novel about getting the band back together, at least those members of the motley crew who managed to survive the first go-round. To recap, a botched attempt to create a bioweapon created zombie cows in Britain in the first book. Now the outbreak has spread to humans, though the zombies it creates are more Invasion of the Body Snatchers than traditional monsters. “Extreme cases aside, the virus seems to have translated into more arguments, a lot more sex, and an inability to queue. They’d become Italian,” Logan writes. Journalist Lesley McBrian’s bestselling memoir of survival lands her a gig with the New York Times. She soon discovers a plot among the American, Russian, and Chinese governments to initiate “Operation Excision,” which intends to eradicate the infected Brits, along with aid workers, with a one-two punch of nerve gas and neutron bombs. Lesley and her source are duly kidnapped and dumped back in Great Britain. Teenager Geldof Peters travels from Croatia to Scotland under the protection of mercenaries hired by his grandfather. Young Ruen Peat has come under the protection of Fanny Peters, a social activist and Geldof’s mum. Fanny and her people have discovered that although they're infected, they've been able to fight off the effects through meditation, dope smoking, “combat yoga,” and sex. Finally, the U.K. prime minister, Tony Campbell, has decided that if there’s any threat to his country, he'll use his last intercontinental ballistic missile to spread the disease worldwide.

If it all sounds slightly bonkers, it is—but Logan’s unique combination of bombastic action sequences, off-kilter characters, and wild-eyed scenarios should please fans of speculative fiction and horror alike.