Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies

Russel Middlebrook #3

by Brent Hartinger

Winner of the Lambda Book Award

It’s a horror movie extravaganza in the second sequel to Brent Hartinger’s Geography Club. Two complete books in one recount the stories of best friends Min and Russel who sign up to be extras on the set of a zombie film — and learn that there’s nothing scarier than high school romance!

In the first book, Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, Russel must choose between his long-distance boyfriend and a close-to-home ex named Kevin who wants to get back together. In the second book, Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies, Min struggles to accept her cheerleader girlfriend’s decision to stay in the closet.

But beware! Russel and Min’s separate stories affect each other in surprising ways — and you’ll have to read both books together to find out the whole story.

(This book was previously published under the title "Split Screen.")

Genres: Young Adult, LGBT, Gay, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, M M Romance

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

I am Brent Hartinger, a novelist and screenwriter. I’ve published fourteen novels and had two of my books turned into feature films — with several more movies still in the works. One of my movies even co-starred SUPERMAN's David Corenswet.

I try hard to write books that are page-turners and commercial (and movies that are fast-paced and accessible). If I had to describe my own writing projects, I would say, “Strong central concept, strong plot, strong character and voice. Not artsy, self-indulgent, or pretentious, but still thoughtful and smart with something to say.”

I mostly write YA books — LGBTQ and thrillers, sometimes LGBTQ thrillers. My first novel, GEOGRAPHY CLUB (2003) was one of the first in a new wave of break-out LGBTQ young adult fiction, and it was adapted as a feature film in 2013.

My latest book is INFINITE DRIFT (2025), a mind-bending YA supernatural thriller with a bonkers bisexual love triangle.

Here are all my books:

STANDALONE BOOKS
* Infinite Drift
* Project Pay Day
* Three Truths and a Lie
* Grand & Humble
* Shadow Walkers

THE OTTO DIGMORE SERIES
* The Otto Digmore Difference (book 1)
* The Otto Digmore Decision (book 2)

RUSSEL MIDDLEBROOK: THE FUTON YEARS
* The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know (book #1)
* Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams (book #2)
* The Road to Amazing (book #3)

THE RUSSEL MIDDLEBROOK SERIES
* Geography Club (book #1)
* The Order of the Poison Oak (book #2)
* Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (book #3)
* The Elephant of Surprise (book #4)

I answer all questions, so feel free to contact me on social media, or through my website: BrentHartinger.com

Cheers!

Brent Hartinger

Reviews

[LenaRibka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audible


I'm kinda disappointed with the third book. I had noticed that an audiobook had in addition to Josh Hurley, a new, female narrator. But I didn't know that Vanessa Johansson would tell me THE SAME STORY, but from Min's POV.

I am not a big fan of female narrating and even less a fan of reading or listening the same story from different points of view. Especially, when the story itself, comparing to the previous books, is less entertaining and too melodramatic for my taste.

But I like Russel and still it was fun to listen to his thoughts.
I can't say the same about Min's POV. I found it pretty boring and flat, and after struggling through the half of it, I decided to give up.



I hope I'll have Russel PURE in the last book of the series.

[Nicole O · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO BEAUTIFUL! I really do understand Min...about bisexual! That people do not understand why girl or boy are bisexual, not gay or lesbian. I know that everyone said that bisexual is more like confuse but you do like girl or guy..just both than one. Yeah, I hear you, Min!

Whew...Kevin is biggest idiot...I am so glad that Russ decided to pick right choice to stay in relationship :D I really like Russ and Otto!

Parents ugh.. >,>

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars really - becuase I didn't completely dislike it. I just thought that it was too gimmicky - I very much disliked the "flip this book" gimmick and disliked re-reading the same story twice. A sequel to Geography Club that just didn't live up to expectations (but stood on it's own). I did appreciate however that this book is one of the few that had GLBTQ characters without it being an "issue" book. Can't wait for lots more of this type.

[Coenraad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Brent Hartinger's 'trick' in this third Russel Middlebrook story! Russel, Min and Gunnar (and Gunnar's girlfriend from the previous book) become extras for a zombie movie. And in the style of old-fashioned horror flicks, the book is a double bill.

In the first part, Russel is the narrator, telling us how he meets Kevin, his ex-boyfriend from the first book, again - and how it confuses him tremendously, as he is still deeply in love with his current boyfriend Otto, from the second book, although he lives 800 miles away. To complicate the story, Russel's parents find out he is gay and they are not amused. Or supportive or understanding or anything. Which leads to an interesting conversation with a priest, and Russel behaving in ways that are alien to him. His dad seems to be the light in the tunnel, but Russel must work out his choice on his own. Fortunately Gunnar, who tried fruitlessly to find a girlfriend in the first book, now turns out to be a useful adviser.

In the second part, Min is the narrator, and she tells of her experiences. She meets a potential girlfriend on the movie set, but the relationship provides challenges for Min's clear views on life. She not only benefits from Gunnar's insights, but also from talks with her mother - her parents have a completely different take on Min's sexuality than Russel's. One also understands elements of Russel's story better, given what Min has to add.

Once again, Brent Hartinger weaves an enticing tale filled with interesting characters, convincing situations and important things for all readers to consider.

Brent Hartinger speel 'n boeiende tekstuele spel deur twee van sy hoofkarakters, Russel en Min, kans te gee om hul stories afsonderlik te vertel. Die vriende word ekstras op die stel van 'n zombiefliek, en sowel Russel as Min word gekonfronteer met liefdesverhoudings en keuses vol uitdagings. Hoewel Min met haar ma kan gesels, is Russel se ouers sterk negatief wanneer hulle hoor hy is gay. Hartinger skep boeiende karakters en oortuigende situasies, en laat sy lesers met belangrike sake om te bepeins.

[Dustin James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a little less entertaining. It was extremely short, and I know it was because of the split-screen with Min's story, but the only problem I had with that is, I wasn't interested reading Min's story. Russel is the character I fell in love with, and I want to know more about his story, not just a little quick blurp and then suddenly Min's story. It didn't seem to push the plot much further either. Sadly it made me less than enthusiastic about it.

[Anna Bi · Rating 4 out of 5]

good!!!! not as good as the first two books but I still love Russel w all my heart. the dual perspective was interesting and I liked learning about min. gunner is still quirky as ever. plot line was p cool. would recommend if u liked first two books

[Paula´s Brief Review · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dos estrellas porque no le veo sentido a hacer dos libros con la misma historia, que no contados desde dos puntos de vista porque intentan ser dos historias paralelas y acaba resultando resulta repetitivo hasta la saciedad.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings. I mostly liked Russel's side–though the religious aspect and homophobia were pretty heavy handed–but Min's fell short. She wasn't nearly as fun as Russel, or her appearances as a non-narrator had been and in fact I didn't really find her characterization or writing convincing. The Leah issue dragged on way too long, and I'm not exactly sure what the morale of the story was. I'm not sure the story even knows what the morale of the situation was, to be honest. It's okay to date a closeted girl with homophobic friends and pretend to be what you aren't to appease her because those homophobic, shallow friends can sometimes be fun and you really want a girlfriend?

On the other hand, I've never been fond of the GLBT community and media's insistence that if one partner isn't out to everyone, it's horrible, bad and wrong because everyone should shout from the hills that they are gay, gay, gay, even at their workplace or the supermarket or their racist grandma's.

I'm all for openness, mind you. However, as someone who worked in areas where being open about my orientation would've gotten me fired and blacklisted from the place with a job I really needed, I can see the value about selective openness.

Anyways, either way with Leah would've bothered me, and despite their cute moments and the nice aspect of having a lesbian relationship to add to the gay and straight ones in the series, this one fell short for me.

Otherwise, I'm disappointed that the rest of the former Geography club now GSA never showed up. It's like Ike, Brian and all the other kids dropped off the map just so the group could have a lot of love problems. They aren't even mentioned in passing, nor is the rest of the GSA except for explanations of what happened prior in the plot. I would've gladly given up Min's romance and retread of the story if it meant I could see Brian and Ike and everyone else again.

[Lorena Miyuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Min's side of the story, OMG, so surprisingly good!
At first I thought it was boring, even Russel's part. But this is the first book so far that has named the other situations in the other books - Kevin is Kevin again, not "that guy", and Otto is still in, and Em and everyone. The only thing that annoys me is the fact that the Geography Club is no longer relevant or even commented a lot. It is still "that club we founded" and nothing more.
The surprises in Min's part made the book WAY better than I expected. I like here more now. Let's see the "end" of the story!

[PT-BR]
É preciso ler os dois livros, as duas versões da história, para entender as entrelinhas de cada uma. Há momentos na parte de Russel que são explicados pela Min e visse-versa. As duas tramas, até então separadas, se afetam por meios surpreendentes. O final compensa o livro todo. Acho que o Brent se especializou em escrever conclusões de cair o queixo!

Capa original, versão Russel.

De qualquer forma, para quem leu os outros dois primeiros da série, não pode deixar de ler esse para partir para o próximo. É de longe o que eu menos gostei, mas ele serve como uma "ponte" entre o "The Order..." e os acontecimentos que serão narrados no (até então) último livro, o "The Elephant of Surprise", que foi o segundo que eu mais gostei.

Esse terceiro volume foi originalmente publicado sob o nome de "Split Screen" em dois livros separados (o do Russel e o da Min, com capas iguais, mas títulos correspondentes aos narradores), porém teve de ser renomeado por questões de direitos autorais. Ambos os títulos conseguem transmitir com bastante clareza o conteúdo, acredito.
(resenha completa em: http://www.marcadocomletras.com/2014/...)

[Jennifer Lavoie]

Years ago I read the first two books in this series, so I was happy to finally get my hands on the third installment with Russel and friends. This book did not disappoint. It is told from both Russel and Min's perspective, and readers get to choose which one to read first. I started with Russel but switched to Min because I wanted to end the book with my favorite character. I was surprised, though, because I ended up really liking Min's side of the story! She had a fresh, unique voice, and I loved her interactions with Leah. Russel's story still was better, and I felt for him and his confusion. It was great to see Otto again, and Kevin, even if he was a jerk in the first book. Though after what Kevin does in this one, I will say that I think he turned around and does love Russel. I hope the author decides to create a spin-off series with Kevin. He deserves some happiness now.

[Sean Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 / 5)

We return to the highschool in this third "Geography Club" book - but Belinda and Ike are still missing, although Kevin comes back as a major character. We have alternating viewpoints this time around, from both Min and Russel - it is best to start with Russel's as Min's "fills in the gaps" and packs a bit of a punch as some loose ends are resolved. Some of the scenes with Russel's parents come across stilted, but they are a minor setback to an enjoyable story.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this book from a friend not realizing that a.) it's a YA book intended for LGBT teens and b.) it's part of a series. Not being the target audience or someone likely to read the other books, I still found it a fast and entertaining read, with the second novel (novella?) offering some surprising twists on the first one. It should be noted that the book came out in 2007 and is somewhat dated. It's before the legalization of gay marriage and also has a scene set at a Radio Shack.

[Aryanti · Rating 2 out of 5]

after the first two books, this one feels boring to me. I skimmed a lot.
I like the little hidden story about Kevin, though.
Will still read/ skim through the fourth book anyway because I feel like I should finish the whole series somehow, at least to know what happen with the main characters in the end.

[Mauoijenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate it when I like a book cause it said ZOMBIES on it, then I find out it's a third to a series. DUH! It was a flip and read kind of book. The first half a boys side of the story then flip it and then it's the girls. I read the boys and didn't flip it. Interesting.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how Russel's voice continues in the same way as the two previous books. However, I also like the added voice of Min's experiences with life and love. I continue to learn about life and it's many idiosyncrasies from this series.

[Franklin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

Too preachy.

AND why did Min have to influence Kevin to make him look like he's an asshole?? Ugh.

[sagarika · Rating 2 out of 5]

i don't know why i stuck with this series but i did. a questionable decision, evidently. why did we ever let men write female characters haha

[Jacob Dickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first part of this book was me in high school with my parents. I love this book so much,it made me reflect on the past and that is a scary thing for me to do.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The parents. Ohhh the parents.

Another great installment to the Russel Middlebrook series. Picking up not long after Order of the Poison Oak, we see Russel, Min, and Gunnar volunteering to be extras on the set of Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (I still don't know what a brain zombie is). Who else should show up but Kevin Land, hunky baseball jock and Russel's ex. As if Russel didn't need anymore confusion in his head, he's also navigating a long distance relationship with his boyfriend Otto who lives some 800 miles away at the same time as dealing with lingering feelings for Kevin who is here. Here right now and not hundreds of miles away. But Russel loves Otto. Right? Not to mention his parents finally finding out Russel is gay which adds in more complications to his life. How is he to decide when both guys are great in their own way?

Being a double feature, this also includes Min's version of events and what goes on with her at the time but I'm concentrating on Russel.

Not surprising I loved this book. I love Brent's characters and Russel's universe. I'm jealous that Russel has two suitors to choose from when my love life is literally a tumbleweed rolling across the desert. I felt his pain when his parents didn't exactly react well to his being gay. Brent Hartinger has written a series that enables all of us to live Russel's life as he's living it and it makes you that much more attached.

[Wide Eyes, Big Ears! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russel, Min and Gunnar get roles as zombie extras in a small budget horror film being shot in a local high school. Russel is surprised to find that Kevin has also volunteered and even though Russel is going out with Otto, he finds some of his feelings for Kevin have risen from the dead. Meanwhile, Min meets Leah, a cute zombie cheerleader who is not out, and Min find herself struggling to compromise. The previous books have been from Russel’s POV but this book is divide in two with Russel narrating the first half and Min narrating the second half. While it was great to get Min’s take on things and there are major subplots and revelations that only appear in her story, the amount of overlap made Min’s story feel a bit repetitious. Usually an author would swap POV’s each chapter to minimise that feeling. I can see why it was done this way, but I think that works better in film than in books. Josh Hurley and Vanessa Johansson both narrated their books sections well but again, I was being asked to change aural gears half way through a novel and that took me a while to adjust.

[Milton Almará · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third book: 2 parts, one told by Russel and the other by Min...
I wasn't expecting much of an entertaining plot because zombies aren't my thing and even though it was just a side of the story IT WAS FOR SURE COOL.

There is so much drama going on in both parts that I loved it. I knew Kevin was going to complicate Russel's relationship and I knew he would even complicate my thoughts on him. Towards the ending of the first part I had made my mind about him (guess what? I WAS WRONG. just wait until you read the second part). I'm so glad that Russel made the right decision even though he will never know what happened exactly that night at the gazebo.

I don't like this new character Leah, for some reason she just reminds me of a female version of Kevin.

Gunnar completely killed it in this one. He was so on poing and in his game. Loved it! He did the right thing all the time and was there for his friends (min and russel) respectively.

[Stephen Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Russel's parents finding out he was gay and the way that they reacted reminded me a lot of when my parents found out that I was gay back in 1999. Things weren't as easy back then as they are now, and some reviewers think it's crazy how his parents reacted.
I'll be honest, my parents were a lot worse than that, and they never 100% percent came around. I just wanted to state that when this book was written, it was still tough to come out to very religious parents.

I loved the double-perspective of this one. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes info that we find out from Minh, and I think it's really sweet how much she cares about Russel. Gunnar really came off as a wise guy that everyone asked relationship advice to, and I liked him in this one more than the first two books. I actually feel bad for Kevin after finding out how much he really wanted to get back with Russel, though I do like Otto a lot more, and I'm glad that Russel stuck with him instead of being wishy-washy.

This is a series that I would've absolutely loved if I were a teen back when they came out, but I'm enjoying them very much now as a 42 year old.

[Evan Knudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness!! I will admit that I always hate multi narrator stories. But Brent has literally done it in the perfect way! Seeing both Russel and Min's points of view added such a wonderful element to the story! I love that Min's inner thoughts are definitely not Russels and they are distinctive of Min and the way that he's developed her. I love his discussion and thoughtfulness when it comes to not only long distance relationships, but the difference between a amazing friendship and a romantic relationship. I wish I had known the difference 10 years ago. Brent's writing is becoming more engrossing and fun and Russel's development as a person is wonderful to see, especially when you compare it to the past couple of books. Excellent work!!

[MSJLibrary]

Written for a young adult audience, this novel of high school relationships actually features two stories concerning the same situation, but each told from a different point of view. Both offer perspectives on the complicated relationships of Min and Leah, and Russel and Otto. Min is bisexual, and her girlfriend, Leah (who goes to another school) is still closeted, while Russel is in love with his long-distance boyfriend Otto, but still has feelings for his ex Kevin, whom he goes to school with. This book won a Lambda Literary Award in the Bisexual Category, and is actually part of a series that follows character Russel into adulthood.

[Jimbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a great two stories, but reading them back to back was too repetitious - although I appreciated what Hartinger was doing and I loved what the characters, Min and Russel were going through, I thought that it might have been more effective as one story with alternating perspectives, so you didn't have so much repetition in storytelling. That being said, I really have grown to love these characters - all of them.

[Jeffrey G · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tells the same story twice, from two different POV's. This is a fatal flaw. There are some big differences in the two POV's and therefore you get a different take on what transpired, but there is also a lot of repetition. Also this is the first time in the series that Russell is not the narrator...and that was not a welcome change. My least favorite in the series.

[JaMya Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Brent went off of doing 2 different stories in one book. And the whole book ties together. The story was really wasn't about one thing it came to not only long-distance relationships but the difference between an amazing friendship and a romantic relationship.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Nilda McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun story, with some real feels.

[Timothy Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun summer read and I enjoyed the double perspective we get from Russell and Min. It was great to see how everything weaved together and I loved that Otto made an appearance as well!