The Tour Bus of Doom rolls into a small coastal town, spewing zombies to rampage down the main street. To the beat of eerie drum music, they loot, kidnap, and zombie-fy innocent citizens. Spam the cat, self-appointed feline defender of the town, watches in horror from the rooftops. When the zombies abduct Spam's jeweler friend and take over the nursing home, Spam is certain they are also responsible for the disappearance of his next-door neighbor Mr. Barker, partner of retired police dog, Officer Bubba. Then Marigold, Spam's half sister, reports that her human family, who went missing while on a mission of mercy to earthquake ravaged Haiti, has finally returned home, just long enough to take their valuables. And They. Don't. Even. Recognize. Her.
All of that is dire enough, but then the zombies go too far and take over the bodies of the owner and server at Spam's favorite fish'n'chips place. Searching for help from his vampire friend Maddog, Spam meets a new cat in town, the sinuous Havana Brown Erzullie, who arrived with the zombies. Aided (sort of) by her, Renfrew the raccoon, the urban deer cat taxi service, Rocky the vampcat, and his half-siblings Marigold and Mat, the heroic feline must investigate, before the zombie apocalyps-o destroys not only his town, but his home and his beloved Darcy.
Just when he thinks he may have the situation well in paw, the zombie hunters from Seattle arrive, responding to a bounty on the heads of the zombies. What they don't realize is that they have the wrong brand of zombies, the un-plagued un-dead, who could revive as long as they keep their heads.
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough was born March 23, 1947, and lives in the Puget Sound area of Washington. Elizabeth won a Nebula Award in 1989 for her novel The Healer's War, and has written more than a dozen other novels. She has collaborated with Anne McCaffrey, best-known for creating the Dragonriders of Pern, to produce the Petaybee Series and the Acorna Series.
Spam is a curious cat. He enjoys sleeping, eating, and plenty of head rubs but he also likes visiting his friends in his town, both human and animal. He has dealt with supernatural trouble in the past and it looks like he will need to use his super sleuthing abilities once again to save his town.
Marigold and Mat are Spam's half-sister and brother. Marigold's family begins acting strangely, and being a young cat, she turns to Spam for help. When they talk to Mat they see strange goings-on in the nursing home. Now, together they start piecing the clues together and with some help from their friends they discover the truth. Every human in the town is a zombie. They will have to figure out how to break the Voodoo hex if they want their lives to return to normal.
Spam has always wanted to be a great cat detective like his idol Joe Grey. So far he has been able to show off his skills pretty well. Not long ago he saved the town from vampires but now that life has settled into normalcy, there is a new threat. Zombies show up on a tour bus one night and afterwards the townspeople start acting strange. Some of his favorite people who sneak him food could care less anymore. And his beloved owner, Darcy, is next on the list of converts. With the help of his half-sibling, the vampire, Maddog and Renfrew the raccoon, he will gather clues and wage a war against the zombie apocolype-o, so he can finally sleep and get some goodies.
This is a delightful little mystery. Anyone who is a cat owner and has watched the various kitty-isms in play will appreciate the Spam character. He is loveable, smart, frisky and he knows it. The sleuthing from animal perspective is unique and fun. Because of his heightened senses, Spam is able to discover things that mere humans might overlook. The supporting animal characters add good comic relief and are portrayed well. If you are not a fan of cats or first feline point of view, then this story might not be for you. But if you are an animal lover and enjoy reading something new, I suggest you give this a try. This cat novel moves along quickly and smoothly and has an enjoyable climax.
While this is a book with a cat protagonist, this is definitely a zombie story. I don't read zombie stories, but I do read about cats, so... I gave it a try. Spam is the name of a ginger cat - his siblings are named Byte, Alt, Shifty and so on. Their dad having got around, they have relatives all over town, but Spam has a really nice owner who cares for several cats and doesn't notice that the one who sleeps all day, Rocky, got turned into a vampire during an earlier adventure.
Spam's town near Seattle will be hosting a zombie march festival so nobody thinks too much of it when a dark tour bus arrives and several strange people disembark. Spam is worried because a kitten sibling was left by her family, who went to help people after an earthquake in the Caribbean. They have not returned and the cat-sitter doesn't know when they'll come home. These people - somewhat changed - are on the tour bus of doom.
Cue a lot of odd and occasionally funny activity, with zombie dust bespelling the townsfolk and drumbeats drawing them to dance in the park. The other animals around town, from hungry coyotes to curious deer and a kleptomaniac raccoon, get in on the act, as disembodied spirits look for any warm body to inhabit. The normally friendly old folks become distrustful and scared, trying to engage zombie hunters from Seattle, but nobody wants to turn old people into zombies, proving that there is a dastardly plan behind it all and not just some random virus. Spam has learned to use his owner's tablet to access the net, and there are many enjoyable scenes as modern life comes up against ancient magic.
I didn't much enjoy the scary bits involving knives, cellars and sacrifices, but if you like zombie tales you'll be fine. It might be too scary for young teen readers. I loved the cats, deer and other animals, finding the tale a mix of Rita Mae Brown for animal crime investigation and Diane Duane's cats for YA fantasy. The realism of the animal characters is great. We also get some telling comments about the challenges of working as volunteers in an earthquake zone. Despite the cartoon cover, adults who love cats will get along fine with The Tour Bus Of Doom or Spam And The Zombie Apocalypso. I may have to search out the earlier book because I like vampires more than zombies. Elizabeth Ann Scarborough has written many SF, fantasy and fiction books, so as you'd expect this detail-laden tale rattles along at a fine pace, except when it's time for a cat-nap.