Notes on a Zombie: A novella with heart, teeth and a little bit of brains...

by Daniel Betts

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 'I hate zombie stories. But I loved this one!'— Lola5, Amazon reader.A young man finds himself stuck in hospital with meningitis.The drugs are great, the food is terrible, and the zombie next door keeps hogging all the nurses.Why are they keeping that thing alive in here? Just let the dead die, right?The incessant moaning and vomiting were bad enough, but then came the new noise...Now drastic, borderline-absurd measures are required, otherwise that undead prick might just outlive him.But if he wants to get through this, he’ll need to look past his own petty prejudices and ask himself the big, difficult — Why do we all have such disregard for the elderly and infirm?— Is there more going on inside that thing’s head than just a yearning for flesh?— When will they restock the vending machine?— Is my bed actually that comfy or do I need to chill out on the morphine?With time running out, is there any hope for either of them?

Genres: Horror

68 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 19, 2024

About the author

Daniel is a designer and animator by day; a writer of books by day, also.

He likes to sleep at night.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Parkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of zombie stories are really about what it means to be human. This is no exception. In many ways it is a tribute to humanity - what we owe to each other, and how we think about ourselves. The setting is highly topical (immediately post-COVID) but it's a fresher and more pragmatic take than I've seen so far. The narrator has a super distinctive voice with clearly developed humour (occasionally a tiny bit laboured, but I'm not complaining - I laughed out loud more than once on public transport, can't say fairer than that). Overall really enjoyed this.

[Colleen A. Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This unusual, hilarious, and compelling story went far beyond my expectations! The writing is top notch, the setting and development imaginative, and the characterizations intimately drawn. Author Daniel Betts’s “Notes on a Zombie” is not your typical Z yarn. There are no multitudes of walking dead tearing apart and consuming the hapless uninfected. There is no military counterattack, cities left in shambles, and no crazed scientist hell-bent on destroying the world.

Instead, the setting is a room in a British hospital where the protagonist is recovering from meningitis while enduring all the sleep-depriving noise from fellow patients as well as hospital staff that makes his stay a waking nightmare. Things get even more annoying when the hospital admits a new patient, a zombie, into the adjoining room for antiviral treatment in hopes of reversing his condition. Inevitably, the zombie becomes aware of his neighbor and begins to scratch at the door between their rooms.

No spoilers here! Let’s just say our protagonist’s curiosity gets the better of him (for better or worse), leading to a satisfying conclusion.

I love this laugh-out-loud novella and highly applaud author Daniel Betts! “Notes on a Zombie” is now #1 on my list of Top 5 works in this genre. GET THIS BOOK! You’ll love it, even if you are not a fan of the Zombie genre.

[Jenyfer Conaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read for zombie fans

Take the chance on this one. Definitely not what you expect, which is a rarity in these formulaic days. The kind of tale that you finish and your mind savors it slowly, turning it over and over in your head.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually loved this! It dragged a bit part way through, but I loved reading the descriptions of the zombies, the reactions, the desperation about the nail clipping... It was such a brilliant read, such dry wit and so hopeful. Definitely a great read!

[Cara Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious feel good story

I couldn’t put this down, so many quirks and funny one liners! Outstanding writing and a gripping story! One not to miss.

[Lindsay Crook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zombies

This was a quick fun take on zombies. It was filled with humour all set in a hospital room. Well written and just flowed easily from page to page.

[Reads_Must · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the type of zombie in this book. It wasn't the stereotypical kind that you see in movies, and there was actually a cure for them, which meant that the virus didn't wipe out the entire human race and the world survived.

The MMC was very witty, and I liked the dark humour.

The pacing was a little slow at times, but I still liked the book.

The relationship between Harper, his family, and the MMC was nice, and I'm glad they all got to meet again once both Harper and the MMC had recovered.

[Severina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The zombie uprising was more of a whimper than a bang, which is a pretty common theme in the new generation of zombie fiction. I much prefer my zombies tearing up the countryside, so I found this novella very slow-moving (heh). The author tries to inject some humour that mostly falls flat. It doesn’t help that probably 80% of the novel is the MC musing to himself, and his thoughts just aren’t that interesting.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally don't care for zombie books or movies, but I really enjoyed this. The writing is engaging and quirky. I won't say it's hilarious, but it does have some humorous parts. The main character is in the hospital in the infectious disease unit when he gets a zombie for a next door roommate. He's annoyed at first, but then he becomes curious about who this zombie was 'before'. I'm glad I took the time to read it.

[jonathan sanford · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty good

I enjoyed this take on zombies. I liked how it was written and the story flows really well,
Definitely give this book a try!

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really funny but beautiful story only short novella but loved