Romero zombie novel announced!!!!!

[sirjacktorrance]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/01/george-a-romero-zombie-novel

[bassman]

the full story behind the living dead: how they came to be...

Say it isn't so! I prefer the idea that we don't know...

[clanglee]

Hmmmmm. . . . .very interesting

[Mr.G]

Say it isn't so! I prefer the idea that we don't know...

+1....count me in for not knowing. I realize I don't HAVE to buy the book...but that won't be happening.:D

[sandrock74]

I also prefer not knowing, but if it's going to be revealed, I want Romero to be the one doing the revealin'.

[MoonSylver]

Hurm. Romero zombie novel=:D. Explaining the origins of...:(

[ProfessorChaos]

i concur that we don't need to know the reason the dead are returning to life...pretty lame. maybe this is just a misunderstanding or mis-statement on the part of the article's writer...cuz yeah, i really don't wanna know any origins or anything.

[Mike70]

i concur that we don't need to know the reason the dead are returning to life...pretty lame. maybe this is just a misunderstanding or mis-statement on the part of the article's writer...cuz yeah, i really don't wanna know any origins or anything.

yep, leave it a mystery. i like how under the present situation every fan can kind of arrive at their own reason for the outbreak. besides, how dare he rob us of one of our ancient and most oft repeated threads.:D

[strayrider]

"It starts in San Diego, where a corpse sits up and begins to walk during an autopsy."

Okay, where is Doobie? He is the Night expert around here.

Doob, didn't they say on the radio in Night68 that the "ghastly story began three days ago with the slaying of a family of six(?) in their rural home near (indecipherable) North Carolina"? This was after the Venus probe was "exploded" over the Eastern seaboard.

I'll have to review the material, but I'm believe that the plague began in the east (US) and spread westward.

Don't do this to us, George.

:eek:

-stray-

Correction: after watching Night again (specifically the scene where Ben finds the rifle) the news reporter seems to be saying "ghasly story began developing 2 days ago with the slaying of a family of 7 in their rural home near Gulfport? (indechiperable)" and that no slayings had been reported west of the Mississippi.

[MoonSylver]

maybe this is just a misunderstanding or mis-statement on the part of the article's writer.

That's what I'm hoping too.


"It starts in San Diego, where a corpse sits up and begins to walk during an autopsy."

Okay, where is Doobie? He is the Night expert around here.

Doob, didn't they say on the radio in Night68 that the "ghastly story began three days ago with the slaying of a family of six(?) in their rural home near (indecipherable) North Carolina"? This was after the Venus probe was "exploded" over the Eastern seaboard.

I'll have to review the material, but I'm believe that the plague began in the east (US) and spread westward.

Don't do this to us, George.

:eek:

-stray-

Correction: after watching Night again (specifically the scene where Ben finds the rifle) the news reporter seems to be saying "ghasly story began developing 2 days ago with the slaying of a family of 7 in their rural home near Gulfport? (indechiperable)" and that no slayings had been reported west of the Mississippi.

You are correct. That was one of the first things I thought of too. I would be willing to overlook a detail like that though, as it's plausible that an isolated incident might be overlooked in the confusion of the early days.

[krakenslayer]

"It starts in San Diego, where a corpse sits up and begins to walk during an autopsy."

Okay, where is Doobie? He is the Night expert around here.

Doob, didn't they say on the radio in Night68 that the "ghastly story began three days ago with the slaying of a family of six(?) in their rural home near (indecipherable) North Carolina"? This was after the Venus probe was "exploded" over the Eastern seaboard.

I'll have to review the material, but I'm believe that the plague began in the east (US) and spread westward.

Don't do this to us, George.

:eek:

-stray-

Correction: after watching Night again (specifically the scene where Ben finds the rifle) the news reporter seems to be saying "ghasly story began developing 2 days ago with the slaying of a family of 7 in their rural home near Gulfport? (indechiperable)" and that no slayings had been reported west of the Mississippi.

I think what it's referring to is the book, which starts in San Diego, not necessarily the plague itself.

[JDFP]

I always liked the notion of the Venus probe that brought back some "strange type of radiation" back to earth. I'd actually like to see more about the story behind the Venus probe. Does it completely burn-up in the atmosphere releasing the "unknown radiation" or does NASA or some other organization find fragments of it crashed somewhere and realize what the radiation does?

Then again, the Venus probe could be a cover up for a much more serious government leak of some type (Think Captain Trips or Trioxin :) ).

I'd love to read/see more.

j.p.

[Bone Daddy]

I am more interested in how Romero will fare as a novelist and how that will translate on the page.

[krakenslayer]

I am more interested in how Romero will fare as a novelist and how that will translate on the page.

I reposted a fragment of a GAR short story that was originally posted on GAR's long, long defunct official website. You can have a read here:

http://forum.homepageofthedead.com/showthread.php?t=14640

[Mike70]

"
Correction: after watching Night again (specifically the scene where Ben finds the rifle) the news reporter seems to be saying "ghasly story began developing 2 days ago with the slaying of a family of 7 in their rural home near Gulfport? (indechiperable)" and that no slayings had been reported west of the Mississippi.

there is a gulfport in both MS and FL. dammit stray, now i've got to dig this out and listen to it.


ok here it is: there is mention of killings near gulfport (the state name is drowned out by music but the only two gulfports are in MS and FL) BUT right after that you can hear the announcer say that the chaos started in the southeast and is spreading to the north and west. he also says that this spread pattern is apparent because the outbreaks have been plotted out on a map. you have to strain to hear it but that's what he is saying. it starts at 36:43 with the announcer saying "this whole ghastly story began developing 2 days ago..."

[strayrider]

there is a gulfport in both MS and FL. dammit stray, now i've got to dig this out and listen to it.
ok here it is: there is mention of killings near gulfport (the state name is drowned out by music but the only two gulfports are in MS and FL) BUT right after that you can hear the announcer say that the chaos started in the southeast and is spreading to the north and west. he also says that this spread pattern is apparent because the outbreaks have been plotted out on a map. you have to strain to hear it but that's what he is saying. it starts at 36:43 with the announcer saying "this whole ghastly story began developing 2 days ago..."

Heh. And all these years I thought it started in North Carolina and spread from there.

An interesting point to all of it is the fact that the dead had already began to rise a full two days before the events in Night. As for which Golfport -- I'd say FL since that is where Day took place. Wouldn't it make sense to send the research team to the origin of the plague to seek a solution?

:D

-stray-

[Mike70]

Heh. And all these years I thought it started in North Carolina and spread from there.



camden, north carolina is mentioned because the announcer reads off a new release from its police chief.


Heh. And all these years I thought it started in North Carolina and spread from there.

As for which Golfport -- I'd say FL since that is where Day took place. Wouldn't it make sense to send the research team to the origin of the plague to seek a solution?




that is a pretty intriguing idea. though gulfport, florida is a suburb of st. pete and is, what, 150 miles or so north of the everglades.

still an interesting idea. i'd always thought that team was there because it was an ideal place to hide and conduct safe (somewhat at least) research. that they could be there because florida was the original source of the outbreak was something i hadn't even considered.

[Bone Daddy]

I reposted a fragment of a GAR short story that was originally posted on GAR's long, long defunct official website. You can have a read here:

http://forum.homepageofthedead.com/showthread.php?t=14640


Thank you! interesting read!

[strayrider]

though gulfport, florida is a suburb of st. pete and is, what, 150 miles or so north of the everglades.

Checking out a map I'd say that we'd be hard pressed to find a rural home near Gulfport Fl even 30 years ago. It is completely surrounded by the 'burbs of St. Petersburg and Tampa.

Gulfport, Mississippi is more likely. Still, that's a looong way from San Diego, CA.

I dunno. Maybe GAR has it all worked out. Or maybe he is just going to throw out the rules and go off on a tangent (hey, they're his rules ... he can do whatever he wants, I suppose).

:D

-stray-

[DubiousComforts]

ok here it is: there is mention of killings near gulfport (the state name is drowned out by music but the only two gulfports are in MS and FL)
The newscaster mistakenly says "Gulfport, Louisiana." He either meant to say "Mississippi," or he just had the name of the town wrong. Details tend to become muddled during a crisis. The slaying in Gulfport is simply the first reported incident; it doesn't mean that it's the first incident of the dead rising, period.

And although the news reports state no mass murders west of the Mississippi, they make an exception for the "Houston and Galveston areas" of Texas.

Regardless, Chuck Craig wrote the news reports after being given the basic concept by Karl Hardman. Romero didn't write them, which is interesting considering how much of those reports have since become "living dead" canon. That's why the idea of the film having possibly entertained other causes for the phenomenon (said to have been removed by the distributor) are bogus. Only the Venus Probe story was ever considered because that's all that exists in Craig's news reports, as well as the Washington DC segment.


Does it completely burn-up in the atmosphere releasing the "unknown radiation" or does NASA or some other organization find fragments of it crashed somewhere and realize what the radiation does?
The Venus Probe is said to have been purposely destroyed by NASA in the atmosphere because it was discovered to contain a high-level radiation.

There exists an interesting 1967 newsreel about the U.S. space probe "Mariner" orbiting Venus and transmitting data back to NASA regarding the planet's radiation. You can see that newsreel and learn all about the origin of Night of the Living Dead's news reports from Chuck Craig, the man that wrote them, in Autopsy of the Dead (http://forum.homepageofthedead.com/showthread.php?t=14553). ;)

[SymphonicX]

Say it isn't so! I prefer the idea that we don't know...

agree 100%

Will wait til someone here's read it and they can tell me whether the explanation is any good or not!

[DubiousComforts]

Will wait til someone here's read it and they can tell me whether the explanation is any good or not!
Who cares what sort of explanation is given? The real news is that the old man is receiving an advance of $300k to write two novels. That's an awesome payday considering how little it actually costs to write a book.

You don't see anyone offering Zack Snyder that kind of money for committing his ideas on the living dead to paper.

[SymphonicX]

Its definitely a good thing but

A) I doubt it'll happen
and B) it seems a bit needless in terms of the dead genre...
and most importantly, as a Romero completist I really don't want to read a novel that gives away all my imaginative ideas that have been on my mind since childhood...

Still a good thing, hope it happens - even if I never read it.

[Suicycho]

Maybe this story deals with romero's reboot deadverse that started with diary?that way it wont be bound to the canon of night.

[MoonSylver]

Regardless, Chuck Craig wrote the news reports after being given the basic concept by Karl Hardman. Romero didn't write them, which is interesting considering how much of those reports have since become "living dead" canon.

This is a VERY good point, one which I KNEW, but it didn't really OCCUR to me in this context! A very good point indeed!

[Mike70]

The newscaster mistakenly says "Gulfport, Louisiana." He either meant to say "Mississippi," or he just had the name of the town wrong. Details tend to become muddled during a crisis. The slaying in Gulfport is simply the first reported incident; it doesn't mean that it's the first incident of the dead rising, period.

And although the news reports state no mass murders west of the Mississippi, they make an exception for the "Houston and Galveston areas" of Texas.

Regardless, Chuck Craig wrote the news reports after being given the basic concept by Karl Hardman. Romero didn't write them, which is interesting considering how much of those reports have since become "living dead" canon. That's why the idea of the film having possibly entertained other causes for the phenomenon (said to have been removed by the distributor) are bogus. Only the Venus Probe story was ever considered because that's all that exists in Craig's news reports, as well as the Washington DC segment.


cool. i was hoping you'd chime in on this. agreed the gulfport killings don't necessarily imply that those were the first incidents just the first reported incidents. so, i guess it would be safe to say that it starts somewhere in the southeast before spreading north and west.

[C5NOTLD]

I always liked the notion of the Venus probe that brought back some "strange type of radiation" back to earth.

I always liked it as well.

But like it or not the radiation from the venus probe was used as the cause for the dead returning in early press for NOTLD in addition to being stressed in the film. As Dubious says, the whole venus probe issue is addressed in "Autopsy Of The Dead."

In the end if Romero wants to keep the same cause or change it he will. He's been known to change his mind depending on what he wants to see in his film :) It's his universe to play and create in.

By the way in one of the other threads here someone mentioned that the zombies are the new vampires as they were saying how they dislike how vampires are seen in films today. The older vampires were better and zombies are more like them. In a couple of rare instances with the original press articles for NOTLD, the ghouls in the film were referred to as vampires which I found interesting.

I look forward to Romero's book. :cool:


Who cares what sort of explanation is given? The real news is that the old man is receiving an advance of $300k to write two novels. That's an awesome payday considering how little it actually costs to write a book.



We all know he was given the money to write the definitive book on the dead that could be used by governments worldwide to battle the upcoming crisis of the dead returning to life in 2012. :elol:

[MoonSylver]

By the way in one of the other threads here someone mentioned that the zombies are the new vampires as they were saying how they dislike how vampires are seen in films today. The older vampires were better and zombies are more like them. In a couple of rare instances with the original press articles for NOTLD, the ghouls in the film were referred to as vampires which I found interesting.

Yup, that were me. Kinda interesting how NOTLD was inspired by "I Am Legend" in which the creatures really WERE vampires, old school style. Just another little synchronicity there. And the wheel goes round & round...

[octo7]

i always took it that the returning satellite with the radiation started it :D. did it actually return to earth or just earth's orbit? if so isnt NASA in florida? just like the bunker in Day.

[capncnut]

i always took it that the returning satellite with the radiation started it :D. did it actually return to earth or just earth's orbit? if so isnt NASA in florida? just like the bunker in Day.
"It was purposely destroyed by NASA because it was carrying a high-level radiation with it. Could that radiation somehow be responsible for the wholesale nerdgasms we have been experiencing for the last 41 years?" :D

[octo7]

"it was purposely destroyed by nasa because it was carrying a high-level radiation with it. Could that radiation somehow be responsible for the wholesale nerdgasms we have been experiencing for the last 41 years?" :d

lol!!

[strayrider]

if so isnt NASA in florida? just like the bunker in Day.

Yes! Excellent point!

Someone needs to get a hold of GAR right away and let him know that his "research" is flawed. San Diego my butt ...

:D

-stray-