When the population are so used to zombies that the major cause of infection is people trying to take selfies with them, and the mob that wants to take the zombie down is more of a threat to the zombie collectors than the zombies are, you know things are going to be good. Initially at least “The War on Horror” is funny, with Sean of the Dead overtones. The protagonist works rounding up zombies for a government contractor, similar to animal control: noose, mask and tag them and drop them off at containment. The obstacles he faces range from zombie rights activists, mostly trustafarians as Miles puts it, to hard-right politicians who would like nothing more than a zombie apocalypse to boost poll ratings – and aren’t averse to lying about one if needed. Closer to home, arguments between Miles’ teenage sister, his housemate and his housemate’s crew of (un)friendly dossers are making home a little too much like a battleground.

It is a rare case that the appearance of zombies en masse makes a zombie apocalypse book less interesting, but somehow this did. The problem is that despite being misfits, up until this point they’ve come off as professional in the day job. Once the action starts that world-weariness vanishes and along with it so does much of the book’s humour. The second half was, to me, noticeably weaker than the first. It was still enjoyable, but unfortunately after the new and unusual start, the second half seems a little standard and I simply ended up counting the kills. Two new antagonists are introduced out of nowhere, and then rapidly killed, and while the plot elements are all tided up, it feels a little piecemeal.

The discovery of how to ‘manage’ zombies is hilarious, the politics and world-building well thought out, and the writing enjoyable. The book takes a slam at just about everyone, from hippies to politicians to the police to the main characters without pausing for breath, but somehow avoids giving offense and presents the contrasting opinions quite clearly. It even has great characters, but the second half for me just let it down.

On the other hand, zombie fans looking for something new, particularly Shaun of the Dead fans, will love this. It may be set in the US, but the humour/satire has the same dry feel.

Part political satire of the “war of terror”, part zombie horror story, its an entertaining book with some laugh-out-loud moments, and a few that will make you cringe.