Black Star is one of the People of the Sea, also known as Mermaids, Mami Wata, Ningyo, Water Nymphs, Rusalka, and many other things. After her father Red Star was exiled from their Clan, she finds herself drifting, with only the love and support of her darling Moon-Face sustaining her. Dangerous times are upon the two lovers, and the rest of their species. Mankind is losing its war against the Zombies. With the land depleted of their food source, the Zombies are wading into the ocean, pursuing the humans who've fled on ships. The People of the Sea see the Zombies as the humans problem. Black Star sees them as a threat to all life on Earth. Can she forge an unlikely alliance and save them all ?

Death and Pixie Dust! Once upon a time, a mysterious plague beset a quiet village in the woods-a plague of the walking dead. Suddenly, beloved fairy tale characters are thrown into a world of stark violence and horror: Cinderella is worked to death before the ball, Pinocchio is made from children's corpses, and Little Red Riding Hood finds more than wolves in the forest. Surreal and full of black humor, Zombie Fairy Tales is a genre-bending narrative of a world on the brink of apocalypse, a world with no happily ever afters. Collected here are all 12 original Zombie Fairy Tales, plus a new 13th tale exclusive to this collection!

We no longer ascribe the term ’mermaid’ to those we deem sexually or economically threatening; we do not ubiquitously use the mermaid’s image in political propaganda or feature her within our houses of worship; perhaps most notably, we do not entertain the possibility of the mermaid’s existence. This, author Tara Pedersen argues, makes it difficult for contemporary scholars to consider the mermaid as a figure who wields much social significance. During the early modern period, however, this was not the case, and Pedersen illustrates the complicated category distinctions that the mermaid inhabits and challenges in 16th-and 17th-century England. Addressing epistemological questions about embodiment and perception, this study furthers research about early modern theatrical culture by focusing on under-theorized and seldom acknowledged representations of mermaids in English locations and texts. While individuals in early modern England were under pressure to conform to seemingly monolithic ideals about the natural order, there were also significant challenges to this order. Pedersen uses the figure of the mermaid to rethink some of these challenges, for the mermaid often appears in surprising places; she is situated at the nexus of historically specific debates about gender, sexuality, religion, the marketplace, the new science, and the culture of curiosity and travel. Although these topics of inquiry are not new, Pedersen argues that the mermaid provides a new lens through which to look at these subjects and also helps scholars think about the present moment, methodologies of reading, and many category distinctions that are important to contemporary scholarly debates.

Social scientists and philosophers confronted with religious phenomena have always been challenged to find a proper way to describe the spiritual experiences of the social group they were studying. The influence of the Cartesian dualism of body and mind (or soul) led to a distinction between non-material, spiritual experiences (i.e., related to the soul) and physical, mechanical experiences (i.e., related to the body). However, recent developments in medical science on the one hand and challenges to universalist conceptions of belief and spirituality on the other have resulted in “body” and “soul” losing the reassuring solid contours they had in the past. Yet, in “Western culture,” the body–soul duality is alive, not least in academic and media discourses. This volume pursues the ongoing debates and discusses the importance of the body and how it is perceived in contemporary religious faith: what happens when “body” and “soul” are un-separated entities? Is it possible, even for anthropologists and ethnographers, to escape from “natural dualism”? The contributors here present research in novel empirical contexts, the benefits and limits of the old dichotomy are discussed, and new theoretical strategies proposed.

Something’s rotten in the land of Xanth—and it’s not just the undead—in this “cheeky” adventure in the New York Times–bestselling series (Publishers Weekly). Horrors and hilarity collide as a fate far worse than death awaits a vivacious young visitor to “the Florida-shaped fantasy land where anything goes and the puns pack every page” (Kirkus Reviews). Breanna, a beautiful young newcomer to the enchanted land of Xanth, must deal with a distressing dilemma. She has unwittingly attracted the affections of King Xeth, ruler of Xanth’s Zombies, who yearns to make her queen of the undead! Her quest to preserve her innocence, and find her destiny, takes her on an exhilarating excursion packed with perils, puzzles, and piles of puns. Zombie Lover will provide a profusion of macabre merriment.

From notable geek girl Sam Maggs, The Fangirl's Guide to the Universe is the ultimate handbook for teens living the nerdy life. Fandom, pop culture, feminism, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more—there’s never been a better time to be a fangirl, or a better guide to navigate the wide universe of fandoms. This handbook is packed with tips, playthroughs, and cheat codes, including: · How to make nerdy friends · How to rock cosplay · How to write fanfic with feels · How to defeat internet trolls · How to attend your first con And more! Featuring wisdom from Sam and insightful interviews with fangirl faves like Danielle Paige, Rainbow Rowell, and Preeti Chhibber, The Fangirl’s Guide to the Universe highlights the joys of fandom community and offers a fun, feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom. This refreshed edition updates The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy including new interviews.

From the most-read humor site on the internet, Cracked.com YOU MIGHT BE A ZOMBIE… You're going to wish you never picked up this book. Some facts are too terrifying to teach in school. Unfortunately, Cracked.com is more than happy to fill you in: * A zombie apocalypse? It could happen. 50% of humans are infected with a parasite that can take over your brain. * The FDA wouldn't let you eat bugs, right? Actually, you might want to put down those jelly beans. And that apple. And that strawberry yogurt. * Think dolphins are our friends? Then these sex-crazed thrill killers of the sea have you right where they want you. * The most important discovery in the history of genetics? Francis Crick came up with it while on LSD. * Think you're going to choose whether or not to buy this book? Scientists say your brain secretly makes all your decisions 10 seconds before you even know what they are. If you’re a fan of The Oatmeal or Frak.com and hate being wrong about stuff, you’ll love what you find in YOU MIGHT BE A ZOMBIE from the twisted minds at Cracked.

This witty collection of trivia is perfect for those who hate to be wrong and love to shock their friends with their knowledge of hilarious and astounding facts.

This book provides students and other interested readers with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field.

An innovative investigation into how zombie narratives over the past ten years have been specifically leading up to a unique intersection with the world as it exists in the 2020s, this book posits the undead as a vehicle to communicate humanity's pathway into, and out of, the ideological, health and environmental pandemics of our time. Exploring depictions of zombies across literature, poetry, comics, television, film and video games, Simon Bacon brings together this timely intervention into how zombies enable speculation about future modes of being in a changing world and represent the fluid notion of 'old' and 'new' normals. With each chapter moving beyond traditional readings of the undead, Zombie Futures situates the zombie as an evolving cultural imaginary at the centre of discourses around how human cognition and embodiment are effected by global realities such as consumerism, new technologies, climate change and planetary degeneration. Structured around contagious partisan ideologies, ecological sickness, mental health crisis and the very literal COVID-19 virus, this book establishes how the zombie figure might manifest post-human and post-normative futures. Works featured include graphic novels and comics like The West + Zombies, Crossed and Endzeit, the South Korean series and films Kingdom, Train to Busan and Peninsula, The Last of Us and the Resident Evil game franchises, Bollywood horror anthology Ghost Stories, Joss Whedon's Serenity, Cargo and literature such as The Girl with All the Gifts, the fiction of Stephen Graham Jones and Ryan Mecum's Zombie Haiku. In a time when popular culture and scholarship has been overrun with the undead, this original study offers a refreshing look at the zombie and what it can tell us about about our world going into and emerging from global catastrophe.