Saturday, September 15, 2012

Review: Fifty Shades Of Grey And Zombies by Grey West


Greetings fright fans, fiends, freaks, perverts and sickos, this next review is one of a pair that comes from "Fifty Shades Parody Land", and yes there are dozens upon dozens of them, and if the ones I have read so far are any indication I am inclined to agree with the reviews and speculate that a majority of them are actually written better than Leonard's books themselves (as if that is a hard feat).  This short story parody, Fifty Shades Of Grey And Zombies, comes to us from Grey West, a budding author in the field of "mash-up" fiction, where history and/or classic fiction meets horror (usually zombies).  And no, unlike Warren Murphy, West did not choose a new pseudonym just for the purpose of bashing Erika James Leonard as the Grey was already there, poor soul.

In this little send-up Christian Steel (C S for short, no little periods in between because he doesn't like them), braves zombie hordes to interview Mr. Grey West, a parody of the first segment of Fifty Shades Of Grey, replacing his now zombified roommate, Nick Navanaugh, in the hopes of exposing West as the man who unleashed the zombie plague on humanity.  Yes, the villain is named Grey West, the same as the author, which as you will see in my forthcoming post I'll Accept "Retardeder" As A Word Because I'm From Florida, or Her Teeth The Same Color As Her Shirt (At Least The Yellow Part Of It) is something I usually have an issue with, however since this is a parody and it is so well done I have no problem letting that pet peeve slide in West's case.

This short story is hilarious from pretty much beginning to end.  West not only takes delight in poking fun at Twilight, Fifty Shades Of Grey, E.L. James and fan fiction in general, but he also takes pot shots at his own field of mash-up fiction, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies in particular.  West's narrative is funny, witty and downright hilarious, and as great parody writers go he ranks right up there with Mel Brooks and Aussiescribbler.  This isn't one for the weak or simple minded, it's actually thinking man's fiction and that's why I give it a solid Six Stars.  West has fun all the way, never taking himself seriously, which I love in an author, and he even includes a parody review section at the beginning of the work, which also appears on the Amazon listing.

Perhaps the best part of this little story comes near the end when Steel and West enter West's Red Room of...  Of...

Hhehehehehehehe.  I can't tell you because it's so funny I do not want to spoil it.

Thus far Fifty Shades Of Grey And Zombies has not been given a major review, and it seems to be passed over in favor of West's Double Barrel zombie series which has gotten high praise and generated a lot of interest on Amazon.

You can get your copy of Fifty Shades Of Grey And Zombies by Grey West for Kindle from Amazon:

Amazon

You can also learn more about Grey West, his Double Barrel series and his other works on his website:

Author Grey West

If West's zombie fiction is even as half as good as this parody, and judging from the reviews it is every bit as good if not better, then he is definitely an author to watch.  The first "Episode" of Double Barrel is available on his site for free download in various eReader formats, and I would say you would have nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

See you after vyle!

Master Vyle


3 comments:

  1. *blushes*

    This sounds like something I'd like to read, but I don't want to have to read Fifty Shades of Grey in order to get the jokes. Does the humour work for those unfamiliar with the book?

    And, are the Double Barrel books funny zombie books or simply scary zombie books?

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    1. It really isn't necessary to read any of Leonard's work to get the parodies, as most of the first book has been discussed to death I think that even children who herd goats in Ugandan minefields probably know the basic outline of the first two chapters by heart. The humor will work, trust me, he has that much skill, and the reason for the comparison is due to the fact I have gotten several of your parodies with only a passing familiarity with the books and films they are based on.

      As for Double Barrel I believe it is more gritty and serious, as it gets a lot of comparison to The Walking Dead. If you go to his site the first "Episode" is available for free download in several formats, including Kobo. I haven't read it myself, but it is intriguing and is on my "list".

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    2. Yes, its true that I wrote a parody of Rollerball when I haven't seen either of the movies yet, so I take your point. :o)

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