Herrmann and his publisher, Steven Lewis, who lives in Sandton, want to give South African book lovers local fictional content to enjoy. The self-published book was distributed late last year. “We did not have the patience to go through the mainstream publishing channels,” said Herrmann. The book has since attracted a number of zombie fanatics living in the country.
Herrmann loves comic books and movies and wants to see something more become of his book. “I’m thinking a TV show, something like The Walking Dead,” he explained. Journal of a South African Zombie Apocalypse is Herrmann’s second book, his first is titled The Manservant Mysteries which was released in 2010. “I found out that people want local content and not detectives in England,” said Herrmann. “So I have given people what they want with this book.”
Herrmann has always been into zombies. “Watching zombie movies, I realised that they are less about the zombies and more about the survivors.” He said, like in the movies, his zombie book is more about survival than anything else and it is modelled around the South African context.
Herrmann has come across a reader’s market of zombie fanatics in South Africa, however, they do not have material to engage in. One of the reasons he is interested in the concept of zombies is that when he watches a zombie movie, he finds that there is a certain curiosity that makes the audience question and think about how they would get out of a similar situation. This is what the book explores, how a 16-year-old boy and his family fight for survival against the undead.
In the book, a mysterious virus breaks out in South Africa and suddenly turns ordinary people into flesh-eating zombies. The police and army are powerless to stop its spread and soon the entire country is consumed.
Details: www.SAZA.co.za
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