Book Review: Apocalypse Cow! by Kim Aaron

Book Blurb

Industrial spy Marlow Willard is tasked with his greatest challenge: steal the ingredients to create zombies from a crazed chef gone mad with power in the wilds of British Columbia’s southwest.

How far is Willard willing to go, how much risk does he dare to take, what grotesque ungulates will he face, to meet the wishes of his clients? Does he have the strength and wits to defeat this unsanitary enemy? What exactly do zombie cows eat?

Answer these questions, and more, as you journey up the Fraser River with Marlow, face with him peril after perilous peril, finally to face his faceless nemesis, the chef of darkness.

Overall Analysis of Apocalypse Cow!

Apocalypse Cow! Chef of Darkness by Kim Aaron answers the question of what you would get if you mashed together Coppola’s movie Apocalypse Cow! and Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, and then sprinkled a hearty dose of zombies. (Even the main character, Marlow Willard, is a combination of Capt. Benjamin L. Willard and Charles Marlow.) While it would seem the inspirations would lead to a novel rife with heavy subject matter, Aaron takes a comedic approach, delivering a fun parody.

Kim Aaron takes a very unique dive into the zombie apocalypse genre. While the composition of the zombies is recognizable, their behavior prompts some questions early on that are satisfactorily answered in time. The world, itself, mirrors this reaction, as well. There is much that is recognizable, yet just as much that is satirically overblown, such as the influence of fast food conglomerates.

If you are into gore, this novel has a lot of it. Aaron is not shy with her descriptions of the vile. There are vivid portrayals of a plunge into a pool of zombie oatmeal and human gristle and dismembered parts making their way into one’s mouth. While my stomach can handle these gruesome descriptions, I assume people who pick up a zombie apocalypse novel can handle just about the same detail.

The author did a good job at developing the main character, Willard Marlow, but given the story was not very long, that was just about the only character I wound up caring for. While the supporting cast delivered a slew of hilarious lines, I did not feel any attachment to them. I feel like they could have done with a bit more development, just as how we were drawn in by the characters of Coppola’s classic in spite of their actions. 

There were several funny and trippy moments (such as a psychedelic talking cow), but some of the jokes were recycled to the point where they grew a little tiresome. The best example I can think of is Marlow’s continuing misfortune of ingesting viscera and then puking it up. Also, another one of the weaker points is that some of the sequence descriptions were lost on me. I could not accurately envision the zipliners infiltrating the town early in the novel, and some of the scenes on the boat in the river were a bit difficult for me to picture.

However, Apocalypse Cow! has a very strong and satisfying conclusion. We discover the origin of the zombies, a clear motive for the crime, and even an explanation of the subcontext of the satire that had gone unnoticed by me the whole time.

Final Thoughts

While Apocalypse Cow! by Kim Aaron is an absurd, comedic take on the zombie apocalypse genre, this is not a book you take at face value. While there are pretty obvious surface-level jokes, Kim Aaron weaves a deeper satirical approach regarding corporate influence. Even if you’re not looking for anything deep, it’s just a plain fun read, too. It is conceptually strong, but the execution lulls at points. However, I strongly urge you to give this story a chance as the ending is worth it alone.