| The story opens with a math professor teaching his class on a seemingly ordinary day when a student who has arrived late turns out to be the first of a wave of flesh eating zombies who are running amok around the world after a scientific experiment goes awry. Our hero forms a small team, including his ex, a police officer (who unfortunately has been bitten), and another guy who's a bit of a jerk. Together, they use knowledge of math to survive the undead onslaught.
There are quite a few scenes in which the characters are talking about derivatives and integrals as if they were in a review session or study hall, while hordes of zombies are trying to break down the door or are eating their colleagues alive. As much as I love math and consider it useful, I couldn't help but think "Shut up about the math and do something about the damn zombies!"
I am not really into the whole zombie thing, so it may not be surprising that this is not my favorite of Adams' works of mathematical fiction. But, the rave reviews, reader comments on the book's cover as well as on the usual Websites, suggest that I'm in the minority. Most people do seem to love this book. |
