UNFED

The undead are shambling all over Scotland in this bitingly funny sequel to Undead (2012).

The last thing Bobby remembers is fleeing the zombie apocalypse in a school bus full of nascent undead. She wakes up in a top-secret medical facility fairly teeming with zoms. With her are snotty Alice and geeky Pete, along with strong and capable Russ, the only survivor from that fateful school bus. Missing is Smitty, the maddening boy she lost her heart to in the first book. Following cryptic clues left in her cellphone by her scientist mother—the one who formulated the zombie-creating concoction in the first place and the person who may have the key to its cure—Bobby, Alice, Pete and Russ break out and flee, hoping to find Smitty and Bobby’s mom and, possibly, safety. Punctuated by many zombie battles that have almost a Keystone Kops feel to them for all their undeniable menace, their escape is fueled by desperation and snark. The kids carp at one another constantly (the mutual hostility between Bobby and Alice is particularly fizzy), and Bobby’s narration maintains the razor’s-edge balance between humor and horror. “Oh, fudmukker,” Bobby remarks, as they try to flee Edinburgh by rail. “Zoms on a Train.”

A gleefully revolting romp, it ends on a cliffhanger; here’s hoping it’ll be resolved soon