Podcast Episode 21: Attack of the Nanite Zombies

Joseph PicardIn which Carma Spence chats with Canadian author Joseph Picard about his unusual trilogy of novels that take place on a slightly altered Earth (it has an additional continent) and feature nanite-driven zombies: Lifehack, Watching Yute and Echoes of Erebus. The conversation twists and turns around a variety of topics, including break-dancing zombies, made up continents, dog zombies, being a straight guy writing a lesbian character, the age of discovery, goatees, Joss Whedon and characters that take over.

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Duration: 29:59
File Size: 34.4 MB

Mentioned in this Episode:

  • I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
    This 1954 horror novel was influential in the development of the zombie genre and has been adapted to film many times. I popularized the idea of a disease-driven worldwide apocalypse.
     
    Although I mention in this podcast seeing 5 adaptations, there are only four (and I’ve only seen two-and-a half of them!):
     

    • The Last Man on Earth (1964) starring Vincent Price. Matheson wrote the screenplay for this adaptation, but was credited as “Logan Swanson” due to later rewrites he didn’t agree with.
    • The Omega Man (1971) starring Charlton Heston. Matheson was not involved in this adaptation and the creatures were changed much from those in the novel.
    • I Am Legend (2007) starring Will Smith. This adaptation updated some of the basic concepts from the book, taking into account medical advances in the intervening decades.
    • I Am Omega (2007) starring Mark Dacascos. This was an unofficial, direct to video release that tried to ride the coattails of the Will Smith film.

    The novel I Am Legend was also an inspiration for George Romero‘s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead.
     
    The infected hordes in the novel are referred to as vampires, but do not resemble what most people consider vampires. They have much more in common with zombies, which is why the novel is more often associated with that sub-genre of horror.

  • A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
    A post-apocalyptic science fiction novel published in 1960, based on three short stories Miller published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It is the only novel he ever published and is considered a classic of science fiction. It won the Hugo Award for best science fiction novel in 1961.
  • Erebus
    In Greek mythology, this name belonged to the son of Chaos and represented the personification of darkness and shadow. Since he was also thought of as part of the underworld, Erebus was also known as Tartarus and Hades. He married his sister Nyx, the goddess of night, and their children were Aether, the god of the sky, Hemera, the goddess of day and the Moirai, the three fates.
     
    Erebus is also the name of the “world’s largest haunted house,” a four-story haunted attraction in Pontiac, Mich. Opening in 2000, it earned the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s longest walk-through haunted attraction in August of 2005, holding that title through September 2009.

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About the author

As The Genre Traveler, Carma Spence loves to view the world through Genre-Coloured glasses. In other words, she sees the world through a lens of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, where trash cans can be Daleks in disguise and neighborhood forests can harbor faeries and sprites. Magic realism is real! Or at least you can choose to see the world that way to add to the fun and awe of life.

1 comment on “Podcast Episode 21: Attack of the Nanite Zombies”

  1. Pingback: The Genre Traveler » Most Memorable Podcasts of 2011

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