Zombie Apocalypse: Holy Land, Haiti, Hollywood

Reviewed by Melissa Johnson, Clinical Coordinator, Radiography, Tidewater Community College on 1/28/26

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I found this textbook to be a very thorough accounting of the creation and evolution of zombies. The information provided contained large amounts of contextual and supportive evidence. The breakdown of the religions and philosophical viewpoints were educational. The author provided an index and a glossary at the end of each chapter.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content was presented in an unbiased manner. I did not see any errors in the content, and I believe the information is accurate. I have taken both philosophy and religion courses and the content of the book matches the information I learned in those courses.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content appears to be mostly up to date. Much of the information and examples provided were historical but the modern-day examples provided are still relevant and recognizable, at this time. There are areas at the end of the chapters where updated material may be added. I did notice upon my own review of Ninian Smart’s Dimensions of Religion that while the author, Rey, used six categories and that Smart has added two additional categories. These additions may have occurred after the writing and/or publication of this textbook.

Clarity rating: 4

The prose used is logical and makes sense but is, at times, advanced. Readers may find some terms challenging and need to use a dictionary to understand their meaning. There are large sections of quotes that provide supportive evidence to the content of the text, but I did find the length of the quotes to be distracting. The author went into great detail about the historical aspects of the religions and possible origins of zombies.

Consistency rating: 5

I found the text to be consistent with its use of terms and writing style. Each part contained a Preface that mapped out the contents of that section and the author stayed true to that framework.

Modularity rating: 5

The book is separated into three sections. The parts are as follows: Part 1 - Holy Land, Part 2 - Haiti, and Part 3 - Hollywood. Each part includes a Preface and four chapters. The end of each chapter includes an extensive notes section and a glossary of the terms used in that chapter.
Part 1 – Holy Land provides information about four monotheistic and apocalyptic religions: Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The author uses Ninian Smart’s Dimensions of Religion to explain each religion’s belief systems; Doctrinal, Mythological, Ethical, Ritual, Experiential and Institutional. Smart has added two additional categories, Material & Political, to their organizational system that Rey, the author, did not reference in this textbook.
Part 2 – Haiti reviews the Africana religions, languages, the origins of the word zombie, and zombies themselves. Also discussed in this section is the Haitian Vodou religion. The last chapter of Part 2 considers the types of zombies and the technologies involved in the making of zombies in Haiti.
Part 3 – Hollywood explores the interaction of Part 1’s apocalypse with Part 2’s zombie. This section goes into detail about zombies in America, in literature and in cinema.
Each of these sections is easy to separate into smaller units and would seem to fit well into a semester timeframe.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is organized logically, starting with the historical parts and working up to the present day.

Interface rating: 4

The text was easily and clearly viewed on the OER Commons platform. Navigation was user-friendly and the graphics and links displayed and worked well. I did have problems viewing the text on the Overdrive platform on an older tablet device. Many of the graphics did not load and my place within the text was lost each time l closed out of application.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I think the text is written and edited well. I did not notice any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find the text to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. The subject matter contained many varying philosophies and religious views, and all were presented in straight forward non-judgmental fashion. Multiple races, ethnicities and backgrounds were included in the text.

Reviewed by Mark Norris, Professor of History, Grace College and Seminary on 5/5/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Terry Rey's work, Zombie Apocalypse: Holy Land, Haiti, Hollywood, adequately covers all the areas mentioned in its title. It has impressive notes, bibliographies, and glossaries at the end of each section.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This is accurate and I did not see any errors. Multiple points of view are presented.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This is up to date and the topic is timely and refreshing. This can easily be updated when needed, especially the last chapter which looks at the depiction of Zombies in Hollywood.

Clarity rating: 5

I was pleasantly surprised at what a good read this is. This is an innovative and relevant topic and college students will easily understand the contexts presented. All terminology is clearly defined.

Consistency rating: 5

The text covers a lot of sub-topics but the sub-topics are evenly covered and expertly linked together.

Modularity rating: 5

Topics in Zombie Apocalypse are divisible into smaller reading sections. These can be assigned at different times in the course. For example, the work is divided into three larger parts: Holy Land, Haiti, and Hollywood. These are then subdivided into twelve sections. The sections could easily be reorganized and realigned without confusing students. Primary sources could also easily be used along with each part or section.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

At first glance, this work's theme would seem hard to break into topics presented logically and clearly. However, Terry Rey has such a fine grasp of the subject matter that his presentation is clearly accessible to students

Interface rating: 5

There are many helpful hyperlinks and they have no interface issues. These provide more definition and context to the student. Some are linked to valuable outside sources and others to words in the glossary. There are also several pictures that provide visual context.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This is multi-cultural, making use of several topics and people groups that have historically been underrepresented in academia. These include Zoroastrians, Jews, Muslims, African origins, Haitians, etc. -- and it links these to present Hollywood depictions.

Terry Ray effortlessly stitches together contexts of the apocalypse and the many Hollywood depictions of zombies and dystopian societies, creating a tapestry that brings together beauty and even healing.