Undeath Syndrome Surveillance and Diagnostics might have a very dry title, but that is because it is a (fictional) government document that has been written to try and help those in charge deal with the zombie outbreak that has occurred in author Bryan Way's Life After universe. This forty six page document isn't actually available for purchase, but the author created it as a kind of bible for his series, with the rules and observations contained within determining in many ways the extent to which his version of the undead are able to act and operate.
From a geeky perspective this was very exciting to me, as this is the self same document that former national guard soldier, Anderson, is handed in the excellent second Life After novel, Life After: The Void (a mild obscure spoiler from that novel).
Going along with the dry title, much of this document is appropriately dryly written, something essential to give it a believable feel. It establishes that the outbreak did indeed originate in the graveyard near the high school that Grey (the protagonist of the main novels) had been visiting, the outbreak that was described in short story Life After: The Cemetery Plot. It also goes into more detail on how the virus was spread, with many of the buses leaving the high school bringing with it unknowingly infected people who spread it far and wide. The document reveals that the virus has spread worldwide, and was fun to see a little bit about what has happened to the U.K (where I am based).
It is spread between giving details on how the outbreak started, and a more deep look into just how the zombies act. Part of this hints at the setting of short story Life After: The Maze, with the cold emotionless reporting here only hinting at what happened in that location to get the results. It was quite cool that The Maze was written in 2021, though the origins of that story were birthed in this document.
It is spread between giving details on how the outbreak started, and a more deep look into just how the zombies act. Part of this hints at the setting of short story Life After: The Maze, with the cold emotionless reporting here only hinting at what happened in that location to get the results. It was quite cool that The Maze was written in 2021, though the origins of that story were birthed in this document.
Undeath Syndrome Surveillance and Diagnostics also includes charts, maps, and statistics that all work in making it feel like a real thing. While it may have been needfully dull in places, I found it fascinating the Way had created this as an aid in shaping his world. As a fan of the series, this was cool to read and recognise bits that related to events that had happened in the novels and short stories. If you're a fan of the series and get the opportunity to check this out, then it's well worth a read.
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