It’s time to get to the zombie part of A Plague of Zombies. Lord John Grey learns about them in Section 5.
The chapter starts with Lord John Grey attempting to read, but his thoughts move onto other things. We end with him learning about a zombie out there that is about to kill, and that means learning what this type of creature is. Does John believe in such a thing?
Breaking down A Plague of Zombies Section 5
The chapter starts with Lord John Grey attempting to read and relax. He is trying to take his mind off the bugs out there. One of the ways to stop the bugs from attacking him is to smear bear grease all over his body, and the smell of this makes him think of Manoke from Canada.
Of course, this means that he starts to think of Manoke, and it takes his mind off the bugs but also off his book. I love how we get to see just how human John really is. It’s easy to forget about all of that when we look at characters through the eyes of others. It’s one of the failings of the first person POV.
John is pulled out of his thoughts when Rodrigo comes to visit him. He shares that an Obeah-man has come to Rodrigo to warn everyone to stay away from the governor. There’s a zombie coming after the governor. John has never heard of a zombie before, and Rodrigo shares that zombies are dead people.
Could this chapter be used in a TV show adaptation?
It could be tricky to use the first part of this chapter if A Plague of Zombies was ever adapted. It’s hard to bring the internalized thoughts to life.
However, the second part of the chapter definitely needs to be used. Rodrigo’s warning gets us into the title of the story. We learn that the governor is in danger, and the supernatural creature that is set to kill him. Of course, it means there has to be something natural for John to get to the bottom of. Despite the main Outlander story having time travel and ghosts, it seems we do draw the line at zombies.
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