Abstract
In 2011, Lily Herne published Deadlands, the first in her series of Mall Rats zombie novels for young adults. Deadlands was followed by Death of a Saint (2012) and Army of the Left (2013). The novels are set ten years after the zombie apocalypse, referred to as the ‘War’ by the characters, which took place during the 2010 FIFA World Cup Tournament in South Africa. The novels should be read within the context of a resurgence of zombie fiction in the USA and Europe after 2000. Described by Lauren Beukes as ‘teen-fighting-zombie-fun’, Herne's novels have all the makings of zombie fiction in global popular culture. In Herne's depiction of a South African zombie apocalypse, though, the zombies – except for the threat of contagion – are not the real enemy. They are pawns in a power struggle between the human survivors of the apocalypse and the Guardians, mysterious figures who seem to have appeared out of nowhere after the apocalypse. The way in which politics, power and witchcraft are intertwined in Herne's novels can therefore also be linked to the zombie discourse in postcolonial South Africa. Here, I explore whether Herne expresses a specific view in her novels on the role of authority in contemporary society.
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