Zombie Western. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland had the potential to be a book I liked a lot, but … I didn't. Its premise is that zombies rise in the US during the confederate wars, and so history changes. Slavery is abolished, but black people and Indians have to go to fighting schools and fight zombies. our protagonist is a black teenage girl in exactly that situation. She's sassy, self-reliant, and generally has the potential to be a delightful nuisance.