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macbean221b's review
4.0
My opinion of zombie stories stays perfectly in line with my opinion of horror in general: When it's done well, it's the best thing ever but it's so rarely done well. In this short story anthology, though, there were only two stories out of nineteen that I didn't like. One of them (Copper by Stephen R. Bissette) was due to a purely stylistic personal preference on my part. I liked the actual story, just not the way it was told. The other piece I didn't like (Shooting Pool by Joe R. Lansdale) was ... without zombies. The other seventeen stories, though, I enjoyed, to varying degrees. My favorites were:
- Family Business by Jonathan Maberry. I think this might be the longest story in the collection, but it's my absolute favorite. I've even recommended it to a couple of people who aren't zombie fans. It's a really incredible story about some pretty big topics like truth, duty, honor, and family.
- Kids and Their Toys by James A. Moore. This very nearly beats Family Business as my favorite story. It's the most deeply disturbing one in the whole collection, to me. It has a definite Lord of the Flies quality to it, and I wonder if the main character is called Jack as a reference, even though this Jack would be the counterpart of Ralph in Lord of the Flies...
- The Wind Cries Mary by Brian Keene. A very short story that packs a disproportionately large punch. It's about three pages long and at the end my heart completely shatters for a character whose name we never even learned.
- Twittering from the Circus of the Dead by Joe Hill. This one was fun to read because of the format and it made me think. If something like this popped up on Twitter, would anyone believe it, or would everyone think it was a marketing ploy? And which was it, really, in the story's universe...?
- Ghost Trap by Rick Hautala. The sense of dread in this story builds beautifully until it culminates in a sinking despair with the last line. Definitely not a story for everyone, but I loved it.
- And even though I didn't like it enough to call it a personal favorite, I would feel wrong publishing this review without mentioning The Zombie Who Fell from the Sky by M. B. Homler. This one made me actually laugh out loud in several spots but, despite the comedy factor, all the various strings came together into a nicely wrapped little package, where everything fit together perfectly. Very well done.
- Family Business by Jonathan Maberry. I think this might be the longest story in the collection, but it's my absolute favorite. I've even recommended it to a couple of people who aren't zombie fans. It's a really incredible story about some pretty big topics like truth, duty, honor, and family.
- Kids and Their Toys by James A. Moore. This very nearly beats Family Business as my favorite story. It's the most deeply disturbing one in the whole collection, to me. It has a definite Lord of the Flies quality to it, and I wonder if the main character is called Jack as a reference, even though this Jack would be the counterpart of Ralph in Lord of the Flies...
- The Wind Cries Mary by Brian Keene. A very short story that packs a disproportionately large punch. It's about three pages long and at the end my heart completely shatters for a character whose name we never even learned.
- Twittering from the Circus of the Dead by Joe Hill. This one was fun to read because of the format and it made me think. If something like this popped up on Twitter, would anyone believe it, or would everyone think it was a marketing ploy? And which was it, really, in the story's universe...?
- Ghost Trap by Rick Hautala. The sense of dread in this story builds beautifully until it culminates in a sinking despair with the last line. Definitely not a story for everyone, but I loved it.
- And even though I didn't like it enough to call it a personal favorite, I would feel wrong publishing this review without mentioning The Zombie Who Fell from the Sky by M. B. Homler. This one made me actually laugh out loud in several spots but, despite the comedy factor, all the various strings came together into a nicely wrapped little package, where everything fit together perfectly. Very well done.
vanessakm's review
4.0
It's hard to be a literate lover of zombies. How many times can you re-read World War Z? So I was pretty thrilled with this anthology that contains a new story by Max Brooks (author of the aforementioned WWZ), but that is only the beginning of the goodness. There was one story I wasn't that crazy about (the too silly and obvious "The Zombie Who Fell from the Sky" by M.B. Homler, although that is a ding dang great title), and a number of stories that were generally thought provoking and haunting in various ways. At it's best, it's about way more than zombies, but there is certainly plenty of zombie mayhem as well. Some of the themes covered are modern war, the persistence of love and memory, fear of death, and how little boys can be just a wee bit sociopathic under the right conditions. There is also at least one story that will scare you stupid. My personal picks for my own reference and yours:
The best of the lot:
John Connolly's "Lazarus" (a biblical take on zombies)
David Liss "What Maisie Knew" (this one might be my favorite. I cannot stop thinking about that ending and neither will you.)
Stephen R. Bissette "Copper"
Brian Keene "The Wind Cries Mary" (another ending that stays with you)
Jonathan Maberry "Family Business" (I read one of his books last year and didn't really like it but this story is miles away in terms of sophistication of theme and character. Really original)
Derek Nikitas "My Dolly"
Max Brooks "Closure, Limited"
Aimee Bender "Among Us"
James A. Moore "Kids and Their Toys" (seriously disturbing)
Joe Lansdale "Shooting Pool"
Joe Hill "Twittering from the Circus of the Dead" (Stephen King's son. This story is told in Twitter format which sounds like a gimmick that would grow tiresome but remember the story I said would scare you stupid? This is it.)
There are plenty of other stories that I liked in the book. If you are even somewhat partial to thoughtful horror fiction or undead carnage, this collection is absolutely worthwhile.
The best of the lot:
John Connolly's "Lazarus" (a biblical take on zombies)
David Liss "What Maisie Knew" (this one might be my favorite. I cannot stop thinking about that ending and neither will you.)
Stephen R. Bissette "Copper"
Brian Keene "The Wind Cries Mary" (another ending that stays with you)
Jonathan Maberry "Family Business" (I read one of his books last year and didn't really like it but this story is miles away in terms of sophistication of theme and character. Really original)
Derek Nikitas "My Dolly"
Max Brooks "Closure, Limited"
Aimee Bender "Among Us"
James A. Moore "Kids and Their Toys" (seriously disturbing)
Joe Lansdale "Shooting Pool"
Joe Hill "Twittering from the Circus of the Dead" (Stephen King's son. This story is told in Twitter format which sounds like a gimmick that would grow tiresome but remember the story I said would scare you stupid? This is it.)
There are plenty of other stories that I liked in the book. If you are even somewhat partial to thoughtful horror fiction or undead carnage, this collection is absolutely worthwhile.
haramis's review
3.0
This book uses an incredibly loose definition of zombie, with a couple of stories not really having any zombies at all. I think I anticipated more of a modern zombie-centric anthology, but I didn't precisely mind the difference except some of the stories were really terrible ("Copper"), and there were only one or two standouts ("The Wind Cries Mary"). I don't regret reading this, but I wouldn't recommend it either.
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Why yes, random suggested-book shelf at the library, I do happen to adore anthologized zombie stories.
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Why yes, random suggested-book shelf at the library, I do happen to adore anthologized zombie stories.
gwimo's review
5.0
If I had to choose a favorite, however, it would be Johnathan Maberry's "Family Business," dealing with half brothers Benny and Tom Imura, who both witnessed their parents' death - well their mother's anyway - on First Night - the marking point of the zombie outbreak. Benny, continuing to blame older brother Tom for their parents' death, refuses to join the "family business" of going out into the Rot and Ruin - the wasteland outside the gates of their town - to hunt down zombies for pay. In this twisted version of the brutal near future, everyone living within the town limits must hold a job, otherwise they only get half of their rations. Unlike other zombie hunters, Tom Imura doesn't kill for the sport or because he's a twisted son of a bitch. When Benny is forced to suck up his pride and works with Tom, he learns the true nature of this brother's job, and the hero he never knew. In order to seal the deal that Benny will take the job and become a man like his older brother, the two of them venture into a gated community that is all too familiar.
henryarmitage's review
3.0
Graagh, brains. Decent anthology, a few weak stories, a few really excellent, most somewhere in between.
wuxian's review
4.0
There are two or three really fantastic short stories in this anthology that, in my opinion, make it a must read. (Particularly Lazarus and, my personal favorite, Family Business.) If you like zombie themed short stories. ;)
jmshirtz's review
5.0
This review is only for [a:Kelley Armstrong|7581|Kelley Armstrong|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1199068298p2/7581.jpg]'s "Life Sentence". I was really hoping this would contain a twist, and boy did I get what I wanted! Even disliking Shana for her zombie-like (pun intended) obedience to Daniel, I still liked her more than him. His much deserved "life sentence" is fitting and just.
gerd_d's review
3.0
I remember reading a complaint about anthologies in general that went down to something like "The quality in stories varies too much"
I'm so tempted to second this notion for "The new dead"
There are a lot of better edited anthologies out there, no doubt, although the highlights (most notable Jonathan Maberry's entry) are worth it anyway.
Fact is that the writing is extremely varied both in style, which is a good, and in writing quality, which is a not so good; frankly I couldn't help but wonder how some of the stories made it in there, but the fact that one of the stories I felt to be not quite up there seems to be among the best liked reading some other reviews certainly means that those stories do belong.
Well, can't argue taste, right?
And it does make it a recommendable read for beginners that look for a good overview of what this particular sub-genre has to offer, more seasoned readers may want to skip it though because in the end the overall stories offer little new and would have been for the greater part in need of tighter editing, with some reading at best like fan fiction.
Not all stories are bad, mind, some I just didn’t like because they kind of rambled on, or featured redundant parts, which made me wonder if they had some sort of problem to keep the deadline. (
I'm so tempted to second this notion for "The new dead"
There are a lot of better edited anthologies out there, no doubt, although the highlights (most notable Jonathan Maberry's entry) are worth it anyway.
Fact is that the writing is extremely varied both in style, which is a good, and in writing quality, which is a not so good; frankly I couldn't help but wonder how some of the stories made it in there, but the fact that one of the stories I felt to be not quite up there seems to be among the best liked reading some other reviews certainly means that those stories do belong.
Well, can't argue taste, right?
And it does make it a recommendable read for beginners that look for a good overview of what this particular sub-genre has to offer, more seasoned readers may want to skip it though because in the end the overall stories offer little new and would have been for the greater part in need of tighter editing, with some reading at best like fan fiction.
Not all stories are bad, mind, some I just didn’t like because they kind of rambled on, or featured redundant parts, which made me wonder if they had some sort of problem to keep the deadline. (
moreadsbooks's review
3.0
Not too shabby. I actually got tired of reading about zombies at some point, which I did not think was possible.