Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by vanessakm
New Dead: A Zombie Anthology by Christopher Golden
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.