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A review by theaceofpages
Zombie: An Anthology of the Undead by Christopher Golden
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is a very mixed set of stories. A lot of them were just okay, I hated some and others were absolutey incredible. Even if I didn't enjoy them all, I loved that most of the stories strayed from the typical "surviving the apocalypse" trope. Ratings (and content warnings) are provided for each story below.
Lazurus (1.5/5)
A religious take on zombies. I didn't find it all that interesting but I'm sure others would.
Content warnings:
Minor: body horror, blood
What Maisie Knew: (3/5 but very disturbing)
Content warnings:
Graphic or moderate: violence(chopping up and mutilating reanimates - not that bad but also reactively graphic)
Moderate: sexual content and rape(including necrophilia during which they seem to become conscious and strip clubs) , death, body horror, selling of (dead) women, cursing
Minor: blood, pregnancy, alcohol, suicide
Copper: DNF
Just couldn't get into it
CW unknown
In the Dust (2.5/5)
It was just okay. Nothing particularly memorable in my mind
Content warnings:
Moderate: Cursing, body horror
Minor: Death
Life Sentence (4/5)
Ooh this was an interesting one. A lab is experimenting with zombification to allow people to live beyond death. They are experimenting on people to try to get rid of the nasty side effects - no self control, decomposition, an inability to move, etc. I enjoyed the concept and the ending was chilling.
Content warnings:
Moderate: Medical trauma
Minor: Cancer, animal cruelty(lab animals) , blood, terminal illness, body horror
Delice (2.5/5)
Content warnings:
Minor: Body horror, physical abuse, slavery, murder, fire
The Wind Cries Mary (3/5)
A man talks about his undead wife.
Content warnings:
Moderate: Suicide
minor: body horror
Family Business (3.25/5)
I've seen that a lot of people love this one but it was just okay for me. A bit more of your typical zombie story compared to what I've read so far.
Content warnings:
Minor: violence, death
The Zombie Who Fell from the Sky (3.5/5)
Another one with slightly more violent zombies. Definitely more graphic than most of these works so far!
Content warnings:
Minor: Blood, cursing
Moderate: Violence, gore, body horror, death, animal death
My Dolly (2.25/10)
Our narrator seems somewhat obsessed with obtaining a specific corpse who has been frozen to prevent her from walking around
Content warnings:
Moderate: death
Minor: cursing, violence, blood
second wind (4/5)
A man carries out the plans he made for after he dies.
Content warnings:
Moderate: death, cursing
Minor: body horror(think someone preserving themselves) , sexual content
Closure, Limited (2.5/5)
An after death care/experiment facility
Content warnings:
Minor: death
Among Us (2.5/5)
Content warnings:
Minor: Cannibalism , animal death
Ghost trap DNF
CW unknown
The Storm Door (4/5)
A paranormal investigator talks about people coming back to life. This one gets pretty dark!
Content warnings:
Graphic: death
Moderate: Chronic illness, body horror
Minor: Terminal illness, cancer, child death
kids and their toys (4.5/5)
A group of twelve year old decide to interact with what they think must be a corpse.When they realise it's reanimating they decide to hide it for later fun.A rather dark exploration of human cruelty and the ending... Well, that just hits hard. Probably my favourite story so far
Content warnings:
Graphic: torture, physical abuse(directed towards the zombie who may or not actually feel pain)
moderate: body horror, violence, gore
minor: death, body horror, war, anti Semitism
Shooting Pool (1/5)
Yeah, this one was just uncomfortable. Definitely didn't hold up to the previous one (although I did take a break between the two)
Content warnings:
Moderate: Gun violence, death, ableism(frequent use of the R word)
Minor: Racial slurs(one use of the N word)
Weaponised (3.75/5)
Zombies are used as a cheap army. Told from a journalist's perspective
Content warnings:
Graphic: War, colonisation(people being split up by foreigners coming in and setting up infrastructure for their own benefit)
Moderate: Death, gore(a lot of smell stuff too)
Twittering from the Circus of the Dead (DNF)
Just not into the Tweet format.
CW include cursing
Lazurus (1.5/5)
A religious take on zombies. I didn't find it all that interesting but I'm sure others would.
Content warnings:
What Maisie Knew: (3/5 but very disturbing)
Content warnings:
Graphic or moderate: violence
Moderate: sexual content and rape
Minor: blood, pregnancy, alcohol, suicide
Copper: DNF
Just couldn't get into it
CW unknown
In the Dust (2.5/5)
It was just okay. Nothing particularly memorable in my mind
Content warnings:
Minor: Death
Life Sentence (4/5)
Ooh this was an interesting one. A lab is experimenting with zombification to allow people to live beyond death. They are experimenting on people to try to get rid of the nasty side effects - no self control, decomposition, an inability to move, etc. I enjoyed the concept and the ending was chilling.
Content warnings:
Minor: Cancer, animal cruelty
Delice (2.5/5)
Content warnings:
The Wind Cries Mary (3/5)
A man talks about his undead wife.
Content warnings:
minor: body horror
Family Business (3.25/5)
I've seen that a lot of people love this one but it was just okay for me. A bit more of your typical zombie story compared to what I've read so far.
Content warnings:
The Zombie Who Fell from the Sky (3.5/5)
Another one with slightly more violent zombies. Definitely more graphic than most of these works so far!
Content warnings:
Moderate: Violence, gore, body horror, death, animal death
My Dolly (2.25/10)
Our narrator seems somewhat obsessed with obtaining a specific corpse who has been frozen to prevent her from walking around
Content warnings:
Minor: cursing, violence, blood
second wind (4/5)
A man carries out the plans he made for after he dies.
Content warnings:
Moderate: death, cursing
Minor: body horror
Closure, Limited (2.5/5)
An after death care/experiment facility
Content warnings:
Among Us (2.5/5)
Content warnings:
Minor: Cannibalism , animal death
Ghost trap DNF
CW unknown
The Storm Door (4/5)
A paranormal investigator talks about people coming back to life. This one gets pretty dark!
Content warnings:
Graphic: death
Moderate: Chronic illness, body horror
Minor: Terminal illness, cancer, child death
kids and their toys (4.5/5)
A group of twelve year old decide to interact with what they think must be a corpse.When they realise it's reanimating they decide to hide it for later fun.A rather dark exploration of human cruelty and the ending... Well, that just hits hard. Probably my favourite story so far
Content warnings:
Graphic: torture, physical abuse
moderate: body horror, violence, gore
minor: death, body horror, war, anti Semitism
Shooting Pool (1/5)
Yeah, this one was just uncomfortable. Definitely didn't hold up to the previous one (although I did take a break between the two)
Content warnings:
Moderate: Gun violence, death, ableism
Minor: Racial slurs
Weaponised (3.75/5)
Zombies are used as a cheap army. Told from a journalist's perspective
Content warnings:
Graphic: War, colonisation
Moderate: Death, gore
Twittering from the Circus of the Dead (DNF)
Just not into the Tweet format.
CW include cursing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, War, Death, Torture, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Suicide, Chronic illness, and Rape
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Terminal illness