Friday, 9 May 2014

Lets scare cancer to death – anthology



All the author dedications are heart breaking, so many people’s lives are touched by the dreaded big C. Here is to finding a cure, fast.

Z Children by Eli Constant: It is the start of the zompoc and Suz, Dad and the twins must make it out of town to their boat whilst dodging the zombies who are primarily children.

The reasons for the start of the zompoc are really well laid out, the back story made me care for this little family so the ending was a real shock.

I really enjoyed this writing style so another author to be on the lookout for.

Of the Dead by Alyn Day:  a toughened foraging unit comes across a child “zed”; or is she just a wild child trying to survive?

As many of the unit are mourning fathers the emotions brought to the surface on the trip back to base and the scientists are really well played out by the author.

I love the twisted endings, so not expected. Another fantastic writer.

Memories by Heath Stallcup: the author physically brings you along for the ride on this tale as he drags you around a research facility whilst he unloads his story upon you.

The sordid tale carried on around me and I was so absorbed that the ending, again, gave me a real thump to the heart.

HS has managed to pull off a spectacular PoV perspective with not even the slightest error. Not surprisingly he is already one of my favourite authors.

Project Arizona by Greg Carrico: poor Henry, he is a sad and misplaced man in a long line of hidden experiments, of which the author keeps us in the dark about.

But the telltale zombie theme is there, along with a strange flensing obsession.

A strange little late that has an even weirder ending. Not sure what I read but I really liked it!

Just Life by T.Fox Dunham:  “dragging its colon behind like a dead snake” – has to be my favourite line from the whole book, it made me feel a little nauseous and smile at the same time.

Robert, the main character, has just recovered from a strange surgery where his tumour went wild and attacked a surgeon!

Now Retribution has begun which looks suspiciously like a George Romero film set.

Essentially this is a beautiful love story another really fantastic ending.

Choices by Claire C. Riley: Adam had completed his cancer treatment but now all Hell has broken loose and he is unable to find out his final test results.

He risks life and limb to try and find his medical notes but thankfully there is Old Yella to help him out.

The moral of the story seems a little undone at the end but wow I really enjoyed the characters in this one.

Dying Days Mortality by Armand Rosamila: two good men are trying to do right by their dying wives.

A dilemma is set before one of them and a decision is made.

The emotions run really high in this book and AR does not shy away from rubbing your face right in there.

Gift Wrapped Box by Catie Rhodes: Kathleen just keeps getting more Hell heaped upon her as she falls for some mumbo jumbo about a cure for her terminal cancer, which actually turns out to be soul eaters!

Not to mention her wicked neighbor is trying to kill her kitten.

A blast from the past and she has a chance to put all things right and as she faces down a massive demon she gets more than she hoped for.

A sad but brilliant ending, really enjoyed the complexity of the story and certainly nothing run of the mill.

Tunnel by J. Thorn:  not sure about this story as I really disliked one of the three characters and the other two were just meh for me. Plus the story never really went anywhere IMO.

One Lonely Night by Chantal Boudreaux: Quinn is dying from cancer, but all he desires is death by zombie.

With all the pain surrounding him he is set on his mission and CB does nothing to shy you away from being witness to this painfully honest tale.

Sweet Release by Mark Tufo: Ted’s life is over; his body just needs to catch up.

Kindness seems to be lacking all around him and just one small  moment is all he wants.

The tenderness with which this tale is written really made my heart ache.

Uncle by Michael James Macfarland: crippled Uncle has a secret that he brought back from the war.

His constant care is sucking the life from those around him.

The slow but steady build up gives a good indication of what the end will be but it’s still a cracker.

The Legacy by Julianne Snow: they say when you get a terminal diagnosis you begin the grieving process for your own loss of life, one stage of that is anger.

This is the tale of a chap who gets stuck at that stage. Of all these little stories, this one really scared me.

The Judas Contingent by Blaze McRob: my heart bleeds for this wonderfully strong and brave man (the author not the fiction – of all the dedications and bios this one really touched me).

Revenge is the main drive for this story, a well written piece that left me wondering just who are the good guys.

My Name is Charles by TW Brown: what’s worse than dying cancer in the zompoc? Adding dementia into the mix.

Poor fella, having to relive the intial horror over and over again. Fantastic idea with some great writing.

Survival by Rhonda Hopkins: from a bad start where they are captured for who knows what reason Dana and her twin, Sarah, manage a dramatic escape with the help of Meredith. Shame the poor girl is suffering the after effects of chemo treatment.
 
As the struggle to survive in this new world of horrors occurs the relationship and animosity of work colleagues surfaces adding that emotional twist to the story.

Whilst gore and horror is not lacking in this well written tale it is the emotions that play front and center.


The whole book has a well put together feel to it. I do hope this continues to raise lots of money so that “we” really can Scare Cancer to Death.



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