Resurrecting
Mind by Joe McKinney: Poor Kevin the last man alive after
the world ended three years ago, its Xmas eve but he still believes.
But maybe he is not truly
alone, whilst out foraging for decorations, he spots an ex-girlfriend and with
some very corny jokes tries to nourish her back to life from the world of the
zombie “faker”.
The twist at the end is
heart breaking. Such wonderful writing and a superb way to start this
anthology.
Louis
by Carole Gill: Louis has decided to become a
necromancer after his best friend dies. eeeew at the practice mouse.
A great tongue in cheek
feel to this story, yet another interesting author I must seek out and try a
longer piece of work from.
Breaking
Out by Eric S. Brown: Bio toxins, the military and
naughty, unethical Drs; what could possibly go wrong!
Loved the telling of
this notsooriginal story. Blindingly fast, it was a super read.
Hard
Choices by Todd Sprague: The juxtaposition of some of the
Hard Choices and comments from the narrator would have been funny had they not rung
the sad bell of truth a little too loud.
The Hard Choices only
get worse as survival becomes the utmost driving force to this man.
I am curious to know if
this is a standalone brief flash of a story, or if it is part of a greater
story.
So far, every single
author and story has been spot on!
Until
Hell calls our names by WD Gagliani: Loved the approach to
telling this story.
Set in the Old Wild
West it brought a new tinge to an old story.
In between tales of
confederacy and submarines (!) is the most awful tale of relationship abuse.
The wronged woman,
along with her Mother, cast zombie spells to avenge they abuse. The story which
follows is complex and I found it to be too harrowing to “enjoy” but it was thoroughly entertaining and caused
a different sort of shudder in terror.
Amazing writing to make
me feel so uncomfortable.
Till death do us part by Scott M.
Goriscak: Poor Tim, the mortician, he finally finds the love
of his life only to lose her in a freak accident.
Of
all the horror in this book, the reading of the embalming made me actually gag.
When
a rogue bolt of lightning reanimates his love all sorts of strange things start
to occur.
I
had to giggle at certain body parts coming apart as she decomposes. The ending,
for me, was hilarious.
I forgot my own name by JD Gillam: A
sad story from the zombies PoV.
This
was obviously hard to write due to the decomposing brain, but well accomplished
and interesting to read.
Zombie Camp by Lawrence R.
Dagstein: Day care camp for zombie children, now that’s a
thought! As the world has changed, apparently parental love and social ambition
has not.
Very
well-articulated to bring forth all the trappings of rich families and the
dilemmas obviously faced when picking your child’s education and play mates.
A
cracking concept with some outstanding dry humour.
The Zombie with the Dragon tattoo
by Armand Rosamilia: Another rip roaring giggle a minute
story.
Gary
is in lust with Roxy the stripper, even if she is now one of the undead and all
the hassle that brings.
When
he decides to break into the Cheaters strip bar for one last lap dance he meets
the bouncer and DJ who are not what they seem.
The
normal sex focused zombie humour from this author, a really fun little story
with some clever character twists.
Feast of the Dead by P. David
Puffinburger: The first story with editing errors? Or not?
I am not sure if this was an attempt at first person writing with intentional
errors, but as it went on it did not feel right in its prose
.
This
story was neither funny nor sad but degenerated into a deliverance type rape
scene that was poorly written.
Really
felt this story was out of context for this anthology so far, or maybe I just didn’t
“get it”.
Mick’s Rules by Zach Brunner: A
weird little tale of a 50’s circa zombie frequenting a bar owned by Mick and
boy does he like to pick a fight!
Lots
of dialogue and some nifty left hooks make for a fun showdown between the pair.
What
walks in afterwards makes me want to visit and order some nachos and beer for
some “people” watching.
Yet
another fabulous author, who plays well on stereo types.
Written during rapture by Scott
Nicholson: A love note vs a suicide note. Very
brief story but oh so poignant.
Carriers by Ian DG Sandusky: A
new take on what causes the zompoc. Kind of put me off my dinner!
Some
great explanations, funny? Not so sure but definitely a sad indictment on our
current way of life and destruction of the planet.
What’s a man gotta do by Chantal
Boudreaux: An old ranch hand is trying to eke out a
living by foraging and trading in the zompoc world.
However,
he has an addiction, his Drink. He risks
life and limb for this special taste.
Whilst
serious throughout the story the final lines really leave you on a giggle.
Always
brilliant writing from Chantal.
My name is Riley by Mark Tufo: Told
from a dogs PoV this is a unique take on the zompoc.
Riley’s
little pack must survive the start and ongoing zompoc, a teenage girl, a baby,
a runt dog, Riley and a naughty cat – sounds like the start of a good joke – it’s
actually a fabulous series that I encourage everyone to seek out.
How do you kill what’s already
dead? By Jeremiah Coe: The Germanic barbarians are facing
off the invading Roman Hordes, only these turn out to be zombies, an unfair
advantage.
With
a lot of chatter about the ancient military style I found it hard going as not my favourite
topic to read about. But the author gave me characters that I really started to
care about to follow and become involved with.
The
sad little twist at the end made the read very worthwhile.
Of the Dead by Ian Woodhead: As
if zombies aren’t bad enough IW thinks up spider mutated zombies!
Just
what is going on in that food
factory, you can probably figure it out, but this author just loves taking you
for a ride of terror.
The
world presented in this short story is complex and hints at a larger set of
stories, but IW does have extensive zombie writing experience, well worth a
seek out.
I
loved the humour, dark and slapstick, mixed with all the horror. Some really
original stories mixed in this anthology with some original telling’s of old
stories.
The
contributors are well picked and well placed, so credit to the editor, himself
an accomplished author. Rich Orth has amazing little poems
scattered throughout, which makes for some light relief and is an inspired
thought.
One
of my favourite anthologies to date.
