(The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology in the US)
As soon as I finished reading this, I went through every author that had contributed and added their books to my to read list. This book is brilliant, a real must for any fan of zombie stories. Every story is unique and different, and the styles really stand out against each other. I finished it on the train, and I was gripping the book so tight to me, completely absorbed in the last story (Twittering from the Circus of the Dead by Joe Hill).
The book opens with Lazarus, by John Connolly, a brilliant take on an old resurrection story. What Maisie Knew, David Liss, shows a world in which zombies are known and common place, where they are used as strippers and servants, and seen as pretty much useful decorations, unless they are pushed into speaking. Closure, LTD, by the brilliant Max Brooks, was the only one I had read before. I was tempted to skip it, but made the right choice and re-read it, feeling the same spine-tingling horror I had the first time around.
This collection is made up of brilliant authors, all bringing their own skills to the table. And it works brilliantly. Each story is completely captivating in its own right, and the tales will still with you in a way that only really well written stories can. Even though they’re short, the characters will draw you in right in, make you feel everything they feel, and more. It’s one of the few books I’ve picked up this year that left me completely in awe.
In case you can’t tell, I loved this book. Mainly because each story has a completely different take on zombies – they are not all apocalypse stories, and none of them feel similar in any way. Even the zombies themselves are different in each story. So yeah, if you love zombie fiction and want something you can really bite your teeth into, check this out.
Of Musings and Wonderings 