The Living DeaD 2 MosT Terrifying:
“Arlene Schabowski of the Undead” by Mark McLaughlin and Kyra M. Schon
An adult narrator recounts the pros and cons of play- ing a child zombie in a landmark horror flick. But then, almost imperceptibly, she slides into gibbering madness. By the time we witness her uncanny meet- ing with her younger, flesh-eating self, we should be prepared for the role reversal – but we aren’t.
goriesT guTMunching: ”Zombie Gigolo” by S.G. Browne
Boasting a “permanent erection,” the undead title character services his undead clientele, with hilari- ous, stomach-turning results.
freshesT TaLe: “The Skull-Faced City” by David Barr Kirtley
The zombie is a genuinely tragic (action) hero here. A sharpshooter named Park opts for zombiehood to infiltrate a community of sadistic undead that holds his living sister captive. They mark their disdain for vanity and other human values by carving all the flesh from their faces.
sTrangesT infecTion:
“We Now Pause for Station Identification” by Gary A. Braunbeck
First, touching a dead person leads to “the Coldness,” wherein your hands and arms begin to decompose while you’re still living, then, if you happen to die, you’ll return home and start to sprout vines with thorns… which, by the way, have little mouths com- plete with teeth.
LasT WorDs:
I’ll be snagging TLD2 for one simple reason: there are tons of themes and riffs that I’ve never encoun- tered before. This collec- tion is recommended for zombiephiles of all stripes, albeit with the caveat that sometimes the stories by the biggest names are not the most original or com- pelling. But if you’re look- ing for a showcase for the subgenre’s versatility, or proof that short-form hor- ror is the place to find true innovation, this is it. PG
RM 56 T H E N I N T H C I R C L E
BesT neW ZoMBie TaLes voL. 2
MosT Terrifying: “The Worst is Yet to Come” by Pete Mesling
Eleven-year-old Lyndon accidentally gets locked inside of a junked bank safe while playing on the farm of a suspected child abductor. Claustrophobic and terrifying, you’ll be holding your breath until an army of dead boys welcomes Lyndon to the fold.
goriesT guTMunching: “Gravedigger” by Nate Kenyon
A dead woman being used as a drug mule sud- denly comes to life, yanks down the pants of one of the smugglers, and sinks her teeth into his penis. Just try to read: “The sound of gristle tear- ing and ripping could be heard clearly across the room…” in context without crossing your legs.
freshesT TaLe: “Dredging Up the Dead” by J.W. Schnarr
A crew of fishermen is pitted against a haul of zombified codfish and infected whales. If there’s another story that features a whale exhaling its own blood-drenched brains through its blowhole, I haven’t read it!
sTrangesT infecTion:
“Gran’ma’s in the Bathroom (…and She’s Not Coming Out)” by Ken Goldman
Riffing off of the Bible’s John 4:14 (“...a well of water springing up into everlasting life”), this quirky quest for one last supper with decomposing kin finds a boy’s grandmother resurrected with the throne’s life-renewing holy water after she dies on the toilet!
LasT WorDs:
Many of the tales never explain the origins of their respective pandemic, which is a moot point for some stories but leaves others read- ing as if the skin jobs were an after- thought. Though it shows signs of (un)life, overall this collection of zed- head apocalypse tales is mediocre. TT
MosT Terrifying: “The Reign of Santa Muerte” by Mark Samuels
The chilling transcript of the last broadcast of a Mex- ico City radio show is the most unnerving entry here. Initially a standard back-and-forth of interviewer/in- terviewee repartee, radio correspondent Carlos Villa’s descent into the darkened catacombs of a house of worship in search of a rumoured cult rapidly be- comes panicked reporting as he discovers a church of the dead. His screams for mercy bring the trans- mission to a sudden halt.
goriesT guTMunching: “Dead Ground Zero” by Christopher Fowler
Zombie Apocalypse is surprisingly stingy on gore, but there are some shining moments of viscera, particu- larly the tape recording transcript of an investigative reporter nosing around the suspected ground zero of the undead outbreak. He finds the story, or maybe it finds him with passages such as “Something has half eaten your eyes... Oh god, your ears, they’re sucking the blood from your brain, gorging themselves on your flesh.”
freshesT TaLe: “Are We Not a New People?” by Scott Edelman
Spoiler warning: in a surprising and rather unique twist that, upon reflection, reshapes many of the book’s entries, the President of the United States ad- dresses the nation as a reborn zombie.
sTrangesT infecTion: “Wasting Matilda” by Robert Hood
Infection by zombie steaks – ’nuff said! LasT WorDs:
Twenty authors contribute to this collection, which is more like a zombie-themed novel than a proper an- thology. Told through mul- tiple mediums, including text messages, diary en- tries, Twitter
tweets,
emails, blogs and medical reports, Zombie Apoca- lypse is not a perfect work; the 500-plus pages often produce slow and somewhat uneven mo- ments. JP
Book: ZoMBie apocaLypse!
a MaMMoTh
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