The Countryman Press Wanna see Typhoid Mary’s grave? Make a pilgrimage to one of Love- craft’s former haunts? See the fire- house from Ghostbusters? Cruise the Morbid Anatomy Library? If so,
No Traveler Returns: Bela Lugosi in Murders in the Rue Morgue
church in London. Fightback begins by tracing the roots of the virus’ architect, 19th-century “lord of fleas” Thomas Moreby. Along the way, the virus chews its way through Europe and eventually North America, and this is where the writers have the most fun. Anne Billson’s “Paris When It Sizzles” follows an embattled columnist who grudgingly tries to cover haute couture in the zombie-ravaged fashion capital, while Simon Strantza’s “#zOmBEY” is told entirely through the tweets of a social-media-savvy punk hiding in a blacked-out Niagara Falls wax museum. There’s even a Rolling Stone article about the hot new trend of zombie UFC fighting, and a few attempts at social commentary, with characters struggling over the ethics of testing on zombies and zombie rights. Aside from a few bright moments, the book is bogged down by too many chapters of tech-
speak and overlong government missives that devolve predictably. The most haunting piece in is Peter Crowther’s “Corpse Gas” – a transcription of security camera video footage of two brothers sitting in a long-deserted resort, drunkenly and sadly reminiscing about their
J.W. Ocker’s got ya covered. Though his New York Grimpendium is padded out with some questionable entries (Ground Zero memorial? Really?) and this “guide” has no maps, there’s fascinating info aplenty in Ocker’s playful prose. Don’t visit NYC without it. DAVE ALEXANDER
HAIR SIDE, FLESH SIDE Helen Marshall
ChiZine Publications Filled with bizarre, lyrical and occa- sionally religion-tinged short stories, Helen Marshall’s debut collection reads like a fanciful walk through her dark imagination. One of the
most notable tales, “Sandition,” is about a woman who finds a lost Jane Austen manuscript written beneath her skin. Strangely touching, disturbing and weird as hell, Marshall proves herself a potent new talent. JESSA SOBCZUK