21st Century Dead: A Zombie Anthology [Paperback]

Christopher Golden (Author), John M. McIlveen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 17, 2012

The Stoker-award winning editor of the acclaimed, eclectic anthology The New Dead returns with 21st Century Dead, and an all-new lineup of authors from all corners of the fiction world, shining a dark light on our fascination with tales of death and resurrection... with ZOMBIES! The stellar stories in this volume includes a tale set in the world of Daniel H. Wilson’s Robopocalypse, the first published fiction by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, and a tale of love, family, and resurrection from the legendary Orson Scott Card. This new volume also includes stories also from other award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors, such as: Simon R. Green, Chelsea Cain, Jonathan Maberry, Duane Swiercyznski, Caitlin Kittredge, Brian Keene, Amber Benson, John Skipp, S. G. Browne, Thomas E. Sniegoski, Hollywood screenwriter Stephen Susco, National Book Award nominee Dan Chaon, and more!

  

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The New Dead

 

“This powerful anthology shines a bright and unflinching light on the fears of death, decay, and loss that underpin America’s longstanding obsession with the undead.”

---Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About the Author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) The Map of Moments. Golden co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola, which they are currently scripting as a feature film. He has also written books for teens and young adults, including Poison Ink, Soulless, and the thriller series Body of Evidence. Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in countries around the world.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (July 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780312605841
• ISBN-13: 978-0312605841
• ASIN: 0312605846
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #906,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review - 21st Century Dead (A Zombie Anthology) Edited by Christopher Golden August 5, 2012

By The Alternative VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

21st Century Dead (A Zombie Anthology)
Editor: Christopher Golden
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: July 2012
Trade Paperback
352 pages
Advance Readers Copy - Uncorrected Proof

Short fiction has always been problematic for me. Even the best anthologies sometimes fail to hold my interest for very long. In addition, there's the long-argued dilemma of how to review an anthology. Should the book be reviewed as a single entity or should each story be reviewed separately? What makes matters infinitely worse for me is that five of the last seven books I've received for review are short story anthologies. Guess it's time to make up my mind... or not.

So, zombies, right? What could possibly be wrong with a short story anthology featuring zombies? In the case of 21st Century Dead? Absolutely nothing! Infinitely better is that Chris Golden has brought together some of the most unusual and interesting "zombie" stories ever written. This is not your usual faire of shambling undead but a strange mixture of victims, weirdoes, and the most maladjusted walkers and non-zombie zombies in the history of all lifeless, ambling brain-eaters.

The first three stories, for instance, do not fit any "normal" zombie mold. Chelsea Cain's Why Mothers Let Their Babies Watch Television is a lesson in why zombie babies should be allowed to watch TV. In Carousel by Orson Scott Card we are given a new perspective by a post-living person. ("It's all poop!") And when the dead are suddenly resurrected a discussion with God at the Carousel puts an end to all the suffering. In Reality Bites by S. G. Browne we see Reality TV with a twist. The Zombie Jersey Shore. The Amazing Zombie Race. American Zombie Idol. What if a TV exec discovered a rationalizing, lucid, talking zombie? Now that would be quite the Reality Bite...

Given the unique and constructive names given to the zombies in the various stories here (Infects, NODS, and Dead Ones, among others) and how zombie-ism is spread (a virus, drugs, and the apocalypse) we begin to see that the 21st Century Dead is not your typical shambling zombie anthology. I should also mention that the stories are overloaded with social media, TV, Hollywood, and advertising. In that sense alone this anthology truly represents the 21st Century Dead.

Table of Contents:

Biters by Mark Morris
Why Mothers Let Their Babies Watch Television: A Just-So Horror Story by Chelsea Cain
Carousel by Orson Scott Card
*Reality Bites by S.G. Browne
The Drop by Stephen Susco
**Antiparallelogram by Amber Benson
How We Escaped Our Certain Fate by Dan Chaon
A Mother's Love by John McIlveen
*Down and Out in Dead Town by Simon R. Green
*Devil Dust by Caitlin Kittredge
The Dead of Dromore by Ken Bruen
All the Comforts of Home: A Beacon Story by John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow
Ghost Dog & Pup: Stay by Thomas E. Sniegoiski
*Tic Boom, a Love Story by Kurt Sutter
*Jack and Jill by Jonathan Maberry
Tender as Teeth by Stephanie Crawford and Duane Swierczynski
Couch Potato by Brian Keene
*The Happy Bird and Other Tales by Rio Youers
Parasite by Daniel H. Wilson

* Denotes the stories I felt were the strongest in the anthology.

** Note to Amber Benson: Antiparallelogram needs to be written into novel. It's too good a story to languish as a short zombie story. Everyone I know that has read it wants to know what happens next.

4 out of 5 stars

The Alternative
Southeast Wisconsin

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic anthology July 13, 2012

By A. Perry

Format:Audio CD

I won this book as a early reviewer through Goodreads, and I am so glad! What a great anthology. Often times I am disappointed in anthologies as I enjoy only half of the stories, but with this one there were no weaknesses. "Biters" was a excellent choice to begin the journey! "Down and Out in Dead Town" was a masterful short piece that touched your sentiments and reminded me of the homeless in our urban city. I did not want "Ghost Dog and Pup " to end. "Tender as Teeth" was delicious, and "Parasite" finishes the anthology with a fantastic apocalyptic last line. Wonderfully edited, fantastic stories and a book I will hold onto to read over again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Loss, grief, zombies... July 25, 2012

By J. Markovic

Format:Paperback

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.

Christopher Golden's vision of the zombie apocalypse is a rich, dark, tapestry of humanity's worst fears, our world and loved ones gone, violent and strange. Each story has its own spin on the source of the affliction, but the common thread that stole the show was how the zombie plague impacted the pain and loss already in the characters' lives.

Mark Morris's BITERS is the perfect opening for this anthology, at once more horrific and hopeful than any zombie story I've ever read. The zombie crèche is a horrible image, made no less haunting by the prospect of a cure being found. Stephanie Crawford and Duane Swierczynski explore the pain of a zombie recovery in TENDER AS TEETH, as well as how our media may interact with the phenomena. I liked their human, pained exploration of infamy a lot more than S. G. Browne's REALITY BITES, which was more of an indictment of Hollywood's carnivorous machine than a zombie story.

From mysterious plagues to alien attacks, there are many flavors of zombie in 21st CENTURY DEAD, but the themes of loss and grief pervade them all, (other than REALITY BITES). Cancer, neglect, Tourette's... there are many pains that make these characters' lives difficult. Golden's anthology has me embracing his opening hypothesis; when this myriad of ever day heartbreaks is contrasted with zombies, you can't help but find some release.

Sexual Content:
Kissing