Customer Reviews

Dead Worlds: Undead Stories (A Zombie Anthology)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay, got about 95% of the book read(1 story left) so I'll go ahead put my thoughts to words. Overall I think it is an excellent collection of zombie stories and feel it deserves the 5 stars I gave it originally(for those reading this for the first time, I gave it 5 stars prior to reading it so I could post the table of contents below, with the amendment that if after reading it I felt it deserved less than 5 stars I would lower the score.)

As with all zombie anthologies and single author collections of zombie there is always a handful that I usually don't care for. The same goes here, though I won't point out any particular stories. I'll only say what I didn't like about the stories.

First off, let me mention ME FAVORITES. I'd have to say my absolute favorite of the anthology was, the very first story, The Cemetery Job by Kelly M. Hudson. Great job, Mr Hudson! He provided, in the ABOUT THE WRITERS SECTION, some links to read more of his stories. Already visited those lings and added those stories to my computer favorites for future consumption. I guess the reason I really like this story so well is the fact that it's a kind of heist story. Not just any heist story either: A heist at a funeral home and right in the middle of....well, I'll let you read it to find out what happens. Nice little cast of 5 main characters and a cool finale.

Next favorite was Believe by Samuel J. Guss. I really like the idea Mr. Guss used about a guy who thinks all the zombie stuff he sees on tv is some big elaborate hoax by the media or possibly the filming of a movie and then realizes....well, I'll let you read it and find out. Good ending!

Next, Aaron Polson's story titled The Way Of Things In Fly Over Country. Very doom and gloomy story. Basically about 3 guys in their late teens who have been raised their entire lives in a military type compound and have never been outside THE WALL, and venture out for a peek. Gruesome scene towards the end and kind of has a message of why this gruesome scene happened.

Ok, to speed things up I'll just give a shout out to my other favorites. Giagregorio's What Comes Around... is a nasty little piece. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Safe Haven by Christopher Potter was most excellent as well. Would like to see more of his work for sure. The Trial of Nettie Amos by Pasquale J. Morrone was another winner. Very well thought out. Definitely has some talent at writing. The last 2 of my favorite stories are by Tom Hamilton(Dead Cannibal Killers) and Eric S. Brown & John Grover(Clean Sweep). Both of these stories were very cool and I like the idea behind each.

There are several others that were really good and almost made my favorites list, but fell just shy of it. There about 6 stories I just didn't like or much care for. I will tell anybody up front that I hate stories where the zombies are intelligent(i.e. can talk, reason, fire a gun, plan complex attacks). No, sorry, I'm more a slow, mindless shambling zombie lover. In other words, hardcore Romero style(unless you include Romero newer junk, which I don't...them's fast suckers). There are some stories in this anthology that feature these zombie types. There were other stories I didn't like just because of the idea invoked in the story. It just just didn't seem like it was executed very well or the story ended not really having a point. I won't point out anything in particular because I don't want to hurt any author's feelings that may happen to read this. I try to be nice, sometimes!

For the most part though this is a solid collection of stories through and through. Nineteen stories(last one I haven't read yet) and only about 6 I either didn't like at all or just didn't care much for is really good for me for an anthology, which usually seems to be a mixed bag. However, every story here was well written grammatically(even the one's I didn't like) from what I could tell. There were a few typos here and there, but nothing major and a very sound job from an independent press.

You would be hardpressed to find a better zombie anthology than this. The only ones I can think that might be better or at least match this one is the Permuted Press Undead series. You really can't go wrong for the price here. Really good stuff...I really hope there is another collection down the road soon from Living Dead Press...maybe a Dead Worlds 2. Sign me up now! In the meantime add this little treasure chest of zombie stories to your readin list very soon. A very solid 4.5 stars of 5 or a 9 out of 10!

FOREWORD by ANTHONY GIANGREGORIO

1. THE CEMETERY JOB by KELLY M. HUDSON
2. ALL OVER NOW by J.H. HOBSON
3. BELIEVE by SAMUEL J. GUSS
4. DEATH MALL by MEAGAN JEFFREY
5. FLUSH by KAREN L. NEWMAN
6. THE WAY OF THINGS IN FLY-OVER COUNTRY by AARON POLSON(HAS A FANTASTIC STORY IN THE MONSTROUS ANTHOLOGY EDITED BY STEVE ALTEN AND PUBLISHED BY PERMUTED PRESS)
7. DEATH AND TAXES by MARC WIGGINS(FREQUENT REVIEWER HERE ON AMAZON AND A REALLY NICE GUY...LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS ONE)
8. FOOTNOTES TO A LESSON by SABRANN CURACH
9. SAFE HAVEN by CHRISTOPHER H. POTTER
10. THE TRIAL OF NETTIE AMOS by PASQUALE J. MORRONE
11. SINS OF THE LIVING, SINS OF THE DEAD by SAMANTHA STERNER
12. DEAD CANNIBAL KILLERS by TOM HAMILTON
13. CLOSURE OF THE LIVING DEAD by ROBERT CHANSKY
14. WHAT COMES AROUND... by ANTHONY GIANGREGORIO(EXCELLENT ZOMBIE FICTION WRITER...AS IF YOU ALL NEEDED TO KNOW THAT)
15. REFLECTIONS OF THE LIVING DEAD by A.P.(ADAM PETER)FUCHS(ANOTHER EXCELLENT WRITER OF THE ZOMBIE MYTHOS)
16. INTERSECTION by MICHAEL SIMON
17. BEING HUMAN by MICHAEL JOSEF
18. CLEAN SWEEP by ERIC S. BROWN & JOHN GROVER(DON'T KNOW ABOUT GROVER, BUT BROWN IS ONE OF MY FAVES IN WRITING ZOMBIE STORIES...DEF LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ONE)
19. FORTUNATO'S GHOST by BRENDAN P. MYERS

ABOUT THE WRITERS SECTION

HOPE THIS HELPS IN DECIDING TO BUY THIS ZOMBIE ANTHOLOGY...

I love zombie stories, but they have to be well written. These are. And a lot are different than your typical stories. Worth the money!!!!!

I liked every story in this book, even the ones that were more talk weren't bad. A great collection of zombie fiction.

I have read a LOT of zombie novels and anthologies, but this one is just average. Stories not fully fleshed out (no pun intended) and characters that are just not that interesting. The writers need to work on their craft a bit more.

This is a very enjoyable zombie collection. It would truly be nice to see some of them go to the big screen. There is no lack of imagination in this anthology.

This is one fantastic Zombie collection!
I am an avid zombie fiction reader and this happens to be a VERY good collection of stories. Sometimes collections are hit and miss... and there are a few stories that I wonder why they where included, but not in this collection.
I could not put this book down.
Every short story was well done and kept me up until the wee hours of the morning because I could not stop reading.
Get this one..you will not be sorry.