Customer Reviews

The Undead: Zombie Anthology

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Undead certainly spans a wide gamut of zombie fiction, with tales ranging from the sick and twisted to the intriguing and humorous, from well known authors and those just planting their feet inside the door. This anthology takes it's reader into space, back in time to the high seas of the late 1700's, out to deserted islands, and back to the streets of present day, showing just how versatile this genre of horror fiction can be. Some of my favorites include:

"Pale Moonlight" by D.L. Snell - Nathan seems stuck in a house quickly being overrun by the undead, but he has a surprise of his own for them once the full moon comes into view.

"Home" by David Moody - Anyone who has read any of David Moody's Autumn books can easily see how this stand-alone short story could fit into that same vision. However, this tale contains an intriguing twist.

"Only Begotten" by Rebecca Lloyd - A child with a bite only a mother could love.

"Hell and Back" by Vince Churchill - A very ill father tries to protect his children in the wake of the Romero flu that has swept the globe.

"The Dead Life" by Mike Watt - Bernice Dobbs has a zombie infestation in the basement that needs to be cleared up before the women's auxiliary shows up. An odd pair of exterminators show up to handle the problem.

"Cold as He Wishes" by C.M. Shevlin - A boy uses a trick taught to him by his grandfather to obtain any girl he desires, as long as she's among the recently deceased.

"Graveyard Slot" by Cavan Scott - A gruesome reality show goes horribly awry when an unwitting and unwilling participant gets thrown into the mix.

Most anthologies contain several "hits" as well as several "misses." However, each and every tale within The Undead is as interesting as the one before it. This anthology should not be passed up by anyone who is a fan of zombie fiction, or good horror fiction in general. A sequel to this amazing anthology has already been announced, and I intend to snatch it up as soon as it is released!

I've been a zombie fan for years and I saw almost every zombie movie out there since Romero's NOTLD. But I'm a newcomer to zombie fiction. This book is my first purchase and I was very much pleased with all 23 short stories collected in this volume.

The scope of these stories is quite wide... from the basic "zombie-keep-a-coming" premise to other less usual. Some of them quite horrifying... others very much disturbing... and some quite funny.

My favorites are:

"Pale Moonlight" - as another reviewer said, this protagonist will teach the dead a lesson as soon as the full moon shows up.

"Hotline" - a hotline (run by you know what) peeps into people's conversations.

"Dead World" - a recent dead narrates to us a kind of diary, where all he wants is to find the living (quite funny).

"Ann at Twilight" - a blind black girl is sold as a slave to a group of white supremacists. As they drive, she decides to escape the fate that awaits her... THIS STORY REALLY LEFT ME BITING MY NAILS!!! - laughs!

"The Last Living Man" - A three-page story. Simply brilliant!!!!! I wish I had written that one. A lesson in "less is more"

"Only Begotten" - A mother loves her baby. Even whe it's dead. Disturbing.

"The Dead Life" - There are zombies in her basement, her soufflé is falling, it is her turn to host the women's auxiliary's luncheon... and Bernice Dobbs decides she'll have none of that! Nothing will ruin her day!!!
Very funny.

Anyway, all the stories are violent, gory... and full of dead people.

Just like we love it!

To me zombie stories, at least the good ones, are very few and far in between. This is especially true in formally published work of a zombie nature. The most famous of all published zombie stories are the short story collections by James Lowder (Book of All Flesh trilogy) and Philip Nutman's Wetwork. Since those books' publishing things were quite dry in the zombie novels and collections department. Only in the past couple of years has zombie stories has suddenly returned with a vengeance. We now have the Autumn novels by David Moody and the excellent duology by Brian Keene (The Rising and City of the Dead).

Now the time has come again for the zombie genre to be in vogue. With zombie films ranging from the action-popcorn kind (Resident Evil series) and to the critically-acclaimed (28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead and Land of the Dead), it was only a matter of time before the publishing world took a hint and started doing the same. They've not done such a great job of it, but I must say that D.L. Snell's and Elijah Hall's collection of zombie short stories titled The Undead is a great find. The book is a collection of 23 tales ranging from a hilarious to the horrific and all of them have one thing in common. They're all written by writers who have a genuine love for the zombie subgenre first started by Goerge A. Romero with his seminal classic film: Night of the Living Dead.

Not all the stories come off as being good, but they're just a few misfires. Most of the tales in the collection I put in the good to excellent range. We have zombie stories set in space and in the future. We have smart zombies like in Nutman's Wet Work and in Dan O'Bannon's Return of the Living Dead films. We have a reality show that takes the next level in the Survivor game with the addition of zombies. We also have a tale taking one of the best Gothic-era characters ever written and put into a world where he's become more alive and human than both the zombies ruling the planet and the humans trying to survive in it. It is that particular story written by Rob Morganbesser which I consider my favorite. I've long since followed and read Rob Morganbesser's zobie fiction in the HomePageoftheDead.com website and I say now that I hope he writes up a full-lenght zombie novel because he really shows alot of talent and imagination.

The Undead in not a perfect collection, but it does have alot of great stories despite a few misfires. Permuted Press has already sent out a call for more writers to try a hand in adding their stories to a sequel collection. I hope Mr. Morganbesser, David Moody and Brian Keene take abit of their busy time into weaving up a tale of the undead to be put in this follow-up book. The Undead by Snell and Hall is a must have for zombie fans everywhere.

Not since Spector's Book of the Dead has such an interesting and engrossing book about the living dead been published. This book will satisfy any zombie/living dead fan. It covers the gamut from Outer Space to Gothic and includes a story (Undead Prometheus) in which a character from classic literature makes the rounds in battle against the ghouls. While some of the authors are well known, others are new to the field and are being given their first shot by Permuted Press, which is likely to be a force in future horror publishing. It's about time that the living dead (buoyed by such recent films as Shaun of the Dead, Land of the Dead and the Remake of Dawn of the Dead) made a comeback and this, unlike some of the recent zombie books, will hit the reader like a 12 gauge shot to the gut. So sit back, open this one up and be prepared to be entertained and horrified!

Love Zombies? Gut munching? Undead carnage? It's all here. From established and promising new authors, this anthology stands zombie fiction on its head and keeps you wanting more. Recommended for fans of zombies, gore, or just plain good writing.

Short stories are great because no matter how much (or how little) free time you have you can usually always pick a short story book up and find something to read in your alloted time frame. A good mix of zombie stories, with different styles of writing, and different styles of zombies. Including shorts by David Wellington (Monster Island/Monster Nation), David Moody (the Autumn series), and several other great authors.

I really enjoy an anthology that shows some variety. This anthology wasn't too heavy - plenty of dark humor mixed in with more serious stories. The contributors were somewhat uneven. Some were excellent, where others appeared to have been written by a 13 year-old (werewolves fighting zombies). I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, entertaining read

I'm a total sucker for anything zombies. Books, movies, games, any of it. I'm also a total sucker for short story anthologies. I figured I couldn't go wrong with this book... and I was totally right!
It's got a great selection of all kinds of different zombie stories, including all sorts of settings and situations. There's quite literally something in here for everyone, and it's definately a must-buy anthology for any zombie enthusiast.

I am a Sucker for Zombie Fiction. I have just about read all the genre has to offer. I had seen all the rave reviews The Undead was getting, and even few saying that it was the best Zombie Anthology since Book of the Dead. I LOVED Book of the Dead so I got me a copy to see for myself. I wasn't disappointed. The Undead has some of the most original and entertaining Zombie Fiction ever written.

There wasn't a story in The Undead I didn't love, but Home by David Moody, Death Row by James Reilly, and Hotline by Russell Calhoun has to be my favorites. I had to go back and read them again once I was finished. They were true pleasures to read.

The Undead is destined to become a classic in the Zombie Genre. Zombie Fans can't afford to miss this one. You should definitely believe the Hype and grab yourself a copy. You wont be disappointed. The Undead is the best Zombie Anthology since Book of the Dead no question about it.

Five Stars

This is the first anthology of any kind I've ever purchased, but if the quality and talent to be found here is any indication of other collections' offerings, I will have to start gathering more! I'm not reading them in order, but I've read most of the stories now, and all that I've read are beyond excellent. My favorite by far is "Grinning Samuel" by David Dunwoody. This is the pinnacle of gripping, and succeeds where so many zombie movies have failed - originality! The vision of Mr. Dunwoody's odd and disturbing tale sticks with you, and is woven in a way that leaves you pondering all possible things that happen AFTER the last page, long after you've finished reading. But it leaves you satisfied, too: like you've been on a wild ride with elements and twists quite simply never seen before in the genre. Shocking? Yes. Graphic? Oh, yeah! But it has something better than those things, too: a refined talent, steered by a writer who knows what he's doing. So if you enjoy horror in general, or especially zombies in particular - don't miss this book! The whole thing is a treat, and no filler to be found!