Zombies II: Inhuman [Paperback]

Eric S. Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

What if in a world where the dead walk and the human race faces extinction evolution were to step in and bless a special few with powers far beyond normal man. Could someone who can run as fast as the speed of light or someone who can control energy and channel it through her body truly make a difference at the end of time? Does telepathy work on zombies? Would these powerful few seek to save the world or rule it and how would we normal humans feel about them? Will these super-beings be wiped out by the zombie hordes or save the human race? Plus tales of zombies in space, zombies in the old west, and some very hungry zombie animals- this one has it all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438200706
• ISBN-13: 978-1438200705
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,915,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another very short effort by Eric Brown, November 9, 2007

By 

Patrick S. Dorazio "Author of The Dark Trilogy" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zombies II: Inhuman (Paperback)

This is the third "book" I have acquired written by Eric S. Brown via Amazon. Shame on me for not looking at how many pages there were before I did. I just assumed this was a compilation of short stories along the lines of what you would get in an actual book. My first foray into Brown's works was "Cobble" which is a novella but he indicates is his first novel. Then I read "The Queen" which was a 49 page short story. Now this pamphlet that is 32 pages long. It is $6 for this thing, which is the price you would pay for a full blown paperback. This is eight short stories that are each a couple pages long (some a bit longer), one of which that was in an anthology I had read before. So I guess it is buyer beware as far as picking this one up via Amazon and thinking you are getting something more than 1/16th of an inch thick and takes more than thirty minutes to read. My advice to Mr. Brown is to take all the works he has written and put them into a single book that is worth the price of admission.

There, I got that off my chest. Now to review the actual works in this sliver of a written tome. Eric Brown does a solid job coming up with an idea that is an interesting riff: allow a few humans that remain after the zombie apocalypse to start discovering super-human powers that allow them to survive. The stories are so short it is more like priming the pump than actually diving all that deep into things. Not all of the stories here are about that idea (yeah, there are only eight, but...). We get a couple or three that are different little ideas that Eric had and tossed into this work.

This would work as the start of an actual entire book of short stories. I like the writing style that Eric has. It is easy to get along with though it could be tightened up just a tad with some more editing. Would I recommend this? Well, let me just put it this way: if you do not mind paying $6 plus shipping for something that is shorter than some instruction manuals for most home electronics and really enjoy zombie fiction, then sure, this is worth the price of admission. But if you want something that has some meat on its bones, something that you can really sink your teeth into, then I would either see if the author has these stories on his website or wait until he finally compiles everything he has written into one complete, full sized book. Maybe one day he will actually do that.

I have to admit that I like Eric Brown. He loves zombies and so do I, so its hard not to. I just wish he would stop putting together these tiny little books and selling them seperately on Amazon.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Zombie Stories, September 3, 2007

By 

Nathan Tyree "Author of Mr. Overby is Falling" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zombies II: Inhuman (Paperback)

The shelves of bookstores (and the virtual shelves of Amazon) are these days filled with books that in some way or another brush up against the zombie genre. Horror in general has had a big resurgence in recent years; zombies have been a big part of that surge. For fans this is a mixed bag: it's been great to see so many zombies around; but most of those books have been disappointing. Zombies II: Inhuman by Eric S. Brown is an exception. This little book delivers.

Brown has become known in recent years for crafting zombie stories that terrify and surprise. His fans anticipate each new publication. Those fans will not be disappointed by Zombies II.

This small collection contains eight powerful, well written stories that each offer up something totally unique. Brown has given us well structured stories built on round, complete characters. His dialogue is always believable and never sinks to the level of overblown exposition that plagues so many writers in this genre. These are stories that, did they not happen to feature zombies, would be at home in the better literary publications. But, they do contain zombies- and that is kind of the point.

Beyond zombies, what is this book about? These stories are connected. They take place in a world over run by zombies (of course), but there is another thread that runs through them. This also happens to be a world in which some rare people have super powers. Brown gives us humans with super speed, and super strength, and various other comic book powers. He makes these mutants our heroes and lets us enjoy as they do battle with undead flesh eaters. We also get to see the reaction of normal people to these super-humans. You can guess that it probably isn't a pleasant reaction.

All the way through Brown manages to entertain. Zombies II: Inhuman is a great little book. It's a must read for any zombie fan.

The only real complaint I can Level against this book is: it's too damn short. Brown hooks us, and leaves us wanting more.