Editor: John Joseph Adams
Cover Artist: David Palumbo
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publication Date: September 2008
Zombies are on the rise, once again, as evidenced by the amount of new material available to fans. This anthology, edited by John Joseph Adams and published by Night Shade Books, offers a full buffet for established fans and curious newcomers alike. There are selections from some of the most well-known authors working in the horror field today including Clive Barker, Stephen King, and Joe Hill as well as stories from names that fans of fantasy fiction will readily recognize, like Neil Gaiman and George R. R. Martin.
The zombies range from the traditional, ravenous, slowly shuffling, and unstoppable monsters most fans recognize to mysterious and enigmatic creatures. Standout stories in the collection are difficult to choose because this book contains the best selection of zombie fiction I’ve ever encountered. The stories that feature conventional zombies do not feature conventional plots and the stories with less expected zombies contain fictional surprises that should enthrall most readers. While almost all the authors seem to agree that the zombies in their personal visions are a sort of modern day plague, the mechanisms for raising them and the explainations as to why they’ve appeared vary widely.
A word of caution is offered to readers, however. If you are squeamish and prefer the kinder, gentler and far less graphic regions of genre fiction, you should stay away from this book. These stories have decaying flesh, splattering brains, and all-too-vivid descriptions of how zombies smell. Most of this fiction is intended to create visceral reactions and it’s written by authors who are gifted with the power to provoke those kinds of responses for their readers. There are only two stories in the whole anthology that I would recommend for anyone, Malthusian’s Zombie by Jeffrey Ford and Bitter Grounds by Neil Gaiman. This is not necessarily because they are completely accessible stories, it’s mostly because these are stories without the hideously gory details that will make more sensitive readers wish they hadn’t eaten lunch before reading. Zombie fans will find much to love. Dan Simmons’ This Year’s Class Picture is a post-apocalyptic piece that manages to be both disgusting and touching at the same time with its portrayal of an elementary school teacher doing her best to continue teaching a classroom of zombie students. Death and Sufferage by Dale Bailey answers the question of how American politics would change in a world where zombies suddenly become a very visible, very real part of the population. For fans who prefer a story with only one zombie at a time, there’s Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s The Third Dead Body, which is mostly a classic tale of revenge from the zombie’s viewpoint, though the instrument of that revenge is actually a curse.
The one shortcoming that could be brought up is the lack of a further reading list. Not everyone who picks up this volume is going to be a fan of the subgenre and having some recommendations might help them satisfy any lingering curiosity they might be feeling.
This book is a satisfyingly thick volume with excellent variety that manages to retain a cohesiveness due to the theme. Be prepared, though, to experience sidelong glances and the sudden appearance of space around you if you’re reading this book in public. Not everyone has a high tolerance for even the idea of the zombie, much less a fascination with the directions authors can take with such a classic monster. While the content is definitely not family friendly, it’s still a good read.
