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Book Review: The Undead, Zombie Anthology

The Undead, Zombie Anthology
The Undead, Zombie Anthology

Edited by D.L. Snell & Elijah Hall

This book is a collection of short stories written before and after SHTF. While I have been unable to confirm it, some of the post-SHTF stories appear to be factual accounts. Those are the ones worth reading. David Wellington's story about the zombie giant squid in Chuy and the Fish scared the crap out of me. I've heard stories of the Solanum virus jumping species (and of course that pre-war event documented in the movie Quarantine), but this is the first confirmation that it has happened. Hopefully, it's an isolated case.

Also worth reading is Ann at Twilight. Brent Zirnheld documents the case of a blind woman's experiences during the war. While the author was unable to determine if she survived, it would not surprise me if she did.

However, most of the rest demonstrates a sad fact of pre-SHTF zombie fiction: The demand for zombie stories far outstripped the supply. It didn't take any skill to get anything published. David Moody is the classic example. His work reads like a sixth grader's social studies report.

If you don't have anything better to read, then do pick this one up. Just be selective of what you read and not too credulous. There are good lessons among the bad advice.