Zombies, there's just something about them for me that makes me care about what they do. I know, they're monsters and they would rather eat your flesh, then your brain than impart some zombie wisdom but I can't help myself. I just like the concept of zombies a bit too much for me to actually understand. So when I saw this zombie anthology at the library, I knew I had to read it. So since there's 19 stories in this, I am splitting this up in two parts with the first 9 stories here and the rest next week. With that said, let's begin.
Lazarus(10/10) - This anthology does kick off with a bang with a rumination of what a zombie would feel like if he wasn't all obsessed about the brain, especially if he's one of the first zombies. It tells a story about how some guy comes back for no real reason despite Jesus giving an answer and then everyone bothering the guy about what happens on the other side and how he can not remember. It's told in a very somber way that is instantly memorable and is immediately one of the best stories in the book.
What Maise Knew(9/10) - Like Lazarus this story works on the what if's of zombies, in this case: What if we could control zombies for menial labor and then every so often have sex with them? These are the types of stories I like, stories that can fire up the imagination. But, those are actually backdrops to the actual story which is pretty good in a film-noirish kind of way. It's all about how a guy goes paranoid when a zombie seems to do things it shouldn't and knows him when she shouldn't remember him. It's all a very good story that's a great follow-up to Lazarus.
Copper(6/10) - This is probably going to be the most polarizing of all the stories in this book. The story is alright but I don't like how the story is actually written, the nuts-and-bolts so to speak. It's written in a very stuttering style with lots of repetition that gets really annoying real fast. There's stuff to like about this but I just can't get past all the awkward phrasing. However, I can imagine people liking this story for all the reasons I didn't so be wary of this but don't count it out.
In the Dust(7/10) - This is a competent but fairly forgettable post-apocalyptic story about the last three normal people that are trapped in a town to help stop a virus that makes zombies. Of course, there's a woman in there and one of the guys goes crazy as the self-appointed leader tries to keep on living. So you may know where all the plot points go but it is written well-enough for me to not to care.
Life Sentence(7/10) - It's another fine story about a leader of a highly successful corporation who wants to cheat death by becoming a zombie. It does have a very cute bit at the beginning with the guy researching becoming a vampire but things don't really work out with that plan. Like In the Dust, it has a job to do and it does it pretty well to be good but not well enough to really strike out.
Delice(4/10) - And now we come to a story that's not very good. I wish I could tell you what it was about but the story is basically an incomprehensible mess about slavery in New Orleans so that means we get French words in it...yay. And then there's the fact that the zombie is a slave girl so that means we get commentary about how being a zombie is like being a real slave since they're bound to chains of death and actual chains HOORAY! Thankfully, it's 10 pages so the pain is short.
The Wind Cries Mary(8/10) - At four pages this is the shortest story in the book and at the same time, it is the sweetest in a sick, twisted way. It tells a story about a man longing for his wife who was turned into a zombie that comes by his house every night. Sure the ending is a bit of a downer but there's lots of good stuff here.
Family Business(7/10) - This story only survives due to how likable the main characters are and how well-written their dialogue is. It wants to be a deconstruction of how killing zombies is totally awesome but it's actually horrible since zombies used to be real people and all. The problem with that is that the story doesn't quite pull it off with the main character's reaction and 180 turnaround is way too abrupt for it to be believable. One moment the kid is all like "Zombies deserve to die!" and the next he's all like "Zombies are people too that need to released when the family wants it to be done!" But like I said the dialogue between the main character and his brother is so good that it's easy to ignore the flaws. Shame about the whole deconstruction attempt.
The Zombie Who Fell from the Sky(6/10) - With a title like this, you know it's not going to be a serious story but sometimes you just want to slap the characters silly in this. Oh sure, it starts fine with a zombie that comes out of nowhere being impaled on a spire and then all hell breaks loose. But then we meet our hero, who's a poet coming out of a sudden break-up and then zombies appear. And he wants to use sympathy and kindness on them while the big bad military wants to kill them with weapons. What a crock but like I said it starts off pretty good and it actually ends pretty good, the middle is just not very good.
Check back next week for Part II.
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