Zombiesque - Zombie Anthology

When it comes to genre fiction, anthologies are not necessarily at the top of the list. The majority of compilations typically herald from the pens of a number of he genre's best and brightest, one can't help feeling that the tales are often disparate, unconnected and only loosely connected by subject matter.

It all honestly, the same might have been said for Zombiesque, although in this case, there really is a distinctly common thread binding more than just the pages together.

Zombiesque - Zombie anthology.

Zombiesque contains 16 original stories about the lifestyles of the living dead. It is not a collection of stories about surviving the apocalypse, nor is it a gathering of abstract tales loosely based around the zombie theme, Zombiesque is the zombie's side of the story.

Whilst the concept of 'thinking' zombies might appear to fly in the face of canon for the apocalyptic flesh-eater fan the book kicks off with 'At First Only Darkness' by Nancy Collins. The subject matter could be straight out of a Romero movie, only this time we're seeing things from the shambler's point of view.

Things do get a little more abstract. 'Gimme a Z' is a story about a cheerleader who won't let death kick her off the team and it comes from the pen of Seanan McGuire, the author of the superb Newsflash Trilogy as Mira Grant, which has rapidly become one of the most talked about zombie trilogies created.

Laslo Xalieri's 'The Confession' is a brooding yarn that takes the concept of the thinking zombie to the level of Wellington's 'Monster' trilogy. The dark tale treads heavily on the coattails of Poe and brings a heavy dose of horror to boot.

The tales are well written and most importantly they are page-turners, less an exploration of eloquent prose (although 'Zombie Zero' takes a fair stab) and more pure storytelling.

Some tales might not sit so well with zombie purists, the holiday resort where visitors can become temporary zombies, an undead Nascar driver and a zombie cheerleader are about as far away from the Night of The Living Dead as many might wish to tread.

If you can get around the concept that zombies might actually think, at least in some way of another, Zombiesque is well worth a read.

Get Yer Zomb On!

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