Zombie Tales: Primrose Court Apt. 502

by Robert DeCoteau

Tommy's world is falling apart. It's the worst day of his life, but it's about to get much worse.Enjoy this short story based on the novel Don of the Living Dead.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Post Apocalyptic, Paranormal, Fiction, Short Stories, Apocalyptic

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2011

About the author

Robert DeCoteau
I was born in 1974 in Bremerton, Washington. I moved to Bellingham, Washington at the age of four and have been here ever since.
I love living in the Pacific Northwest about two months out of the year. The other ten months it rains.
Constant rain gives me plenty of time to read and write. While I'm hooked on writing horror right now, I enjoy many other genres.
My favorite author is Robin Hobb, who also lives in the northwest. She is the award winning Fantasy author of Assassin's Apprentice and several sequels.
I have one son. I named him Chance. He is six going on fifteen. We are both currently enrolled in school, but I am a few grades ahead of him.

Reviews

[Shovelmonkey1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you're a twenty-something stoner living at home with your mum what's the worst thing that could happen?

Your mum is bat-shit-crazy/mad-as-a-box-of-frogs/has more holes in her concept of reality than an airtex shirt and you get fired and then you find out that your Dad is not the guitarist of a shit band, it's another guy who was the drummer and then you run out of weed and when you dial your dealer you discover that he's boffing your bird on the side (to you on the other side of the pond this loosely translates as "your purveyor of illegal substances is making room in his daily agenda for some one-on-one face time with your lady friend"). Is this the worst thing that could happen?

No.

The worst thing that could happen is that your mum is bat-shit-crazy/mad-as-a-box-of-frogs/has more holes in her concept of reality than an airtex shirt and you get fired and then you find out that your Dad is not the guitarist of a shit band, it's another guy who was the drummer and then you run out of weed and when you dial your dealer you discover that he's boffing your bird on the side (to you on the other side of the pond this loosely translates as "your purveyor of illegal substances is making room in his daily agenda for some one-on-one face time with your lady friend") and then you climb on to your window ledge in a possible suicide bid and see your neighbours and some members of the local community chewing on each other like they are gum.

And this is what happens to Tommy who happens to be the luckless wonder living in Apartment 502 at Primrose Court Apartment. But on the bright side, seeing your neighbours eating each other and then seeing your mum get turned into a zombie will make all the other things seem frankly a bit irrelevant because there's a bad day and then there's the zombie apocalypse.

[Felicia A Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this is my second review of one of Robert DeCoteau's short/parallel stories related to his Don of the Living Dead book, I really want to reiterate that I generally abhor short stories with a fiery, stinging passion.

The concept of the "Zombie Tales" books, perspectives (in separate novellas) of different residents of an apartment building set in the Don world during an impending zombpocalypse was such a novel (heh, novel, I made a joke!) concept, that I overlooked my general dislike and decided to take a chance.

Not only was this very well written (some minor editing complaints, though), but it was surprisingly well done in so few pages.

Robert DeCoteau has written his main character, Tommy, superbly well in such a small space. Tommy is a loser, slacker, pothead, stuck taking care of his elderly mother, who (in her head) is living in the past. There's not a lot of good going on in Tommy's life, but he's just trying to muddle through.

So, of course, everything in his life WOULD go wrong on the same day as the onset of a zombie apocalypse...

[Zombie_Phreak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet again, a free ebook turns out to be horrible. I guess the fact that it's only 40 pages should have tipped me off that this wasn't worth reading.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***

So we have ANOTHER book about a whiny emo post high school guy who has the weight of the world on his shoulders and no one else can possible know the horrible burden that he's suffering. I mean it's not like anyone else has ever lost a minimum wage job, or lost a girlfriend. Also he's pretty stupid because he's also never heard of social security or medicare or medicaid to help take care of his retired senile mother while he's busy at work, no it's all up to him. Oh, and my favorite part of this "story" was when the main character talks about eating a Hot Pocket, and how tomorrow it will begin its journey through the city's sewer system as a piece of human feces. Yes, this is what you really want when you read a zombie story isn't it?

Then the second story in the book is about a flat out hate-monger who spends the majority of the story in a bathroom stall. He whines about how much he hates his job where he is the "creepy guy" in the office and women despise him. He later goes on to state he hates Democrats, African Americans and Italian Americans. Yet for some reason he never misses an episode of the Jersey Shore. A little hypocritical wouldn't you say?

In both of these stories the zombies eventually show up but again like most other zombie books, they're pretty much an afterthought. Like the author remembered at the very end, "Oh yea, this was supposed to be about zombies wasn't it? Better stick 'em in here at the end."

***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS***

This book was just plain awful! Why would anyone EVER think, "Oh this is perfect! A burnout and a hate-monger as main characters acting like complete tools! That's what zombie fans really want isn't it?! This will really be a hit!"

Do not read this, do not download it, don't even give this one a second thought. Move on and find something else worth your time and money.

[Not Now...Mommy's Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author quickly captured and kept my attention once introducing the character of Tommy. Tommy seems to be living "Murphy's Law"....and then the zombie apocalypse begins. There was no real conclusion to this story and that is because it is a glimpse into what is happening in the lives of other inhabitants of "Don's world", I suppose. I read the excerpt for "Don of the Living Dead" that was included at the conclusion of Zombie Tales and after several laugh out loud moments - I immediately purchased it. I look forward to reading the other shorts before diving into "Don of the Living Dead".

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story more than the others because Tommy seemed so sympathetic. This placed you more directly into the world of the novel and gave a view of the start of the zombie onslaught from above. I say enjoy the short and go for the main event. I think it may be interesting to read the full length book.

[Mark Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a difference a day makes...

Tommy is having a bad day. He’s just lost his job, his girlfriend is sleeping with his drug dealer, and his mother has Alzheimer’s.
It’s a lot to deal with, so he climbs up on his window ledge to have a smoke.
And from there, he has a birds eye view as the zombie apocalypse begins...

A not bad, short little zombie tale that is an entertaining read.
Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Brett Grossmann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sorry I read these. Each primrose tale is only 10% zombie. Most of the story is about the life of the character that lives at that address. I want zombies. Story is over before it began. Then you get the same son of the dead excerpt that is used as page filler.

[Debra Schwitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange but very interesting!

Two different short stories were included in this book about initial zombie meetings. Only the second have a hint of what may have caused the outbreak. Remember, it only takes one zombie to bring down civilization!

[Najwa Hirn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My First Zombie!

I like the author’s writing style. I enjoyed the second story more than the first. It was so funny in some parts. The ending was great.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of a set of three short stories (also Zombie Tales Primrose Court Apt. 205 and Zombie Tales Primrose Court Apt. 305) written about the same series of events, through the eyes of the residents of three apartments in the same complex. These stories lead up to the full length book Don of the Living Dead. The first three chapters of the book are previewed at the end of each of the short stories, though I'm going to wait to read because I have a feeling I'm going to want the entire book at hand when I start.

One thing I'll say about the series so far is the author does an amazing job at introducing his characters so the reader is able to get a good picture of each of them in such a short section of reading, and leave the reader wanting to know more.

This story, my favorite of the three, is about a germaphobic, agoraphobic, nosey, recluse of a man with a tragic past. With the help of his therapist, he decides that today is the day he is going to leave his apartment for the first time in 10 years. What a bad choice! I'm really hoping this gentleman will play a part in the full-length book, as I find this character particularly interesting.

[Aimeekay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always impressed when an author can create a story that draws me in and keeps me interested with so few pages. At only 40 pages Zombie Tales does just that. I really liked the authors writing style.

The story revolves around Tommy and the day in his life when the zombie apocalypse begins. I really enjoyed the way the author built his characters. He doesn't always paint them in a great light, but you can understand how they got to where they are in their lives. Even if they aren't shining examples of humanity, by the end of the story I really wanted to find out more about what happens to them. I also want to see what has happened to the rest of the world outside of Primrose Court. Fortunately Zombie Tales is based on the book Don of the Living Dead so hopefully I will get more answers there.

I definitely recommend picking up Zombie Tales. It's currently free on Amazon, so take advantage of the sale. As I said above it's a short read, but it's a good one. If you've never read anything by the author before this is a great chance to take the opportunity to do so.


I got this book from Amazon because it was on sale and decided to review it for this event. All opinions in this fair and honest review are my own.

[Nikki "The Crazie Betty" V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was my 2nd favorite of the Primrose stories. Tommy is a tragic but likeable character because even though he has his own 19 year old angst issues, he's trying to take care of his Mom who has Alzheimer's. There is actually one part of the story where he responds to his Mom as if he is his father because his Mom is mentally gone and keeps thinking he's his Dad and I my heart actually went out to him. To see this 19 year old kid trying to be an adult who is also responsible for his ailing mother was touching. The way the story plays out is anything but. This may be my 2nd favorite story but Tommy's character was my favorite out of the 3 short stories. And the ending to his story I found to be the most poignant and stuck with me the longest.

As stated in my other Primrose reviews, points taken away for grammar and spelling even though I am thoroughly loving these stories and really think the author has a great voice and tons of potential. He just needs to give some extra TLC to the spell checker and editing process.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert DeCoteau, Zombie Tales: Primrose Court, Apt. 502 (Zombie Tales Press, 2011)

A short set in the same world as DeCotea's full-length Dawn of the Living Dead. I wasn't impressed much with the story; I like what DeCoteau was trying to do—this is basically a character sketch of one pissed-off teenager whose personal life goes to hell right at the time of the zombie uprising—but I'm not sure DeCoteau achieved the parallel he was after, ending up focusing a little too much on the peripheral zombie action in the second half of the story instead of keeping the focus on Tommy, our main character. Still, I finished this about a week ago and some of the scenes are still fresh in my head, which makes me think I should probably give the other Primrose Court short a try and see if I want to read the full-length, so it did its job. ** ½

[Reader One · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Robert DeCoteau's short stories of apartment dwellers interacting with each other and life in general prior to the Zombie outbreak. His three short stories provide a unique insight into what goes on behind the door of that neighbor you nod to everyday. In some cases, a Zombie invasion may not be so bad!

Another aspect of the short stories that I enjoyed is the difference in the characters. Some writers eventually bleed personalities together but Robert's short stories and the book they lead insight to, "Don of the Living Dead," all have well-crafted unique personalities that make you love some and hate others.

Thank you, Mr. DeCoteau, for contributing to this genre with your fine works.

[Scott Leffler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all three of the Primrose Court short stories in one setting, going from 502 to 305 to 205. I don't think it matters what order you read them in, but I have to implore anyone who loves to watch good character development to read all three.

Robert DeCoteau seems to have put much thought and work into the development of "Tommy," a young druggie stuck at home with his ailing mother, who seems to have some reality issues. That's the least of his problems today, however.

I liked that these stories all tied into one another but each stood alone, as well.

For a Kindle book, this was relatively error free.

Looks like I'll have to buy Don of the Dead to get more of DeCoteau's zombie writing because when I was finished reading these books, I really just wanted more.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, and the other Primrose Court tales, are part of a larger universe (novel). That might explain why there was no explanation for the zombie epidemic.
That said, the three Primrose Court stories run simultaneously. Each story tells about one man, his circumstances, and his actions during the zombie rampage. What happens in Apt. 502 was pretty funny. Poor guy loses everything in the course of one day AND has to contend with rampaging zombies. But he wants to live.... That little joke at the end (which I won't mention here) really made me laugh.
Of the three Primrose Court stories this was by far the best, maybe because of the humor.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Zombie Tales: Primrose Court Apt 502' is the third and final story of three short stories which are in the same universe of 'Don of the Living Dead' by Robert DeCoteau. Tommy is having a horrible day, fired from his job and finding out that his girlfriend is cheating on him. Tommy lives with his mother who is dealing with her issues, so Tommy decides to stand out on the ledge of his apartment, to think?, to jump? Who can say but he has the best seat as the city descends into chaos.

Tommy's day cannot get any worse but it does, as with the other stories, the characters are well written and you would want to know more about it. I am planning to invest in 'Don of the Living Dead'.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable third installment from Robert DeCoteau. The writing wasn't as clunky as Zombie Tales: Primrose Court Apt. 305 and the characterisation and storyline was well developed for such a short story.
Based on the three short stories I have read, I will definitely be checking out more of DeCoteau's work.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the short story in the front of this, unfortunately the last half of the document is a teaser plug for his novel. I don't mind that, but using fifty percent of the document seems a little bit extreme. I can't complain too much though since it is free on the Nook. That said, it was pretty good writing and love a good Zombie story so if it isn't too expensive I'll probably add the novel to my to-read list on here.

Best part is reading the story and the author's bio, I'm literally all around where he lives and where this is taking place. Go Seattle area!

[Mark Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow... Robert just keeps them coming.

This story was from the viewpoint of 23 year old Tommy. His life is totally screwed., so he's sitting on the ledge contemplating his situation.

If these stories are leading up to something larger, I can't wait to read it. You should really read all three of these stories.

[Kellie Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tommy lost his job his girlfriend, and his drug dealer all in one morning. At least he had his mom who doesnt know him anymore. Little does he know these things that happened to him are minute to whats waiting for him later! Tommy watched the whole thing unfold, the beginning of the end. This was an awesome short story. I hope to read more from this author!

[Hope York · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this. I powered through it in about 20 minutes which is perfect when you have a half hour break or what not. Was not aware that some of the other characters had a short story also. Loooove That! Will be reading them soon :)

[Caridad cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome book, both stories were wonderfully creepy and gruesome. i was sad when the stories ended. cant help but wanting more, its that good of a short story. i recommend this to anyone who is in to zombies! you wont be able to put the book down!

[Mark Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a chapter than a 'book', but it was free, so i mustn't grumble too much! The first story and characters are mentioned in this (second) instalment, and i imagine this one will be mentioned in the third.

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three apartments in Primrose Court are featured free short stories by author Robert DeCoteau. Both stories I've read so far feature characters who are probably more messed up then the zombies below. I'm looking forward to the main story, Don of the Dead.

[Conny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as a free download and I liked it. It was one of 3 short stories that lead up to the main book. Its intense and gory and full of promise what we might find as the story unfolds. I am curious to see how it all will work out.

[MsBDiamondDiva1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great short story....with just enough comedy that will keep you wanting more...Can wait to read the novel:-)

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still decent, going to check for the main book.

[Susan Alvarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the three part series very much. Was fun to see how the stories intertwined each other. Very clever :)

[Jessica Kong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zombie Tales is a cool series to read. This is my Third book. I love how all the books are connected. I wonder what’s next.