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Zombies vs Robots: This Means War!
ZVR: This Means War! takes IDW's splatterific Zombie vs Robots comic book series - created by writer Chris Ryall and artist Ashley Wood - and expands it in ways that will redefine both zombie and robot fiction. A shambling cohort of top horror and fantasy writers from across the globe have devoted themselves to making evocative word-pictures in your brain of this delicious cult series. Featuring the Brain-Eating Talents of (in alphabetical order) Jesse Bullington (The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart, The Enterprise of Death), Nancy Collins (Sonja Blue, Swamp Thing, Vamps), Lincoln Crisler (Despairs & Delights, Magick & Misery), Brea Grant (Dexter), Robert Hood (Immaterial), Nicholas Kaufmann (Chasing the Dragon), James A. Moore (Vendetta), Norman Prentiss (Invisible Fences), Rachel Swirsky (The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window), Steve Rasnic (Bram Stoker Award Winner), Rio Youers (End Times), and Jeff Conner (editor/World Fantasy Award Nominee).
340 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2012
5 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Conner
20 books3 followersJeff Conner is a contributing editor for IDW Publishing and a World Fantasy Award Nominee.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 23, 2022
I thought this was pretty good. I've read some of the ZvR comics, and while I liked them, they seemed so over the top it was hard to really get into them. These stories, however, while still a little over the top. are also more grounded and present things more realistically for the most part.
As with all anthologies, some stories were stronger than others but there was plenty of good, and really nothing I would call bad.
Whether you like the comics or not, if you like the idea of robots fighting zombies, this is worth a read.
As with all anthologies, some stories were stronger than others but there was plenty of good, and really nothing I would call bad.
Whether you like the comics or not, if you like the idea of robots fighting zombies, this is worth a read.
June 30, 2012
REVIEWED: This Means War - Zombies Vs. Robots anthology
EDITED BY: Jeff Conner
PUBLISHED: March, 2012
Love this anthology! Cool concept - just as the name implies - a collection of stories pitting zombies against robots. Violent and thoughtful, gruesome and funny, this collection of stories provides a wide-range of possibilities in the near-future in which technology aids our ceaseless struggle against the undead. The book itself is beautifully formatted with color illustrations to accompany each story. And what stories! The authors bring in some of the best short fiction I've read in a while. Including Steve Rasnic Tem, Joe McKinney, Lincoln Crisler, Norman Prentiss and others. Editor Jeff Conner is applauded for this highly-recommended collection.
Five out of Five stars
EDITED BY: Jeff Conner
PUBLISHED: March, 2012
Love this anthology! Cool concept - just as the name implies - a collection of stories pitting zombies against robots. Violent and thoughtful, gruesome and funny, this collection of stories provides a wide-range of possibilities in the near-future in which technology aids our ceaseless struggle against the undead. The book itself is beautifully formatted with color illustrations to accompany each story. And what stories! The authors bring in some of the best short fiction I've read in a while. Including Steve Rasnic Tem, Joe McKinney, Lincoln Crisler, Norman Prentiss and others. Editor Jeff Conner is applauded for this highly-recommended collection.
Five out of Five stars
June 11, 2015
This book was such a great surprise. I highly recommend this. The stories are wildly creative and so fun to read. I don't believe I have ever enjoyed a collection of short stories as much as I did this one. In addition to the fantastic writing the book was printed beautifully. This book is on my list of must-reads for anyone interested in apocalyptic fiction, sci fi, or anyone who enjoys a well written story. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book, start to finish.
July 19, 2015
Some fun stories in here but overall nothing that really knocked it out of the park for me. I would like to give it 3 and a half stars but Goodreads continues to not have half star ratings. I was liking the story about the child that could sense the dead but then it went all weird with his mom and dad and kind of killed the whole story for me.
April 30, 2025
All around a good series that is a bit harder to come by now. Who doesn’t like zombies and robots?
March 22, 2014
11 tales - Good imaginative tales! 3.8 stars
I'd never heard of the zombies vs robots graphic novels; never even thought of it a s a possibility. Funny enough, if this apocalypse ever happens, it might be what saves us! Very funny at times, these tales present different windows into that kind of future.
PAMMI SHAW: Creator of Gods and Also Blogger by Brea Grant - Funny. Unreliable, delusional narrator. Maybe even a robot? :) - 4 stars
The Last Imaginaut by James A Moore - More technical by far than most zombie stories, it may for many readers. But it's reasonable and workable (in a fantasy setting) and will probably make the robotics contingency happy. So, it's a win. The anti-zomibie solution/machines are pretty gross. Something is wrong with the Logic Program. Kind of funny! - 3.5 stars
Farm Fresh by Sean Taylor - Odd. Two old friends argue and fight over the woman they both loved - one in life and one in death. Oh, and one is now a robot… - 3 stars
ANGUS: Zombie-Versus-Robot Fighter by Nancy A Collins - Conjoined twin zombie, that's new! There's a nice twist to this one. And a horrible sadness. - 4 stars
To Denver (with Hiram Battling Zombies) by Steve Rasnic Tem - Another funny one, this time about family and "weed". - 3 stars
The Sorceror's Apprenticebot b Nicholas Kaufman - Using "The Tempest" by Shakespeare as a template, the tale gives everyone a way off the Island and a Warbot a personality. - 3 stars
Kettletop's Revisionary Plot by Lincoln Crisler - Plans rarely work out. Sad. - 3 stars
Jimmy Finder by Joe McKinney - Complicated, fast plot, intelligent, well planned tale. Sad, ironic. Well done! - 5 stars
Historybot Saves the Future by Jesse Bullington - Confusing. Funny. Sad. God as zombie ;) - 3 stars
The Virgin Sacrifices by Rachel Swirsky - Unusual tale and certainly doesn't go where you expect it to! - 5 stars
Safe School by Norman Prentiss - Excellent writing, plot believable and paced perfectly. Sad. - 5 stars
I'd never heard of the zombies vs robots graphic novels; never even thought of it a s a possibility. Funny enough, if this apocalypse ever happens, it might be what saves us! Very funny at times, these tales present different windows into that kind of future.
PAMMI SHAW: Creator of Gods and Also Blogger by Brea Grant - Funny. Unreliable, delusional narrator. Maybe even a robot? :) - 4 stars
The Last Imaginaut by James A Moore - More technical by far than most zombie stories, it may for many readers. But it's reasonable and workable (in a fantasy setting) and will probably make the robotics contingency happy. So, it's a win. The anti-zomibie solution/machines are pretty gross. Something is wrong with the Logic Program. Kind of funny! - 3.5 stars
Farm Fresh by Sean Taylor - Odd. Two old friends argue and fight over the woman they both loved - one in life and one in death. Oh, and one is now a robot… - 3 stars
ANGUS: Zombie-Versus-Robot Fighter by Nancy A Collins - Conjoined twin zombie, that's new! There's a nice twist to this one. And a horrible sadness. - 4 stars
To Denver (with Hiram Battling Zombies) by Steve Rasnic Tem - Another funny one, this time about family and "weed". - 3 stars
The Sorceror's Apprenticebot b Nicholas Kaufman - Using "The Tempest" by Shakespeare as a template, the tale gives everyone a way off the Island and a Warbot a personality. - 3 stars
Kettletop's Revisionary Plot by Lincoln Crisler - Plans rarely work out. Sad. - 3 stars
Jimmy Finder by Joe McKinney - Complicated, fast plot, intelligent, well planned tale. Sad, ironic. Well done! - 5 stars
Historybot Saves the Future by Jesse Bullington - Confusing. Funny. Sad. God as zombie ;) - 3 stars
The Virgin Sacrifices by Rachel Swirsky - Unusual tale and certainly doesn't go where you expect it to! - 5 stars
Safe School by Norman Prentiss - Excellent writing, plot believable and paced perfectly. Sad. - 5 stars
July 4, 2013
Most of the short stories in this collection are pretty cool though extremely gory. But I suppose that's a good thing for a book about robots and zombies.
The first short story by Brea Grant is not bad but I never could figure out the motive of this artificial intelligence against its creator, Pammi Shaw. Seriously, what was it trying to do? Kill the human or turn her into a robot?
Also, in the story, Historybot Saves the Future by Jesse Bullington, I could never figure out what was happening. Somehow, a rollerderby player has the magical ability to travel through time but is unfortunately being chased by Historybot. I'm not sure if this was metaphorical or if it was to be taken literally. And the way it was written just seemed awfully disjointed and confusing.
I confess, I read one page of The Virgin Sacrifices by Rachel Swirsky and skipped the rest of this story. I didn't get this book so I could read about sexual preferences of characters no matter how politically correct. I'm just not interested in anything like that- especially not in a robot/zombie book.
Other stories in this collection were cool and interesting but I always found it a little funny that ordinary people are actually very adept at building robots. I guess that's a perk we can look forward to in the future...? It seems that in each story, the characters have no problem whipping up extremely sophisticated robots to battle the zombies for them.
All-in-all, this book really lives up to the genre by being full of dark humor and even darker endings. I have to mark off a couple of points for the confusing stories, the poorly written ones, and the agenda-pushing author. And oh yeah, way too many f-bombs. Is that really necessary?
The first short story by Brea Grant is not bad but I never could figure out the motive of this artificial intelligence against its creator, Pammi Shaw. Seriously, what was it trying to do? Kill the human or turn her into a robot?
Also, in the story, Historybot Saves the Future by Jesse Bullington, I could never figure out what was happening. Somehow, a rollerderby player has the magical ability to travel through time but is unfortunately being chased by Historybot. I'm not sure if this was metaphorical or if it was to be taken literally. And the way it was written just seemed awfully disjointed and confusing.
I confess, I read one page of The Virgin Sacrifices by Rachel Swirsky and skipped the rest of this story. I didn't get this book so I could read about sexual preferences of characters no matter how politically correct. I'm just not interested in anything like that- especially not in a robot/zombie book.
Other stories in this collection were cool and interesting but I always found it a little funny that ordinary people are actually very adept at building robots. I guess that's a perk we can look forward to in the future...? It seems that in each story, the characters have no problem whipping up extremely sophisticated robots to battle the zombies for them.
All-in-all, this book really lives up to the genre by being full of dark humor and even darker endings. I have to mark off a couple of points for the confusing stories, the poorly written ones, and the agenda-pushing author. And oh yeah, way too many f-bombs. Is that really necessary?
October 6, 2020
Being short stories, I rather rate them individually:
Pammi Shaw Creator of gods and also blogger **
Nothing really new.
The Last Imaginaut *****
Not sure if the original idea was with Disney, but they couldn't use that. In my head I was substituting with Walt, and that felt new and fun.
Farm fresh ****
Not my chosen ending, but still really good.
Angus Zombie Vs Robot fighter ****
My kind of story.
To Denver with Hiram battling zombies **
Didn't get me. It felt that it was written by a college pothead.
The sorcerer's apprentice-bot ****
A Zombie Robot Medieval Fantasy story! What can go wrong! ahh! I just wanted more of these characters!
Kettletop's revisionary plot ***
Being a short story, sure there's not much time for plot and character building, but this just felt a bit empty. Still, it got wanting for more.
Jimmy finder ****
I wonder why don't see this drive in other Zombie stories.
Historybot saves the future ****
Really confusing at times, but that's the point. Incredibly innovative way to tell this story.
The Virgin sacrifices ***
The premise and setting sounded better than where it went.
Safe school *****
Slow start. But soon It got me "at the edge of me seat".
Pammi Shaw Creator of gods and also blogger **
Nothing really new.
The Last Imaginaut *****
Not sure if the original idea was with Disney, but they couldn't use that. In my head I was substituting with Walt, and that felt new and fun.
Farm fresh ****
Not my chosen ending, but still really good.
Angus Zombie Vs Robot fighter ****
My kind of story.
To Denver with Hiram battling zombies **
Didn't get me. It felt that it was written by a college pothead.
The sorcerer's apprentice-bot ****
A Zombie Robot Medieval Fantasy story! What can go wrong! ahh! I just wanted more of these characters!
Kettletop's revisionary plot ***
Being a short story, sure there's not much time for plot and character building, but this just felt a bit empty. Still, it got wanting for more.
Jimmy finder ****
I wonder why don't see this drive in other Zombie stories.
Historybot saves the future ****
Really confusing at times, but that's the point. Incredibly innovative way to tell this story.
The Virgin sacrifices ***
The premise and setting sounded better than where it went.
Safe school *****
Slow start. But soon It got me "at the edge of me seat".
June 17, 2015
When I found this anthology at Barnes & Noble, the first story really pulled me into the world of giant metal creatures and the living dead. I bought the book finished story one and was hit by a massive wall.
Not all stories are created equal.
Some of the stories featured were a bit slow. Minute details bogged down the action. The title is "This Means War!" (exclamation point included) and there was not much war. In fact, some of the stories, lacked in action or direction.
However, there were a few gems that boosted my rating of this book. That attention grabbing first story was a treat as was "To Denver with Hiram," and "Angus: Zombie-Robot Fighter." The really good stories made this reader stop and think on the events that had unfolded.
Overall, not a bad read. Although, I am officially tired of Zombies for the moment.
Not all stories are created equal.
Some of the stories featured were a bit slow. Minute details bogged down the action. The title is "This Means War!" (exclamation point included) and there was not much war. In fact, some of the stories, lacked in action or direction.
However, there were a few gems that boosted my rating of this book. That attention grabbing first story was a treat as was "To Denver with Hiram," and "Angus: Zombie-Robot Fighter." The really good stories made this reader stop and think on the events that had unfolded.
Overall, not a bad read. Although, I am officially tired of Zombies for the moment.
November 27, 2014
Good fun
Collection of short stories involving zombies and robots locked in combat. Some tails are funny, some are exciting and some fall flat. A story for everyone that is a fan of some sort of robot or zombies genre.
Collection of short stories involving zombies and robots locked in combat. Some tails are funny, some are exciting and some fall flat. A story for everyone that is a fan of some sort of robot or zombies genre.
August 17, 2012
great collection of short stories and mythos to a series that started as a joke but not worth going out your way to read.
April 16, 2014
I really like the stories, now Ill read the comic book series, thats how good it is to get me to read more about the universe in different media format
March 4, 2015
I love this book. The story farm fresh was the best for me. I swear the last page of that story just hit a home run
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews