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The Ultimate Undead
“It's a Cherokee Rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for your little girl.”
—Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), The Walking Dead, 2011 “The Cherokee Rose”
Celebrating the strange and unusual, some of the best-known authors of the fantastic explore the myths and legends surrounding a creature both dead and undead…the zombie!
From Anne Rice’s chilling portrait of a woman more dead than alive to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s future where nobody dies forever, from Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s powerful story of the dead returned for love to Gene Wolfe’s tale of computer-driven corpses—here are the spectacular undead tales of the modern age!
Including stories by:
Kevin J. Anderson, John Brunner, Matthew J. Costello, Don D’Ammassa, Harlan Ellison, Lionel Fenn
Karen Haber, Rick Hautala, Brian Hodge, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Geoffrey A. Landis, D.F. Lewis
Frances A. McMahan, A.R. Morlan, William Relling, Jr.,
Anne Rice, Alan Rodgers
Robert Silverberg, S.P. Somtow, Larry Tritten, Lawrence Watt-Evans
Robert Weinberg, Gene Wolfe,
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
—Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), The Walking Dead, 2011 “The Cherokee Rose”
Celebrating the strange and unusual, some of the best-known authors of the fantastic explore the myths and legends surrounding a creature both dead and undead…the zombie!
From Anne Rice’s chilling portrait of a woman more dead than alive to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s future where nobody dies forever, from Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s powerful story of the dead returned for love to Gene Wolfe’s tale of computer-driven corpses—here are the spectacular undead tales of the modern age!
Including stories by:
Kevin J. Anderson, John Brunner, Matthew J. Costello, Don D’Ammassa, Harlan Ellison, Lionel Fenn
Karen Haber, Rick Hautala, Brian Hodge, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Geoffrey A. Landis, D.F. Lewis
Frances A. McMahan, A.R. Morlan, William Relling, Jr.,
Anne Rice, Alan Rodgers
Robert Silverberg, S.P. Somtow, Larry Tritten, Lawrence Watt-Evans
Robert Weinberg, Gene Wolfe,
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
424 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 5, 1993
About the author
Byron Preiss
108 books42 followersByron Preiss was the president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications and Ibooks, and was recognized as a pioneer in digital publishing. He was among the first publishers to release CD-ROM's and electronic books.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Preiss graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and earned a master's degree in communications from Stanford University. He produced The Words of Gandhi, an audio book that won a Grammy Award in 1985. He was also the co-author of Dragonworld, a novel he co-wrote with J. Michael Reaves that was published by Bantam Books in 1979.
A proponent of illustrated books, as well as comics and graphic novels, Preiss also published works by celebrity authors including Jane Goodall, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, LeAnn Rimes and Jay Leno.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Preiss graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and earned a master's degree in communications from Stanford University. He produced The Words of Gandhi, an audio book that won a Grammy Award in 1985. He was also the co-author of Dragonworld, a novel he co-wrote with J. Michael Reaves that was published by Bantam Books in 1979.
A proponent of illustrated books, as well as comics and graphic novels, Preiss also published works by celebrity authors including Jane Goodall, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, LeAnn Rimes and Jay Leno.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 28, 2024
3.5 Stars
This was good, as all the "Ultimate" short story collections have been. I liked some stories better than others, and while none were true stand outs, I didn't really hate of them either. Some of the stories are about traditional zombies, and others are a little more esoteric. Overall this is a well done collection.
This was good, as all the "Ultimate" short story collections have been. I liked some stories better than others, and while none were true stand outs, I didn't really hate of them either. Some of the stories are about traditional zombies, and others are a little more esoteric. Overall this is a well done collection.
May 22, 2017
I didn`t like all the stories, but there are indeed some good ones among them.
I loved the not so ordinary subject and the diversity of the vast majority.
That`s why I give it four stars. Because it was well worth my time.
I loved the not so ordinary subject and the diversity of the vast majority.
That`s why I give it four stars. Because it was well worth my time.
June 6, 2017
Good read had lots of really good storys
March 9, 2018
This had my undivided attention from the beginning. Great premise. I had no idea where it was going and was reading quickly to find out. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the ending which was a bit disappointing.
June 22, 2021
In my opinion, the very last story was the best one. That earned 2 stars. 1 star was for... Well, because I'm nice?
January 31, 2023
Pretty solid curation.
Standout stories: The Other Dead Man // The Doctor // The Third Dead Body // Passengers
Standout stories: The Other Dead Man // The Doctor // The Third Dead Body // Passengers
October 14, 2011
A hit or miss collection of short zombie tales, but there's a couple of gems in there.
August 17, 2016
Great stories
It has been quite a while since I came upon a collection of short stories that I found this entertaining.
It has been quite a while since I came upon a collection of short stories that I found this entertaining.
April 14, 2017
The body of a rape-and-murder wakes from the dead and hunts down the killer. Should have been gruesomely satisfying Feminist revenge fantasy (something I would usually hate) but alas, the end was weak and soft.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews