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Less Than Dead
There's nothing quite so terrifying as a corpse that moves, a creature that even death can't stop. It's all the worse when the living dead is someone you love...
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore—In 1930's Appalachia, Cecilia McGurk is just beginning to recover from the fact that the first love of her life, Pearl, has died. Then Pearl shows up one night and crawls into bed with her, bemoaning that she can't sleep.
Only Human by Meredith Katz—When Saul learns that his sudden bout of sickness is actually a curse, he's referred to a necromantic specialist. But the ordeal is made moderately better by the cute receptionist, Theo, who is exactly Saul's type—aside from the fact that he's dead.
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley—It's another day at the gym for Mick, working out and listening to her DJ girlfriend, until she steps outside and finds the world under attack by strange, doll-like creatures—and her girlfriend trapped at the top of a building on the other side of town.
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt—Banished to no man's land after an attempt to hide their relationship is mistaken for insurrection, Edward and Daniel swiftly find that a German minefield is the least of their problems, as a strange yellow mist starts bringing dead soldiers back to life.
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene—Marcus's career hits a snag when the Stock Exchange is wiped out by zombies. He quickly finds himself amidst an epidemic that feels just like the movies, but the weirdest part may be getting along with the last three people in New York; namely, the one he just divorced.
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker—Lexa is going about her daily work of speaking to the dead when she receives a mysterious warning from a deceased former lover. Then the Magi come asking for help, and Lexa has little choice but to agree, and soon finds herself dragged into a much bigger problem than anticipated.
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner—Indigo wants to leave, and Zoey wants to stay where they're relatively safe from the undead. In the midst of their argument, tragedy strikes, and Indigo is turned. But Zoey refuses to give up, willing to do anything to keep Indigo at her side.
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve—After weeks of erring around the countryside at the mercy of the hordes, Ephram should breathe a sigh of relief when he is rescued by the dashing Lord Delaney. But Delaney hides a secret of his own and his obligations may only serve to put Ephram in greater danger.
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore—In 1930's Appalachia, Cecilia McGurk is just beginning to recover from the fact that the first love of her life, Pearl, has died. Then Pearl shows up one night and crawls into bed with her, bemoaning that she can't sleep.
Only Human by Meredith Katz—When Saul learns that his sudden bout of sickness is actually a curse, he's referred to a necromantic specialist. But the ordeal is made moderately better by the cute receptionist, Theo, who is exactly Saul's type—aside from the fact that he's dead.
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley—It's another day at the gym for Mick, working out and listening to her DJ girlfriend, until she steps outside and finds the world under attack by strange, doll-like creatures—and her girlfriend trapped at the top of a building on the other side of town.
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt—Banished to no man's land after an attempt to hide their relationship is mistaken for insurrection, Edward and Daniel swiftly find that a German minefield is the least of their problems, as a strange yellow mist starts bringing dead soldiers back to life.
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene—Marcus's career hits a snag when the Stock Exchange is wiped out by zombies. He quickly finds himself amidst an epidemic that feels just like the movies, but the weirdest part may be getting along with the last three people in New York; namely, the one he just divorced.
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker—Lexa is going about her daily work of speaking to the dead when she receives a mysterious warning from a deceased former lover. Then the Magi come asking for help, and Lexa has little choice but to agree, and soon finds herself dragged into a much bigger problem than anticipated.
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner—Indigo wants to leave, and Zoey wants to stay where they're relatively safe from the undead. In the midst of their argument, tragedy strikes, and Indigo is turned. But Zoey refuses to give up, willing to do anything to keep Indigo at her side.
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve—After weeks of erring around the countryside at the mercy of the hordes, Ephram should breathe a sigh of relief when he is rescued by the dashing Lord Delaney. But Delaney hides a secret of his own and his obligations may only serve to put Ephram in greater danger.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 26, 2016
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 22, 2017
A very eclectic mix of characters, unusual zombies, and a nice LGBT vibe keeping all the varied stories together. The assortment of F/F and M/M stories is just about equal. There are romantic stories, scary ones, and some confused ones too. As with any anthology there are some duds, but the majority are quite good and unique. I enjoyed the book and would root for a second helping if the publishers decide to assemble another collection.
Received a netgalley ARC for an honest review.
Received a netgalley ARC for an honest review.
October 11, 2016
*I received this book from NetGalley and Less than Three in return for a fair review.*
Eight LGBT short stories perfect for Halloween (I assume) - as the teaser puts it "There's nothing quite so terrifying as a corpse that moves, a creature that even death can't stop. It's all the worse when the living dead is someone you love..."
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore
1930s, Kentucky. FF. Inability to sleep.
This first story almost threw me off-track there, but it was the first story, and I was excited to read this book, so I continued. And I’m glad I did, for – despite starting off slowly and kind of annoyingly, I kind of fell into a nice content like hypnotic trance there once the story really got going. Well, to a certain extent, once the northerner appeared.
Okay then – Pearl and the main character, “I’ (Cissy McGurk – it’s not always easy to remember the names of characters if most of the story has them be ‘I’) loved each other. Unfortunately for them they are both women, this is the 1930s, and Kentucky. That kind of thing isn’t exactly welcome in those parts.
Well Pearl up and died one day, you see, but there’s another problem beyond the dying part – she keeps sleep walking (so to speak, though the word used is ‘nightwalking’). No, I mean after she’s died. She keeps pulling herself out of her grave, wandering over to Cissy, and noting that she can’t sleep.
Cissy, naturally, doesn’t particularly like this turn of events, more because it’d be awkward for anyone to find Pearl in her bed. Less because she’s walking after death. Because, apparently, things like that happen in Cissy’s neck of the woods.
Well, Cissy attempts to figure out how to stop this – visits Pearl, asks some questions, learns that a lot of people are walking at night, calls upon Death - - - etc. etc. Somewhere along the line a quite attractive northerner named Marie enters the picture, and the two of them work together on the problem.
Okay then. Hmm. A rating. 3.65.
October 7 2016
Only Human by Meredith Katz
MM (bisexual*), dead receptionist
A man, Saul, feels ill, and goes through a series of slightly more disturbing specialists. First place visited was a university clinic, then a hospital, then a magical illness specialist, then a necromancer.
The referral to the magical illness specialist upset the man, but not because of oddness of the referral, but because he was referred to a magic specialist. Since magic is harder to deal with. So second story in this book and second time people are okay with the concept of fantasy land stuff.
Hehe – ‘most of his time was spent . . . browsing cat blogs, and sleeping.’
Hehe – ‘He tried to look up more about magical curses online – but as usual, the internet wasn’t a huge help, and mostly just did its best to convince him he was about to die.’
Beyond a guy, Saul, having this ‘issue’ he has to deal with – health related, the story is mostly about him dating the last health specialist’s receptionist (last one visited, not last health care specialist on the planet). Who happens to be a zombie (the receptionist, not the health care specialist). A Frankenstein’s monster kind of zombie (made up of parts from various bodies).
I was kind of leery of trying this specific story, based on the short snippet, but there’s humor, and the budding relationship described in the story was actually fun to watch. Then lots of sex, which was less fun to watch. But still, good story.
* - re: 'bisexual'. One of the neat things in this book is that there are two bisexuals. A male one and a female one. And they hooked one night - though prior to the start of this story - that hook up is the cause of the story, though.
Rating: 4.421
October 7 2016
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley
FF, Doll-monsters
A self-described gym rat is on a treadmill listening to her girlfriend, a DJ, on the radio until she starts to play an hour long David Bowie album. Switches to a book. Switches back to the radio. Runs. Lights flicker. Mick, the gym rat, powers down the treadmill - worried she'd end up planted in a wall if she didn't and the power cut out suddenly. Screams erupt (okay, I don't recall if there are screams, let's try that again). People start fleeing from the area near the windows. Mick looks over. Sees . . . things. She in turn flees.
Gets outside. Sees . . . doll people? Well, human shaped creatures bouncing around looking like porcelain versions of humans. They are breaking everything reflective - windows, glass, mirrors. They charge towards Mick. Mick leaps into her car and flees.
Somewhere along the way she spots a woman being attacked, an older woman. She saves her. Takes her back to the older woman's place. As they clean themselves up, they listen to the radio. Apparently some kind of 'bone-disease' is sweeping the area. People are told to stay indoors and board up their windows. Mick gets Sally (the older woman) to change the station so she can check on her girlfriend. Girlfriend still alive but . . . sits inside a giant tower of glass - 100 floors up. In a wheelchair. Mick must save her.
Quite thrilling short story. Fun, exciting. I'd rate it . . . hmms . . . 4.85.
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt
MM, German minefield and yellow mist
Two soldiers meet on the way to the Western Front during, I assume unless I'm very mistaken, WWI. They become friendly with each other. Somewhere along the line one 'accidentally' shoots the other in the leg. Their boss (heh), the sergeant major sees this as them being cowards and strips them of their dog tags and shoves them into no mans land. It's been three days. One has a bullet wound in their leg.
Germans start launching mortar at the trenches their old unit is in - the one they were kicked out of. Gas erupts. People die. Time passes. The two men out in no mans land look back and . . . what's this? The dead are rising again somehow. And they appear to be charging either the two men, or the German lines. Even as they run, their bodies are dissolving from within.
Gross story. Told non-linearly (which was annoying - that). I do not really want to rate it but . . . um . . 2?
October 7 2016
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene
Zombies, MM?
For better or worse the 'zombies are monsters' version of zombie stories are not working for me so far in this book. That would be the WWI story, and this one here.
I had no real clue what was going on in this story - scenes were disjointed and the 'stuff' happening in each individual scene seemed designed for me to be utterly confused.
So - story opens with a guy in, I think, a convenience store (maybe?). He's depressed. And contemplating what he'd have to do to get himself dead - all the way dead. Then he notices that there might be others and starts tossing cat food around and stuff. Turns out there were six (or was it 7?) others in a fridge. And they are human not zombies. One is named Daisy. The rest aren't even there beyond the basic idea that Daisy wasn't there by herself.
Then, apparently, they all leave to get to someone going to fly them somewhere. Next thing I know Daisy and Marcus (I think lead guy is Marcus) are climbing stairs. Where? Strong vibe they aren't in the convenience store now but no idea where they are. Also - it's just the two of them now because the others . . . um . . . for all I know spontaneously exploded or peed themselves to death. No explanation is given.
They get to the roof - where they were going to get picked up by a helicopter, then hear live humans below them. Screaming for help. So . . . they go help. And Marcus ends up with his hated ex. *shrugs* And I really don't give a fuck. It's not even that we keep bouncing from one thing to another, it's that there are no actual scenes. Like the first one - Marcus is . . somewhere? Contemplating moldy hot dogs? Starring at bullet hole filled cans. Realizes someone else is there. Tosses a can of cat food. Meets Daisy. Reader told that there are others there and that Marcus meet them as well but . . . the info on them is about what I just said here in this sentence.
I rate this one no stars.
October 8 2016
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker
FF, witches, zombies, bisexuals, lesbians, Old Ones
Strange one - this. Alternate earth. One with Innsmouth and other such places. Well, action takes place in Arkham. Witch girl is in cemetery on a job - she's going to raise a really dead person to ask them a question about a century long inheritance dispute. Gets distracted when a ghost wandered into her line of sight. Her ex-boyfriend Marcus - dead three years now (and no, not the same Marcus as prior Marcus, and one of the reasons I'm not certain both were actually named Marcus). He has warnings. Involving a 'Michael', 'Phoebe' and 'Templars'.
Then witch girl spots a Templar and bolts (the magic users and the Templars/Vatican are not exactly best friends).
Quite an interesting entertaining story - once I got deeper into it. I'd rate this one something around 4.66.
October 8 2016
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner
FF, Fatal argument
Gross, quite gross. A woman gets into an argument with her lover. Agrees to leave their safe place and head to NY during this zombie thingie. Lover gets scratched by an owl. Begins to decompose - see my mention of 'gross' earlier.
Right, so, not necessarily a bad story or anything. Just . . . gross. I'll rate this one something like 2.8 stars.
October 9 2016
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve
MM? Historical Fiction, England.
Not sure when this specific story takes place. Has the 'feel' of 17th-18th or even 19th century (depending on circumstances) England. Whatever the date, zombies have 'come ashore' and are moving northward in England. Person by the name of Delaney (Lord Delaney I believe), is defending his estate while hundreds of thousands of zombies march around. He fights them with saber, musket, flintlock revolver (invented in real life around 1814), and machete while he has his servant play various classical recordings (ah, so it's at least late enough for phonographs to be around - which popped onto the scene in 1877 - so actually this might even be the 21st century, just seems somewhat more primitive with the use of muskets and the like - but you use the weapons at hand).
Of note: very rarely, like once or twice before, I've read something with music in the background - mostly when specific music is mentioned. Well, Lord Delaney is hopping around killing zombies while listening to Tchaikovsky, so I decided to play 'The Best of Tchaikovsky'). Listening to classical music while reading about a guy thrusting his sword into rotting corpses and the like. hmms. I only lasted 9 minutes listening to music and reading before turning the music off.
Charging forward, Delaney is set to dispatch the one commanding the undead - apparently some boy. The boy acts afraid and passes out so Delaney stays his hand - temporarily.
Whereupon the awakening Ephram West takes over POV control of the story. Then it switched back again, I think, and then . . .. Right.
Slight twist when a brother named Arthur appeared. Should I mention the twist? Not mention? Bah, I'll not mention - keep it hidden. Though will mention that Ephram, it would appear, worked as a pornographer before the rising (that is unrelated to the 'slight twist', no the 'slight twist' relates to Lord Delaney's first name).
Shesh. The two main characters sure do take offense easily. mmphs.
--
Quite good story, this one. I enjoyed it. I'd rate it something around 4.65.
October 10 2016
Overall
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore - 3.65
Only Human by Meredith Katz - 4.421
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley - 4.85
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt - 2
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene - 0
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker - 4.66
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner - 2.8
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve - 4.65
Overall rating: 3.378875
October 10 2016
Eight LGBT short stories perfect for Halloween (I assume) - as the teaser puts it "There's nothing quite so terrifying as a corpse that moves, a creature that even death can't stop. It's all the worse when the living dead is someone you love..."
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore
1930s, Kentucky. FF. Inability to sleep.
This first story almost threw me off-track there, but it was the first story, and I was excited to read this book, so I continued. And I’m glad I did, for – despite starting off slowly and kind of annoyingly, I kind of fell into a nice content like hypnotic trance there once the story really got going. Well, to a certain extent, once the northerner appeared.
Okay then – Pearl and the main character, “I’ (Cissy McGurk – it’s not always easy to remember the names of characters if most of the story has them be ‘I’) loved each other. Unfortunately for them they are both women, this is the 1930s, and Kentucky. That kind of thing isn’t exactly welcome in those parts.
Well Pearl up and died one day, you see, but there’s another problem beyond the dying part – she keeps sleep walking (so to speak, though the word used is ‘nightwalking’). No, I mean after she’s died. She keeps pulling herself out of her grave, wandering over to Cissy, and noting that she can’t sleep.
Cissy, naturally, doesn’t particularly like this turn of events, more because it’d be awkward for anyone to find Pearl in her bed. Less because she’s walking after death. Because, apparently, things like that happen in Cissy’s neck of the woods.
Well, Cissy attempts to figure out how to stop this – visits Pearl, asks some questions, learns that a lot of people are walking at night, calls upon Death - - - etc. etc. Somewhere along the line a quite attractive northerner named Marie enters the picture, and the two of them work together on the problem.
Okay then. Hmm. A rating. 3.65.
October 7 2016
Only Human by Meredith Katz
MM (bisexual*), dead receptionist
A man, Saul, feels ill, and goes through a series of slightly more disturbing specialists. First place visited was a university clinic, then a hospital, then a magical illness specialist, then a necromancer.
The referral to the magical illness specialist upset the man, but not because of oddness of the referral, but because he was referred to a magic specialist. Since magic is harder to deal with. So second story in this book and second time people are okay with the concept of fantasy land stuff.
Hehe – ‘most of his time was spent . . . browsing cat blogs, and sleeping.’
Hehe – ‘He tried to look up more about magical curses online – but as usual, the internet wasn’t a huge help, and mostly just did its best to convince him he was about to die.’
Beyond a guy, Saul, having this ‘issue’ he has to deal with – health related, the story is mostly about him dating the last health specialist’s receptionist (last one visited, not last health care specialist on the planet). Who happens to be a zombie (the receptionist, not the health care specialist). A Frankenstein’s monster kind of zombie (made up of parts from various bodies).
I was kind of leery of trying this specific story, based on the short snippet, but there’s humor, and the budding relationship described in the story was actually fun to watch. Then lots of sex, which was less fun to watch. But still, good story.
* - re: 'bisexual'. One of the neat things in this book is that there are two bisexuals. A male one and a female one. And they hooked one night - though prior to the start of this story - that hook up is the cause of the story, though.
Rating: 4.421
October 7 2016
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley
FF, Doll-monsters
A self-described gym rat is on a treadmill listening to her girlfriend, a DJ, on the radio until she starts to play an hour long David Bowie album. Switches to a book. Switches back to the radio. Runs. Lights flicker. Mick, the gym rat, powers down the treadmill - worried she'd end up planted in a wall if she didn't and the power cut out suddenly. Screams erupt (okay, I don't recall if there are screams, let's try that again). People start fleeing from the area near the windows. Mick looks over. Sees . . . things. She in turn flees.
Gets outside. Sees . . . doll people? Well, human shaped creatures bouncing around looking like porcelain versions of humans. They are breaking everything reflective - windows, glass, mirrors. They charge towards Mick. Mick leaps into her car and flees.
Somewhere along the way she spots a woman being attacked, an older woman. She saves her. Takes her back to the older woman's place. As they clean themselves up, they listen to the radio. Apparently some kind of 'bone-disease' is sweeping the area. People are told to stay indoors and board up their windows. Mick gets Sally (the older woman) to change the station so she can check on her girlfriend. Girlfriend still alive but . . . sits inside a giant tower of glass - 100 floors up. In a wheelchair. Mick must save her.
Quite thrilling short story. Fun, exciting. I'd rate it . . . hmms . . . 4.85.
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt
MM, German minefield and yellow mist
Two soldiers meet on the way to the Western Front during, I assume unless I'm very mistaken, WWI. They become friendly with each other. Somewhere along the line one 'accidentally' shoots the other in the leg. Their boss (heh), the sergeant major sees this as them being cowards and strips them of their dog tags and shoves them into no mans land. It's been three days. One has a bullet wound in their leg.
Germans start launching mortar at the trenches their old unit is in - the one they were kicked out of. Gas erupts. People die. Time passes. The two men out in no mans land look back and . . . what's this? The dead are rising again somehow. And they appear to be charging either the two men, or the German lines. Even as they run, their bodies are dissolving from within.
Gross story. Told non-linearly (which was annoying - that). I do not really want to rate it but . . . um . . 2?
October 7 2016
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene
Zombies, MM?
For better or worse the 'zombies are monsters' version of zombie stories are not working for me so far in this book. That would be the WWI story, and this one here.
I had no real clue what was going on in this story - scenes were disjointed and the 'stuff' happening in each individual scene seemed designed for me to be utterly confused.
So - story opens with a guy in, I think, a convenience store (maybe?). He's depressed. And contemplating what he'd have to do to get himself dead - all the way dead. Then he notices that there might be others and starts tossing cat food around and stuff. Turns out there were six (or was it 7?) others in a fridge. And they are human not zombies. One is named Daisy. The rest aren't even there beyond the basic idea that Daisy wasn't there by herself.
Then, apparently, they all leave to get to someone going to fly them somewhere. Next thing I know Daisy and Marcus (I think lead guy is Marcus) are climbing stairs. Where? Strong vibe they aren't in the convenience store now but no idea where they are. Also - it's just the two of them now because the others . . . um . . . for all I know spontaneously exploded or peed themselves to death. No explanation is given.
They get to the roof - where they were going to get picked up by a helicopter, then hear live humans below them. Screaming for help. So . . . they go help. And Marcus ends up with his hated ex. *shrugs* And I really don't give a fuck. It's not even that we keep bouncing from one thing to another, it's that there are no actual scenes. Like the first one - Marcus is . . somewhere? Contemplating moldy hot dogs? Starring at bullet hole filled cans. Realizes someone else is there. Tosses a can of cat food. Meets Daisy. Reader told that there are others there and that Marcus meet them as well but . . . the info on them is about what I just said here in this sentence.
I rate this one no stars.
October 8 2016
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker
FF, witches, zombies, bisexuals, lesbians, Old Ones
Strange one - this. Alternate earth. One with Innsmouth and other such places. Well, action takes place in Arkham. Witch girl is in cemetery on a job - she's going to raise a really dead person to ask them a question about a century long inheritance dispute. Gets distracted when a ghost wandered into her line of sight. Her ex-boyfriend Marcus - dead three years now (and no, not the same Marcus as prior Marcus, and one of the reasons I'm not certain both were actually named Marcus). He has warnings. Involving a 'Michael', 'Phoebe' and 'Templars'.
Then witch girl spots a Templar and bolts (the magic users and the Templars/Vatican are not exactly best friends).
Quite an interesting entertaining story - once I got deeper into it. I'd rate this one something around 4.66.
October 8 2016
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner
FF, Fatal argument
Gross, quite gross. A woman gets into an argument with her lover. Agrees to leave their safe place and head to NY during this zombie thingie. Lover gets scratched by an owl. Begins to decompose - see my mention of 'gross' earlier.
Right, so, not necessarily a bad story or anything. Just . . . gross. I'll rate this one something like 2.8 stars.
October 9 2016
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve
MM? Historical Fiction, England.
Not sure when this specific story takes place. Has the 'feel' of 17th-18th or even 19th century (depending on circumstances) England. Whatever the date, zombies have 'come ashore' and are moving northward in England. Person by the name of Delaney (Lord Delaney I believe), is defending his estate while hundreds of thousands of zombies march around. He fights them with saber, musket, flintlock revolver (invented in real life around 1814), and machete while he has his servant play various classical recordings (ah, so it's at least late enough for phonographs to be around - which popped onto the scene in 1877 - so actually this might even be the 21st century, just seems somewhat more primitive with the use of muskets and the like - but you use the weapons at hand).
Of note: very rarely, like once or twice before, I've read something with music in the background - mostly when specific music is mentioned. Well, Lord Delaney is hopping around killing zombies while listening to Tchaikovsky, so I decided to play 'The Best of Tchaikovsky'). Listening to classical music while reading about a guy thrusting his sword into rotting corpses and the like. hmms. I only lasted 9 minutes listening to music and reading before turning the music off.
Charging forward, Delaney is set to dispatch the one commanding the undead - apparently some boy. The boy acts afraid and passes out so Delaney stays his hand - temporarily.
Whereupon the awakening Ephram West takes over POV control of the story. Then it switched back again, I think, and then . . .. Right.
Slight twist when a brother named Arthur appeared. Should I mention the twist? Not mention? Bah, I'll not mention - keep it hidden. Though will mention that Ephram, it would appear, worked as a pornographer before the rising (that is unrelated to the 'slight twist', no the 'slight twist' relates to Lord Delaney's first name).
Shesh. The two main characters sure do take offense easily. mmphs.
--
Quite good story, this one. I enjoyed it. I'd rate it something around 4.65.
October 10 2016
Overall
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore - 3.65
Only Human by Meredith Katz - 4.421
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley - 4.85
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt - 2
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene - 0
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker - 4.66
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner - 2.8
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve - 4.65
Overall rating: 3.378875
October 10 2016
October 26, 2016
Samantha Derr has put together a collection slightly different than your usual zombie collection. The dead here rise for all sorts of reasons, because the world is more varied than just one "rage virus" as the mainstream media always seems to go with, and there are a lot more people involved with zombie outbreaks than your usual heterosexual alpha male.
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore
I wrote this! A story of a zombie outbreak during the Great Depression in Kentucky. As if economic collapse and a severe lack of options for anyone "different" wasn't bad enough. Cissy McGurk is just trying to pull herself together after the death of her first love, Pearl. Except Pearl comes back one night, moaning that she can't sleep. Cissy is determined to help her undead love, even if that means inviting Death himself in. The social / political subtext is just par for the course for any zombie story.
Only Human by Meredith Katz
Theo is just the sweetest 7 ft. tall patchwork-bodied gay zombie you will ever meet! I loved that in this universe magic is a real thing – but it's not quite mainstream, and there are many rules and regulations for practicing it, and a lot of suspicion leveled towards anyone involved with magic or the undead. Nice subtext. The story is by turns sweet as sugar as the main character and Theo do that complicated dance known as the first dates, then a bit painful as the reader is continually hit on the nose as zombie-dating is used as a general stand on for reminding you sexism, racism, homophobia and other prejudices are wrong, (think Zootopia but with zombies) and then WOW, the heat index goes from mild to red hot as we get some serious LOVING!
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley
Mick and Billie are a fairly normal couple in their early 20's, both part of the DJ scene, and Mick is a gym rat who loves working out while listening to her girlfriend's radio station. One day, a disease breaks out dubbed the China Bone Syndrome based on how it turns people into giant, angry china dolls (and Huntley makes the new twist on a zombie infection work really, really well as she describes the absurd concept in horrifying imagery as the "dolls" attack). Also, LOVED the subtext of a woman who rejects the traditional feminine standards literally smashing a life sized "china doll." Because Mick isn't going to let a little thing like the zompocalypse separate them, the race is on to get across town to save her girlfriend. Loved Billie's snarky attitude, determined to go out playing good music (no Coldplay!). Great music selection throughout and a thoroughly realistic depiction of how a zompocalypse could play out in an urban area.
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt
God damn this one is horrific, even by zombie standards. Stitt takes your average zombie outbreak and makes it 10,000 times worse by placing it in the middle of World War I No Man's Land where our illicit lovers Daniel and Edward thought they had problems before the dead started to rise. The depiction of the horror of fighting in the trenches of WWI is spot on and makes it quite clear the actual real events of trench warfare were an apocalypse already. As well, there is the heartbreaking description of the delicate dance two men had to perform to try and assess if the other was gay as well in a time when that could get you killed by your own country faster than the enemy. And then there are zombies. The history and the science fiction are blended together perfectly as the question of basic survival is built up to dizzyingly high tension levels as just about everything is thrown at Daniel and Edward.
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene
Marcus is trapped in New York during the zompocalypse and he and a small group of other survivors are trying to battle their way out to somewhere non-infected. It's worse than the movies and everyone in the little group has to work together to even hope to get to safety. Too bad one of the other survivors is his ex, Cal. Because of course when all hell breaks loose, the universe finds a way to make it even worse. But there's nothing like exhausting dangerous life-or-death situations to make you reexamine priorities, and the end of the world becomes, after a point, the beginning of something new.
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker
Take your typical private-detective-hired-to-find-the-missing-socialite story, set it in a Lovecraft universe, mash things like late rent payments with Elder Gods, and we get a chillingly good mystery story of a young witch, Lexa, doing her best to keep her business going, solve the mystery she's been shoved into, not get killed by an eldritch monster or run afoul of the moral enforcing Templers. Zombies are the least of Lexa's problems that she encounters in this fully developed world. Lovecraftian horror scares me like almost nothing else does – but throw in just a touch of humor, a little real world mundane things like beer and electric bills, as Walker does here, and it turns into an awesome read. Also, I laughed really hard at the "bi-magical" joke.
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardener
Zoey and Indigo are having some relationship difficulties as they argue whether to stay in their small hometown or venture off to New York. The zombie outbreak only makes the argument worse. Zoey clings to the past and makes thing much, much worse. Gardener turns the dial up to about an 11 on the 1-10 scale of showing someone do everything to try and fight a useless battle as Zoey refuses to give up hope. And it's not the zombies that are the real problem, but the extremely unhelpful Neighborhood Watch, who act exactly as you 'd expect given half an inch of anarchy. Gorgeous imagery at the end when Gardener crosses zombies with sugar skull designs, showing how love can survive even death.
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve
The last story in the collection also has the oldest setting; here the zombie outbreak has come to England in the 19th century. The zompocolypse is somehow always so much more classier with elegant clothes and dancing by candlelight. The story also pushes further than the rest in the collection to be more inclusive as we meet one badass zombie hunting transgender character and one very open minded character whose up for anything, really. True to form, the English try to keep calm and carry on, but that's pushing it, even for them, when zombies attack, and our main characters have to work hard to keep from letting the terror overtake them as a new order, in more ways than one, comes about.
An excellent collection of novellas that take the concept of zombies and pushes everything to new boundaries.
October 15, 2016
4.5 stars! I LOVED these stories!
This collection of zombie stories really runs the gamut: zombiefication of soldiers through wartime experiments, necromancers creating zombies (both good and evil), people turning into life sized porcelain dolls, dead lovers brought back as "ghosts," and the soulless undead who just want to eat your brains. Oh and did I mention the lesbian, gay, bisexual, nonbinary and trans characters (most as MCs)?
Fantastic stories and characters! Each of the authors managed to get me invested in their stories and the characters' relationships and struggles for survival. It's hard to pick a favorite but the ones that stick out to me right now are "Only Human" by Meredith Katz (bisexual guy is cursed and reaches out to a necromancer doctor and nice zombie dude for help breaking the curse), "Zoey Loves Zombies" by Adele Gardener (girl's gf gets zombified and killed by neighbors, girl plans to create even more zombies to seek revenge on the murderers) and "Noble Pursuit" (trans gentleman Delaney attempts to keep the zombie hordes at bay on his estate and gets help from mysterious Ephram who seems to have some power that protects him from zombie attack).
Longer review will be posted tomorrow on my blog: rezgirlreads.wordpress.com.
*I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review and want to thank NetGalley, Less Than Three Press and all of the authors for the opportunity to FINALLY read so many queer zombie stories!*
This collection of zombie stories really runs the gamut: zombiefication of soldiers through wartime experiments, necromancers creating zombies (both good and evil), people turning into life sized porcelain dolls, dead lovers brought back as "ghosts," and the soulless undead who just want to eat your brains. Oh and did I mention the lesbian, gay, bisexual, nonbinary and trans characters (most as MCs)?
Fantastic stories and characters! Each of the authors managed to get me invested in their stories and the characters' relationships and struggles for survival. It's hard to pick a favorite but the ones that stick out to me right now are "Only Human" by Meredith Katz (bisexual guy is cursed and reaches out to a necromancer doctor and nice zombie dude for help breaking the curse), "Zoey Loves Zombies" by Adele Gardener (girl's gf gets zombified and killed by neighbors, girl plans to create even more zombies to seek revenge on the murderers) and "Noble Pursuit" (trans gentleman Delaney attempts to keep the zombie hordes at bay on his estate and gets help from mysterious Ephram who seems to have some power that protects him from zombie attack).
Longer review will be posted tomorrow on my blog: rezgirlreads.wordpress.com.
*I received a free copy of this in exchange for an honest review and want to thank NetGalley, Less Than Three Press and all of the authors for the opportunity to FINALLY read so many queer zombie stories!*
August 1, 2017
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A nice collection of eight short stories. It is definitely the perfect read for Halloween. And to be honest who of us hasn't dreamed of some Zombie(-apocalypse) stories featuring LGBT Characters? There are some really great stories in there, but some were sadly just disappointing.
Dove in the Window
Diversity: lesbian MCs, f/f
The story is set in Kentucky in the 1930s. Cissy regularly wakes up to her now deceased lover Pearl night walking from the grave straight into her bed. She isn't that worried about the night walking part at first, apparently that's something that happens, but she's worried somebody might find out and question why Pearl's undead nightly adventures lead her into her best friends bed and not her fiancée's. Still Pearl keeps complaining that she can't sleep and so Cissy attempts to speak with Death in a midnight séance. He tells her that somebody or something is keeping the Dead from resting and she has to figure out who it is. And she will not have to do it alone. The attractive Northerner Marie has been chosen by Death to help her.
I have to say that while I liked the idea of this story it was quite slow and I didn't really feel interested in it for quite some time, but when Marie entered the story the pace picked up a bit and the end was really nice. 3.5/5 Stars
Only Human
Diversity: bisexual MC, m/m
Saul has been feeling ill for a while now and when he finally goes to the hospital, he is quickly referred to a magic illness specialist and in the end ends up at a Necromancers. This freaks him out, but only so far as magic illnesses are harder to deal with than normal ones. Living in a world where souls can easily be bound to a body again, magic is nothing unusual. To break the curse he has to put "dead flesh into his body in a sexual context" or wait for the necromancer to break it which could take weeks and they wouldn't be able to find the person who cast the curse. Thankfully there's a good-looking (but still dead) Zombie Receptionist. Without thinking Saul invites him on a date.
There are two bisexual characters (Saul & Jill, a former hook up of his), there's nice humor and it was really nice to watch their slowly budding relationship. The long sex scene however wasn't exactly my favorite thing in the story and grossed me out quite bad. The writing is quite good however. 3.5/5. Stars
Lavish are the Undead
Diversity: lesbian MCs, disabled character, f/f
While Mick is at the Gym working out her girlfriend Billie is working as a DJ at the radio station. However Mick's workout is brought to an abrupt stop when the power flickers and sudden panic erupts in the Gym. When Mick gets out she see's... ceramic dolls attacking people and smashing all reflecting surfaces, as they seem to enrage them. Saving an elderly woman from those creatures she makes her escape. Now all that's left to do is saving her girlfriend. who by the way is stuck in a giant glass tower 100 floors above the ground and unable to escape as the power keeps failing, the elevator is not a safe option to take and she's in a wheelchair.
I love Mick, she is really badass and the story is quite fast paced and exiting. Also if you listen to the songs Billie plays on the radio, while reading the story it's even nicer. All in all this was a really nice short story. 4.5/5. Stars
The Eight Tree
Diversity: gay MCs, m/m
Two soldiers, Edward and Daniel met on the battlefield on the way to the Western Front and soon get quite close. When their sergeant catches them, one of them shoots the other one in the leg. They are dishonorably discharged and have to flee. Caught in No Man's Land between the two armies there is no way for them to go. They hide in the woods until a missile kills their entire first battalion. But instead of staying dead, the Soldiers raise again.
Personally I am not a huge fan of war stories so this story didn't really speak to me. it was also told very non-linear and I had to reread it to make sense of it, which was quite annoying. 2/5. Stars
Orion Shone Right Through
Diversity: gay MCs, nonbinary character, m/m
Marcus has been living in the Zombie Apocalypse for a while now. He survives by looting grocery stores. When he meets Daisy, he is just about to figure out what he wants to eat. Together they decide to find the military helicopter and fly to safety. But when they are on the needed housetop they hear people screaming for help. Turns out one of the people they save is Marcus' ex Cal. The second character is Beckett, a nonbinary person who just wants to get out of New York and find their twin.
There are some incredible confusing time jumps and the ending is not really satisfying, it feels quite open and like a terrible cliffhanger. I did like that a nonbinary character with they/their pronouns was featured, but somehow everybody immediately knew that they were nonbinary, which probably wouldn't even happen in a zombie apocalypse. I think there could have been some better explanation of that, like this it just felt like another weird time jump. 2/5. Stars
A Witch in Arkham
Diversity: bisexual MC, f/f
Set in an alternative world where witches, zombies and templars exist. Lexa is a witch and she has been hired to raise a dead to settle a century-long inheritance debate. But instead of the ghost she wanted to raise, her deceased boyfriend appears to her and warns her. Not long after she is hired to find Michael, a former templar who presumable ran away and is now hiding in Arkham. But to find him, she has to work with Phoebe, the templar her ex boyfriend told her to trust. There are reanimators raising the dead and putting souls back into dead bodies, magic practitioners of all kinds, meat markets who are like black markets except well they sell human meat and it's super illegal, the Deep Ones.
The magical world is sadly not incredible well explained and I would have loved this story to be longer as I adored the setting and would have probably enjoyed it even more if there was some more time to really explain everything. But Lexa uses the B-Word as well and there is some great humor playing on her bisexuality in the end which is really nice to read. 5/5. Stars
Zoey Loves Zombies
Diversity: f/f
Before Indigo was attacked by a Zombie Owl and subsequently turned, she and Zoey had a terrible fight. Indigo wanted to leave for New York and Zoey wanted to stay. She tries to keep Indigo from turning to quickly by using salt baths to conserve her body and all kinds of nice smelling ointment to hide the stink of her rotting flesh. But Indigo will not stay sentient for much longer.
This story is honestly quite gross so if you're into the gory part of the Zombie Apocalypse this is probably a nice story for you. Gore with Feelings. It was interesting to read, but I was pretty grossed out at points. I really love the ending though. 3.5/5. Stars
Noble Pursuit
Diversity: trans man, m/m
TW: misgendering
Lord Delaney is quite good at hunting Zombies, who dare put a foot on his land. Set in rural England the 19th century this is definitely a very interesting setting. He is quite alone in his castle until he finds Ephram, a boy who keeps a big secret. But Lord Delaney does not care, as he too has a big secret. While some noble Englishman have balls and feasts, filled with chatter and dancing, the zombies attack and it is left to Ephram and Lord Delaney to save as many people as they can, Lord Delaney's brother included.
The story is quite nice and Ephram's and Lord Delaney's love story is quite cute, but there are some abrupt jumps in perspective, which kind off threw me out of the story a bit. The writing was nice however. 4/5. Stars
A nice collection of eight short stories. It is definitely the perfect read for Halloween. And to be honest who of us hasn't dreamed of some Zombie(-apocalypse) stories featuring LGBT Characters? There are some really great stories in there, but some were sadly just disappointing.
Dove in the Window
Diversity: lesbian MCs, f/f
The story is set in Kentucky in the 1930s. Cissy regularly wakes up to her now deceased lover Pearl night walking from the grave straight into her bed. She isn't that worried about the night walking part at first, apparently that's something that happens, but she's worried somebody might find out and question why Pearl's undead nightly adventures lead her into her best friends bed and not her fiancée's. Still Pearl keeps complaining that she can't sleep and so Cissy attempts to speak with Death in a midnight séance. He tells her that somebody or something is keeping the Dead from resting and she has to figure out who it is. And she will not have to do it alone. The attractive Northerner Marie has been chosen by Death to help her.
I have to say that while I liked the idea of this story it was quite slow and I didn't really feel interested in it for quite some time, but when Marie entered the story the pace picked up a bit and the end was really nice. 3.5/5 Stars
Only Human
Diversity: bisexual MC, m/m
Saul has been feeling ill for a while now and when he finally goes to the hospital, he is quickly referred to a magic illness specialist and in the end ends up at a Necromancers. This freaks him out, but only so far as magic illnesses are harder to deal with than normal ones. Living in a world where souls can easily be bound to a body again, magic is nothing unusual. To break the curse he has to put "dead flesh into his body in a sexual context" or wait for the necromancer to break it which could take weeks and they wouldn't be able to find the person who cast the curse. Thankfully there's a good-looking (but still dead) Zombie Receptionist. Without thinking Saul invites him on a date.
There are two bisexual characters (Saul & Jill, a former hook up of his), there's nice humor and it was really nice to watch their slowly budding relationship. The long sex scene however wasn't exactly my favorite thing in the story and grossed me out quite bad. The writing is quite good however. 3.5/5. Stars
Lavish are the Undead
Diversity: lesbian MCs, disabled character, f/f
While Mick is at the Gym working out her girlfriend Billie is working as a DJ at the radio station. However Mick's workout is brought to an abrupt stop when the power flickers and sudden panic erupts in the Gym. When Mick gets out she see's... ceramic dolls attacking people and smashing all reflecting surfaces, as they seem to enrage them. Saving an elderly woman from those creatures she makes her escape. Now all that's left to do is saving her girlfriend. who by the way is stuck in a giant glass tower 100 floors above the ground and unable to escape as the power keeps failing, the elevator is not a safe option to take and she's in a wheelchair.
I love Mick, she is really badass and the story is quite fast paced and exiting. Also if you listen to the songs Billie plays on the radio, while reading the story it's even nicer. All in all this was a really nice short story. 4.5/5. Stars
The Eight Tree
Diversity: gay MCs, m/m
Two soldiers, Edward and Daniel met on the battlefield on the way to the Western Front and soon get quite close. When their sergeant catches them, one of them shoots the other one in the leg. They are dishonorably discharged and have to flee. Caught in No Man's Land between the two armies there is no way for them to go. They hide in the woods until a missile kills their entire first battalion. But instead of staying dead, the Soldiers raise again.
Personally I am not a huge fan of war stories so this story didn't really speak to me. it was also told very non-linear and I had to reread it to make sense of it, which was quite annoying. 2/5. Stars
Orion Shone Right Through
Diversity: gay MCs, nonbinary character, m/m
Marcus has been living in the Zombie Apocalypse for a while now. He survives by looting grocery stores. When he meets Daisy, he is just about to figure out what he wants to eat. Together they decide to find the military helicopter and fly to safety. But when they are on the needed housetop they hear people screaming for help. Turns out one of the people they save is Marcus' ex Cal. The second character is Beckett, a nonbinary person who just wants to get out of New York and find their twin.
There are some incredible confusing time jumps and the ending is not really satisfying, it feels quite open and like a terrible cliffhanger. I did like that a nonbinary character with they/their pronouns was featured, but somehow everybody immediately knew that they were nonbinary, which probably wouldn't even happen in a zombie apocalypse. I think there could have been some better explanation of that, like this it just felt like another weird time jump. 2/5. Stars
A Witch in Arkham
Diversity: bisexual MC, f/f
Set in an alternative world where witches, zombies and templars exist. Lexa is a witch and she has been hired to raise a dead to settle a century-long inheritance debate. But instead of the ghost she wanted to raise, her deceased boyfriend appears to her and warns her. Not long after she is hired to find Michael, a former templar who presumable ran away and is now hiding in Arkham. But to find him, she has to work with Phoebe, the templar her ex boyfriend told her to trust. There are reanimators raising the dead and putting souls back into dead bodies, magic practitioners of all kinds, meat markets who are like black markets except well they sell human meat and it's super illegal, the Deep Ones.
The magical world is sadly not incredible well explained and I would have loved this story to be longer as I adored the setting and would have probably enjoyed it even more if there was some more time to really explain everything. But Lexa uses the B-Word as well and there is some great humor playing on her bisexuality in the end which is really nice to read. 5/5. Stars
Zoey Loves Zombies
Diversity: f/f
Before Indigo was attacked by a Zombie Owl and subsequently turned, she and Zoey had a terrible fight. Indigo wanted to leave for New York and Zoey wanted to stay. She tries to keep Indigo from turning to quickly by using salt baths to conserve her body and all kinds of nice smelling ointment to hide the stink of her rotting flesh. But Indigo will not stay sentient for much longer.
This story is honestly quite gross so if you're into the gory part of the Zombie Apocalypse this is probably a nice story for you. Gore with Feelings. It was interesting to read, but I was pretty grossed out at points. I really love the ending though. 3.5/5. Stars
Noble Pursuit
Diversity: trans man, m/m
TW: misgendering
Lord Delaney is quite good at hunting Zombies, who dare put a foot on his land. Set in rural England the 19th century this is definitely a very interesting setting. He is quite alone in his castle until he finds Ephram, a boy who keeps a big secret. But Lord Delaney does not care, as he too has a big secret. While some noble Englishman have balls and feasts, filled with chatter and dancing, the zombies attack and it is left to Ephram and Lord Delaney to save as many people as they can, Lord Delaney's brother included.
The story is quite nice and Ephram's and Lord Delaney's love story is quite cute, but there are some abrupt jumps in perspective, which kind off threw me out of the story a bit. The writing was nice however. 4/5. Stars
May 12, 2017
So I’m just going to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology. It had a little bit of everything, and for the most part, I enjoyed all the stories. Rather than reviewing each one individually, I’ve included the synopsis for each and provided my star rating for each one.
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore - In 1930's Appalachia, Cecilia McGurk is just beginning to recover from the fact that the first love of her life, Pearl, has died. Then Pearl shows up one night and crawls into bed with her, bemoaning that she can't sleep. - 4 Stars – Sad, weird, and disturbing.
Only Human by Meredith Katz – When Saul learns that his sudden bought of sickness is actually a curse, he's referred to a necromantic specialist. But the ordeal is made moderately better by the cute receptionist, Theo, who is exactly Saul's type—aside from the fact that he's dead. – 4 Stars – Not usually into m/m stories but I found this one very sweet and endearing.
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley – It's another day at the gym for Mick, working out and listening to her DJ girlfriend, until she steps outside and finds the world under attack by strange, doll-like creatures—and her girlfriend trapped at the top of a building on the other side of town. - 3 Stars - I enjoyed this but found it to be pretty much like every zombie story out there.
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt – Banished to no man's land after an attempt to hide their relationship is mistaken for insurrection, Edward and Daniel swiftly find that a German minefield is the least of their problems, as a strange yellow mist starts bringing dead soldiers back to life. - 5 Stars – Another sad but very compelling story. This one really had me hooked.
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene – Marcus's career hits a snag when the Stock Exchange is wiped out by zombies. He quickly finds himself amidst an epidemic that feels just like the movies, but the weirdest part may be getting along with the last three people in New York; namely, the one he just divorced. – 2 Stars – Eh, not sure what to say on this one. Kinda forgettable.
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker – Lexa is going about her daily work of speaking to the dead when she receives a mysterious warning from a deceased former lover. Then the Magi come asking for help, and Lexa has little choice but to agree, and soon finds herself dragged into a much bigger problem than anticipated. – 5 Stars – Really enjoyed this one for it being so fantasyesque. I would’ve gladly read a full length book of this one.
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardener – Indigo wants to leave, and Zoey wants to stay where they're relatively safe from the undead. In the midst of their argument, tragedy strikes, and Indigo is turned. But Zoey refuses to give up, willing to do anything to keep Indigo at her side. – 4 Stars – Another weird, sad and disturbing one.
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve - After weeks of erring around the countryside at the mercy of the hordes, Ephram should breathe a sigh of relief when he is rescued by the dashing Lord Delaney. But Delaney hides a secret of his own and his obligations may only serve to put Ephram in greater danger. – 2 Stars – Unfortunately another forgettable story to me.
I was provided a copy of this anthology via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore - In 1930's Appalachia, Cecilia McGurk is just beginning to recover from the fact that the first love of her life, Pearl, has died. Then Pearl shows up one night and crawls into bed with her, bemoaning that she can't sleep. - 4 Stars – Sad, weird, and disturbing.
Only Human by Meredith Katz – When Saul learns that his sudden bought of sickness is actually a curse, he's referred to a necromantic specialist. But the ordeal is made moderately better by the cute receptionist, Theo, who is exactly Saul's type—aside from the fact that he's dead. – 4 Stars – Not usually into m/m stories but I found this one very sweet and endearing.
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley – It's another day at the gym for Mick, working out and listening to her DJ girlfriend, until she steps outside and finds the world under attack by strange, doll-like creatures—and her girlfriend trapped at the top of a building on the other side of town. - 3 Stars - I enjoyed this but found it to be pretty much like every zombie story out there.
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt – Banished to no man's land after an attempt to hide their relationship is mistaken for insurrection, Edward and Daniel swiftly find that a German minefield is the least of their problems, as a strange yellow mist starts bringing dead soldiers back to life. - 5 Stars – Another sad but very compelling story. This one really had me hooked.
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene – Marcus's career hits a snag when the Stock Exchange is wiped out by zombies. He quickly finds himself amidst an epidemic that feels just like the movies, but the weirdest part may be getting along with the last three people in New York; namely, the one he just divorced. – 2 Stars – Eh, not sure what to say on this one. Kinda forgettable.
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker – Lexa is going about her daily work of speaking to the dead when she receives a mysterious warning from a deceased former lover. Then the Magi come asking for help, and Lexa has little choice but to agree, and soon finds herself dragged into a much bigger problem than anticipated. – 5 Stars – Really enjoyed this one for it being so fantasyesque. I would’ve gladly read a full length book of this one.
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardener – Indigo wants to leave, and Zoey wants to stay where they're relatively safe from the undead. In the midst of their argument, tragedy strikes, and Indigo is turned. But Zoey refuses to give up, willing to do anything to keep Indigo at her side. – 4 Stars – Another weird, sad and disturbing one.
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve - After weeks of erring around the countryside at the mercy of the hordes, Ephram should breathe a sigh of relief when he is rescued by the dashing Lord Delaney. But Delaney hides a secret of his own and his obligations may only serve to put Ephram in greater danger. – 2 Stars – Unfortunately another forgettable story to me.
I was provided a copy of this anthology via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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