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Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology
Editors Michelle McCrary and Joe McKinney have brought together twenty original tales of the end of our world from horror's brightest talents. Within these pages you'll find a madman longing for the good old days of Hometown America, a company that deals in the dead, a radio DJ who holds the living together with her voice, and a soldier haunted by the living and the dead alike. This is the end of the world as you've never seen it before.
Featuring stories from Lisa Mannetti, Lee Thomas, Bev Vincent, Harry Shannon, David Dunwoody, Nate Southard, Boyd E. Harris, and a host of others, Dead Set will take you on a guided tour through the ruins. The zombie story has finally come of age.
Featuring stories from Lisa Mannetti, Lee Thomas, Bev Vincent, Harry Shannon, David Dunwoody, Nate Southard, Boyd E. Harris, and a host of others, Dead Set will take you on a guided tour through the ruins. The zombie story has finally come of age.
306 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2010
80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 9, 2010
From my review on Dread Central: There have been a lot of zombie-themed anthologies. And I do mean a lot. So whenever one comes across my desk, it is with no small amount of trepidation that I pick it up. With all that have come out over the past five years, some have been good, and some have been just god-awful. I'm happy to report that Dead Set is one of the good ones.
Separated into four sections, the stories in this book follow themes in the progression of the zombie apocalypse, which we all know is coming, right? Section one, "Origin," contains only one story, but it's a doozie. "Resurgam," by Lisa Mannetti, kicks the collection off in the right way when it begins with a group of medical students working on a cadaver. Of course, then it sits up and starts taking bites out of people. The rest of the world goes quickly to hell after that. Following are sections titled "The Plague Begins," "In Dubious Battle," "Losing Ground," and "And to the Dust Returneth," each telling tales of the eventual fall of mankind to the rotting corpses.
None of the sections contain weak stories. Every story in this collection was chosen for some kind of merit, whether it be darkly humorous or horrifically poignant, there's something for every zombie-lover to like. Of course, with a list of contributors that includes names like Harry Shannon, David Dunwoody, Bev Vincent, Nate Southard and Steven E. Wedel, what else would one expect? Still, there are a few stand-out stories. Calie Voorhis' "Biting the Hand that Feeds You" is a haunting look from the point of view of someone bitten, and the thoughts that run through her mind as she turns. Rob Fox's "Recess" is horrifically told about a child's playground, and the appearance of the undead there. I got a chuckle out of Michelle McCrary's "Pierre and Remy Hatch a Plan," in which a couple of swamp-hoppers get gassed up and go on a half-formed adventure with disastrous results. And the dark humor of "Seminar Z" and "Only Nibble," by J.L Comeau and Bob Nailor, respectively, make the reader almost feel guilty for laughing, but only almost. Even if the rest of the twenty stories were terrible, which they're not, the ones listed above would make this anthology worth the price.
As I said before, there are no weak points to this book. If you like zombies, if you can't get enough of the walking dead, and if you are looking for something that goes from day one to the final hours, Dead Set is worth a look.
Separated into four sections, the stories in this book follow themes in the progression of the zombie apocalypse, which we all know is coming, right? Section one, "Origin," contains only one story, but it's a doozie. "Resurgam," by Lisa Mannetti, kicks the collection off in the right way when it begins with a group of medical students working on a cadaver. Of course, then it sits up and starts taking bites out of people. The rest of the world goes quickly to hell after that. Following are sections titled "The Plague Begins," "In Dubious Battle," "Losing Ground," and "And to the Dust Returneth," each telling tales of the eventual fall of mankind to the rotting corpses.
None of the sections contain weak stories. Every story in this collection was chosen for some kind of merit, whether it be darkly humorous or horrifically poignant, there's something for every zombie-lover to like. Of course, with a list of contributors that includes names like Harry Shannon, David Dunwoody, Bev Vincent, Nate Southard and Steven E. Wedel, what else would one expect? Still, there are a few stand-out stories. Calie Voorhis' "Biting the Hand that Feeds You" is a haunting look from the point of view of someone bitten, and the thoughts that run through her mind as she turns. Rob Fox's "Recess" is horrifically told about a child's playground, and the appearance of the undead there. I got a chuckle out of Michelle McCrary's "Pierre and Remy Hatch a Plan," in which a couple of swamp-hoppers get gassed up and go on a half-formed adventure with disastrous results. And the dark humor of "Seminar Z" and "Only Nibble," by J.L Comeau and Bob Nailor, respectively, make the reader almost feel guilty for laughing, but only almost. Even if the rest of the twenty stories were terrible, which they're not, the ones listed above would make this anthology worth the price.
As I said before, there are no weak points to this book. If you like zombies, if you can't get enough of the walking dead, and if you are looking for something that goes from day one to the final hours, Dead Set is worth a look.
December 10, 2024
This is quite an excellent zombie story anthology. Every single story was great….I can’t pick any particular favorites….each one was truly fascinating. The premise of separate titled sections (‘Origin’, ‘The Plague Begins’, ‘In Dubious Battle’, ‘Losing Ground’ and ‘And to the Dust Returneth’) was a very unique way to link all of the stories together and tell tales of mankind’s eventual demise to the zombies. Dark humor, lots of terror, heartbreak, poignancy & of course ZOMBIES. Fantastic collection!! Absolutely my favorite zombie book of the year.
April 12, 2010
DEAD SET (from 23 House), a zombie anthology edited by Joe McKinney and Michelle McCrary which features my short story, "Resurgam," along with tons of other terrific stories is now available at Amazon!
Table of Contents:
“Resurgam” by Lisa Mannetti
“Jailbreak” by Steven W. Booth and Harry Shannon
“Recess” by Rob Fox
“Biting the Hand that Feeds You” by Calie Voorhis
“Judgment” by Stephanie Kincaid
“Hatfield the Usurper” by Matt Louis
“Ruminations from Tri-Omega House” by David Dunwoody
“Zombies on a Plane” by Bev Vincent
“Category Five” by Richard Jeter
“Survivors” by Joe McKinney
“Pierre and Remy Hatch a Plan” by Michelle McCrary
“Recovery” by Boyd E. Harris
“In the Middle of Poplar Street” by Nate Southard
“Seminar Z” by J.L. Comeau
“Only Nibble” by Bob Nailor
“Inside Where It’s Warm” by Lee Thomas
“Survivor Talk” by Mitchel Whitington
“The Zombie Whisperer” by Steven Wedel
“Good Neighbor Sam” by Mark Onspaugh
“That Which Survives” by Morgan Ashe
Proceeds from sales are being donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Table of Contents:
“Resurgam” by Lisa Mannetti
“Jailbreak” by Steven W. Booth and Harry Shannon
“Recess” by Rob Fox
“Biting the Hand that Feeds You” by Calie Voorhis
“Judgment” by Stephanie Kincaid
“Hatfield the Usurper” by Matt Louis
“Ruminations from Tri-Omega House” by David Dunwoody
“Zombies on a Plane” by Bev Vincent
“Category Five” by Richard Jeter
“Survivors” by Joe McKinney
“Pierre and Remy Hatch a Plan” by Michelle McCrary
“Recovery” by Boyd E. Harris
“In the Middle of Poplar Street” by Nate Southard
“Seminar Z” by J.L. Comeau
“Only Nibble” by Bob Nailor
“Inside Where It’s Warm” by Lee Thomas
“Survivor Talk” by Mitchel Whitington
“The Zombie Whisperer” by Steven Wedel
“Good Neighbor Sam” by Mark Onspaugh
“That Which Survives” by Morgan Ashe
Proceeds from sales are being donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
February 28, 2014
Dead Set was the first anthology in which I was published. I have the honor of authoring (with Harry Shannon) the second story from the start. Jailbreak launched The Sheriff Penny Miller series of books, beginning with The Hungry (Jailbreak is actually the first two chapters of The Hungry).
The other stories in the book range from very good to absolutely outstanding. I recommend this book for all zombie fans.
The other stories in the book range from very good to absolutely outstanding. I recommend this book for all zombie fans.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews