Status Updates From The Mammoth Book of Zombies

‘Quietly Now’, Charles L. Grant
Might be my own fault for drifting off while reading this, but this one didn’t land at all. Never really had a good sense of what was going on, who the characters were and their relationships with one another, and the zombie stuff was minimal. 1/5

‘Sticks’, Karl Edward Wagner
Has a creepy enough atmosphere to it, and I like a story with lore behind it. But enjoyment of this story is mostly predicated on its ending, and the ending is fine. So this story is fine. 3/5

‘The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar’, Edgar Allan Poe
Probably should’ve looked up ‘mesmerism’ after starting as I’m still none the wiser. The author blurb did well to get me excited, but the story wound up being much less interesting. Anti-climactic ending. 2/5

‘The Ghouls’, R. Chetwynd-Hayes
Interesting idea about how we’re all (zombie) slaves to the man. Story is too short to get into the logic of it all. Some characters are fairly templated. It was fine though. 3/5

‘The Song of the Slaves’, Manly Wade Wellman
Atmospheric, creepy, and plays around with zombie lore to tell a good story. In less than 15 pages, Wellman creates a despicable character, takes you on a journey across the world, and delivers all the zombie tropes you’d want. Dialogue from this time is just the best too. 5/5

Side-note: need to check out Sherlock Holmes’ War of the Worlds from this guy.

‘Rising Generation’, Ramsey Campbell
Not a lot to it. Quick, little story with not a lot of explanation. Spend most of the time in the dark and the writing reflects that: wasn’t always sure what was going on. Fine for what it is, not too long, and has a creepy ending. 3/5

Sex, Death and Starshine
Interesting little short story basically about the life (and death) of the creative spirit. Some interesting visuals come to mind.