There is nary a misstep in this reanimation of a classic genre creature, the zombie.

From Roxanne Gay’s devastating traditional voodoo tale which is brilliantly turned on its head, to Eric Gregory’s ‘The Harrowers’,which is a post apocalyptic tale via The Dark Tower, this collection shows this corpse laden landscape still has more tricks up its sleeve.

Zombies,by their nature are terrifying abominations that stand against morality, religion and science alike and yet they remain emblematic through modern TV shows and films of the way we shamble through society whilst opting out of it altogether.

The motif of a zombie as a loved one returned to us by forces beyond our control,duels with the kill or be killed rhetoric that pits loved one’s against each other.

It may be the 21st Century but this meaty, thematically driven anthology has plenty to say via talented authors on what the nature of a reanimated corpse is.

The genre invented by a 17 year old girl in the 1800’s has so many more ways of being explored but it takes a talented editor to assemble such a fine collection where I had to read thoughtfully,slowly and think about each tale.

Some have startling images if resurrection and survival tactics that make you question just how far you would go to make it.

And , in the end,are we not all zombies in training as we advance towards our death and desperately try to make sense of what comes next?

Highly recommended and not for the faint of heart.

My thanks to NetGalley and Prime Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Meh. DNF at 40%-ish. There was maybe one story that I read that I liked. The rest were either meh or Oh HELL no. Good compilation if you are a true "Dead Head" I suppose. Most of the stories are about the stupidity and evil-ness of humans, rather than zombies, though zombies are present.

Not my bag, but one I would recommend to those who are into zombies and don't mind reading about people being depressingly real.

2, I didn't hate it, stars.

Over the past decade, zombies have moved out the dark corners of the horror genre and into mainstream popular culture. This led to an explosion of zombie stories that have created a glut of tales about the shambling undead on the stumbling hunt for brains. Paula Guran looks to give the undead a new life in her mammoth anthology “Zombies: More Recent Dead” that collects stories about zombies that are anything but traditional.

“Zombies: More Recent Dead” is a long anthology that collects more than 30 stories and poems that have a unique twist on the zombie genre. The anthology has some of the bigger names in the horror genre such as Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and Joe R. Lansdale alongside many names that may not be recognizable to anyone but devoted horror fans and the book has the makings of a flammable mix that could be great or could be just another anthology. Entertainment would be the key, however, so a reader could only hope to find more good than bad lying in wait inside the dark recesses of the book.

There is a little bit of everything found within the covers of this book. Some stories like “The Life and Death of Bob” provide a satirical look at society as a man returns from the dead and returns to work as if nothing happened only to find that it was really the world around him that had changed. “What Maisie Knew” provides a first person perspective on the zombie apocalypse from a man who has a secret of his own and does not want the world to learn of the skeleton, or zombie, in his closet. “What Once We Feared” by Carrie Ryan is a more traditional story of a band of teenagers who come together in an attempt to survive the apocalypse. This story is reminiscent of classic zombie stories although infused with more realism than most that provides a strong base for some of the more outlandish stories to build upon.

Some of the stories that stuck out were expected while some snuck up from the lesser known depths of the genre. It is not surprising that the best story in the anthology was “The Hunt: Before and the Aftermath” by Joe R. Lansdale because, well, it’s a Lansdale story in his unique and twisted style. “Present” by Nicole Kornher-Stace was a bit of a surprise as it is a story from an author I knew nothing about but this story about a mother’s struggle to protect her child through the zombie outbreak was deftly handled and poignant yet scary. Jonathan Maberry’s “Jack and Jill” is a touching story about a terminally ill child and the struggle to survive a natural disaster and a zombie apocalypse that was emotional as well as thrilling. Another story that packed an emotional punch was “Becca at the End of the World” by Shira Lipkin that is little more than three pages of emotion as a teenager bit by a zombie comes to grip with her impending death.

“Zombies: More Recent Dead” offers some gems but, like most longer anthologies, has several stories that were little more than filler. This keeps the book from becoming more than an interesting read. Still, the stories in the book are more good than bad and it is well worth the time to read. Fans of zombies are sure to enjoy this anthology and there is plenty here for horror fans in general. Just remember that every story is the start of a new adventure and some will be much more entertaining than others.
I would like to thank Prime Books and NetGalley for this review copy. “Zombies: More Recent Dead” is available now.