A review by mikekaz
The Dead That Walk: Flesh-Eating Stories by Stephen Jones, Weston Ochse, Robert E. Howard, Kim Newman, Ramsey Campbell, Richard Matheson, Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, Yvonne Navarro, Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Michael Marshall Smith, Clive Barker
4.0
In the introduction, Jones pretty much admits that he is jumping on the zombie bandwagon. He compares as a publishing trend to vampires in the 1990s and Star Trek tie in books. He provides a bit of a history and then admits to the challenge of trying to reinstate zombies as proper monsters. Regardless of the reasons, I still bought and read the book so could say I'm continuing the trend. Either way this collection is kind of a weird one. It's a mix of old and new; the oldest being "Black Canaan" by Robert E. Howard. Unfortunately I would have to say that the quality was also a mix of good and bad. Some stories were fun to read (or re-read) like "Haeckel;s Tale" by Clive Barker. Others were drudge work to get through. Overall I would have to say that I prefer the Mammoth Books by Jones instead. This collection wasn't bad but it wasn't overly good either. I had some favorite stories from this collection but most of them were reprints that I read elsewhere. And that doesn't count Barker's tale.
"Where There's a Will" by Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson - A man has the will power to return. Unfortunately it loses some punch when put into a zombie collection.
"Bobby Conroy Comes Back From The Dead" by Joe Hill - Two friends from high school reunite while being zombies. A really good story!
"Obsequy" by David J. Schow - A man gets another chance with a past love.
"Call First" by Ramsey Campbell - A man obsesses over a regular phone call. Another story that loses a little being in a zombie collection.
"Granny's Grinning" by Robert Shearman - A young girl ends up helping her grandmother. It took me a while to like the ending.
"Where There's a Will" by Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson - A man has the will power to return. Unfortunately it loses some punch when put into a zombie collection.
"Bobby Conroy Comes Back From The Dead" by Joe Hill - Two friends from high school reunite while being zombies. A really good story!
"Obsequy" by David J. Schow - A man gets another chance with a past love.
"Call First" by Ramsey Campbell - A man obsesses over a regular phone call. Another story that loses a little being in a zombie collection.
"Granny's Grinning" by Robert Shearman - A young girl ends up helping her grandmother. It took me a while to like the ending.