In a world where the dead walk…
In a world where the living struggle to survive…
In a world where Munchkins fight alongside flying monkeys…
Those are just some of the things you will find inside this mammoth book of zombie fiction by writers from Michigan to Malaysian, from Austin to Austria.
So, pull on your bibs and prepare to sink your teeth in.
There’s plenty of brains for everyone!
With stories by Bint Arab, Robert Forrester, Michael C. Dick, K. A. Masters, T. Fox Dunham, Kenneth E. Olson, Jason Papke, Richard Jay Goldstein, T. L. Barrett, Theresa Derwin, Joe Sherry, Jack Bantry, Bruce L. Priddy, Jonathan Wood, Gary Madden, Nicky Peacock, Douglas J. Moore, Iain Rob Wright, Dale Elster, Rebecca Snow, T. L. Decay, Philip Harris, Annie Neugebauer, Jamal K. Luckett, Marc-Anthony Taylor, Michelle Ann King, Suzanne Robb, C. Douglas Birkhead, Anne E. Johnson, Indy McDaniel, Bryan Vogt, Paul S. Huggins, Stef White, Jim Gadsby, J. Rodimus Fowler, Golda Mowe, Mihai Boc, Jessica A. Weiss, B.E. Scully, Scott Lininger, Katie Young, Allen Jacoby, Kelly Evans, S. Wayne Roberts, Alyn Day, R. S. Pyne, Kristal Stittle, Theresa Derwin, Pembroke Sinclair, Justin Sharples, Vince Liberato and an amazing cover by Gary McCluskey
by Alex McDermott:
I’ve always had a soft spot for zombies. I’ll admit it! But even as a long-time fan I can see when a walker has passed its less than fresh date! In the wave of zombies over the last number of years, the story seems to be getting stale. So Long, And Thanks for All the Brains is a welcome change from the traditional but tired brain eating Romero clone so popular now.
A lot of the authors in this collection really push boundaries for the walking dead. The opener, “Remembering Human” by Bint Arab, turns the narrative on its head by giving us the zombie’s point of view as it slowly loses the last traces of humanity. In the government experiment gone wrong obsession, a lot of people don’t realize where the true zombie legend comes from! In “Troubleshooter” by Gary Madden, we return to the real zombie concept, voodoo priest and all! Robert Forrester’s “Necropolis is Burning” describes a unique post-zombie apocalypse world where walkers are a ‘normal nuisance’ to be dealt with. “Dry Rot” by Jamal K. Luckett is a really fascinating look at leprosy, zombies, and what happens when superstition and reality collide. Vampires and zombies share space in “Unusual Appetites” by Jessica A. Weiss. Like Luckett’s story, B.E. Scully looks at what happens when the very real meth epidemic morphs into something much darker. These are by no means the only standouts here. This collection has an incredible list of authors!
Anthologies, particularly those with a specific theme, can run the risk of repetition. So Long is 474 pages and some of the stories sounded too similar. I found myself skimming through the third government experiment gone wrong story. There were also a few that dipped into the gratuitous zombie violence with little plot category. The standout stories here were more than enough to make you forget the weaker ones though! If you’re tired of the same old zombie trite this is your answer!
So Long and Thanks for all the Brains
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