The Living Dead 2

Starred review from July 26, 2010
You don't have to be a zombie-lover to enjoy this outstanding follow-up to 2008's The Living Dead. Anthologist extraordinaire Adams has assembled 43 stories that showcase strong writing and imagination. Unexpected settings include a lost world with surviving dinosaurs (Brian Keene's "Lost Canyon of the Dead") and a pirate ship (Amelia Beamer's "Pirates vs. Zombies"). Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due's "Danger Word" and David Wellington's "Good People" contain powerful depictions of humans facing extinction at the hands of the undead. Cherie Priest revisits the steampunk America of her Clockwork Century books in "Reluctance" and Mira Grant adds to her Newsflesh trilogy with "Everglades." For the most part, the authors convey horror through suggestion rather than graphic gore. Readers will hope for many further additions to the series even after the zombie craze passes.

Starred review from October 15, 2010

The acclaimed first volume of The Living Dead was nearly all reprint stories. This new collection is mostly original, with some stories commissioned specifically for it. Contributors include Bob Fingerman (see above); David Moody (see below); new masters like Max Brooks, Jonathan Maberry, David Wellington, and Robert Kirkman; and old-school splatterpunks David Schow and John Skipp. BZG It's like a wonderful, rotting smorgasbord. Dig in!

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