June 2009

by Kari Wolfe

Published by Library of the Living Dead Press, Unabridged, Unabashed and Undead: The Best Zombie Short Stories of Eric S. Brown holds over 40 short-shorts and short stories for you zombie-lovers out there who just can’t get enough.

Most of these stories are more like vignettes rather than full plotted short stories. Some of these give you insights into what life is like with zombies around and it’s not all tea and crumpets. Brown has soldiers having to face difficult decisions in the line of duty, simple factory workers just doing their job prepping zombies for sale, librarians who have prepared themselves with all the knowledge of the undead so that they can assist others, and yes, even from the view of the zombies themselves.

Brown doesn’t give you any slack, not even from the beginning, the first tale a future where the world has moved past the zombie wars and accepted the reality of zombies, even marketing zombies as slaves and party favors. If you’re not ready to face a reality with zombies, I would advise not reading this book.

The story “Omega Level 5″ caught my attention. More science fiction than zombie-splatter, the story tells of a starship captain and his first mate with a deadly problem in front of them: a human colony called Zeron IV currently being ravaged by a “nano-virus of alien origin.” Waver and Jordan have been sent from the CDC (the Center for Disease Control) to evaluate the situation and to determine the best course of action.

Brown does an excellent job here of showing us who his characters are, rather than telling us. We can understand how and why Waver makes the decisions he makes and we shiver when the story’s twist is revealed subtly at the end.

Another story that caught my eye is called “The Farm Life.” Here, Brown takes a different look at zombies, realizing that perhaps it’s not only humans who can be infected. While this is more of a single scene than a story, it is another unique look at a world infestation that a lot of people soon forget.

Reading the anthology straight through, I hit “zombie overload.” I began to grow desensitized to the horror contained within. The standard zombie clichés apply and phrases begin to sound familiar from story to story. Taken in short spurts, each of these stories is well thought out, vignette or short story alike. Reading them all at once, I felt Brown’s relentless attack on my sensibilities crumbled away as my brain became numb to what was being tossed my way.

If you want to immerse yourself in a world of zombie horror and prepare yourself for the oncoming zombie war, this is the book to help you realize what it will be like.

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