Unabridged, Unabashed and Undead
Author(s): Eric S. Brown
Publisher: Library of the Living Dead
Publication Date: 2009
Name of Reviewer: Mark ‘Wally' Wall
Review: Eric S. Brown is quite an established horror short story writer, in America, who mainly focuses on the undead of the zombie variety. I wouldn't be reviewing this for Terror4Fun otherwise. This book is “a collection of his best zombie short stories” and contains a whopping 43 tales of folk rising from their graves to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world and in some cases, space.
There are so many stories within this book, that I think it caters for all fans of the genre and overall, I seemed to enjoy it. The only blindingly bad point about the book, which niggled at me from page 1 to the very end, was the spelling and grammar! Normally, I can let this slide if it's a couple of mistakes throughout the whole book, but this literally had at least one mistake per page. If you can look past this, then it's quite a good book, but it does knock your concentration when you're trying to figure out what word he actually meant to say. Try and figure out what “a box of cartilages” is. Don't try and find the stories from the contents page either, as the page numbers do not relate. In all, there are 232 pages, but the contents page fits all of the stories into around 145 pages…that's magic! Another thing I couldn't quite get used to was learning a new set of characters for each story. I know that's the whole point of short stories, but you never really get to know the characters and relate to their ordeals.
Zombie Fear Factor: 3 Brains out of 5
The scariness of this book varies from story to story. There were only a couple of stories where I was slightly spooked out by the writing. Most of the stories are short snippets of action sequences, where you are just thrown into the thick of it, so there is not much time to build up tension with the characters and the hordes they're fighting. Some of the better tales were the ones where no, or little, conflict was involved, like the first story, “A Bad Day at Work”. This is about a guy who works in a zombie processing factory, cleaning up zombies for buyers to use for menial work, or their own pleasure.
Zombie Behaviour: 4 Brains out of 5
Every zombie imaginable is featured within this book. From the undead, who are aware of their misfortune, to your common-all-garden ‘Night of the Living Dead' style shambling creatures. The reason I've only given it 4 stars and not 5 is because of the ridiculousness of some of the zombies featured. Two words for you…Zombie Squirrels! Enough said. Sometimes, it's more of the human behaviour that grips you. In the stories like ‘Cooped Up' and ‘Dead Eater', it focuses on human emotions and how you should also watch out for fellow man; not just the rotting kind. Now, I didn't knock off anymore points for unnatural zombie behaviour, like using guns etc, as the author can be let off for exploring these ideas within short stories.
Zombie Threat: 5 Brains out of 5
I would have to give this book, as a whole, 5 stars for zombie threat. There seemed to be a running theme throughout most of the stories, where all hope was lost and the main character ends up inside the belly of a former colleague or relative. On a global scale though, it is hard to judge how many zombies there actually are, as there is not much time to set the scene in that sense. Some great ideas are thrown around in this book and I can see quite a few of them being turned into films, or at least shorts.
Gore Content: 5 Brains out of 5
Gore Content: 5 stars
It is quite safe to say that Eric S. Brown does not scrimp on the gore. Every bit of puss and guts was explained in graphic detail. He particularly liked to focus on the fact that all the zombies had yellow teeth, whether they be animal or human. There are also a few instances where the main character plans to take their own life, rather than face the hordes, which is always explicitly explained.
Overall Quality: 3 Brains out of 5
For the overall quality, I'm going to have to go for the middle of the road and give it 3 stars. I don't want to give it any less, because there are some fantastic stories in this book. I also do not want to give it any more, because there are a few abysmal stories and along with the spelling, grammar and not being able to find a story from the contents page, these things let it down. I would still recommend this to a fellow zombie fan, but as more of a book to keep by the toilet, so you can have a read through one or two stories to start your day, or finish your day; depending on your regularity.
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