The Dead That Walk: Flesh-Eating Stories »

Of all the monstrous threats to humanity, zombies are the most horrific. That's because they are not uncommon or alien — they're human. (Or more correctly, were human.) Anywhere that there are humans, there are zombies, and they can never be completely annihilated because by breeding more humans we breed more zombies. In The Ultimate Book of Zombies, these decomposing monsters are demolished, decapitated, and destroyed. The gore flows as humans and zombies dispatch each other in blood-curdling battles fought in big-city alleys, high school playgrounds, and even suburban living rooms. In addition, the living dead are fully deconstructed in these wide-ranging and fascinating stories. More than just brain-eating assaults and acid-bath retaliations, the tales in this book explore all elements of zombie existence and their interaction with the humans they live among.

Library Journal

There have been two other recent zombie anthologies. The Living Dead, edited by John Joseph Adams, did a great job of collecting previously published stories, while The New Dead, edited by Christopher Golden, gathered new material. This new collection splits the difference; half of the stories are reprints. With a couple of exceptions ("The Crossing of Aldo Ray" and "Tell Me Like You Done Before"), it's the older works that stand out—in particular, H.P. Lovecraft's "Cool Air" and Kim Newman's "Amerikanski Dead at the Moscow Morgue." Robert E. Howard's novella "Black Canaan" is also included, but this reviewer found its casual racism offensive. VERDICT Consider this purchase if you don't have any other books of zombie stories, but otherwise only for large horror collections.