I'm going to look into other compilations by this editor. He made some excellent choices. ( )

This collection really has it all. Zombies as monsters, as objects of pity, as commodities, as political collateral, and even as the natural evolution of the human species. There is even a story without a zombie. I won't go story by story but I can tell you that they are all well done. No one will be moved or even like every story in here, but the sheer scope of viewpoints, as well as the quality of the writing, make this collection a treasure. Mr. Adams has impeccable taste.

My personal favorites are those that generate sympathy or really get into the human condition as it faces the inevitability of death or isolation. As such, my favorites were "This Year's Class Picture," "The Dead Kid," "Stockholm Syndrome," "Dead Man's Road," "The Age of Sorrow," "Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man," and "How the Day Runs Down." These were stories that left me stunned by their beauty and their humanity. You will probably have a different list.

One thing is certain. This collection is a masterpiece of dark literature. ( )

Leichen, Zombies, Sensationen – eine wüste Mischung von Geschichten aller Stil- und Geschmacksrichtungen (von Drama bis Comedy ist alles am Start), nicht immer auf den Punkt gelungen, aber insgesamt sehr unterhaltsam. Viel Zombies für kleines Geld, als Genrefan kann man mit diesem eBook eigentlich nichts falsch machen. ( )

I just finished the first offering, "This Year's Class Picture" by Dan Simmons (of Hyperion fame). This might be my favorite horror short story of all-time. So far, so awesome. John Joseph Adams knew what he was doing and started this anthology off with a huge survivalist story. 5 STARS.
"Some Zombie Contingency Plans" by Kelly Link--1 Star. Couldn't wait to get it over with. Reread it a week later and, yep, just a reductionist tale with no character development. Instead, poppy youth driven dialogue!
"Death and Suffrage" by Dale Bailey--4 Stars. Presidential election won by a zombie girl. Nuff said.
"Ghost Dance" by Sherman Alexie--3 Stars.
"Blossom" by David Schow--5 Stars. NASTY. Could never forget.
"The Third Dead Body" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman--3 Stars.
"The Dead" by Michael Swanwick--4 Stars. Corporatism run amok.
"The Dead Kid" by Darrell Schweitzer--3 Stars.
"Malthusian's Zombie" by Jeffrey Ford--4 Stars.
"Beautiful Stuff" by Susan Palwick--3 Stars (post 9/11 critique of US gov't)
"Sex, Death, and Starshine" by Clive Barker--1 Star. (I KNOW!!! SO DISAPPOINTING.)
"Stockholm Syndrome" by David Tallerman--4 Stars (felt a bit like SK's 'Roadwork'. 1ST PERSON NARRATION WARNING)
"Bobby Conroy Comes Back From the Dead" by Joe Hill--5 Stars. Takes place on the set of a George Romero flick...a love story, somehow enjoyed!
"Those Who Seek Forgiveness" by Laurell K. Hamilton--1 Star.
"In Beauty, Like the Night" by Norman Partridge--4 Stars.
"Prairie" by Brian Evenson--5 Stars. Refreshingly weird, DARK, downright bereft of hope...and difficult to consider.
"Everything is Better with Zombies" by Hannah Wolf Bowen--2 Stars.
"Home Delivery" by Stephen King--4 Stars. Left me wanting more.
"Less Than Zombie" by Douglas E. Winter--2 Stars.
"Sparks Fly Upward" by Lisa Morton--2 Stars.
"Meathouse Man" by George R.R. Martin--5 STARS. SETTING, SETTING, SETTING. What the author achieves in describing this landscape cannot be understated. Hard to read due to the completely likeable, forlorn narrator. In the notes it says Mr. Martin has trouble rereading this story...I can see why.
"Deadman's Road" by Joe Lansdale--5 Stars. Zombie Western with a pinch of the demonic.
"The Skull-Faced Boy" by David Barr Kirtley--2 Stars.
"The Age of Sorrow" by Nancy Kilpatrick--4 Stars.
"Bitter Grounds" by Neil Gaiman--3 Stars. I always WANT to like Neil Gaiman's works. ( )

Really enjoyable anthology that delivered on zombies of all zombie-walks. As with all anthologies, there were a few misses but overall this was a great anthology and I came out of this with a few favourites:

"This Year's Class Picture" - the first story of the anthology is a great set-up. A teacher continues her life's work even after the world goes to Hell.

"The Dead Kid" - A heart-breaking little story about a child zombie that stuck with me for a week.

"Prairie" - Short, believable, and gruesome.

"Home Delivery" - Stephen King's story combines my penchant for his Little Tall Island as a setting and also a female protagonist.

"Deadman's Road" - This old west story was just plain chilling. Compact cast of characters, backstory that evokes disgust for the zombie even before we meet him. I'm sorry that the author's "Dead In The West" isn't more widely available.

"Followed" - Original. I don't particularly enjoy stories in which the monster is implicitly a symbol for some human flaw, but the zombie taking the place of our conscience is effective. ( )