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Book Review: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! - FIGHTBACK

Written by Scott Varnham Tuesday, 18 September 2012

Reviews - Books

Zombie Apocalypse! - Fightback

Review: Zombie Apocalypse - Fightback / Author: Stephen Jones / Publisher: Running Press / Release Date: September 25th

Zombie Apocalypse: Fightback is just the latest attempt by Jones to breathe new life into a genre that just won’t die. Featuring contributions from Robert Shearman, Guy Adams, Neil Gaiman and many more, this book had so much potential. So where did it go wrong?

The simple answer is, had this book been 200 pages shorter it would’ve scored much higher than it did, but by the time you get to the end of this 500 page slog you start to feel as weary as the characters. Not that you’d know how far you were in the book; the pages are unnumbered and devoid of easily identifiable markers.

On paper, it’s a damn clever idea: using texts, diaries, emails and other media to tell the story of a slowly unfolding zombie apocalypse (very slowly - we're talking centuries here). However, the anthology format means that as soon as you find a story that you’re keen to hear more of or an author whose style you’re particularly enjoying, it moves on to one that bores you or one that just isn’t as good.

Some of the pieces are superbly written and engaging (especially Dead Air and Peace Land Blood) but they do little to improve a book that goes on for far too long and lacks any real closure. If you do decide to pick this up, you’d best set aside a lot of time to read it.