Review: Best issue yet!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 16, 2011
One Buck Zombie starts off with a zombie story that asks the question, "What would happen if a boy loved his mom so much that it blinded him to the horror of her becoming a zombie?" The Best Mother, by James Owens also plays with the unnerving question of how much zombies retain in their undead state. Imagining yourself in this little boy's shoes really makes you wonder how different you might handle your mom becoming this kind of zombie. The story is set in a world where zombies are not killed outright, but are still feared as abominations, and therefore James plays with the suspense of the boy taking his mother in public places. The arc of the story ends in a different place then I thought, and therefore left me even more disturbed than I was already - a good kind of disturbed from a great story. 5 StarsThe Levees of the Styx by David Dunwoody has a unique backstory for how the zombies were created, and setting for how the characters will try and survive hiding in a barricade. This story is packed with some powerful pictures of horror themes, such as guilt, misery, survival, and chivalry. The dialogue and actions efficiently evoke sympathy for both characters, and the description creates a rich sense of living this nightmare with them. My only criticism about this story is that it ended. 5 StarsLittle Red Zombie Hood by Alana I. Capria is gruesome, but confusing. The prose is precise, but lacks enough explanation for me to understand what is going on and why for most of the story. The twist on Red Riding Hood is interesting, especially how she hunts wolves, but also uses zombie wolves to...farm, protect her, I don't know - I got lost in the relationships between all the characters. At one point I thought they were working together, then the next they are eating each other, then the next they are trying to procreate. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't follow the intent of the story, even though it was very creepy. 2 StarsHe Stopped Loving Her Today by James R. Tuck shows unique ideas about how zombies could decay differently - if they decay at all...which is a strong hook into the story. Great writing on this one, and had a satisfying ending, though I question the style of saying what someone didn't sense, (i.e. see, hear, feel), instead of what they did. Aside from that, the story is still 5 stars.Mother Sisyphus by Robert Davies is a zombie version of the  Myth of Sisyphus, a man whom the gods punished for his deeds in life by making him roll a stone up to the top of a hill, only to have it roll back down every time. This story is about a werezombie that deals with the hope of life only to be met with the suffering of living death. Chilling story that will affect you long after reading. 5 stars.Overall Rating: 4.4 Stars. I'm still posting a 5 star because of how close it was, and because after reading these stories twice, and enjoying them more, I see this as an anthology I will reread many more times.