Book Review - Rotting Tales: A Zombie Anthology

Isn't this a lovely image? It's the cover art for the anthology. The call for submissions explained it. The cover art was for a different zombie book that never happened. The publisher, Pill Hill Press, loved it enough they wanted to use it. So they put out a call for subs asking for stories inspired by the cover art.

The resulting stories range from silly to disturbing to horrific. Most are quite short, only a couple of pages. The variety of stories inspired by the same picture is remarkable. A picture is truly worth a thousand words, or about 60,000 in this case.

I'm not usually a fan of anthologies. This one only had two stories I skipped. There are a few with lots of profanity, but the majority of them are well-written and enjoyable. Most of them are disturbing, but it's a zombie anthology. You expect disturbing stories about the dead rising and eating the living. They don't disappoint in that regard.

My story, Always a Bridesmaid, is light-hearted and silly. I meant it to be that way. That's how I tackle horror. I find a way to laugh with it and gentle it. Brother Barry had me laughing out loud. I loved A Willing Ear. Not everything has to be serious when it's creepy.

Overall, Rotting Tales is a fun take on zombies with a lot of great stories. If you like zombies, not sparkly love-hunky ones but gooey rotting corpses, this book is full of them. It's another great read from Pill Hill Press.

From Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Rotting-Tales-Zombie-Anthology-Roberts/dp/1617060437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289180117&sr=1-1

From the publisher: http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-anthologies.html  (scroll down to Rotting Tales)

Book review - Monster Hunter International, Larry Correia

Warning: This post is written under the influence of a migraine and allergy medication. If it sounds loopy, it's because the author definitely is.

I met Larry Correia at a local con recently. He's a nice guy. A total gun nut, but still a very nice guy. In many ways, he resembles the main character in his novel, Owen Pitt.

Monster Hunter isn't the kind of book I usually pick up. It involves the undead. But since they are basically cannon fodder for the book, I decided to buy a copy off him and try it. Did I mention Larry is a really nice guy? (And, no, he isn't paying me to say that. Not yet, anyway.) I added the book to my tottering WTR (want to read) and HTBR (have to be read) piles. I'm happy to say his book landed in the first category. Then, life happened.

My husband picked up the book and asked me if it was good. I said, "I don't know, I haven't read it yet. But Larry is a nice guy." My husband read the book in one weekend. Considering he dumps books he doesn't like by page 50, it was a good sign.

So I finally read the book over the weekend. Very fun read. Lots of monster slaughter happens, usually with heavy firepower, but the story is more than just pasting various undead with large-bore silver ammo then burning them with grenade launchers. Larry manages to create hordes of mindless undead that make sense. Their creator has a purpose for them and the world that nobody with any brains is going to like.

Monster Hunter International could have devolved into the usual zombie/vampire gore novel with big guns and hot women, but it doesn't. The writing is a bit clunky at times, but this is his first book and the story carries it past the minor flaws. Owen Pitt is engaging, fun, sweet in a weird way, and somehow carries an air of innocence total incongruous with his skills of mass destruction.

The ending leaves the story open to a definite sequel, which I have to admit, I'm looking forward to reading. If you like quirky characters, piles of undead carcasses, massive firepower, and gun talk, check out Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. You'll only be sorry if you actually *like* vampires, zombies, litches, etc. (They die, a LOT!)