History Is Dead: A Zombie Anthology (2007)
Edited by Kim Paffenroth
Permuted Press
Trade/$16.95
Review by Nickolas Cook

Zombies span the ages! Well, we know this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the zombie antho tackle historical periods, but most of those past efforts have … well … kind of shambled around aimlessly, until the book just falls over and dies.

Not so with editor Kim Paffenroth’s History Is Dead anthology. Inside you’ll find some of the better examples of the undead spanning different time periods across the world. It’s obvious Paffenroth had a vision in mind before selecting the stories, and for the horror fan, he has done a wonderful job of giving us new authors, with new and interesting takes on the undead throughout history. Some of the standout stories for me were Christine Morgan’s “The Barrow Maid,” Scott A. Johnson’s “Harimoto,” James Roy Daley’s “Summer of 1816,” David Dunwoody’s “The Reluctant Prometheus” and Jonathan Maberry’s “Pegleg and Paddy Save the World.” Not to say the other stories don’t entertain, but the above mentioned have a special quality about them that makes the entire collection shine brighter.

There are stories of good vs. evil, love and hate, the blessed and the meek, and stories of gore and beauty, sometimes in the same tale.

If you’re looking for new voices in zombie fiction, look no further. It’s my opinion that you will probably see most of the authors in the TOC popping up in other anthologies and in the small press.