Live Free or Undead
3 journalers for this copy...
I picked up another copy of this book at Borders' closeout sale. It's a New-Hampshire themed collection (the state motto is "Live Free or Die", y'see), by New Hampshire authors. [The book-cover refers to a web site, www.NHPulpFiction.com, but it seems to redirect to www.livefreeorundead.com. And you can check the www.nhbooksellers.com site to find out where you can get a copy.]
I was pleasantly surprised by this collection. Anthologies in general tend to vary in the number of hits vs. misses, and as this one was commissioned locally I feared that the quality of the writing and/or the printing might not be consistent. But I enjoyed the whole book, and found many of the stories to be inventive and memorable. I'll be watching to see what the NH Pulp Fiction folks do next!
Among my favorites:
"Memento Mori" by Elaine Isaak: This one, set in Keene, features a man who's become a zombie and is struggling to cope with his disintegration; it can be forestalled a bit by treatment, but that won't work indefinitely. The story itself is part mystery and part romance, and the "zombie" illness feels a lot like a combination of physical debility and Alzheimer's, so much of the tragedy is all too realistic.
"Wonders in the Woods" by David O'Keefe features some very strange adventures in the wilderness of NH. (I know how easy it is to feel lost after walking a few hundred feet into any of the thickly-forested areas of the state; this story might make me a bit more antsy about some of those forests!)
"Acalia" by Joyce Wagner is a sort of vampire-story-meets-"The Ransom of Red Chief" - a vampire duo nicely settled in New Hampshire go hunting for dinner, and wind up with an unexpectedly-clingy "victim". Very funny!
"Live Free or Undead" by Ernesto Burden: Darkly humorous zombie-apocalypse story that opens with "I don't mean to scare you, son, but I think we've got a zombie problem".
"Mairzy Doats" by Lorrie Lee O'Neill: there are a fair number of artisanal farms in the area, including some featuring goat's milk cheese and soaps. This story presents an unusual view of what life might be like on such a farm - with a bit of a mythological element added...
"Road Rage" by Gregory L. Norris: There's been a plague of zombies, and the southern New Hampshire survivors are being instructed to head for a "safe zone" near Boston. This story focuses on a wife and husband who seem more interested in arguing with each other than in escaping the groaning, hungry "infected". The dialogue perfectly reflects the kind of vicious sniping that only people who know each other far too well can do, and it's more frightening than the ravening hordes of undead... There's a bit of a twist to this one that I appreciated.
"Old Ruby Lane" by Michael Alan *appears* to be a story about someone discovering a charming little farm house in the country, only to learn that some of the local secrets are darker than they expected!
"Lilies for Donald" by Jeffry R. DeRego is one of my favorite stories in the book. It's set in a small NH community some time after a zombie plague has decimated the population; the survivors still have to watch out for newly infected persons - anyone who dies will rise again unless properly... treated - and in the meantime have to try to survive with what they can scavenge, grow, or make. The narrator is a feisty woman of 71 who's been able to maintain herself fairly well, though she still mourns her husband, who died some months back. Others in town aren't doing so well, though, and she gets caught up in trying to help a neighbor woman who's obviously very ill. When the source of her illness is revealed - well, let's just say that this is the most nightmare-inducing story in the collection, and one of the creepiest I've ever read. {shudder...}
"The Spiral" by J. Zachary Pike features a team of electrical-repair folk who wind up in a very, very out-of-the-way town lost in the NH woods. This story has a Lovecraftian feel to it, with plenty of "don't go there, you fool!" moments (both by characters and by the reader).
All in all, a very good collection - recommended!
I was pleasantly surprised by this collection. Anthologies in general tend to vary in the number of hits vs. misses, and as this one was commissioned locally I feared that the quality of the writing and/or the printing might not be consistent. But I enjoyed the whole book, and found many of the stories to be inventive and memorable. I'll be watching to see what the NH Pulp Fiction folks do next!
Among my favorites:
"Memento Mori" by Elaine Isaak: This one, set in Keene, features a man who's become a zombie and is struggling to cope with his disintegration; it can be forestalled a bit by treatment, but that won't work indefinitely. The story itself is part mystery and part romance, and the "zombie" illness feels a lot like a combination of physical debility and Alzheimer's, so much of the tragedy is all too realistic.
"Wonders in the Woods" by David O'Keefe features some very strange adventures in the wilderness of NH. (I know how easy it is to feel lost after walking a few hundred feet into any of the thickly-forested areas of the state; this story might make me a bit more antsy about some of those forests!)
"Acalia" by Joyce Wagner is a sort of vampire-story-meets-"The Ransom of Red Chief" - a vampire duo nicely settled in New Hampshire go hunting for dinner, and wind up with an unexpectedly-clingy "victim". Very funny!
"Live Free or Undead" by Ernesto Burden: Darkly humorous zombie-apocalypse story that opens with "I don't mean to scare you, son, but I think we've got a zombie problem".
"Mairzy Doats" by Lorrie Lee O'Neill: there are a fair number of artisanal farms in the area, including some featuring goat's milk cheese and soaps. This story presents an unusual view of what life might be like on such a farm - with a bit of a mythological element added...
"Road Rage" by Gregory L. Norris: There's been a plague of zombies, and the southern New Hampshire survivors are being instructed to head for a "safe zone" near Boston. This story focuses on a wife and husband who seem more interested in arguing with each other than in escaping the groaning, hungry "infected". The dialogue perfectly reflects the kind of vicious sniping that only people who know each other far too well can do, and it's more frightening than the ravening hordes of undead... There's a bit of a twist to this one that I appreciated.
"Old Ruby Lane" by Michael Alan *appears* to be a story about someone discovering a charming little farm house in the country, only to learn that some of the local secrets are darker than they expected!
"Lilies for Donald" by Jeffry R. DeRego is one of my favorite stories in the book. It's set in a small NH community some time after a zombie plague has decimated the population; the survivors still have to watch out for newly infected persons - anyone who dies will rise again unless properly... treated - and in the meantime have to try to survive with what they can scavenge, grow, or make. The narrator is a feisty woman of 71 who's been able to maintain herself fairly well, though she still mourns her husband, who died some months back. Others in town aren't doing so well, though, and she gets caught up in trying to help a neighbor woman who's obviously very ill. When the source of her illness is revealed - well, let's just say that this is the most nightmare-inducing story in the collection, and one of the creepiest I've ever read. {shudder...}
"The Spiral" by J. Zachary Pike features a team of electrical-repair folk who wind up in a very, very out-of-the-way town lost in the NH woods. This story has a Lovecraftian feel to it, with plenty of "don't go there, you fool!" moments (both by characters and by the reader).
All in all, a very good collection - recommended!
I'm sending this book to BCer mathgirl40 in Canada, as a prize for participating in this year's Chills & Spills release challenge. Hope you enjoy it!
What a terrific surprise, to get this in the mail! Looks like this collection of stories will be a fun, scary and creepy read. Goes perfectly well with the Chills and Spills challenge. Thanks, GoryDetails!
This was a very fun collection of scary stories! There were a good number of zombies but also vampires, ghosts, haunted houses and more. Quality and appeal varied, as is expected with any anthology of this sort, but I really enjoyed many of the stories, especially "Acalia" by Joyce Wagner and "Mairzy Doats" by Lorrie Lee O'Neill. I also enjoyed the local colour of the stories. Reading this makes me want to visit New Hampshire and see the mountains and forests for myself! Maybe I will make that trip one day, as New Hampshire is not all that far from Ontario.
Thanks again to GoryDetails for sending this book to me! I tagged AKSarah in a wishlist tag game and will be sending this book off shortly so that it can do more travelling.
Thanks again to GoryDetails for sending this book to me! I tagged AKSarah in a wishlist tag game and will be sending this book off shortly so that it can do more travelling.
I've sent this book onto AKSarah. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Received! Thank you so much!
