Ed. James Roy Daley, 2010, Books of the DeadAs with its predecessor, Best New Zombie Tales Vol 1, Volume two of this anthology series collects numerous excellent zombie tales (19 in all), and certainly lives up to its claim of 'Best' (although, once again, 'new' seems inaccurate, given the original publication dates of some the stories. Maybe I'm just being picky, though).
Particular highlights, for me, included Rio Youers' 'Bury Me Not', an effectively creepy piece in the vein of Ramsey Campbell; Steven A. Roman's 'Laundry Day', which puts a nice twist on the 'folks are the worst of all monsters' trope; Narrelle M. Harris' 'The Truth About Brains', a sly piece of dark humour that brings magic (and consequences!) back to the genre; Nate Kenyon's 'Gravedigger', which isn't quite the anti-drugs tale it seems to be; Cody Goodfellow's 'We Will Rebuild', which reminds us that the difference between Right and Wrong is always a matter of perspective; and Mort Castle's 'The Old Man and the Dead', which is quite possibly the most beautifully literary piece of zomfic I've read since Tony Burgess' Pontypool Changes Everything.
Best New Zombie Tales Vol.2 is a worthy addition to any zomfic collection, with the ongoing BNZT series of anthologies definitely one to keep track of. A great read.
