Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings [Paperback]

 

 

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I've read the reviews previous about this collection and can only say I agree. This book is a beautifully written collection of short stories and poetry with author's notes explaining where the ideas came from. Stone is a rising star that leaves other writers in the horror genre standing in the glow they could only wish to achieve.

What is so outstanding about this book is that even though Stone writes about vampires, in the first part - all of these stories aren't about the vampire condition. Without giving spoilers - what we have here is Horror, crime, fantasy, dark comedy, ghosts and mythical creatures all explored in a unique way. Shocking at times - all the stories are completely unpredictable and avoid any of the cliches we've seen so often in genre fiction.

The brief glimpse we are given into the author's mind was fascinating.

It's hard to say which of these were my favourites. i loved the whole collection. 'Red' left me breathless, I felt I could hear the sound of the waves as I read 'Siren Song' and the chilling story of 'The Toymaker's House' will probably give me sleepless nights for many years to come.

A must read for real fans of horror who are tired of the old, repetitive tropes.

Sam Stone is author of the 'Vampire Gene' series of horror novels, and the first section of this, her first collection, brings together several short tales centring on the main character of the series, the ageless vampire Lucrezia Borgia. Told in the first person, Lucy's stories are wry, dry, and soaked with not a little blood. The title story, one of the longest in the book, is an original take on a zombie outbreak in the Big Apple. This being Sam Stone, this is no straightforward tale of foot-dragging walking corpses devouring the brains of the living. Lucrezia is cast as lover, demon, and even detective, as, in the brilliantly original take on an old theme, "Lead Poisoning", she stalks the streets of Victorian London on the trail of Jack the Ripper. Elsewhere, she becomes the obsession of an ancient creature reanimated from the dead, and finds herself equally obsessed by an entity of whose existence she had never previously been aware.

The second section of the book collects various other `bloody jottings', including the murderously humorous `Clown Addict', in which one man's obsession brings murder and mayhem to a certain type of entertainer. `Immortal Monster' is an unusual look at the power of words, and `Chillers and Breathers' is a refreshingly modern take on the age-old genre of the ghost story. The section is rounded off by the brilliantly chilling "The Toymaker's House", one of the triumphs of what is a very strong collection. Each story is followed by a note from the author detailing the background to the story, exploring the event, frequently a dream, a location, or an old TV show, which sparked the initial idea.

Throughout, Sam Stone's voice is cool, objective, rational. All but one story is told in the first person, a narrative device which conveys the horrors in a way which is shocking but never prurient. Graphic, frequently gory, often erotic, this is a world of horrific imaginings presented with wry humour and an eye for the grotesque. Sam Stone's method is to take the standards of the horror genre and give them a unique twist, subverting cliché by reimagining the familiar classics, the vampires, werewolves, zombies, sea spirits, ghosts, bringing us fully-rounded characters rather than types, who behave in comprehensible, if frequently horrific, ways. With her humane, and human, insight, we are brought uncomfortably close to the cold, bleak terror which often underlies what we like to think of as reality.

A brief selection of Sam Stone's horror poetry rounds off this unsettling collection.

The book is headed by an introduction from horror maestro Graham Masterton, and rounded off by a few words, and a poem, from Sam Stone's good friend, the actor Fraser Hines.

This collection is split into three sections. The first seven short tales fall under the banner heading of Lucrezia's Stories. Lucrezia is the main character from another novel called Futile Flame, which is part of the Vampire Gene series. The second section, called Other Bloody Jottings contains six one off short stories. The collection is rounded off with six poems

Of the thirteen stories that make up the main body of the anthology my personal favourites are listed below.

Fools Gold - I have to admit that I'm a bit of a sucker for stories set in Victorian London. Add to that the mystery that surrounds the legends of Jack the Ripper as well as a vampire-cum-detective and you have successfully caught my attention.

Lead Poisoning - Another story that has a definite nod to the detective genre. In this instance however the action takes place in modern day Los Angeles but also has one foot firmly in the past.

Zombies in New York - I don't want to say too much about this, as it would spoil the surprise, but imagine if 28 Days Later had vampires in it. Zombie purists may disagree a bit with the title though.

Clown Addict - In a collection of macabre and quirky stories I think Clown Addict wins the prize for being the oddest. A civil servant who works in the security services develops an attraction to clowns. Rather than fearing them, Coulrophobia fact fans, he lusts after them. This is definitely one of the stronger stories in the collection. It was nice to see a horror mainstay, the scary clown, de-constructed and stood on its head.

Chillers and Breathers - Two cops hunt down a killer, one is a ghost while the other is alive. I like the premise of this story - an alternate Earth where ghosts and the living co-exist. I could quite happily read an entire novel that further explores this mythology.

Each story in the collection ends with some additional thoughts from the author. I'm undecided how I feel about these inclusions. In a couple of instances the additional notes do prove to be insightful but on other occasions I think that certain stories may have been better served by leaving them to speak for themselves.

Zombies of New York and Other Bloody Jottings certainly acts as a perfect introduction to Sam Stone's work. If you enjoy the likes of Laurell K Hamilton' Anita Blake series then I think it may be worth your while checking this out. The short stories that take up the first half of the book do offer a tantilising glimpse into the Vampire Gene universe.

Overall I found this collection to be a bit of a mixed bag. The stories I highlighted above captured my imagination and were a great deal of fun to read but some of the others left me a little cold. In fairness I don't think I am necessarily the target audience for this collection. The inner cover mentions, "Chick slash has never been so entertaining". I think based on the fact that I had to go and look up what Chick slash meant this would suggest that I'm not the novel's intended target.

I also have to be honest and admit that I didn't read any of the poetry. My experience with poetry is limited and I fear I could potentially do the author's work a disservice by attempting to write/review an art form I am largely ignorant of.

Stone is undoubtedly passionate about her work and I think I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys his or her horror with a lustful or obsessive edge and is willing to give something new a try.

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5.0 out of 5 stars chilling and brillient
Sam Stone is one of my new favorite Writers. this is a fantastic book which in my oppinion is a mixture of Fiction and Non Fiction. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Kevin Shirley

5.0 out of 5 stars A phantasmagoria of the strange and wonderful
I picked up this book at FantasCon down in Brighton and its taken me a while to read, I'd hoped to post this a few weeks ago and only finished the book at the weekend... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Steve Cotterill

5.0 out of 5 stars THE MADAME OF THE MACABRE
Sam Stone must certainly be the new Madame of the Macabre. Whether or not she is revealing other facets and idiosyncrasies of her Vampire Gene's main protagonist, Lucrecia, or... Read more

Published 4 months ago by risahall

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