Book of All Flesh

Rating:
Summary: what the world needs now is another zombie anthology.
Review: hey, lets give em' a hand.
not everyone is trying this.
the book has some entriguing moments.
one complaint i have is that all the good stuff is in the first half.
lets get it straight-zombie stuff isn't rocket science.
for those of you out there that beleive it is......i'll..take..it..slow..
for real though, most of the authors got it right in this edition.
i would say that 60% of the stories were good, 10% being outstanding.
sorry to say i wouldn't feed the other 30% to my brain damaged 3 legged dog.(although, next to rotten meatballs that would be his favorite dish-SH!TTY ZOMBIE STORIES!)
so buy it already, we won't get another 10% until you do......

Rating:
Summary: Book of All Flesh, Two Rotted Thumbs Up
Review: I found the Book of All Flesh to be a wonderfully fresh and macabre take on the living dead genre, made famous by George A Romero. The book features some heavy hitting talent, including Robert E Vardeman, co-author of the War of Powers series of novels. The stories are tight and well though out, making the book a stimulating read from the first story to the last. Two of the stories, Prometheus Unwound and Dawn of the Living Impaired have been nominated for Origins awards.
Although most of the stories lend themselves to the "shoot them in the head" theory, made popular by many Living Dead movies, the settings and styles of the stories are all excellently vivid in their detail and dark in their subject matter. There were a few typographical errors, but not enough to detract from the total enjoyment of the book.
I give the Book of All Flesh high marks for its imaginative styling and its wonderful examples of this lesser known and under appreciated genre. I highly recommend the anthology to anyone who loves the genre, enjoys horror and the macabre in general, and likes the feeling that a good horror story gives them when they're up reading late at night; and with this book, you will be.

Rating:
Summary: Book of All Flesh, Two Rotted Thumbs Up
Review: I found the Book of All Flesh to be a wonderfully fresh and macabre take on the living dead genre, made famous by George A Romero. The book features some heavy hitting talent, including Robert E Vardeman, co-author of the War of Powers series of novels. The stories are tight and well though out, making the book a stimulating read from the first story to the last. Two of the stories, Prometheus Unwound and Dawn of the Living Impaired have been nominated for Origins awards.
Although most of the stories lend themselves to the "shoot them in the head" theory, made popular by many Living Dead movies, the settings and styles of the stories are all excellently vivid in their detail and dark in their subject matter. There were a few typographical errors, but not enough to detract from the total enjoyment of the book.
I give the Book of All Flesh high marks for its imaginative styling and its wonderful examples of this lesser known and under appreciated genre. I highly recommend the anthology to anyone who loves the genre, enjoys horror and the macabre in general, and likes the feeling that a good horror story gives them when they're up reading late at night; and with this book, you will be.

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: I've read a number of zombie books, but most of them were essentially a "Night of the Living Dead" knock-off. Not so with "The Book of All Flesh". The stories contained therein are both well-written and innovative. They're not just more "Oh-no-we're-trapped-with-a-horde-of-flesh-eating-zombies-outside" schlock. For gamers, it's also a great companion to a great game.

Rating:
Summary: Fun, and sometimes brilliant.
Review: James Lowder (ed.), The Book of All Flesh (Eden Publishing, 2001)

All Flesh Must Be Eaten... and it's up to you, pal.

Following in the wake of Dungeons and Dragons and various other roleplaying games, the All Flesh Must Be Eaten LARP line decided to try and rope in some new customers with fiction based in the world of AFMBE. This is the first collection of same, and both the roleplayer and the horror aficionado will find a number of familiar names in these pages. AD&D veteran James Lowder collected things, and he did a darned good job of cherry-picking here.

It won't surprise the roleplaying crowd that one of the highlights of this collection is Ed Greenwood's "One Last, Little Revenge." Greenwood, of course, is the creator of the Forgotten Realms AD&D scenario, as well as most of the books written about the Forgotten Realms that are actually worth a second read. New lights in the horror world Michael Laimo and Scott Nicholson, both with recent novels on the shelves, turn in very good stories as well. (In fact, it's pretty hard to go wrong with anything within these covers.) But the true gem here is Christine Morgan's "Dawn of the Living Impaired, which has shades of Dan Simmons' lovely, underrated "Vanni Fucci Is Alive and Well and Living in Hell" (published many years ago in the Night Visions books) with an ending that... well, I don't want to spoil it for you.

A bloody fun read, this, and well worth seeking out. *** ½

Rating:
Summary: Now for a review from someone with a clue
Review: Not entirely sure what A Reader was reading, but it was obviously not BoAF. Someone who can't spell editing should not be criticizing it. Yes, this book is something of a niche title, as the entire anthology's theme is stories that have to do with the living dead. If you don't like zombie stories, no this book will probably not convert you. If you don't like zombie stories I sincerely doubt you'd buy a book with the words "Zombie Anthology" on the cover either. With that stated I will review the book from the perspective of it's target audience.

The stories vary in quality, from decent to exceptional. The stories range in setting from film noir (Hollywood Flesh) to modern setting horror (most of them) to Super Hero (Prometheus Unwound).

As far as the previously posted review says about editing quality, maybe he was mistaking freedom of hand given to the authors for lack of editing. Each story has a distinct voice. They all have a different feel, which means if you don't like one story, try another, as the editor never forced the author to change their style to match the other stories in the collection.

As I'm running out of time to type this up, I'll sum up my views as follows-If you are a horror fan, especially if you are a fan of stories that involve the Walking Dead, then by all means get it. The anthology format makes it ideal for quick reads during lunch breaks, bathroom runs, or other times where you don't have the time or energy to invest in a full fledged novel.

Rating:
Summary: Mmmmmm.....Brains......
Review: The Book Of All Flesh is Lowder's first Zombie Anthology, followed by The Book Of More Flesh and The Book Of Final Flesh. I happened to read `More Flesh' first, and quickly trotted out to purchase the other two books. Lowder has indeed put together a stellar collection of shambling tales that will haunt the dark corners of your mind long after you thumbed through the last, richly painted page.

Just when you think the subject of Zombies had died its final death, Lowder raises it up from its crumbling grave and feeds it to us with squishy delights from many talented authors.

Scott Nicholson answers the burning question of how Zombies love in his tale `Murdermouth', Steve Eller gives a grisly twist in Zombie survival in `Consumption', Christine Morgan presents a tongue-in-cheek, politically correct treatment in `Dawn Of The Living-Impaired', Kenneth Lightner's `Number Of The Beast' tells in diary and police-report style a tale of science gone awry, Michael Laimo's nightmare tale of survival in `Last Resort', Gregory G. Kurcznski gives Henry the love he always wanted in `Same Night Different Farmhouse', Robert E. Vardeman takes a corporate twist in `Middles', Jeremy Zoss will make you laugh with `Electric Jesus And The Living Dead', and Scott Eldeman will sing a calmly, bittersweet tale of love in `Live People Don't Understand.'

More great authors include Mark McLaughlin, Joe Murphy, L.J. Washburn, Scot Noel, Pete D. Manison, Ed Greenwood, Jim C. Hines, Daniel Ksenych, C. Dean Anderson, Robin D. Laws, Tobias S. Buckell, Aaron T. Solomon, Matt Forbeck, John C. Hay, L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims, and Warren & Lana Brown.

Twenty-five tales of flesh chewing and brain munching, expertly written into fresh new scenarios and peppered with, pardon the pun, fully fleshed out characters. From boardrooms to basements, the Zombies are out, hungry and eager to find your sweet smelling blood. If you are a zombie fan like I am, stumbling up from the darkness of same tired old zombie tales, pick up this book and give it a try. It will lead you into the bright new dawn of the next Zombie age, where you can taste new and fresh meat, I mean stories, that will leave your hunger satisfied. Enjoy!


Rating:
Summary: BEST ZOMBIE ANTHOLOGY EVER!!
Review: This anthology has got to be the best one around. Namely, because there aren't that many zombie books in print (why is this?), but also because the stories are realistic and very creepy. Aside from a few stories that borderline on being a bit too cerebral (remember, zombies are of a survival/apocalyptic based genre), the book has an overall scary thrill to it. Aside from one story that might be considered blasphemous, the book is great. Very, very spooky, and definate scary read.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as it sounds
Review: Though the writing in this is of decent quality, the editting is atrocious. Compared to similar anthology books, this is severely lacking. Save your money... or spend it on one or more of the other titles which outshine this one.

Rating:
Summary: Actually, it is as good as it sounds.
Review: You can't trust anyone's opinion on editing if they spell it with two t's. The Book of All Flesh is surprisingly good for an anthology of zombie stories. It could have easily been nothing more than a George Romero rip-off, but the stories are much more than that. They range from the humorous "Middles" to the disturbing "Susan" to the creepy "Murdermouth". There's a science fiction zombie story set on the moon, a pulp detective zombie story set in Hollywood in the thirties, and even a superhero story with zombies in it. Despite the occasional odd juxtaposition of genres, all the stories work. There are certainly some stories that I liked more than others, but there weren't any that I found disappointing.