Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings by Sam Stone

Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings Reviews

• 
  Paul

  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.
• 
  Batsap

  Kind of an addictive book to read. Over the few days that I read it, I was slightly obsessed with it and whenever I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be reading it.
  I absolutely love the front cover for this. Clowns are just the most awesome thing... and a zombie clown? Even better! There are illustrations at the beginning of each short story and poem, too, which I thought was a classy touch.
  At the end of each story/poem Sam Stone has written a little about the inspiration behind it. I enjoyed reading them and it gave extra depth to the pieces.
  The stand-out piece in this collection for me was Clown Addict. Obviously, because clowns are awesome. It was an interesting story as well and something different. I also liked Chillers and Breathers - please write this into a novel, Sam? It's the most amazing premise I've read about in ages. Siren Song was written in an unusual style and I found it quite beautiful and moving.
  A couple of stories I didn't like so much were Tar, Red, Angels Love Vampires... These had something of a romance/sex element that I find boring to read about. But that's just a personal preference. I'm sure that people who like that kind of thing will enjoy these stories. I also had a difficult time with The Toymaker's House. It was quite disturbing. But the worst part for me was the first couple of pages felt amatuerish in style and weren't up to the quality of writing in the rest of the book. It did pick up towards the end, though.
  The first few stories were a tie-in with Sam Stone's Vampire Gene series and it has got me interested in reading them!
• 
  Dumpy Unicorn

  I really enjoyed this collection of short stories and poetry.
  
  The first part of the book deals with one of her characters from the Vampire Gene series of novels. Lucrezia and offers the reader further insight into one of the series most enigmatic characters. I particularly liked Fools Gold and Ameline because of their historical elements. I also really enjoyed Tar and Red as a sequence as it offered development and insight into Lucrezia.
  
  For me the stand out of the Other Bloody Jottings was Chillers and Breathers. I would love for Sam to find the time to explore that universe more fully. The rest were all good and offered something that will definitely stick with me. I have to reserve mention for the Toymaker's House because that one really did disturb me.
  
  What set this collection apart was the Author's comments on her own work, offering insights into how a story might have evolved and to someone who is interested in the craft of writing the commentaries are necessary reading.
• 
  Kelly Beckett

  Zombies In New York by Sam Stone is one of my favourite books as it is one of the very few books which left me feeling jumpy afterwards especially when I read The Toymakers House. My favourite story besides Zombies In New York has to be Immortal Monster as I loved how this story was deliberately ambiguous and left the read to interpret their own ideas as to what really happened. I love that Sam does not shy away from the gore like some authors do. A nice touch I found was the authors notes at the end of every story which says how the idea for the story came about. Great book and highly recommend
• 
  Ken Hillson

  There are some great ideas here, even though I am no fan of zombies. Alas, the book was let down by some soft writing. If it had been tighter (perhaps it needed a stronger editor) the stories would've been fast-packed excitement. The first part deals with a character taken from one of Sam Stone's other books, from the Vampire Gene series. But I preferred the non-Lucrezia tales. By the way, I loved the cover art and the interior drawings.
• 
  AudioBookReviewer

  Please find my review here:
  http://audiobookreviewer.com/Audioboo...
• 
  Jane Caruana

  A very enjoyable collection a chills :)