Less Than Dead by Samantha M. Derr

Less Than Dead
by Samantha M. Derr (editor)
Pages: 256
Date: October 26 2016
Publisher: Less than Three
Series: None

Review
Rating: See overall section at end of review
Read: October 7 to 10 2016

*I received this book from NetGalley and Less than Three in return for a fair review.*

Eight LGBT short stories perfect for Halloween (I assume) - as the teaser puts it "There's nothing quite so terrifying as a corpse that moves, a creature that even death can't stop. It's all the worse when the living dead is someone you love..."

Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore
1930s, Kentucky. FF. Inability to sleep.

This first story almost threw me off-track there, but it was the first story, and I was excited to read this book, so I continued. And I’m glad I did, for – despite starting off slowly and kind of annoyingly, I kind of fell into a nice content like hypnotic trance there once the story really got going. Well, to a certain extent, once the northerner appeared.

Okay then – Pearl and the main character, “I’ (Cissy McGurk – it’s not always easy to remember the names of characters if most of the story has them be ‘I’) loved each other. Unfortunately for them they are both women, this is the 1930s, and Kentucky. That kind of thing isn’t exactly welcome in those parts.

Well Pearl up and died on day, you see, but there’s another problem beyond the dying part – she keeps sleep walking (so to speak, though the word used is ‘nightwalking’). No, I mean after she’s died. She keeps pulling herself out of her grave, wandering over to Cissy, and noting that she can’t sleep.

Cissy, naturally, doesn’t particularly like this turn of events, more because it’d be awkward for anyone to find Pearl in her bed. Less because she’s walking after death. Because, apparently, things like that happen in Cissy’s neck of the woods.

Well, Cissy attempts to figure out how to stop this – visits Pearl, asks some questions, learns that a lot of people are walking at night, calls upon Death - - - etc. etc. Somewhere along the line a quite attractive northerner named Marie enters the picture, and the two of them work together on the problem.

Okay then. Hmm. A rating. 3.65.

October 7 2016

Only Human by Meredith Katz
MM (bisexual), dead receptionist

A man, Saul, feels ill, and goes through a series of slightly more disturbing specialists. First place visited was a university clinic, then a hospital, then a magical illness specialist, then a necromancer.

The referral to the magical illness specialist upset the man, but not because of oddness of the referral, but because he was referred to a magic specialist. Since magic is harder to deal with. So second story in this book and second time people are okay with the concept of fantasy land stuff.

Hehe – ‘most of his time was spent . . . browsing cat blogs, and sleeping.’

Hehe – ‘He tried to look up more about magical curses online – but as usual, the internet wasn’t a huge help, and mostly just its best to convince him he was about to die.’

Beyond a guy, Saul, having this ‘issue’ he has to deal with – health related, the story is mostly about him dating the last health specialist’s receptionist. Who happens to be a zombie. A Frankenstein’s monster kind of zombie (made up of parts from various bodies).

I was kind of leery of trying this specific story, based on the short snippet, but there’s humor, and the budding relationship described in the story was actually fun to watch. Then lots of sex, which was less fun to watch. But still, good story.

Rating: 4.421

October 7 2016

Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley
FF, Doll-monsters

A self-described gym rat is on a treadmill listening to her girlfriend, a DJ, on the radio until she starts to play an hour long David Bowie album. Switches to a book. Switches back to the radio. Runs. Lights flicker. Mick, the gym rat, powers down the treadmill - worried she'd end up planted in a wall if she didn't and the power cut out suddenly. Screams erupt (okay, I don't recall if there are screams, let's try that again). People start fleeing from the area near the windows. Mick looks over. Sees . . . things. She in turn flees.

Gets outside. Sees . . . doll people? Well, human shaped creatures bouncing around looking like porcelain versions of humans. They are breaking everything reflective - windows, glass, mirrors. They charge towards Mick. Mick leaps into her car and flees.

Somewhere along the way she spots a woman being attacked, and older woman. She saves her. Takes her back to the older woman's place. As they clean themselves up, they listen to the radio. Apparently some kind of 'bone-disease' is sweeping the area. People are told to stay indoors and board up their windows. Mick gets Sally (the older woman) to change the station so she can check on her girlfriend. Girlfriend still alive but . . . sits inside a giant tower of glass - 100 floors up. In a wheelchair. Mick must save her.

Quite thrilling short story. Fun, exciting. I'd rate it . . . hmms . . . 4.85.

The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt
MM, German minefield and yellow mist

Two soldiers meet on the way to the Western Front during, I assume unless I'm very mistaken, WWI. They become friendly with each other. Somewhere along the line one 'accidentally' shoots the other in the leg. Their boss (heh), the sergeant major sees this as them being cowards and strips them of their dog tags and shoves them into no mans land. It's been three days. One has a bullet wound in their leg.

Germans start launching mortar at the trenches their old unit is in - the one they were kicked out of. Gas erupts. People die. Time passes. The two men out in no mans land look back and . . . what's this? The dead are rising again somehow. And they appear to be charging either the two men, or the German lines. Even as they run, their bodies are dissolving from within.

Gross story. Told non-linearly (which was annoying - that). I do not really want to rate it but . . . um . . 2?

October 7 2016

Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene
Zombies, MM?

For better or worse the 'zombies are monsters' version of zombie stories are not working for me. That would be the WWI story, and this one here. I'd no real clue what was going on - scenes were disjointed and the 'stuff' happening in each individual scene seemed designed for me to be utterly confused.

So - story opens with a guy in, I think, a convenience store (maybe?). He's depressed. And contemplating what he'd have to do to get himself dead - all the way dead. Then he notices that there might be others and starts tossing cat food around and stuff. Turns out there were six (or was it 7?) others in a fridge. And they are human not zombies. One is named Daisy. The rest aren't even there beyond the basic idea that Daisy wasn't there by herself.

Then, apparently, they all live to get to someone going to fly them somewhere. Next thing I know Daisy and Marcus (I think lead guy is Marcus) are climbing stairs. Where? Strong vibe they aren't in the convenience store now but no idea where they are. Also - it's just the two of them now because the others . . . um . . . for all I know spontaneously combusted or peed themselves to death. No explanation is given.

They get to the roof - where they were going to get picked up by a helicopter, then hear live humans below them. Screaming for help. So . . . they go help. And Marcus ends up with his hated ex. *shrugs* And I really don't give a fuck. It's not even that we keep bouncing from one thing to another, it's that there are no actual scenes. Like the first one - Marcus is . . somewhere? Contemplating moldy hot dogs? Starring at bullet hole filled cans. Realizes someone else is there. Tosses a can of cat food. Meets Daisy. Reader told that there are others there and that Marcus meet them as well but . . . the info on them is about what I just said here in this sentence.

I rate this one no stars.

October 8 2016

A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker
FF, witches, zombies, bisexuals, lesbians, Old Ones

Strange one - this. Alternate earth. One with Innsmouth and other such places. Well, action takes place in Arkham. Witch girl is in cemetery on a job - she's going to raise a really dead person to ask them a question about a century long inheritance dispute. Gets distracted when a ghost wandered into her line of sight. Her ex-boyfriend Marcus - dead three years now (and no, not the same Marcus as prior Marcus, and one of the reasons I'm not certain both were actually named Marcus). He has warnings. Involving a 'Michael', 'Phoebe' and 'Templars'.

Then witch girl spots a Templar and bolts (the magic users and the Templars/Vatican are not exactly best friends).

Quite an interesting entertaining story - once I got deeper into it. I'd rate this one something around 4.66.

October 8 2016

Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner
FF, Fatal argument

Gross, quite gross. A woman gets into an argument with her lover. Agrees to leave their safe place and head to NY during this zombie thingie. Lover gets scratched by an owl. Begins to decompose - see my mention of 'gross' earlier.

Right, so, not necessarily a bad story anything. Just . . . gross. I'll rate this one something like 2.8 stars.

October 9 2016

Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve
MM? Historical Fiction, England.

Not sure when this specific story takes place. Has the 'feel' of 17th-18th or even 19th century (depending on circumstances) England. Whatever the date, zombies have 'come ashore' and are moving northward in England. Guy by the name of Delaney (Lord Delaney I believe), is defending his estate while hundreds of thousands of zombies march around. He fights them with saber, musket, flintlock revolver (released around 1814), and machete while he has his servant play various classical recordings (ah, so it's at least late enough for phonographs to be around - which popped onto the scene in 1877 - so actually this might even be the 21st century, just seems somewhat more primitive with the use of muskets and the like - but you use the weapons at hand).

Of note: very rarely, like once or twice before, I've read something with music in the background - mostly when specific music is mentioned. Well, Lord Delaney is hopping around killing zombies while listening to Tchaikovsky, so I decided to play 'The Best of Tchaikovsky'). Listening to classical music while reading about a guy thrusting his sword into rotting corpses and the like. hmms. Though I only lasted 9 minutes listening to music and reading before turning the music off.

Charging forward, Delaney is set to dispatch the one commanding the undead - apparently some boy. The boy acts afraid and passes out so Delaney stays his hand - temporarily.

Whereupon the awakening Ephram West takes over POV control of the story. Then it switched back again, I think, and then . . .. Right.

Slight twist when a brother named Arthur appeared. Should I mention the twist? Not mention? Bah, I'll not mention - keep it hidden. Though will mention that Ephram, it would appear, worked as a pornographer before the rising (that is unrelated to the 'slight twist', no the 'slight twist' relates to Lord Delaney's first name).

Shesh. The two main characters sure do take offense easily. mmphs.

--
Quite good story, this one. I enjoyed it. I'd rate it something around 4.65.

October 10 2016

Overall
Dove in the Window by Kara Race-Moore - 3.65
Only Human by Meredith Katz - 4.421
Lavish are the Undead by B.A. Huntley - 4.85
The Eighth Tree by Alex Stitt - 2
Orion Shone Right Through by Dmitri Dene - 0
A Witch in Arkham by Cora Walker - 4.66
Zoey Loves Zombies by Adele Gardner - 2.8
Noble Pursuit by Helena Maeve - 4.65

Overall rating: 3.378875

October 10 2016