This is a very mixed set of stories. A lot of them were just okay, I hated some and others were absolutey incredible. Even if I didn't enjoy them all, I loved that most of the stories strayed from the typical "surviving the apocalypse" trope. Ratings are provided for each story below.

Lazurus (1.5/5)
A religious take on zombies. I didn't find it all that interesting but I'm sure others would.

What Maisie Knew: (3/5 but very disturbing)

Copper: DNF
Just couldn't get into it

In the Dust (2.5/5)
It was just okay. Nothing particularly memorable in my mind

Life Sentence (4/5)
Ooh this was an interesting one. A lab is experimenting with zombification to allow people to live beyond death. They are experimenting on people to try to get rid of the nasty side effects - no self control, decomposition, an inability to move, etc. I enjoyed the concept and the ending was chilling.

Delice (2.5/5)
Content warnings:
Spoiler

The Wind Cries Mary (3/5)
A man talks about his undead wife.

Family Business (3/5)
I've seen that a lot of people love this one but it was just okay for me. A bit more of your typical zombie story compared to what I've read so far.

The Zombie Who Fell from the Sky (3.5/5)
Another one with slightly more violent zombies. Definitely more graphic than most of these works so far!

My Dolly (2/10)
Our narrator seems somewhat obsessed with obtaining a specific corpse who has been frozen to prevent her from walking around

second wind (4/5)
A man carries out the plans he made for after he dies.

Closure, Limited (2.5/5)
An after death care/experiment facility

Among Us (2.5/5)

Ghost trap DNF

The Storm Door (4/5)
A paranormal investigator talks about people coming back to life. This one gets pretty dark!

kids and their toys (4.5/5)
A group of twelve year old decide to interact with what they think must be a corpse.When they realise it's reanimating they decide to hide it for later fun.A rather dark exploration of human cruelty and the ending... Well, that just hits hard. Probably my favourite story so far

Shooting Pool (1/5)
Yeah, this one was just uncomfortable. Definitely didn't hold up to the previous one (although I did take a break between the two)

Weaponised (4/5)
Zombies are used as a cheap army. Told from a journalist's perspective

Twittering from the Circus of the Dead (DNF)
Just not into the Tweet format. ( )

2.5 Stars
CW: Sex with zombies, violence, gore, drugs ( )

This was a pretty good collection of stories, but of course, with any anthology there were some that were stronger than others. My favorites were "Family Business" by Jonathan Maberry, "Life Sentence" by Kelley Armstrong, "The Storm Door" by Tad Williams, and "Second Wind" by Mike Carey. "Closure, Limited" by Max Brooks was also good and made me want to reread World War Z. A few of these stories were really messed up. Like, I'm side-eyeing some of these writers. David Liss, I'm looking at you. That was a messed up story. I also love a good Joe Hill story, and his didn't disappoint. ( )

This was very much a hit or miss collection. The stories at the start were a little lackluster and then there was one that didn't have zombies at all...really nothing to do with them - a dead person that was just a corpse...

Fortunately, there were a few stories that saved the collection. Jonathan Maberry's story "Family Business" is a 4 1/2 star story on its own and was the best of the lot. Thankfully, it was one of the longest stories, clocking in at 55 pages.

A couple of the later stories were almost good, but too gimmicky and not timeless - Joe Hill's story told in twitter feeds comes to mind. ( )

If I had to choose a favorite, however, it would be Johnathan Maberry's "Family Business," dealing with half brothers Benny and Tom Imura, who both witnessed their parents' death - well their mother's anyway - on First Night - the marking point of the zombie outbreak. Benny, continuing to blame older brother Tom for their parents' death, refuses to join the "family business" of going out into the Rot and Ruin - the wasteland outside the gates of their town - to hunt down zombies for pay. In this twisted version of the brutal near future, everyone living within the town limits must hold a job, otherwise they only get half of their rations. Unlike other zombie hunters, Tom Imura doesn't kill for the sport or because he's a twisted son of a bitch. When Benny is forced to suck up his pride and works with Tom, he learns the true nature of this brother's job, and the hero he never knew. In order to seal the deal that Benny will take the job and become a man like his older brother, the two of them venture into a gated community that is all too familiar. ( )