Plot:
Ever want to know what it’d be like to be the last person on earth? These 13 stories put you in the shoes of the last survivor of an Apocalyptic Earth.
Review:
Being the last person on Earth isn’t as glorious as it may sound. Sure, being completely naked while driving priceless sports cars through suburban shopping malls may sound like a good idea (not that I’d ever consider doing that *cough*) but Apocalypses being what they are, things don’t always work out the way you expect. There is always a downside.
Zombies, for instance. Zombies kind of present a roadblock to the whole survival thing. So do Aliens, Werewolves, and Cannibals. Actually, in any apocalypse, the odds will be pretty good you will be spending most of your time struggling just to live.
Soul Survivors VOL.1, from Knightwatch Press, has crafted an anthology that takes this subject and runs with it. 13 tales of Apocalyptic horror from some of horror’s newest stars that’s asks the reader- what would you do if you were the last one alive? How would you cope? Would you crack and give up, or would you fight with everything you had? What would you do if nothing you did ultimately mattered? These stories, all wonderfully realized in their own way, don’t deal with super heroes or action heroes. These are everyday people who were lucky (or unlucky) enough to survive.
Jonathan Wood’s “Pretend Girlfriendâ€, Sean Page’s “City of the Dead†, Jeremy Mahan’s “Not Aloneâ€, and Charlie Morgan’s “Birthday Wish†are a few of the stellar zombie stories that stuck out to me. Editor Shawn Riddle also includes his story “The Four of Julyâ€, a slam-bang zombie story that originally appeared in Wild Wolf Publishing’s Zombie opus “Holiday of the Dead†(Which is another stunning zombie anthology. If you haven’t bought that yet, then do it. Now. We will wait until you get back.)
Some other non-zombie stories that caught my attention belong to Rebecca Besser’s “Mass Destructionâ€, a wicked sharp alien invasion story, Patrick D’Orazio’s “Love Thy Neighborâ€, a slyly written tale about Cannibals, and Kaye Sarah Inglis’ “The Piano Manâ€, a werewolf story. My personal favorite, in case you were wondering, is Sean Thompson’s “A Warm, Spring Dayâ€, a Brian Keene-esque story about Demon possession.
It’s rare to find an anthology that has such a strong selection of tales. To me, there wasn’t a weak link in the book. Every story, no matter which form of the Apocalypse it took, was brilliant in showing the fear, the uncertainty, the HUMANITY of each survivor. These stories are stunning in their scope, and they will stay with you, long after you turn the final page. I certainly expect to see more from each of these authors in the future.
Help support independent publishers, especially ones like Knightwatch who absolutely hits this one out of the park. Buy this book.
Available at Amazon
