Review: Zombie Raccoons & Killer Bunnies, edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Kerrie Hughes

I’m not sure what should be expected from a book with a cover like this, even if it is supposed to be full of camp. Zombie Raccoons & Killer Bunnies is a collection of 15 tales of supernatural animals, from, um, zombie raccoons to killer bunnies and alien bats. Unfortunately most of the stories end up in the disappointing category. A handful of them suffer from a combination of humorous premise, but a lack of humor within the story makes them come off as kitschy. Another handful start well, but end very abruptly- the beginning of a great story suddenly wrapped up in half a page. Others aren’t really  fleshed-out, and have minimal plot or character development.

The only solid story in the bunch is ″Things That Crawl″ by Richard Lee Byers. Tim Waggoner’s ″Bone Whispers″, ″Faith in Our Fathers″ by Alexander B. Potter and ″Her Black Mood″ by Brenda Cooper were good reads, but seemed like they’d have been a better fit for a darker, more serious collection of tales. Unless you just have to have this for fun’s sake, there are better anthologies out there.

Contains: language, violence

Reviewed for MonsterLibrarian.com