Publisher's Weekly Review
Ringo and Poole team up to deliver an uneven anthology of stories about life in Ringo's Black Tide setting, in which humans contend with the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. The first of Ringo's two contributions to the collection, "Never Been Kissed," is also one of the strongest, bringing a touch of wistful humanity sadly lacking in many of the other stories. John Scalzi and Dave Klecha's "On the Wall" is a dialogue-only tale of two men bonding while defending a compound; it's easily the funniest of the batch, though Scalzi fans are likely to find some of the jokes familiar. Mike Massa's "Battle of the BERTs" is an action-packed, tense tale of bank-sponsored security teams patrolling and protecting New York. Eric Flint's "Up on the Roof," a story of neighbors in east Chicago making a go of surviving at a tank farm near an oil refinery, is nearly unreadable. Fans of the universe will find some works to like, but the anthology as a whole is disappointing. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
An anthology set in Ringo's zombie apocalypse world, where a virus-based plague has swept the world and pockets of survivors battle the zombie-infected, these are stories of humans rising to the occasion and threats neutralized both with individual heroism and solid teamwork. The epidemiological approach tends to make the zombie apocalypse more interesting, because it is ultimately a treatable plague and therefore we can explore both the collapse and the reconstruction of society. The anthology opens and closes with short pieces by Ringo, which are slight but amusing. There is a tale by Mike Massa of the battle between gangs, police, and megabanks to control New York; Sarah A. Hoyt provides a slice of the moral quandary faced by an emergency-room scribe when the plague strikes her hospital; and in Best Laid Plans, Jason Cordova and Eric S. Brown posit a dramatic jewel heist at the Louvre in the midst of outbreak-driven chaos. Overall, an entertaining batch of undemanding and action-packed tales. Certainly, fans of Ringo's particular brand of action-adventure will be pleased.--Schroeder, Regina Copyright 2016 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Set in Ringo's "Black Tide Rising" zombie apocalypse universe, these 12 stories by Eric Flint, John Scalzi and Dave Klecha, Sarah A. Hoyt, Jody Lynn Nye, Michael Z. -Williamson, and other authors -ponder events that might arise when humans discover that zombies are real. Emotions outweigh common sense, as one woman searches for the zombie who killed her family. When the infected reach a tipping point in a Denver hospital in Hoyt's story, a group of medical workers and patients must decide if "Do No Harm" actually applies. Williamson's "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Grandpa?" shows what happens when a family's eccentric doomsayer patriarch is correct. In Mike Massa's "Battle of the BERTs," competing Biological Emergency Response Teams in New York ascend as the new mafia-with the infected as their trade. And finally, Ringo's "The Meaning of Freedom" has experts around the world determining that a large percentage of the infected are no longer carriers but survivors. Verdict This anthology broadens Ringo's Black Tide world, serving up doses of humanity amid the ravenous afflicted. Comedy has a place in this harsh reality, and these stories stir adventure and emotion at a frantic clip throughout. Zombie fiction fans will be thrilled.-KC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
