Grabs you by the throat and won't let go.

Elaine – Miss Oldenburg to her 6yo students – takes her job seriously. Very seriously. As a grade one teacher in the post-pandemic Newsflesh world, that job is quite different to what readers of our world would expect. And it's probably even further removed from what readers in 2014 would have recognised. Elaine is exceptionally good at her job. So when it all goes horribly wrong, no one could possibly blame her … could they?

Unfortunately, for me, there was frustrating technical issues with this one. For one thing, the leading was so tight that I had trouble (physically, I mean) keeping my eyes on the correct line. That slowed my reading down significantly. Secondly, although the text is clearly delineated into chapters, the ebook consists of one giant chapter from start to finish.

I don't blame the author for these flaws, so I haven't deducted any points. I blame the publisher. This is sloppy, haphazard work on their part. Trad pub continues to charge readers almost as much for an ebook as for a paperback without any justification. To do so and then make such a slipshod job of formatting the ebook is unforgivable. ( )

Well-written classic, graphic zombie horror. Be warned that many young children die throughout. Even I, with a typically strong stomach, feel quite out of sorts after this story. Given that it is partly commentary on school shootings and public schools being built/secured by "the lowest bidder," however, I really can't see any other reaction being appropriate. ( )

That one was harder to read than the others. ( )

I like all the novellas in the newsflesh world. They're not necessary to follow the main books plot but they shed light on the situation the characters go through and they're well written and entertaining (but not for the faint of hearts). ( )

I've been eagerly waiting for the launch of this novella since reading about it from the author: her highly successful Newsflesh trilogy left me wanting for more and this shorter offering promised to be just as gripping and terrifying as the parent work.

Well, it went way beyond my expectations, in more ways than one.

Complete review: http://spaceandsorcery.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/the-day-the-dead-came-to-show-an... ( )