REVIEW: The Spread by Michelle Kilmer and Becky Hansen

Posted by Hayley Knighten on her blog on March 22nd, 2014. Reprinted from archive.

Short Synopsis: A zombie virus spreads through Seattle.

THE SPREAD
by Michelle Kilmer
and Rebecca Hansen

PUBLISHED: April 17th 2013
GENRE: Horror, Short Stories
LENGTH: 130 pages

REVIEW: The Spread is a collection of short stories that follows a zombie plague as it travels throughout Washington State. The Spread mercilessly takes the young and the old, the evil and the holy, those who never saw it coming and those who prepared—not even animals are spared.

The collection opens with an action-packed outbreak story then launches into tales of the undead that will make even the most hardened horror-addicts squirm (I, for one, will not be drinking punch at parties any time soon). I particularly loved the appearances of Vaughn and Chedder from Kilmer’s novel, When the Dead.

The Spread takes place before When the Dead and while the references are subtle and reading the When the Dead is not necessary to understand The Spread, I think having read the novel first made me enjoy the short stories that referred to it all the more. When the Dead is another must-read and for those who have yet to pick up a copy, there is an excerpt included at the end of this book. I really enjoyed The Spread and am looking forward to reading more from these talented local authors.

My Rating: A