Once Upon an Apocalypse – Book Review

by | Jul 9, 2015 | Book Reviews, Reviews | 0 comments

61elW4ZBAXLOnce Upon an Apocalypse (Volume 1)
Edited by Scott T. Goudsward and Rachel Kenley
Chaosium
2014
Reviewed by David Bernard

As Jonathan Maberry notes in his introduction, the original body of work we refer to as fairy tales “were actually pretty damn scary.” This book takes the simple concept of the fairy tale, most of which didn’t have happy endings until the Big Mouse got his mitts on them, and makes the endings even unhappier by adding zombies. Suddenly the Little Red Hen is a survivalist, the Billy Goats Gruff prefer trolls to the alternative, and the Pied Piper has bigger infestation issues than rats. Imagine the Brothers Grimm were writing fairy tales in a post-apocalypse world and you’ll have an idea of the theme of Once Upon an Apocalypse.

If you’re inclined to believe that the zombie craze has pretty much flooded the market, this will be a refreshing reimagining of the genre. This anthology contains 23 stories that are a mash-up of zombies and fairy tales. Some of the writers approach the material more seriously than others but even the most serious piece has its tongue firmly in its cheek. Let’s face it, a military foray against the undead can’t be entirely straight-faced when the narrator is the Gingerbread Man. Just don’t plan of reading these tales to junior at bedtime unless you enjoy those 3 AM terrors.

The companion book, a mash up of fairy tales and the Lovecraftian mythos has been delayed by the publisher. This is a pity. Based on this volume, the second one promises to be just as wryly gruesome as the first.

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