Here are the titles and a little bit of background information on the various writings that I have completed to date or are “officially” in the works. These pieces range in size, from full-length novels to video games to small “flash” fiction pieces, and I’ve done my best to describe each of them as accurately as possible.
The G.O.R.E. Score: A Review Guide to All Things Zombie, Volume 1 Your all-in-one guide to all things zombie has arrived! The G.O.R.E. Score reviews zombie movies, books, television shows, graphic novels, video games, music, and more, and the reviews rate each item in four distinct categories so you’ll know exactly what you’ll be sinking your teeth into! Comprehensive, informative, witty, and conversational, author Tony Schaab has written each review in a manner that ensures every reader, from a person who has never experienced a zombie before to even the most die-hard undead fanatic, will enjoy the commentary and trivia in each review.
With 60,000 words in over 50 reviews, including five never-before-seen reviews written specifically for this volume, The G.O.R.E. Score makes a perfect addition to any zombie fan’s collection and a great starting point for those curious to learn more about the media of the walking dead!
Click here to read reviews and see what actual customers had to say about the book!
“The best place to get the low-down on horrific pop culture. I’m addicted.”
– New York Times bestselling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jonathan Maberry“Clever and playful, with plenty of brains.”
– S.G. Browne, author of “Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament”“Tony knows his stuff!”
– Dr. Pus, founder of The Library of the Living Dead“Schaab’s dissections of zombie media always give the reader something to munch on!”
– David Dunwoody, author of “Empire”
The G.O.R.E. Score: A Review Guide to All Things Zombie, Volume 2 The next installment of the groundbreaking all-in-one guide to all things zombie has arrived! The G.O.R.E. Score reviews zombie movies, books, television shows, graphic novels, video games, music, and more, and the reviews rate each item in four distinct categories so you’ll know exactly what you’ll be sinking your teeth into! Comprehensive, informative, witty, and conversational, award-winning author Tony Schaab has written each review in a manner that ensures every reader, from a person who has never experienced a zombie before to even the most die-hard undead fanatic, will enjoy the commentary and trivia in each review.
From George Romero to Stephen King, from “Resident Evil” to “The Simpsons” and “South Park,” from big-budget blockbusters to independent films, from comic books to eBooks and iPhone apps, no stone has been left unturned in this volume featuring reviews that readers call “the perfect source for zombie fans looking to expand their horizons beyond the standard.”
With 60,000 words in over 50 brand-new reviews, including ten never-before-seen reviews written specifically for this volume, The G.O.R.E. Score makes a perfect addition to any zombie fan’s collection and a great starting point for those curious to learn more about the media of the walking dead!
“A must-have book for fans of all that is undead.”
– Alan Goldsher, author of “Paul is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion”“Tony has created a very unique review system…this is one of my favorite stops.”
– Timothy W. Long, author of “Among the Living, A Zombie Novel”“Finally, what REAL reviews should look like.”
– Altered Realities Radio
Reviews of the Dead: 25 Zombie Movies to die For From beyond the grave, comes a book so amazing you shouldn’t be caught dead without it! Featuring in-depth insight, trivia, statistics, commentary, and analysis on over 25 of the best zombie movies of all time, Reviews of the Dead is the ultimate guide to your favorite zombie films. Covering genre staples like the films of George Romero and Lucio Fulci, to more modern classics like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and Planet Terror, this book is bursting at the seams with enough content and information to entertain even the most die-hard undead fans, as well as serving as a fantastic starting point for those new to the zombie genre.
Tony Schaab (creator of The G.O.R.E. Score) brings his signature style of informative, witty, and conversational writing to every entry in this book, and Anthony Giangregorio (creator of the zombie/action series Deadwater) adds his thoughts and personal experiences with each film, as well. Together, these two authors have created the new must-have companion guide to classic zombie cinema-a book that every zombie lover can really sink their teeth into!
“(Schaab is) the new king of zombie media reviews.”
-Living Dead Corner“I am a big fan of Schaab’s reviews…this is a book that a zombie film enthusiast will easily enjoy.”
-Amazon.com review
Zombies Can’t Dance I am currently writing a novelization of the “alt-rock opera” Zombies Can’t Dance, targeted for release in 2011. More info to come on this book soon!
The Eagle Has Reanimated This story is, in my humble opinion, my crowning achievemment of published fiction writing thus far. This 12,000-word novella was originally included in the anthology novel “Dead History: A Zombie Anthology,” which is available at Amazon.com and at local bookstores. The story was nominated for the prestigious Nebula Award, given annually by the Science Fiction Writers of America, so I decided to re-release it as a standalone eBook and physical book, both of which are available for purchase at Amazon.com by clicking here.
Set in the universe established by George Romero in his seminal film “Night of the Living Dead,” the story revolves around NASA’s Apollo XI moon-landing mission in July 1969 and how the outcome may have been altered with the inclusion of the living dead. Readers paying close attention will catch the witty references to the pop culture of the time, as well as nuanced historical information about the actual Apollo XI mission. This is one zombie story that is truly out of this world! You can click here to read an excerpt from the story, posted on my personal blog.
“…a very well written story. It draws you along a path using familiar historical characters that encounter our favorite monsters–zombies! The story keeps you on the edge of your chair, hinting at the outbreak that is developing. There’s even a touch of humor mixed in! The zombie personas are in the traditional style–just the way we like them–but they are presented in an environment that is very new–zombies on a plane move over–these zombies have advanced–anyone for zombies on a space craft?! As zombies stories go, this one seems realistic… Overall, I would give this story an 8/10. It was a great read and I would recommend it to all zombie fans!”
– Allthingszombie.com review“…the first story in the book, and boy is it an attention-grabber! It tells the story of zombies mucking up the first moon landing back in 1969 and yes, Schaab manages to find a way to put zombies on the moon, very cool! Readers paying close attention will catch the very witty direct references to both ‘Star Trek’ and Romero’s Night/Dawn/Day of the Dead series. A well-written and enjoyable story, it alone is worth the price of the book.”
– Amazon.com review of the “Dead History” anthology“Schaab is a finely tuned writer with a great understanding of history, and it shows in ‘The Eagle Has Reanimated.’ I have read many of his [works] and this may be my favorite.”
– Amazon.com review“‘The Eagle Has Reanimated’ by Tony Schaab is a must read…you won’t be disappointed”
– Amazon.com review
Cemetery Menáge Writing this eBook was a unique challenge for me; the publisher, New Line Press, came to me with an existing title and cover art in place, but no story existed to fit this informaiton. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to try my hand at erotica, and the result is this fun little tale. Below is a description of the story, which is available in all digitial formats either directly from New Line Press’ website by clicking here, or at Amazon.com by clicking here. You can read an excerpt from this story, posted on my blog, by clicking here.
Ashlee Rivers was living the dream. Things were going very well for her. That is until her fiancé and his best friend were killed in U. S. Army “peacekeeping” efforts in Haiti. After their funerals, a cloaked figure holding a blue orb grants Ashlee one wish, to bring them back for one, sex-filled night.
Collaboration of the Dead “CotD” (tentatively titled so) is an ambitious project: an attempt at a collaborative novel. A handful of up-and-coming authors were selected to participate in this unique novel, with each author contributing two non-consecutive chapters of a zombie-outbreak story. I was honored to be one of the authors selected to work on this project. The creation is currently underway, and I will post more information as the novel moves closer to a publication date.
Dead Rite “Dead Rite” is a first-person zombie shooter/survival video game that I have been asked to write. The story revolves around a small group of survivors coming together and holing up in an abandoned cathedral-turned-convention center in downtown Indianapolis. The story and gameplay are still in development, so check back soon for further updates!
The G.A.S.P. Factor The G.A.S.P. Factor is a general horror and science-fiction cinema review site that I have created. A team of select authors will be helping me to review movies in these genres (mostly obscure or lesser-known films, in addition to some movies on in advance of or on their release dates), and the reviews will be written in similar style to The G.O.R.E. Score reviews featured at the top of this page. This website will be going LIVE in just a few short weeks, so check back for the link soon!
On-Ramp This is a short story I wrote that was accepted for publication in “Probing Uranus,” a collection of humorous science fiction stories published by the Library of Science Fiction Press. In my story, two young men from the 30th Century decide that they would like to have a hand in inventing the internet, so they steal a time machine in order to set their plan in motion. For these two guys, there’s just one problem: historical records before the 25th Century have all been lost, so they start picking years at random and quickly find themselves in a variety of zany situations. The novel is now available at select bookstores and online; click here to see the book at Amazon.com.
Accepting Death This is a short story I wrote that was accepted for publication in “Zombiality: A Queer Bent on the Undead,” a collection of stories that all include or revolve around, in some way, gay/ lesbian/ bisexual/ transgendered themes or characters. This was certainly a new writing experience for me, and I specifically sought out this collection to write a story for, based on the challenge I thought I might have of being a straight man creating a GLBT-centric story. My story, composed in a first-person blog-entry format, follows a gay man in the year 2019 as he seeks to understand the mysteries and confusion behind a recent zombie outbreak. The novel is now available in select bookstores and online; click here to see the book at Amazon.com.
The Last One This is a short story I wrote that was accepted for publication in “Rotting Tales,” a collection of zombie-themed short stories. For this story, I took an idea that had been long-gestating in my head and put it into words: how does a reader’s assumption of what a zombie truly is impact the assumptions they make when reading a zombie story? The story definitely has a “Twlight Zone” type of vibe to it, and has quickly become one of my favorites that I’ve written. The novel is now available in select bookstores and online; click here to see the book at Amazon.com.
The Last (One-Night) Stand This is a short story I wrote that was accepted for publication in “E-Mails of the Dead,” a collection of zombie short stories in a “theme” book: to quote the book’s back cover, “What do you do when there is no hope left? That is the question answered in this book, where people from all walks of life, attacked on all sides by zombies, use their only means of communication to say goodbye one last time to loved ones-their computer. Found in the rubble of an internet provider’s collapsed building, the data retrieved was a cache of lost emails.” The book is a collection of flash fiction, attributed to the short nature of most e-mails that are sent. This was a quick and fun little story for me, and is a totally humorous look at how two wanna-be college-student “players” might react to the impending zombie apocalypse. The novel is now available in select bookstores and online; click here to see the book at Amazon.com.
Duplicity This is a short story I wrote for the second round of the “Writer’s Shootout” mentioned in the “Closing Costs” bio. Our theme for this round was “a world where human cloning is commonplace,” and this is the tale I came up with. It takes place in a future where human replication is indeed common, but clones are not afforded the same rights as humans, and the main character has to go through great pains in the bureaucratic legal system to prove his humanity. The story has been accepted into “Patented DNA,” an anthology novel collecting tales about the social and ethical questions surrounding human cloning. The novel is now available in select bookstores, as well as online; click here to see the novel at Amazon.com.
I am proud to announce that “Duplicity” was recently selected as one of 7 stories to represent the entire Pill Hill Press body of work in the 2010 Pill Hill Press Sampler, a mini-book sent to various companies and bookstores!
“…charming with a fun twist at the end – didn’t see that one coming!”
– Shootout review“…a fun read with a touch of the grotesque…it definitely works.”
– Shootout review“Extremely well-written…the endings to your tales always make reading the story even more rewarding.”
– Shootout review
Closing Costs This is a short story I wrote as part of a “Writer’s Shootout,” a friendly competition where 20 writers were given a theme that our story must be about and one week to write the story. Our theme was “haunted house,” and this story jumped into my mind. It’s a fun little tale about a man who gets more information than he bargained for when he stops in to check out a historic house in his neighborhood. The story has been accepted into “Haunted,” an anthology novel collecting tales of ghosts and ghouls. The novel is now available for sale at online retailers and select bookstores, click here to view the book at Amazon.com.
“Great title! Perfect for this little tale of ghostly deception. A great read.”
– Shootout review“…quite a nifty and unique idea!”
– Shootout review“…well written, great story and twist at the end…”
– Shootout review“Loved the premise, and [there is a] nice rhythm to the overall story.”
– Shootout review“…a very satisfying ending!”
– Shootout review
Sylvania’s Best As with “Grand Opening,” a publisher contacted me directly and asked me to write a story for inclusion into an anthology, and again it was an honor that I definitely could not turn down. This is my first “vampire” story, and it’s about an unassuming student at the University of Pittsburgh that stumbles into more than he bargains for after finding a bottle of “wine” left at his apartment. This story is in the novel “Eternal Night: A Vampire Anthology,” which is now available in bookstores or at Amazon.com. You can click here to read an excerpt from the story, posted on my personal blog.
I am proud to announce that “Sylvania’s Best” was recently selected as one of the best short stories to ever be published by Living Dead Press, and was included in the anthology “Best of the Dead!” Click here to see the book and get a copy from Amazon.com.
“What a great read- love the story and the twist on Vampire legends.”
– Amazon.com review
Grand Opening This story is a personal point of pride for me: the publisher asked me specifically to write this story for inclusion into this book, an honor that I definitely could not turn down. Taking a cue from the classic zombie movie “Day of the Dead,” this story deals with military and civilian survivors who have been trapped in an underground bunker for four long years and are pressed into a tough decision when their supplies begin to dwindle. This story is included in the anthology novel “Book of the Dead, Volume 4: Dead Rising,” which is now available at Amazon.com and at local bookstores. You can click here to read an excerpt from the story, posted on my personal blog.
“Zombie fiction isn’t hard to come by. But, decent horror fiction in the zombie sub-genre can be few and far between. I’d recommend this…as a good read for zombie fans.”
– Amazon.com review“Awesome read–very impressive!”
– Allthingszombie.com review
The Nuances of Disassembly This was the first story I ever wrote that was accepted into print publication. This is an “end of the world” story, and I am very proud of it being accepted to the first publication it was submitted to; it was part of the novel “End of Days: An Apocalyptic Anthology, Vol. 2,” available in bookstores or at Amazon.com. You can click here to read the beginning of the story, posted on my personal blog.
“…the most unique story in the entire book. The other authors take a very straightforward approach to how the world ends, telling stories from the point of view of various survivors; without giving too much away, this story is told from the approach of a non-Earth-based observer, and Schaab tactfully combines moments of wit, insight, emotion, and comedy to easily keep his readers captivated and help his readers see our world in a whole new way. A very well-constructed story from start to finish.”
– Amazon.com review“…not only has one of the best titles of a story ever, but [told] from a perspective seldom explored.”
– Amazon.com review
A Disagreeable Affectation This short story began it’s life as a scripted scene I wrote in 2009 for IndyProv, Indianapolis’ independent improvisational comedy troupe. I took the scene and re-worked it into short story form just for the fun of it, and it was accepted and posted to the Zombie Stories blog as well. Recently a “re-tooled” version of this story was accepted into “Daily Flash 2011,” an anthology novel collecting 365 different short stories (500 words or less), one for each day of the year. You can click on the title of the story above to read the original tale in it’s entirety, and the 600-age “Daily Flash 2011” has recently been released, click here to see the book on Amazon.com.
PaparrazZombie! This is one of the very first stories I wrote as a “serious” writer, in early 2009. I was looking for a “unique” spin on the classic zombie tale, and I think the inclusion of celebrities as zombies really allowed the story to set itself apart from others. It was submitted to a few various webzines and blogs, and was accepted for publication on the blog Zombie Stories. Click on the link to read the story in it’s entirety!
TonySchaab . com 