March 20 - "The Long Dead Day"

“The Long Dead Day”
by Joe R. Lansdale
The Shadows, Kith and Kin (2007)

* * * (Good) Horror

A man’s daughter says a dog bit her, but the wound is not that of a dog’s bite; it is the bite of something else, something far more deadly.

This quick tale could very easily fit in the world of The Walking Dead, or any other zombie-splattered landscape. There is nothing shockingly new here, but that which is written is pure Lansdale in style. The story is visceral, it is graphic, and it is easily imaginable – not that many would want to imagine living in a world where you would be faced to make the choices this man makes. Similarities to other works aside, this is recognizable Lansdale, and it is good, bloody horror.