Raising Stony Mayhall

The (un)life story of the most polite dead boy in the world.

You can read the prologue and first chapter now (pdf or html).

Here's how Del Rey describes it:

In 1968, after the first zombie outbreak, Wanda Mayhall and her three young daughters discover the body of a teenage mother during a snowstorm. Wrapped in the woman’s arms is a baby, stone-cold, not breathing, and without a pulse. But then his eyes open and look up at Wanda—and he begins to move.

The family hides the child—whom they name Stony—rather than turn him over to authorities that would destroy him. Against all scientific reason, the undead boy begins to grow. For years his adoptive mother and sisters manage to keep his existence a secret—until one terrifying night when Stony is forced to run and he learns that he is not the only living dead boy left in the world.

Reviews

Publisher's Weekly Starred Review and Pick of the Week:

Richly textured settings and nuanced characters mark this introspective novel, in which Gregory (The Devil's Alphabet) further expounds on his fascination with an altered human condition set against a mundane backdrop. Full review.

Gary K. Wolfe, Locus Magazine:

Despite some notably grotesque touches, such as a zombie philosopher named The Lump who survives with only a fragment of a body, Raising Stony Mayhall is almost restrained in is lack of splatter mayhem and movie-quote set pieces. Instead, what Gregory has written is an odd kind of heroic family romance, in which the occasional limb may fall off, but the love is convincing real.

Christopher Shearer, HorrorWorld:

Like his award-winning previous novels, Pandemonium and The Devil’s Alphabet, Raising Stony Mayhall is a simply written yet complex novel that is sure to linger in the thoughts of its readers long after the book is finished and set aside. And sure to garner Gregory a slew of new readers, win him some more awards, and raise the bar for all zombie and speculative literature to come. Full review.

Blurbs from friends and colleagues

Not since Lucius Shepard’s classic Green Eyes has the concept of the zombie been treated with such eloquence and panache. Forget the contemporary culture of nihilistic and facetious walking-dead narratives. Read Raising Stony Mayhall as a mordant political parable; read it as a wry religious allegory; read it as an antic appreciation of otherness; read it as a beguiling meditation on the mystery of bodiliness; read it as one of the best fantasy novels of the year—but by all means read it.
—James Morrow, author of The Last Witchfinder and Shambling Towards Hiroshima  

 

Stony Mayhall is a brilliant contribution to the literature of the fantastic. To call it a "zombie" novel would be like calling I Am Legend a "vampire" novel. Stony defies category while simultaneously defining it. Heartfelt, fascinating, suspenseful and terrifying -- this book involves the reader as only the very best stories can: by entering our dreams. And nightmares.
—Jack Skillingstead, author of Harbinger and the collection Are You There?

 

Raising Stony Mayhall, like all of Daryl Gregory's stories and novels I've read, is so good that I grieved when I got to the last page, because I wanted it to just go on and on, like a zombie upon whom death has no claim."
—Chris Roberson, New York Times bestselling author of iZombie and From Fabletown with Love

 

I read Raising Stony Mayhall with high expectations, and I'm happy to say that not only did it not disappoint, but it's even better than I had hoped: It's a delightfully fresh take on the zombie genre and a ripping good read. The zombie faithful will devour this book, but zombie agnostics beware: zombie messiah Stony Mayhall just might convert you."
—John Joseph Adams, bestselling editor of Wastelands and The Living Dead

 

A Del Rey Books Trade Paperback Original, available June 28, 2011. $14.00  ISBN: 978-0345522375

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