A Book of Horrors, edited by Stephen Jones

(pb; 2011: horror anthology)


Overall review:

This is an excellent collection of Old School/classic horror-style stories, intended for non-Twilight readers, who bristle at the idea of defanged "sparkling vampires".  (Editor Stephen Jones states this, in different words, in his Introduction ["Whatever Happened to Horror?"].)

As such, A Book of Horrors is an impressive endeavor, one worth owning.


Standout stories:

1.)  "The Little Green God of Agony" - Stephen King:   Good story about a wealthy man (Andrew Newsom) whose post-accident pain has taken on excruciating proportions.


2.)  "Roots and All" - Brian Hodge:  A war-hardened corrections officer (Dylan) and his cousin (Gina) return to their recently deceased grandmother's backwoods house to pack up her things, only to discover that the surrounding woods, heavy with a legendary monster - the Woodwalker - and troubling memories, has become a "meth haven".

Excellent, perfect work, this: a seamless entertaining fusion of old horror elements and modern realities, charged with a sense of mission.

One of my favorite stories in this anthology.


3.)  "The Music of Bengt Karlsson, Murderer" - John Ajvide Lindqvist [translated by Marlaine Delargy]:  A boy's piano lessons provide the possibility for ghosts to re-enter the natural world.

Creepy and unsettling, with a finish that's at once familiar and refreshing.


4.)  "Getting It Wrong" - Ramsey Campbell:  An asocial, disgruntled  cineaste (Eric Edgeworth) finds himself participating in a dark, strange game show where providing wrong answers can prove agonizing.

Solid, interesting piece.


5.)  "The Man in the Ditch" - Lisa Tuttle:  Linzi, a woman with marital issues and uncomfortable in her new country home, sees a dead man on the side of the road.

Good, mood-effective work.


6.)  "A Child's Problem" - Reggie Oliver:  1811.  Tankerton Abbey, in Suffolk, England.  A boy (George St. Maur), left in the cold-hearted care of his uncle (Sir Augustus St. Maur, Baronet), uncovers a dark, multi-layered mystery surrounding his uncle, his uncle's deceased wife (Lady Circe) and other fatalities.

Wonderful story, replete with classical, philosophical and other elements of particularly human shadiness and light.

One of my favorite entries in this anthology.


7.)  "Sad, Dark Thing" - Michael Marshall Smith:  Miller, an "aimless" man reeling from a divorce, sees an unexpected sign on a backwoods road, and is irrevocably altered by it.

Mood- and theme-efficacious piece, inspired by the author's real-life drive through the Santa Cruz mountains (in California).


8.)  "Near Zennor" - Elizabeth Hand:  A widower (Jeffrey), while sorting through his wife's belongings, discovers some mysterious letters which pull him into even bigger mysteries.

Good, unpredictable, atmospheric read.


9.)  "Last Words" - Richard Christian Matheson:  A serial killer waxes philosophical on the nature of the last moments of one's death.

Creepy, intriguing, vicious, memorable.


Other stories:

"Charcloth, Firesteel and Flint" - Caitlin R. Kiernan;  "Ghost with Teeth" - Peter Crowther; "The Coffin-Maker's Daughter" - Angela Slatter; "Tell Me I'll See You Again" - Dennis Etchison;  "Alice Through the Plastic Sheet" - Robert Shearman

Shivers edited by Richard Chizmar

(pb; 2002: horror anthology)

Overall review:

Good horror anthology, worth owning. There's not a stinker in the bunch, though Kelly Laymon's "Throwing Caution to the Wind," while providing the anthology with an element of whimsical diversity, doesn't belong in this collection.


Standout stories:

1.) "Fodder" - Brian Keene & Tim Lebbon: American soldiers fight a more horrific and brutal enemy than they expected. Good, entertaining story, with a funny and ominous ending.

2.) "Whisper, When You Drown - Tom Piccirilli: Unsettling, clever tale about a storm, the restless dead and seduction.


3.) "Hermanos De El Noche" - Bentley Little: A man (Brock) sets out to rescue his wife (Marnie) from the mad, nude vampires who kidnapped her. Nasty, sexual and violent work, this.


4.) "Walking with the Ghosts of Pier 13" - Brian Freeman: Melancholic, mood-effective tale that recalls the feel of America in the days immediately following 9/11 (without the jingoistic bullsh*t that usally accompanies it).


5.) "265 and Heaven - Douglas Clegg: Excellent story about a tenement apartment whose filth-encrusted interior hides a deeper, more enduring and infinitely grimmer element.


6.) "The Sailor Home from the Sea" - John Pelan: In a pub, an ex-sailor gives voice to a familiar, yet intriguing personal tale about an angry woman and an avenging sea.


7.) "Always Traveling, Never Arriving" - Robert Morrish: The true nature of carnivals and how they're perceived by outsiders ("townies") is explored in entertaining and twisty fashion.


8.) "That Extra Mile" - David Niall Wilson & Brian A. Hopkins: A long distancee runner (Scott Danning) gets visions of roadside serial murders that appear to have real world consequences. Distinctive, fresh work.


9.) "The Green Face" - Al Sarrantonio: Concise, gripping work about a man (Lanois), whose dreams of strange killings compel him to necessary action.


10.) "Tender Tigers - Nancy A. Collins: Character- and action-interesting story about a monster-hunting vampire (Sonja Blue) tries to rescue a human family from an ogre who's taken over their family.

(Sonja Blue also appears in a multi-book series, starting with Sunglasses After Dark, also available in Kindle form.)


11.) "Portrait of a Sociopath" - Edward Lee: Short, sharp and occasionally gleefully sick (but believable) story, with an effective twist.


12.) "The Other Man" - Ray Garton: An extramarital affair takes on morbid and terrifying dimensions for a cuckolded husband. Excellent, distinctive read.


13.) "The Sympathy Society" - Graham Masterton: Haunting, wow-worthy story about a grieving suicidal widower who joins a cult-like support group to help him find a semblance of peace.