Unidentified by Matthew J. Costello
- Purchase it here
- Published July 2002 (Berkeley Book paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on January 18, 2005
- This book wasn't quite what I expected. I was hoping for something a bit darker, more horror based. Or even something more suspenseful and action based since Costello has teamed up with F. Paul Wilson a few times. Instead the story is more science fiction. The story itself is about a house in which strange things happen and people rarely come out of alive. I suppose that sounds more horror and for part of the book, it did seem that way. But at some point, the house became science fiction. Or maybe it became more like a video game like Resident Evil. No because of a lot of guns but it had that feel. Overall it was an ok story but I didn't get into it that much. Maybe that was due to a lack of characterization. Or maybe it was the semi-related stories that fit too conveniently together at the end. Or maybe it was me not being able to get past the video game / science fiction feel of the novel.
The Ultimate Dracula edited by Byron Preiss
- Purchase it here
- 23 short stories by such authors as Anne Rice, Dan Simmons, and Philip Jose Farmer
- Published originally in October 1991
- Finished reading it on April 30, 1998
- These are supposed to be some of the best Vampire stories around. However, I didn't find the quality of these stories to be as good as the stories in The Ultimate Zombie. I enjoyed them and found most to be very solid and entertaining stories. Maybe it is just because of the major flux of vampire stories and novels and movies that I'm just a little tired of them, especially when they don't vary widely from the standard vampire storyline. Try something different, make the story really stand out, that's what I was hoping for more of. At least the stories below gave me that difference.
"A Matter of Style" by Ron Dee - Dracula must take other forms in order to find food.
"Selection Process" by Ed Gorman - A hitman gets a strange job.
"Dracula 1944" by Edward D. Hoch - Dracula plays a part of World War II.
"Contagion" by Janet Asimov - Dracula enters a Sci-Fi world out of an Isaac Asimov novel.
"Sugar and Spice and ..." by Karen Robards - A brother suspects his baby sister is a vampire.
The Ultimate Witch edited by Byron Preiss and John Betancourt
- Purchase it here
- 25 short stories by such authors as Dean Koontz, Ray Bradbury, and Tanith Lee
- Published originally in October 1993 (Dell paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on January 15, 1999
- I think that this is the final The Ultimate ... collection. There weren't as many stories here that really reached me. Don't get me wrong; they were all good but a good number of them were based in the past and for some reason those just didn't grab me. I don't think that it was the past thing but maybe it was. Maybe I was just expecting more "real" magic rather than most of the alluding that was done instead.
"Easy Tom and The Seven Highways to Constantinople and All Points South" by Jonathan Bond & Thomas J. Lindell - A dead son comes back as a zombie to help his mother get back home.
"Sourheart" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman - A witch helps a woman deal with an ex-husband.
"Brooms Welcome The Dust" by Steve Rasnic Tem - A broom makes the perfect Halloween costume complete.
"In Thunder, Lightning or In Rain" by Stuart M. Kaminsky - A doctor gets a strange visitor in the middle of the night.
"In Search Of Anton La Vey" by Nancy Holder - An unanswered phone provides answers.
The Ultimate Zombie edited by Byron Preiss and John Betancourt
- Purchase it here
- 23 short stories by such authors as Anne Rice, Rick Hautala, and S. P. Somtow
- Published originally in October 1993
- Finished reading it on July 8, 1996
- This is, obviously enough, a collection of zombie stories. I was kind of expecting to like some of these stories but then to find an equal number of just OK or bad stories. Instead I found a collection that just blew me away. Almost every story impacted me and became well liked. Definitely try this collection! Some of the stories with the biggest punch are listed below.
"Though I Walk Through The Valley" by S. P. Somtow - A boy helps his uncle love his son.
"Dead Right" by Geoffrey A. Landis - A professional boxer tries to defeat a zombie by using a new strategy.
"Passengers" by Robert Silverberg - Malicious zombies who can take people over at will.
"Larger Than Life" by Lawrence Watt-Evans - A producer gets some help to save his latest film.
"The Potable Zombie" by Larry Tritten - A malicious bartender plays a trick.
"Corruption In Office" by Don D'Ammussa - The President of the United States gets some special help.
"The Toddler Pit" by A. R. Morlan - A young woman remembers her past as a pre-school teacher's assistant.
"The Silent Majority" by Robert Weinberg - The silent majority make their presence known.
"The Dead Speaketh Not, They Just Grunt Now And Then" by Lionel Fenn - A reluctant Lord assists with some mysterious deaths.
Underground by Craig Spector
- Purchase it here
- Published April 2005 (Tor Books paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on August 9, 2008
- It's been a while since I've read a book by Spector. The last was To Bury The Dead. It seems that since his partnership with John Skipp dissolved that neither of them are writing as fast. Just an observation. Anyway, Underground is an enjoyable book but there were also a few points with which I was disappointed. Josh Custis is the leader of his gang of friends. Shortly after their high school graduation, they accidentally open a door into a dimension of evil and lose one of their members inside. Now twenty years later, he reunites the group in an attempt to rescue the lost member and their friend Justin who forced his way through the doorway. A normal enough theme for a horror novel but then there wasn't quite enough behind it. When I found out how they opened the doorway initially, my thought was "That's it?! No further mystical reasoning!?" Then it was a little disjointed to find out that the other dimension was populated by the souls of dead slaves and that they needed to be rescued. The two plots never really intertwined to me. The novel is enthusiastic and Spector does pull you into it. However there were times that I knew I was being pulled in rather than eagerly running through the book myself.
Unnatural Acts and Other Stories by Lucy Taylor
- Purchase it here
- Published September 1997 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on July 16, 2000
- This is a collection of nine stories by Lucy Taylor that I was looking forward to reading. I had read a lot of good commentaries and reviews about Taylor's work and had high hopes. Now that I've finished, I'm not sure what to think. Taylor does a superb job with her stories but most of them seemed to be lacking something. The character development, insights and motivation were all present; most of the time the characters could easily be pictured in my mind. It might have been the development of the stories and how they didn't seem to always flow naturally. I know that for many of the stories the weak part was the ending; they didn't have a very satisfying ending, positive or negative ending. Some people might say that it was the content of the stories which I found disappointing; it wasn't. Yes, the elements of S and M, bondage, incest and others are intense, those are elements that I enjoy reading. They help keep stories on the edge and farther away from mainstream. I'm not sure what it was that took away from the enjoyment of the stories. Overall, I would have to say that I'm kind of neutral towards Taylor. I need to try some more books or stories before I decide for or against her. My favorite stories of the book are below.
"Flamethrower" - A group of wrestlers get their comeuppance.
"Making the Woman" - A disturbing tale of two young children.
"The Safety of Unknown Cities" - A story very reminiscent of Clive Barker's sea of quiddity.
Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert A. Heinlein
- Purchase it here
- Published March 1989 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on August 15, 1998
- This is actually a collection of a few short stories by Heinlein and not just the title story. I bought the book because of "All You Zombies," the ultimate time travel story anywhere. If you want to read about interesting twists on time traveling, then this is the one to read. The title story though is also quite appealing and very enjoyable. It is an extremely involving story about trying to discover exactly what is the mysterious and unpleasant profession of Jonathan Hoag who can't seem to exactly remember what it is. The only other story that I found enjoyable enough to mention is the final one, "And He Built a Crooked House." It involves a cutting edge architect who happens to build a tesseract house and runs into a few more problems than he thought.
Until She Sleeps by Tim Lebbon
- Purchase it here
- Published March 2001 (Cemetery Dance signed limited edition)
- Finished reading it on July 19, 2009
- Lebbon can really hit it out of the park at times with his novels. This one though was more of an infield hit, probably a solid double if I had to continue the analogy. The story follows Andy and Stig, two 13-year-old boys who begin to recognize and accept the craziness that occurs in their town one day. The source of the problem is two workmen who begin to knock down a long-sealed church basement and unwittingly release the nightmares stored inside. As things get progressively worse, Andy determines that he is part of the solution and moves to save the town. The story moves along fine and follows a normal path. Unfortunately the characters at times were what threw it for me. They ended up being a tad too whiny and annoying to fully be engulfed in the book. It was probably Lebbon trying to make sure we remembered they were only 13-years-old but it still distracted me at times. I would still consider it a solid hit and entertaining but check out Berserk or Fears Unnamed if you want really good Lebbon.
The Unwanted by John Saul
- Purchase it here
- Published August 1987 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on March 8, 1997
- I'm not sure if it is because this is a slightly older book or what but this novel grabbed me more than other more recent ones by Saul. In fact, the second half grabbed me and seemed to be quickly tying together many things that I didn't even think would be connected but ended up being so. It was definitely a page-turner! Saul still keeps with his theme of children and revenge but there is a little bit more of a bite in the story. The story contains some grit that makes it that much more enjoyable. My only complaint is that I know I read the last page somewhere else. Not sure if it was another novel by Saul, by someone else or if I just read the book twice by mistake, but it was definitely familiar.
Urban Horrors edited by William F. Nolan
- Purchase it here
- 18 short stories by such authors as Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson, and John Cheever
- Published April 1993 (paperback edition)
- Finished reading it on June 22, 1996
- Overall this is a pretty enjoyable collection. Not terribly outstanding but not the worst that I've read either. All of the stories are supposed to take place within an urban environment and draw on the horror from that situation. Some worked; some didn't. It seems to me that "theme" collections like this usually bat around 50%. It would be better if just the best stories were hunted out rather than trying to apply to one theme only. I've listed some of my favorite stories below:
"Prey" by Richard Matheson - A woman's present for her boyfriend takes on a life of its own.
"The Father-Thing" by Philip K. Dick - A story very similar to Invasion of The Body Snatchers but with children as the heroes. (Developed at the same time as the original story.)
"The Tunnel Ahead" by Alice Glaser - A family outing to the beach on a very crowded world
"The Chimney" by Ramsey Campbell - A boy's terror with facing what may or may not be coming for him
"The Litter" by James Kisner - A man's cat has kittens while his neighbor's dog has puppies, they think
"The Shaggy House" by Joe R. Lansdale - Two old men do something about the deterioration of their neighborhood
"The Book of Webster's" by J.N. Williamson - A man and a young woman travel the country adding to their collection
Send comments or your opinions on these books to mike@kazba.com.