Other Gods

by Stephen Mark Rainey
Dark Regions Press
2008;

For both the horror professional and the horror connoisseur, the name Stephen Mark Rainey immediately brings to mind the decade-long run (1987-1997) of Deathrealm, a magazine that proclaimed itself “the land where horror dwells.” As editor of that publication, Rainey consistently presented a variety of dark, disturbing tales penned by well-known authors as well as newcomers to the field.

After shelving Deathrealm, Rainey embarked on his own career as a writer, authoring several novels including Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark (with Elizabeth Massie), Balak, The Lebo Coven, The Nightmare Frontier and Blue Devil Island.

In Other Gods, Dark Regions Press has collected Rainey’s short fiction. Boasting 16 tales, the collection includes the never-before-published story “Antidotes.”

Massie, who wrote the introduction for this collection, sums up Rainey’s style succinctly when she says the author “is a master at giving us the everyday and then pulling away the comforting light.” The characters that populate Rainey’s tales are uncomfortably recognizable. The settings – whether it happens to be a remote mountain town in Virginia or a seedy neighborhood in Chicago – are familiar.

Leading off this harvest of horrors is “Fugue Devil,” a crafty little yarn that exploits the power of folklore and evokes fear of the wilderness. Set in an Appalachian college town, two boys set out to challenge a local legend and face the grim consequences.

Next, “Rapture in Black” stands in stark contrast to the preceding tale with its urban setting. In this unsettling vignette, Rainey assures the reader that busy city sidewalks and heavily trafficked shops provide little security when the dominion of nightmares seeps into reality.

Two tales in the collection offer a pleasant surprise: “Sky of Thunder, Island of Blood” and “Epiphany: A Flying Tiger’s Story” show that Rainey is not only a master of horror, but a gifted composer of riveting action sequences. Both stories are set in the World War II era and feature wonderfully descriptive aerial battles.

The new story, “Antidotes,” involves a cutting-edge biotech project to rid the world of vampires. Using the world of the undead as an allegory, it draws a poignant distinction between soldiers and mercenaries, wars and crusades.

“The Fire Dogs of Balustrade” and “The Transformer of Worlds,” presented one after another, fit snugly together and offer an engaging, modern look at H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands. Make no mistake, though: When evoking Lovecraft, Rainey does it right. The reader needn’t be a devotee of the Cthulhu Mythos to enjoy Rainey’s fiction – his allusions to Lovecraft’s creations are not central to understanding the plotline.

“Signals,” a story which will appeal to fans of The X-Files, marvelously depicts humanity’s interminable obsession with the unknown and the sacrifices made to satisfy curiosity.

“The Devil’s Eye” closes the collection and reintroduces the reader to the demon presented in “Fugue Devil.” It’s a compelling extension to the original concept, deftly placed as to allow the reader ample time to grow comfortable with the lingering memories of initial encounter. This time, overconfident adults set out to test the fable.

Rainey’s horror fiction can accomplish many things: It can astound readers, portraying glimpses of fantastic unrealities; it can edify, revealing the significance of myths; and it can even sermonize, warning against obsessive behavior.

What it does best, of course, is leave you shuddering in fear.

- Reviewed by Lee Clark Zumpe

Orgy Of Souls

by Wrath James White and Maurice Broaddus
Apex Publications
ISBN: 978-0-9816390-4-8
2008; $13.95

Orgy of Souls, written by Wrath James White and Maurice Broaddus, might well be classified as spiritual horror.

The two writers are as different as the novel’s two main characters. White is a professional fighter and a writer whose gritty fiction is known for habitually ignoring taboos. Broaddus is an environmental toxicologist and the facilitator for the Dwelling Place church. As a horror writer, Broaddus describes himself as a traditionalist on his website, seeking to let the horror in his stories arise from the mundane.

Though their styles seem incompatible, together they have crafted a seamless and chilling exploration of two brothers and their contradictory perceptions of faith.

In Orgy of Souls, Samuel is a priest who is infected with AIDS through a blood transfusion received during missionary work in Africa. Sampson, his brother, has made a modest fortune despite a lack of talent and intelligence – he cashed in on his extraordinary good looks as a successful male model.

Samuel suffers as he continues to live his life in “a gray, contemplative way,” waiting for his disease to run its course and sporadically questioning God’s plan. Sampson, “a beautiful piece of nothing” who enjoys his hedonistic lifestyle, struggles with his brother’s demise and seeks to end his torment.

Sampson makes a deal: Samuel’s life will be spared in exchange for 20 souls.

It is presumably White who provides the more graphic, explicit details of how Sampson gathers said souls. The episodes are meticulously gratuitous as scene after scene offers a cornucopia of literary splatter with an equally disquieting side dish of philosophical rumination.

One of the most enthralling aspects about Orgy of Souls is Samuel’s relationship with Nkosi Bhengu, a South African student also dying of AIDS. The priest visits her intermittently at Matthew House, a hospice. Their conversations give voice to greater theological underpinnings driving the plot.

Ultimately, the beauty of Orgy of Souls is in the many layers that went into its composition. On its surface, it is visceral horror with splashes of blood spraying off the page. Upon deeper inspection, it is a character-driven narrative involving two brothers with conflicting worldviews trying to protect one another. Driving it all is the religious conundrum, a subtle spiritual theme that the authors skillfully leave vague and ambiguous.

- Reviewed by Lee Clark Zumpe

Midnight In New England

By Scott Thomas
Published by Down East Books; October, 2007
ISBN 0-89272-732-2 $15.95

A collection of tales of the strange and mysterious. Set in times when restless spirits may have roamed more freely, these eighteen elegantly spellbinding tales are nothing short of spine tingling.

A wonderful collection of stories set in good old New England. Spanning many decades from the 18th Century, this collection of short, and they are short stories in the main, are chillingly vibrant. Evoking the atmospheric background of this still relatively new and colonised country, full of it’s own mysteries and dangers that stand side by side with the less supernatural discoveries the fledgling colonists are making.

They’re eerie for the most part, and thought provoking with an intensity that commands you to turn the page and wonder at the events as they unfold.

The brevity of the majority of the stories is not though a disappointment. Scott Thomas really gets under the skin of the tragic and haunted inhabitants of this state and the unfortunate towns therein. Thomas goes straight in with his vibrant and enthralling prose. Not a wasted word or nuance in this collection, that succeeded on several occasions in taking this reviewers breath away, and on others, going back to re-read what had already passed across my eyes to actually confirm what I had read, and digest the richness and splendour of the horror in front of me.

Subtle at times, yes. Gripping, without a doubt. A wonderful piece of work that moves through history at a pace, confounding and startling you as you make your way through this twisted little world that Thomas has homed in upon and extracted the mystery and horror lying just beneath the surface of that world.

Scott really transports you back in time with the vivid settings he lays out before your eyes, and characters whose complexity and at times naivete twist and turn as the events impacting upon their lives take strange and dark shape around them. He grasps the period in question with skill, weaving in the subtle nuances of the actual colloquialisms, atmosphere, dialects, phrases and background of the time with sheer eloquence. You could imagine his characters actually existing, living and breathing back in those halcyon days of the founding fathers. A whole new country to be built, and there behind that, these dark and malevolent spirits and creatures determined to bring down the fabric of this sparkling time for their own grim satisfaction.

Some can write historical horror fiction, some can’t. This is not a problem for Thomas as his characters weave their ways through the strange and macabre path he has paved for the inhabitants of his fiction with ease.

Not by any stretch of the imagination are any of these tales gory or gruesome. They rely on the readers own imagination to visualise and digest the terrible occurrences that snake their way into your psyche and chill your bones. And chill you they will.

What Washington Irving did for New York State over 150 years ago, Scott Thomas has refined and surpassed, bringing the genre of vintage horror fiction well and truly into the 21st century and beyond.

- Reviewed by Kevin Etheridge

Like a Chinese Tattoo

Edited by Bill Breedlove and John Everson;

Dark Arts Books, 2008;

226 pages; Trade Paperback $17.95

 Like a Chinese Tattoo is the fourth four-author collection of short stories offered by Dark Arts Books and is the second anthology in the series published this year. This book features well-known and relatively new authors Cullen Bunn, Rick R. Reed, David Thomas Lord, and K. A. Konrath. Each author contributes three stories each. The cover page states that the stories are twisted, and I wasn’t disappointed upon reading the collection. The stories ranged from elegant to gross, but all were entertaining.

     The anthology starts out with stories by Cullen Bunn, who is my favorite author in the collection, followed closely by Konrath. First off is “Tomorrow, When the Demons Come”, which is about a young man’s relationship with a wealthy man named Marco. Everything is fine between them until the secret of Marco’s locked room is discovered. The story is well-crafted, the descriptions highlighting the depravity of a relationship doomed from the start, and the ending is unexpected.

     “Remains” is a haunting tale about a hired man who arrives at a farm with a terrible secret. The story is told by a young boy named Seth, the eldest child of a farmer, who senses something is wrong with the man his father hires, but can’t do anything about it. The horror builds gradually, with an unexpected twist that is well-done, even if the ending is rushed.

     “Granny Kisses” is an example of why Bunn won the Gross-Out contest at the World Horror Convention. It is the grossest thing I’ve ever read and I know gross – I used to work at a sewer plant. The story’s about a yeast infection that doesn’t die. I laughed and gagged at the same time.

     The next author in the book is Rick R. Reed, known for his gay horror. However, that doesn’t appear in this book. His first story is “Purfleet”, a fictional name of an insane asylum where a woman seeks refuge from her husband. This tale is hard to follow and the characters are wooden, in my opinion. The twist at the end is good, however.

     “Moving Toward the Light” is reprinted from The Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams and is a tale of depravity that starts with a teenager named Miranda, whose nightmare turns out to be true. To ease her pain, she tries to get drunk, but what happens to her next is worse than her nightmare. She almost dies, but a former friend from beyond the grave helps her return to Earth and get even with her tormenters. This story reminds me a lot of the Crow movies, which is its only flaw. Reed showcases his expertise as a topnotch horror writer, as the story chilled me hours after reading it.

     “Stung” is a hilarious story about a middle-aged woman’s day at her boss’ lake house. She’s stung, by both a wasp and her mother, whom she brings as her guest. This tale is very inventive and entertaining, so gross it’s funny.

     The third author featured is David Thomas Lord, known for his highly-acclaimed vampire novels. None of his stories in the anthology are about vampires, however. His first tale is “The White Room”, which was previously published in the short-lived horror webzine, Feral Fiction. This is a cerebral story about a man in a white room where everything is white, including the man. The writing is crisp and the ending unexpected.

     “The Great White Ape” is set in Victorian England where a colonel and his newly-hired assistant meet for a trip to the African jungle. The story is richly detailed and the ending is a complete shock. Lord’s writing style here reminds me of that of Edgar Allan Poe.

     “Da’s Boy” is about a boy and his relationship with his grandfather. The dialect is good, but the subject matter is tired and clichéd. This is the weakest of his three stories.

     The final author featured is K. A. Konrath, who writes the Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels novels, each named for a mixed drink. His first story is “The Confession”, written entirely as a conversation between a man and a woman. The tale is fast-paced and the confession is shocking.

     “The Necro Files” is based on Konrath’s Jack Daniels novels. Instead of Daniels, the main character of the novella is Harry McGlade, a private investigator. Harry’s client is an ugly woman who thinks her husband is a necromancer. Harry takes the case, which turns out to be more bizarre and twisted than he expected. This story is gross, in a good way, and is laugh-out-loud funny. The dialogue is crisp and the plot a mixture of chain-of-consciousness and action, which puts the reader inside the PI’s head, thus enhancing the overall horror of the story.

     “Punishment” is about a young boy named Dominick who, through minor infractions, is sent to the Punishment Room for discipline gone wild. It harkens back to the days of corporal punishment in the school system, where boys were paddled as hard as possible by the male principal outside the classroom door of his classmates; at least that’s what happened where I attended elementary school in the seventies. Only here there are no paddles, but tools of torture you’d find in a medieval dungeon. The story does have a feel-good ending, albeit haunting.

     Like a Chinese Tattoo is well worth the money. I was familiar with Konrath’s work before, but even if you’re not already a fan of one of the authors, you soon will be.   

- Reviewed by Karen L. Newman

The Not Quite Right Reverend Cletus J. Diggs & the Currently Accepted Habits Of Nature

By David Niall Wilson

Published by Bad Moon Books

Limited Edition of 100 Copies

 When Cletus J. Diggs gets a visit from his buddy Jasper and learns about, the dead man sticking boot-first out of the fishing hole, he has no idea what it will lead to. How could he? Old Mill is famous for a lot of things – good fishing, barbecue, over-sized satellite dishes and disappearing beer; it is not known for genetic research, ancient rituals, or alien abduction. From the moment Cletus and Sheriff Bob drag the corpse from the fishing hole to the final moments of terror, the action is non-stop, tense, and filled with surprises. Between the Reverend Dozier and his church, the swamp witch, the albino twins, and the local lodge’s well-hidden secrets, the strange events in Old Mill, NC are pretty much out of control. Only Cletus, ordained minister, common law attorney, journalist, private investigator and jack of all trades can draw together the people and resources necessary to set things right. The question is, can he do it before it’s too late?

 An interesting piece of fiction to say the least. Horror? It has it’s horrific elements to be sure. Some just plain downright nasty and worrying in this new frontier of genetically engineered wonders. And wonder you will.

Cletus J. Diggs is a funny guy. The master of all he surveys in small town America. Wilson’s beautiful portrayal of all the nuances and affectations of the town and area that Digg’s calls home and sets up shop in is wickedly marvellous. The stereotypes of his characters fill this novella from top to bottom with their humour, sarcasm and most wonderfully at times, their small-mindedness in the face of what appears to be overwhelming odds.

 There is no clear cut path to the end in this story, as at each turn of events, you are left even more bewildered as to what is actually going on. Aliens? Men In Black, religious nuts or just plain nuts. Deranged scientists and their wonderfully weird creations and cohorts. As the events of the novella moved apace, at the end of each chapter, this reviewer found himself wondering just exactly what HAD Cletus gotten himself into.

This is the art and talent of a true story teller, and Wilson really hits the nail on the head with this piece of wacky fiction. The horror is not overt, the sex scenes handled with skill and amusement, and the offbeat humour that runs through this novella does so with wonder. All the variations on the themes of weirdness and wonder complement each other perfectly.

 The X-Files has got NOTHING on Cletus, Jasper and Jaspers beer swilling gun-toting father. Or even the weirdness of the Church of Light and Starry Vision. A meeting of minds, a meeting of faiths and religion. The not quite right Reverend Digg’s against the  REALLY not quite all there Reverend Dozier.

 The only disappointment with the novella? Nothing whatsoever to do with the fiction at all. Really to do with the fact that as a limited edition, it’s not going to be readily read by the many lovers and readers of horror / humour fiction who would appreciate it as much as this reviewer  did. Come on Roy, you know that Bad Moon wants to do a trade paperback of this…….

 -  Reviewed by Kevin Etheridge

Omens

By Richard Gavin
Published by Mythos Books
ISBN 0-9789911-2-5 $30

It was with great surprise and pleasure when this reviewer opened the packet through the post containing this book arrived. This collection of twelve tales, the majority of which are unique to this volume, is the second collection of short fiction written by Richard Gavin, whose previously published collection Charnel Wine, from Rainfall books several years ago introduced this reviewer to this astounding and extremely talented author.

Comparing this, with his previous volume, Gavin has come along in leaps and bounds. A much darker, and more deftly woven collection of fiction than his last. The strength of his talent and skill cutting swathes through your psyche.

Yet again, Richard Gavin is not confined by location or situation. His fiction oozes clarity and imagination. His characters each and every one, bold and defined in your imagination at the events they either become embroiled in or create through their own inate stupidity or misadventure. Gavin has obviously taken his time with his art. It is not labored, or strained. The prose seeps off the pages and into your imagination like nutrients drip fed to a dying patient and tantalizes you with it’s hints of more to come. As they materialize into events so shocking, your breath catches in your throat as you finally realize where he has been leading you, slowly, ever so surely, but ultimately to that place that only Gavin can go safely, and you the reader must tread carefully into and through without being marked forever. If you’re lucky…

Not one story in this collection left this reviewer feeling cheated. Not one story failed to live up to the promise delivered by the very first paragraph of each. Sheer wonderment with every one.

I said in the past that his fiction was at times Lovecraftian, often Poe-like, but with this collection, Gavin has firmly established himself as the new master of weird and gothic horror. The classic and historically chilling ghost stories of the past have met their match this time with this new collection. Gavin sweeps away his influences and peers with one lightning sweep of the scythe that his pen wreaks with every word committed to paper.

- Reviewed by Kevin Etheridge

Nightshadows

By William F. Nolan

Darkwood Press

ISBN: 0-9789078-4-1

$17.99; December, 2007

Nightshadows is William Nolan’s newest collection of short fiction – most of it dating from the last seven years. A diverse collection of Horror, Science Fiction and Mystery/Suspense tales – it’s a good example of his writing for the newcomer and holds up well against past collections for the longtime fan.

Nolan takes on Werewolves (“Wolf Song”), Vampires (“An Unlucky Encounter” & “On Becoming Immortal”), Demons (“Dark Return”), Aliens (“Scotch On the Rocks” & “The Alien”), Jack The Ripper (“Ripper!”), Superheroes (“The Clown’s Daughter”), James Dean (“De Pompa”), and even Edgar Allen Poe (“The Tragic Narrative of Arthur Pym”). Certainly quite a variety.

The strongest of the stories might well be his Crime/Suspense outings. “Silk and Fire” is a great pulp/private eye tale in the tradition of Hammett and Spillaine. You can almost picture the lurid Gold Medal type cover that should accompany it. “Blood Sky” is a disturbing look into the mind of a serial killer who tries to go straight . “De Pompa” (which was originally a screenplay written for William Friedkin) is a love-letter to James Dean and an example of how you can take the hero-worship a bit too far. “The Ex” is a subtle crime tale that warns against an ex-spouse’s vindictive possibilities. All four stories definitely rank with his best work.

Nolan also shows his sense of humor in the Sam Spade story “Hopping For Abe”, which depicts a funny, foul-mouthed version of one of our favorite presidents. “Killing Charlie” is a Blackly humorous murder tale that would fit right into Robert Bloch’s cannon.

“In Real Life” is probably my favorite tale out of the bunch, and probably the best out of an overly solid collection. A bit of an experiment in the short story form, the narrative shifts between perspectives and reality to reveal a telling statement on Hollywood.

So I definitely recommend this collection and one thing that’s all the more impressive to me is that Bill Nolan is still writing. At a time when many writers his age have fizzled out and rest on past laurels, he’s not content to do that. These are all fairly recent stories, and as the new story in this issue of DD you are holding can attest to, he’s still knocking out fine examples of solid craftsmanship. Here’s hoping for many more years of William F. Nolan stories!

- Reviewed by James R. Beach

Master Of The Moors Review

By Kealan Patrick Burke

Necessary Evil Press

ISBN: 978-0-9753635-7-7

2008; $45.00 Signed/Limited

Kealan Patrick Burke makes his full-length novel debut with what was originally an e-serial novel a couple of years back. Now fully revised and reworked from it’s original rapid-fire online delivery, it comes out in a nice-looking signed/limited hardcover from Necessary Evil Press.

So what of the tale itself? This is Burke’s love-letter to the old Hammer horror films of the late `50’s to the early `70’s. He deftly takes the feel of those old foggy London backgrounds and adds a modern touch to it. All of which succeeds to flesh out the characters more realistically. Without giving too much away, he also takes on a classic archetype and infuses it with a fresh idea and life.

The story focuses on teenaged Kate Mansfield and her blind brother Neil. Their father is in a virtually catatonic state after something he witnessed in the moors many years before while tracking something with some of the other townsfolk. The siblings are being raised by their house and groundskeeper now. With the arrival of a mysterious visitor to the town, it kicks off a chain of events linked to the mysterious happenings in the moors that day many years before.

Burke manages to keep much of the cliffhanger feel of the online serial which works well for maintaining the suspense throughout. It’s another solid entry into his strong body of work. I think regardless if you were one of the ones who read it online before, or are just coming to it for the first time, it’s a must have for two reasons: first, it’s a killer story by a writer who is only getting better and better as time goes on and second, it’s another beautifully crafted hardcover limited from NEP, who is one of the best small press publishers out there (and one who sells out most of their stock fairly quick! Just try and find a copy of Kealan’s novella The Turtle Boy from a few years back. If you do, it’ll cost you.). Plain and simple, grab one while you can!

- Reviewed by James R. Beach

Bad Moon Books 4-Pack Review

THE SCRUBS By Simon Janus Bad Moon Books ISBN: 2008; $

THE BITCHFIGHT By Michael A. Arnzen Bad Moon Books ISBN: 2008; $

PLAGUE MONKEY SPAM By Steve Vernon Bad Moon Books ISBN: 2008; $

MIRANDA By John R. Little Bad Moon Books ISBN: 2008; $

I didn’t have room to fit all of the books that publisher Roy Robbins sent me from his relatively new book line, but I loved them all so much I wanted to do something about it! So instead, I’m trying a new approach and doing a few capsule reviews instead of one longer one.

The first in the lineup is The Scrubs by Simon Janus (AKA Simon Wood). A tale of a prisoner in London’s Wormwood Scrubs prison who is forced to be part of a bizarre experiment the Govenor O‘Keefe (the term for the Warden in the UK) is conducting in the walls of the facility. Fueled by the outlawed liquor Absinthe, a serial killer’s disturbed mind creates an alternate world in which O’Keefe believes he can tame into a new virtual reality game for the masses. This is a fasinating, disturbing journey which is stated to be the first of more installments to come in the future. I’m definitely looking forward to see what’s next! Rounded out with a solid introduction by Weston Ochese and great artwork by Alan M. Clark.

The second book is Michael A. Arnzen’s The Bitchfight. A telling statement on a certain sports star’s recent incarceration for dog fighting, and the Mob’s propensity for gambling, Arnzen of course takes this realistically horrific topic and takes a left turn into Bizarro World. Michael deftly handles the issues of animals and children in horror fiction in this one. Needless to say, you’ll not look at your house pet the same way again. Brian Hodge contributes a wonderful introduction and an artist I hadn’t heard of, Caroline O’Neil supplies the artwork.

One of our feature players in this issue of DD, Steve Vernon, is batting third with Plague Monkey Spam. Also taking a bit of a turn in the land of the surreal, Steve tells the story of Horror writer Bobby Kaye, who discovers where story ideas really come from in a weird tale of computers, the internet and the fabled muse. This is another well-written, bizarre tale which Steve shows quite a knack for – especially as of late. Tim Waggoner contributes the introduction and Alan M. Clark the artwork.

Last comes what is arguably not only the best of this bunch, but probably one of the best of the year. John R. Little clocks in with Miranda, a story of time travel in a most unique way. The protagonist, Michael, finds himself waking up from a fatal heart-attack only to have his life going in reverse. He has no idea what comes before in his life as he has no memory of it. He hasn’t lived it yet technically, but in reality has. So he is destined to follow the path he is led down. And for a while it appears to be a lonely one with no family or significant other – save for his dog, Doof. Then one day everthing changes when he meets Miranda, who is traveling backward in her life as well. This is an amazingly inventive, and incredibly moving. John pulls off the whole thing marvelously and it’s a wonderful feat. This is another super-strong entry into his fiction lineup. Those of you who were lucky enough to grab copies of The Memory Tree or Placeholders know how deft John is at creating believable characters who take us along for the ride. He also seems to invoke the spirit of Rod Serling and Jack Finney and the best of the old Twilight Zone TV series. This is one you need to grab right now so don’t delay! Features a heartfelt introduction by Gary A. Braunbeck and Art by the wonderful Alan M. Clark. And a special note about the great book design by Cesar Puch (why does that name sound familiar?), who completely captured the feel of the book with a unique layout.

Overall, a very impressive lineup from Bad Moon Books. He’s been pumping them out since late last year at an impressive notch and every one of the novellas is awesome. All four of these are highly recommended!

- Reviewed by James R. Beach

Smothered Dolls

By A.R. Morlan

Overlook Connection Press

2007; 288 pages

As a relative newcomer to the horror genre, I had never heard of A.R. Morlan, who’d been mainly writing short stories since 1985, until I read an advance proof of her first collection, Smothered Dolls. Now I’m an ardent fan. Of the fifteen stories in this collection, three were reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, three are new, and nine appeared previously in various magazines and anthologies published from the late eighties to the early twenty-first century. The three honored stories are “The Second Most Beautiful Woman in the World” about a man’s admiration of a woman who entered a contest at a local diner, “Yet Another Poisoned Apple for the Fairy Princess” about a henpecked husband’s agony, and “Tattoo” about the different effects of a tattoo for a man and woman who met in a bar, not for the first time. The new stories include “Smothered Dolls or the Girl Who Could Never Be Good” about a girl raised by her abusive mother and grandmother, “The German Lady” about the relationship between an old German woman and her young female American personal caregiver, and “Milan, March 1972” about an artist’s obsession with a popular Zdenek print. The other stories are “No Heaven Will Not Ever Heaven Be” about a photographer’s meeting with a retired painter of barn advertisements, “Civic Duties” about a woman performing a strange civic duty, “Powder” about a young woman suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, “In a Fine and Verdant Place” about a man moving into a new home that isn’t what it seems, “Dora’s Trunk” about a woman’s dissatisfaction of her husband’s and her move to the Dust Bowl during the Depression, “The Gemutlichkeit Escape” about an American POW and his relationship with his German captor, “The On’ner” about a Kentucky farmer’s unusual invention, “Need” about a man logging onto internet chat room by accident to fulfill a unrealized need, and “- And the Horses Hiss at Midnight (Non-Vampire Version)” about a special characteristic of wooden carousel horses at a carnival. The writing for each story is crisp and concise and most go for the ‘aha’ ending which works for Morlan. The characters are fleshed out and relatable within quick moving plots, which shows Morlan’s mastery of this written form. Smothered Dolls has enough types of horror to suit any connoisseur, from dark fantasy to gut-kicking reality. In addition, each story is supplemented by an afterward that delves into Morlan’s reasoning behind each tale, some of which are altered from their original publications. However, most of the afterwards are insightful anecdotes. Unfortunately her bitterness and resentment over her abusive childhood she mentioned in a couple of afterwards should have been edited out by the publisher. I feel it slightly overshadowed her immense talent. This is the only flaw I found in the collection.

Although pricy at $44.95 from the publisher, Smothered Dolls is well worth it for the serious horror connoisseur. I highly recommend it.

- Reviewed by Karen Newman