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mad_about_books's review against another edition
5.0
The first time I went to Providence, Rhode Island, many friends asked me why I wasn't going to Newport instead. They didn't want to hear that it was home to H. P. Lovecraft. They didn't' want to know that I had a book that detailed a walking tour of College Hill. It would seem that folks just care about riches, ambiance, and shopping. I went there to soak up the essence of the horror genre and was not disappointed. BLACK CITY SKYLINE AND DARKER HORIZONS takes me back to that long weekend when I looked for weird fiction and the city that gave it voice.
Short stories are a breed of literature unto themselves. Short stories in the horror genre not only have to convey what might need a novel to tell the tale; they must also create fright and tension. Barry Lee Dejasu has done an admirable job in doing both.
The most difficult thing about reviewing a collection of stories is to say something and nothing about the individual tales. I get around that conundrum by listing the titles and my short reaction to each:
Foreword, by T.E.D. Klein - a must read, introduces the stories and the author most admirably
"The Night Belongs to Us" - deliciously creepy
"Penumbra" - channeling H. P. Lovecraft, yet totally modern and original
"The Place of Bones" - not just another campfire tale… a brilliant campfire tale
"Sleep Harvest" - divination? a terrifying trip into your own imagination
"What’s Below Beneath" - below is a dark place indeed
"“Hello? Is Someone There?”" - Love in the time of lockdown
"The Archive’s Wife" - till death do us part…
"He Walks This Road at Night" - a legend is born
"Black City Skyline" - put me in mind of the Turk's head building
"Home Staging" - you've heard it said… you can't go back home
"M.O.T.W." - definitely disturbing; definitely worth a second reading
"Tripping the Ghost" - ahh… the fruit of their labors
"Projector" - horror movies, or would that be horror at the movies?
"Crossback" - H. G. Wells eat your heart out
"The Night and All Its Visitors" - small town cops, big time troubles
Anyone who reads books and stories in the horror genre will savor these tales.
Short stories are a breed of literature unto themselves. Short stories in the horror genre not only have to convey what might need a novel to tell the tale; they must also create fright and tension. Barry Lee Dejasu has done an admirable job in doing both.
The most difficult thing about reviewing a collection of stories is to say something and nothing about the individual tales. I get around that conundrum by listing the titles and my short reaction to each:
Foreword, by T.E.D. Klein - a must read, introduces the stories and the author most admirably
"The Night Belongs to Us" - deliciously creepy
"Penumbra" - channeling H. P. Lovecraft, yet totally modern and original
"The Place of Bones" - not just another campfire tale… a brilliant campfire tale
"Sleep Harvest" - divination? a terrifying trip into your own imagination
"What’s Below Beneath" - below is a dark place indeed
"“Hello? Is Someone There?”" - Love in the time of lockdown
"The Archive’s Wife" - till death do us part…
"He Walks This Road at Night" - a legend is born
"Black City Skyline" - put me in mind of the Turk's head building
"Home Staging" - you've heard it said… you can't go back home
"M.O.T.W." - definitely disturbing; definitely worth a second reading
"Tripping the Ghost" - ahh… the fruit of their labors
"Projector" - horror movies, or would that be horror at the movies?
"Crossback" - H. G. Wells eat your heart out
"The Night and All Its Visitors" - small town cops, big time troubles
Anyone who reads books and stories in the horror genre will savor these tales.
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