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charshorrorcorner's review
4.0
3.5 stars!
When I saw this come up for review, I grabbed it. I've always had a fondness for anthologies and this one did not disappoint. The theme of this collection is dusk. "...dusk is the time between the light and the dark. A time between times." These tales are loosely connected by that thread. There's a nice introduction by Jack Ketchum and that made me excited to continue. Speaking of which-I'm not going to mention and rate every story, I'm going to briefly talk about the tales that stood out for me.
Shadows of the Lonely Dead by Alan Baxter: I enjoyed this tale of a hospice worker; it reminded me of John Coffey from The Green Mile. 3.5*
A Woman of Disrepute by Icy Sedgwick: This was a gothic style story with a Jack the Ripper feel. I thought this one ROCKED. 4.5*
Burning by Rayne Hall: I normally dislike tales with lessons to be learned, but I liked this one quite a bit. It didn't shy away from the ugliness-it presented it all in its horrible glory. 4.*
Ministry of Outrage by Chris Limb: This story was wildly imaginative and I loved it. 5*
Reasons to Kill by J.C. Michael: I've read a ton of vampire tales in my time, but this one stood out just the same. I loved the idea of vampire nests. Okay, not totally original, I know, -but this nest and these vampires are a bit different than the norm. 4*
Digging Deep by Ramsey Campbell: A story about being buried alive. 'Nuff said. 5*
Hope Is Here by Karen Runge: "THE SUNSHINE GROUP: WE ARE HERE TO MAKE THE WORLD A CLEAN AND HAPPY PLACE!" This was another favorite of mine. Sadly, it doesn't feel like it's too far out of the realm of possibility at times. 5*
Would To God That We Were There by Tom Dullemond: Another story about a psycho in space. It worked for me. 4*
Negatives by Wendy Hammer: A cool tale about an abandoned amusement park with a secret. 4*
Fit Camp by Shane McKenzie: My friends have been urging me to read more from this guy. After reading this crazy story about a kid at fat camp and his great decision that went bad, I'll be doing just that. 4.5*
Quarter Turn To Dawn by Sarah Read: I don't even know what to say, this story was messed up. A hotel, a volcano and people turning into...? 4*
The Way of All Flesh by Angela Slatter: A turn the tables type of story. I enjoyed it. 4*
Overall, this was an enjoyable collection. I especially liked that there was a good number of contributions from female authors and they were GOOD. I will be tracking down to read more from these authors in the future.
Recommended to fans of anthologies featuring a wide variety of stories and authors.
Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this anthology to honestly review for www.Horrorafterdark.com and this is it.
When I saw this come up for review, I grabbed it. I've always had a fondness for anthologies and this one did not disappoint. The theme of this collection is dusk. "...dusk is the time between the light and the dark. A time between times." These tales are loosely connected by that thread. There's a nice introduction by Jack Ketchum and that made me excited to continue. Speaking of which-I'm not going to mention and rate every story, I'm going to briefly talk about the tales that stood out for me.
Shadows of the Lonely Dead by Alan Baxter: I enjoyed this tale of a hospice worker; it reminded me of John Coffey from The Green Mile. 3.5*
A Woman of Disrepute by Icy Sedgwick: This was a gothic style story with a Jack the Ripper feel. I thought this one ROCKED. 4.5*
Burning by Rayne Hall: I normally dislike tales with lessons to be learned, but I liked this one quite a bit. It didn't shy away from the ugliness-it presented it all in its horrible glory. 4.*
Ministry of Outrage by Chris Limb: This story was wildly imaginative and I loved it. 5*
Reasons to Kill by J.C. Michael: I've read a ton of vampire tales in my time, but this one stood out just the same. I loved the idea of vampire nests. Okay, not totally original, I know, -but this nest and these vampires are a bit different than the norm. 4*
Digging Deep by Ramsey Campbell: A story about being buried alive. 'Nuff said. 5*
Hope Is Here by Karen Runge: "THE SUNSHINE GROUP: WE ARE HERE TO MAKE THE WORLD A CLEAN AND HAPPY PLACE!" This was another favorite of mine. Sadly, it doesn't feel like it's too far out of the realm of possibility at times. 5*
Would To God That We Were There by Tom Dullemond: Another story about a psycho in space. It worked for me. 4*
Negatives by Wendy Hammer: A cool tale about an abandoned amusement park with a secret. 4*
Fit Camp by Shane McKenzie: My friends have been urging me to read more from this guy. After reading this crazy story about a kid at fat camp and his great decision that went bad, I'll be doing just that. 4.5*
Quarter Turn To Dawn by Sarah Read: I don't even know what to say, this story was messed up. A hotel, a volcano and people turning into...? 4*
The Way of All Flesh by Angela Slatter: A turn the tables type of story. I enjoyed it. 4*
Overall, this was an enjoyable collection. I especially liked that there was a good number of contributions from female authors and they were GOOD. I will be tracking down to read more from these authors in the future.
Recommended to fans of anthologies featuring a wide variety of stories and authors.
Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this anthology to honestly review for www.Horrorafterdark.com and this is it.
maleficentknits's review
4.0
I was given a copy of this anthology to read and review honestly.
Alan Baxter’s Shadows of the Lonely Dead – lovely tale of a hospice worker who brings comfort to the suffering and dying yet left me with a most unusual chill to the bone. I will definitely watch for this author.
Anna Reith’s Taming the Stars – two viewpoints, Antoine the unfortunate young man who just happens to end up hanging out with the wrong guy, and Esther the exotic American whore who is more dangerous than she appears. This one was a little slow but still enjoyable. It reminded me a bit of the 1992 movie Innocent Blood where Anne Parillaud plays a vampire who gets mixed up with the mob.
Armand Rosamilia’s At Dusk They Come – Different. Thoughts can be dangerous, more so, deadly.
Icy Sedgwick ‘s A Woman of Disrepute – Little slow for my tastes but reminds me of a turn of last century gothic ghost/ghoul story.
Rayne Hall’s Burning – A lesson in the righteousness of hatred. Nice and twisted.
Chris Limb’s Ministry of Outrage – Insightful look at propaganda and rising through the corporate ladder. Had me reminiscing about a guy I dated back in the 80s and giggling out loud.
Toby Bennett’s Maid of Bone – The price you pay for what you desire most is never enough. Lovely little tale with a taste of the brothers Grimm.
S.G.Larner’s Shades of Memory – Religion interfering where it isn’t wanted, imposing when it should stay out of a town’s affairs. A parallel of our current state of affairs with a super-conservative government here in the US?
J.C.Michael’s Reasons to Kill – If an epidemic or apocalypse occurs, do you really know your neighbors? What about strangers moving in? I don’t, and are neighbors don’t really know my spouse and I. Makes me wonder if this just might happen.
Ramsey Campbell’s Digging Deep – A dead man who isn’t dead with a cell phone. Highly amusing and twisted tale for those who just LOVE those annoying PITA relatives who make your life miserable. Beware.
Brett Rex Bruton’s Outside In – This one had me a little confused. I felt it was trying to be sci-fi noirish but left me wanting. Maybe it needs a re-read.
Karen Runge’s Hope is Here – this one bothered me like stories of the homeless and hopeless, and cults tend to. Well done.
Tom Dullemond’s Would to God That We Were There – The trip to Mars always seems to be a long and lonely flight that really FU one’s mind. Meh.
Wendy Hammer’s Negatives – Identical twins, “…different as night and day…” head off to an abandoned amusement park for fun only to have it turn dark and nasty. I really liked this one. No one can convince me that amusement parks don’t harbor dark and evil secrets.
Shane McKenzie’s Fit Camp – There’s the tried and true but hard way to lose weight and then there’s the Fit Camp way. Insert Twilight Zone music here.
Sarah Read’s Quarter Turn to Dawn – Vacation paradise turns into Hell or something just as evil at a beach resort. Sometimes drinking one’s self into oblivion when your dream vacation goes to crap is the only way to deal with it. I’ve always believed the vodka tonics protected me from Malaria or at least feeling those mosquito and no-see-ums biting me when I lived in the Bahamian islands. Why not Tequila protecting you from the monsters outside your door? I’ve been a big fan of Sarah’s writing for a while now as she always seems to come up with wonderfully weird, twisted, and horror-filled stories to whet and appease my appetites.
Benjamin Knox’s A Keeper of Secrets – A ghostly, impish friend for a lonely, bored child trying to stay amused the weekend of her dead grandmother’s wake and funeral, that feeds off secrets. The bigger the more appetizing. Loved this and definitely want to read more of this writer’s work.
John Everson’s Spirits Having Flown – A trapper of dreams’ legacy. Unusual tale.
Angela Slatter’s The Way of All Flesh – Let’s just say that appetites of various kinds can influence one’s taste in all things and sometimes one’s eyes are definitely bigger than their tummy. Deliciously twisted. I want more from this writer.
Overall, I really enjoyed the majority of these stories. A couple of original ideas that pleasantly surprised me. I would definitely recommend this anthology to my friends and fellow readers with a discerning and dark pallet in their reading diet. Thank you Mr. Dewar for the privilege to read these gems early on.
Alan Baxter’s Shadows of the Lonely Dead – lovely tale of a hospice worker who brings comfort to the suffering and dying yet left me with a most unusual chill to the bone. I will definitely watch for this author.
Anna Reith’s Taming the Stars – two viewpoints, Antoine the unfortunate young man who just happens to end up hanging out with the wrong guy, and Esther the exotic American whore who is more dangerous than she appears. This one was a little slow but still enjoyable. It reminded me a bit of the 1992 movie Innocent Blood where Anne Parillaud plays a vampire who gets mixed up with the mob.
Armand Rosamilia’s At Dusk They Come – Different. Thoughts can be dangerous, more so, deadly.
Icy Sedgwick ‘s A Woman of Disrepute – Little slow for my tastes but reminds me of a turn of last century gothic ghost/ghoul story.
Rayne Hall’s Burning – A lesson in the righteousness of hatred. Nice and twisted.
Chris Limb’s Ministry of Outrage – Insightful look at propaganda and rising through the corporate ladder. Had me reminiscing about a guy I dated back in the 80s and giggling out loud.
Toby Bennett’s Maid of Bone – The price you pay for what you desire most is never enough. Lovely little tale with a taste of the brothers Grimm.
S.G.Larner’s Shades of Memory – Religion interfering where it isn’t wanted, imposing when it should stay out of a town’s affairs. A parallel of our current state of affairs with a super-conservative government here in the US?
J.C.Michael’s Reasons to Kill – If an epidemic or apocalypse occurs, do you really know your neighbors? What about strangers moving in? I don’t, and are neighbors don’t really know my spouse and I. Makes me wonder if this just might happen.
Ramsey Campbell’s Digging Deep – A dead man who isn’t dead with a cell phone. Highly amusing and twisted tale for those who just LOVE those annoying PITA relatives who make your life miserable. Beware.
Brett Rex Bruton’s Outside In – This one had me a little confused. I felt it was trying to be sci-fi noirish but left me wanting. Maybe it needs a re-read.
Karen Runge’s Hope is Here – this one bothered me like stories of the homeless and hopeless, and cults tend to. Well done.
Tom Dullemond’s Would to God That We Were There – The trip to Mars always seems to be a long and lonely flight that really FU one’s mind. Meh.
Wendy Hammer’s Negatives – Identical twins, “…different as night and day…” head off to an abandoned amusement park for fun only to have it turn dark and nasty. I really liked this one. No one can convince me that amusement parks don’t harbor dark and evil secrets.
Shane McKenzie’s Fit Camp – There’s the tried and true but hard way to lose weight and then there’s the Fit Camp way. Insert Twilight Zone music here.
Sarah Read’s Quarter Turn to Dawn – Vacation paradise turns into Hell or something just as evil at a beach resort. Sometimes drinking one’s self into oblivion when your dream vacation goes to crap is the only way to deal with it. I’ve always believed the vodka tonics protected me from Malaria or at least feeling those mosquito and no-see-ums biting me when I lived in the Bahamian islands. Why not Tequila protecting you from the monsters outside your door? I’ve been a big fan of Sarah’s writing for a while now as she always seems to come up with wonderfully weird, twisted, and horror-filled stories to whet and appease my appetites.
Benjamin Knox’s A Keeper of Secrets – A ghostly, impish friend for a lonely, bored child trying to stay amused the weekend of her dead grandmother’s wake and funeral, that feeds off secrets. The bigger the more appetizing. Loved this and definitely want to read more of this writer’s work.
John Everson’s Spirits Having Flown – A trapper of dreams’ legacy. Unusual tale.
Angela Slatter’s The Way of All Flesh – Let’s just say that appetites of various kinds can influence one’s taste in all things and sometimes one’s eyes are definitely bigger than their tummy. Deliciously twisted. I want more from this writer.
Overall, I really enjoyed the majority of these stories. A couple of original ideas that pleasantly surprised me. I would definitely recommend this anthology to my friends and fellow readers with a discerning and dark pallet in their reading diet. Thank you Mr. Dewar for the privilege to read these gems early on.
michelle_e_goldsmith's review
5.0
A very enjoyable, loosely themed anthology of dark fiction. The stories err on the literary side of horror (which I prefer) but that shouldn't be taken to mean they aren't also highly entertaining.
The book contains a number of memorable tales with a range of different styles, voices and themes. The progression between stories is also well managed so that they flow effortlessly from one the other without ever feeling homogeneous.
Well worth a read for any dark fiction fan.
The book contains a number of memorable tales with a range of different styles, voices and themes. The progression between stories is also well managed so that they flow effortlessly from one the other without ever feeling homogeneous.
Well worth a read for any dark fiction fan.
weirdtea's review
4.0
Upfront confession: I have a story in this anthology so I'm predisposed to look upon it favorably, but...I genuinely enjoyed it. The selection is high quality throughout. There's a wide variety of styles, subjects, and voices.
I loved seeing how all the writers worked with the theme of dusk. It was a damned fine read.
I loved seeing how all the writers worked with the theme of dusk. It was a damned fine read.
daveversace's review
5.0
'Suspended in Dusk' is an outstanding collection of supernatural suspense stories. All the more so for it being edited by a first time anthologist. The story of the mountains editor Simon Dewar moved in order to get this anthology into print is worthy of its own entry in the volume. I'm pretty sure supernatural horror played a part alongside his sheer implacable force of will. I don't know if he has a basement at his house, but maybe don't go down there if you happen to be visiting.
But to the stories themselves: they're excellent. In my personal taxonomy I class them more as suspense than horror, creating a sense of unease and haunting doubt rather than going for a visceral pulse-accelerating (or heart-stopping) effect. And not all of them are supernatural, though that's the most common technique here, alongside the central motif of dusk, when the certainty of daylight begins to give way to the disquiet of night's darkness. Out of a collection of 19 stories, there were only one or two that didn't resonate with me - an amazing hit rate that puts Dewar in a class with some of the finest editors in the business as far as I'm concerned.
I won't mention every story but here are some of the highlight:
Alan Baxter's 'Shadows of The Lonely Dead' kicks off the collection strongly, with a melancholy meditation on the grief and isolation of the terminally ill, shot through with a strong sense of empathy and righteous indignation. Anna Reith follows with 'Taming the Stars', in which a drug deal goes insanely badly for a couple of grubby Parisian chancers. I loved Chris Limb's nightmarish bureaucrat in 'Ministry of Outrage', which has a horribly plausible conspiratorial heart. Stacey Larner's 'Shades of Memory' is a grim post-apocalyptic ghost story which I felt a personal connection to (it's set in a small highway township not far from where I was born). Legendary horror writer Ramsey Campbell offers up a nice take on a classic claustrophobic nightmare scenario in 'Digging Deep'. Tom Dullemond's 'Would to God That We Were There' is a wonderfully creepy account of a doomed space mission. Angela Slatter closes out the anthology with another suspenseful encounter in the wake of an unspecified apocalypse in 'The Way of All Flesh' (it's delightfully nasty).
Honestly I feel bad skipping over the stories I didn't cover. The ones I was least interested in were still strong pieces, and overall the quality was impressively high. There's little outright horror here, but there's plenty of grist for a few quality bad dreams as a result of a late-night dip into 'Suspended in Dusk'.
(Disclaimer: This collection was edited by a friend of mine, so take my review with the usual grain of salt. That said, if I didn't like it, I would just have quietly not written a review).
But to the stories themselves: they're excellent. In my personal taxonomy I class them more as suspense than horror, creating a sense of unease and haunting doubt rather than going for a visceral pulse-accelerating (or heart-stopping) effect. And not all of them are supernatural, though that's the most common technique here, alongside the central motif of dusk, when the certainty of daylight begins to give way to the disquiet of night's darkness. Out of a collection of 19 stories, there were only one or two that didn't resonate with me - an amazing hit rate that puts Dewar in a class with some of the finest editors in the business as far as I'm concerned.
I won't mention every story but here are some of the highlight:
Alan Baxter's 'Shadows of The Lonely Dead' kicks off the collection strongly, with a melancholy meditation on the grief and isolation of the terminally ill, shot through with a strong sense of empathy and righteous indignation. Anna Reith follows with 'Taming the Stars', in which a drug deal goes insanely badly for a couple of grubby Parisian chancers. I loved Chris Limb's nightmarish bureaucrat in 'Ministry of Outrage', which has a horribly plausible conspiratorial heart. Stacey Larner's 'Shades of Memory' is a grim post-apocalyptic ghost story which I felt a personal connection to (it's set in a small highway township not far from where I was born). Legendary horror writer Ramsey Campbell offers up a nice take on a classic claustrophobic nightmare scenario in 'Digging Deep'. Tom Dullemond's 'Would to God That We Were There' is a wonderfully creepy account of a doomed space mission. Angela Slatter closes out the anthology with another suspenseful encounter in the wake of an unspecified apocalypse in 'The Way of All Flesh' (it's delightfully nasty).
Honestly I feel bad skipping over the stories I didn't cover. The ones I was least interested in were still strong pieces, and overall the quality was impressively high. There's little outright horror here, but there's plenty of grist for a few quality bad dreams as a result of a late-night dip into 'Suspended in Dusk'.
(Disclaimer: This collection was edited by a friend of mine, so take my review with the usual grain of salt. That said, if I didn't like it, I would just have quietly not written a review).
alanbaxter's review
5.0
I'm biased as I have a story in this anthology, but it is superb. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
tracyreads's review
4.0
This is a wonderful collection of current, talented authors. It really has something for everyone. Personally, I love that fact that it is inclusive of both men and women writers. I have my favorites, but I'll leave you to explore this tasteful journey through the minds of some of the very best. Be sure to pick this one up!
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