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verkisto's review against another edition
4.0
It's the final Dell/Abyss imprint book! I made it!
(That's not counting the Dell Horror novels that followed, after the Abyss imprint folded. It follows the same ethos and features some of the same writers, just without Cavelos or the name. I plan on reading those, too, but I'm going to wait a bit, and they aren't officially Abyss anyway.)
Four stars is a slightly generous for this anthology; it's more like 3.5, but I rounded up because the good stories are REALLY good. The first three stories ("The Lady of Situations" by Stephen Dedman, "Hungry Skin" by Lucy Taylor, and "Becky Lives" by Harry Crews) set an admirable stage for the rest of the book, but also create high expectations that are hard to follow. Other highlights include Ruth Rendell's "An Outside Interest" and Dan Simmons' Dying in Bangkok (both reprints).
The stories avoid the misogyny and sexism found among most of the other Abyss books, and I have to credit Datlow for not taking that route. She's always had a reputation for finding the best among the horror authors, and looking beyond cliches, and this anthology represents that ethos. This is a strong book to finish out the Abyss line.
Abyss #47
(That's not counting the Dell Horror novels that followed, after the Abyss imprint folded. It follows the same ethos and features some of the same writers, just without Cavelos or the name. I plan on reading those, too, but I'm going to wait a bit, and they aren't officially Abyss anyway.)
Four stars is a slightly generous for this anthology; it's more like 3.5, but I rounded up because the good stories are REALLY good. The first three stories ("The Lady of Situations" by Stephen Dedman, "Hungry Skin" by Lucy Taylor, and "Becky Lives" by Harry Crews) set an admirable stage for the rest of the book, but also create high expectations that are hard to follow. Other highlights include Ruth Rendell's "An Outside Interest" and Dan Simmons' Dying in Bangkok (both reprints).
The stories avoid the misogyny and sexism found among most of the other Abyss books, and I have to credit Datlow for not taking that route. She's always had a reputation for finding the best among the horror authors, and looking beyond cliches, and this anthology represents that ethos. This is a strong book to finish out the Abyss line.
Abyss #47
revslick's review against another edition
2.0
top stories are Barker, Matheson, & Eskridge; however even then below the typical Datlow quality mix (IMHO)
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