A review by lizzderr
Dark Delicacies by Roberta Lannes, Gahan Wilson, F. Paul Wilson, Brian Lumley, David J. Schow, Ramsey Campbell, Steve Niles, Richard Matheson, Nancy Holder, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, William F. Nolan, Robert Steven Rhine, Richard Laymon, Whitley Strieber, D. Lynn Smith, Rick Pickman, Geff Gelb, Clive Barker, John Farris, Ray Bradbury, Del Howison, Lisa Morton

3.0

This anthology is a mixed bag, including shades of horror that vary from the uncanny to intense gore, and authors ranging from well-known greats to folks whose primary calling isn't fiction. Stand-out tales include "Kaddish" (arguably more dystopian than horrific), "The Pyre and Others" (Lovecraft meets contemporary academia--this one particularly resonated with some of my own experiences in the field), and "Haeckel's Tale" (a good old-fashioned horror tale told by the glow of a warm fire). Also, "My Thing Friday," "Out Twelve-Steppin', Summer of AA," and "The Outermost Borough" were pleasant surprises. On the opposite end of the spectrum, "Dark Delicacies of the Dead" had the framework of a fun story about a book signing interrupted by the zombie apocalypse, but it was also filled with what seemed to be inside jokes that readers who've never been to a DD event were excluded from. And I hate to say it, but the Ray Bradbury story that opens the collection is kind of a clunker. My expectations for the story were pretty high, I'll admit... but it just didn't do anything for me. Overall, I'd recommend this collection to folks who are already devotees of the genre or of particular authors in the collection, but that's about it.