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A review by mikekaz
Dark Screams: Volume One by Brian James Freeman, Bill Pronzini, Simon Clark, Ramsey Campbell, Kelley Armstrong, Stephen King, Richard Chizmar
4.0
This book is a collection of short stories from five big names in the horror field. While Armstrong and Pronzini are not on my must read list, they are immediately recognized by me for putting out good quality stories. Campbell and King have both been on my favorite authors list for ages. Clark is one of the newer additions to that favorite authors list but he's still solid in his placement there. There is no theme to this collection other than good stories. Unfortunately not all the stories are good ones. Since there are only five stories, I'll vary my usual approach of listing my favorites and give some comments on each one. In order of my least favorite to the best of the bunch.
"Weeds" by Stephen King - While the story might be consider long lost due to not being published in years, it should also be a familiar story to most Stephen King fans. It is essentially "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" from Creepshow where Jordy is played by Stephen King himself. Probably since the story was written in 1976, it is dated as you read it. And I don't just mean technology or anything like that; the story itself reads as being dated. It probably would have been fine within a collection of older stories but to me, it sticks out like a sore thumb as the worst of the bunch.
"Magic Eyes" by Bill Pronzini - What disappointed me the most about this story was the lost potential. A man is locked in an asylum and considered insane for the actions he took against his wife. We get a nice dive into his mental well-being, or not-so-well-being as the case may be. And then we get some nice lead ups to good horror. And then it just closed quickly. The ending was good with regards to it being a short-story and left a little bit of a chill but I felt that the little chill we got as a reward was not equal to the buildup we got.
"The Watched" by Ramsey Campbell - This story was a traditional ghost story with a modern remix to it. Not overly spooky but all the right ingredients were there. I think the only thing missing was a bit more of a connection to one of the characters. I just wasn't pulled in to it.
"The Price You Pay" by Kelley Armstrong - Another traditional story but this time a thriller with a modern twist instead of a ghost story. In addition to being able to connect to the main characters, this story pulled me in faster. I was quickly involved and part of the action. There were a few points that pulled me back out but nothing significant. And while I should have, I didn't see the twist at the end coming.
"Murder in Chains" by Simon Clark - Easily the best of the bunch. I was pulled in from the start and not let go the whole time. I was constantly part of the action. And I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen next. While I wanted the protagonist to make different choices, I found that I was making the same choices as he was. A frustration that kept me further involved. From this story it is easy to see why Simon Clark is on my must read list!
"Weeds" by Stephen King - While the story might be consider long lost due to not being published in years, it should also be a familiar story to most Stephen King fans. It is essentially "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" from Creepshow where Jordy is played by Stephen King himself. Probably since the story was written in 1976, it is dated as you read it. And I don't just mean technology or anything like that; the story itself reads as being dated. It probably would have been fine within a collection of older stories but to me, it sticks out like a sore thumb as the worst of the bunch.
"Magic Eyes" by Bill Pronzini - What disappointed me the most about this story was the lost potential. A man is locked in an asylum and considered insane for the actions he took against his wife. We get a nice dive into his mental well-being, or not-so-well-being as the case may be. And then we get some nice lead ups to good horror. And then it just closed quickly. The ending was good with regards to it being a short-story and left a little bit of a chill but I felt that the little chill we got as a reward was not equal to the buildup we got.
"The Watched" by Ramsey Campbell - This story was a traditional ghost story with a modern remix to it. Not overly spooky but all the right ingredients were there. I think the only thing missing was a bit more of a connection to one of the characters. I just wasn't pulled in to it.
"The Price You Pay" by Kelley Armstrong - Another traditional story but this time a thriller with a modern twist instead of a ghost story. In addition to being able to connect to the main characters, this story pulled me in faster. I was quickly involved and part of the action. There were a few points that pulled me back out but nothing significant. And while I should have, I didn't see the twist at the end coming.
"Murder in Chains" by Simon Clark - Easily the best of the bunch. I was pulled in from the start and not let go the whole time. I was constantly part of the action. And I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen next. While I wanted the protagonist to make different choices, I found that I was making the same choices as he was. A frustration that kept me further involved. From this story it is easy to see why Simon Clark is on my must read list!