4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good collection, Jan 4 2004
This review is from: Between Time And Terror (Paperback)
Most of the stories in this collection of hybrid science fiction/horror are good, with a few standouts. "The Colour out of Space" by H. P. Lovecraft is tough to get through but has some of the most genuinely creepy moments in the book. "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, Jr. (the basis for the two movies titled "The Thing" -- the creature is even referred to as "the Thing" in the story) is good but the science occasionally lost me; and at fifty-seven pages I would have liked a little more character development. (I could hardly tell one person from another.) "They" by Robert Heinlein, about a man who imagines everyone is out to get him, is intriguing. "A Walk in the Dark" by Arthur C. Clarke explores the idea that humanity will never entirely forget the fear of darkness, and is very good. "The Father-Thing" by Philip K. Dick is a scary one.
"Born of Man and Woman" by Richard Matheson didn't work for me; it's only four pages long and I spent the entire time trying to get used to the unconventional style. (It's written in a simplistic, childlike fashion that fits the subject but is still awkward.) The short-short story "Hell-Fire" by Isaac Asimov is hardly more than one page but still throws an interesting idea at you. David Morell's "Orange Is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity" is very good but strangely feels as though it could have been even better. It's about a painter who loses a friend to the study of a mad artist and wants to learn why. And finally, "The Age of Desire" by Clive Barker is truly disturbing. It mixes gore and sexuality in a way that I won't be forgetting any time soon.
The rest of the stories are decent but I'm less familiar with the authors. One side note: all of the writers featured here, as well as all of the main characters, are men. Overall I recommend this collection to both science fiction and horror fans.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad; not great, Aug 1 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Between Time And Terror (Paperback)
Some of the short stories in this collection are very good. "Soft" by F. Paul Wilson and "Metastasis" by Dan Simmons are excellent examples. Others like "The Vaults of Yoh Vombis" and "The man with a thousand legs" (sorry last reviewer) are exceedingly bad. My advice: if you find it on sale or used, pick it up and read a story or two in your spare time between novels.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Second Best Anthology in the world!!!!, July 6 2001
This review is from: Between Time And Terror (Paperback)
I just got done reviewing the "Sceince Fiction Hall of Fame" which I think is the first best anthology of all time. But this even though it's quite a bit newer is a close second. Don't Listen to the first reviwer "man with a thousand legs" was a great storey and "vault of Yoh Vombis" was even better. Most of the stories in this anthology are spectacular including "Hell-fire" which in my opinion is one of the best short fiction storey's I have ever ever ever read. "Nightmare Gang" was another great storey especially since I have NO respect for Koontz but with this storey credit and quite a lot is due to him, a very good piece.
Definitly a must buy!!!
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