Frontiers of Terror [Paperback]

A good selection of modern horror/dark fantasy tales. The standouts are the surprisingly chilling "Praying That You Feel Better Soon"; the two Cthulhu Mythos tales of Inspector Legrasse, "Patiently Waiting" and "Where Shadow Falls" (which feel more like Robert E. Howard than Lovecraft; the second tale is better done than the first, IMHO); and the nightmarish "The Arizona Underground." A few are less fantastic ("Black Velvet") or less horrific ("One Last Drag" and "Rest in Peace") or even tending towards other genres altogether ("Time of the Gr'nar"), but overall this is a nice collection, good casual reading.

Table of Contents:

Housebound by Brian McNaughton
Familiar child by Tom Piccirilli
Green Man and Paladin by Richard Lee Byers
Time Of The Gr'Nar by C.J. Henderson & Bruce Gehweiler
Black Velvet by Trey R. Barker
Praying That You Feel Better Soon by Jeffrey Thomas
The Hole by James S. Dorr
Patiently Waiting by C.J. Henderson
Where Shadows Fall by C.J. Henderson
I-10 by Del Stone Jr.
One Last Drag by James Shimkus
Beyond Lake 313 by David B. Silva
Those Druid Hills by Gregory Nicoll
'Acquired' Reflection by Ralph Greco Jr.
Rest In Peace by Bruce Gehweiler & C.J. Henderson
The Arizona Underground by Steve Antczak & Gregory Nicoll
The Thin Red Line by A.R. Morlan
The Turning Of The Wheel by Richard Lee Byers.

I admit the reason I bought this collection was because of the short in it by Jeffrey Thomas. I love Jeffrey Thomas's works, and was willing to pay for a whole collection to get just one of his stories. While Thomas's 'Praying That You Feel Better Soon' is one of the best stories in this collection, a tale of eerie graveyards and peculiar headstones, it is not the only reason to purchase this book.

I was delighted to find that there is much more to this collection than just one good author. I've not read Bruce Gehweiler's work until now, but 'Time Of The Gr'Nar' is awesome, a little horror combined with classic SF/Fantasy and a monster you won't easily forget. Tom Piccirilli has done it again with a witchy, spooky tale called 'Familiar Child' that has a touching twist to it. 'Housebound' by Brian McNaughton gives a fresh and unique twist to the old haunted house tale.

Del Stone Jr. writes an extremely creepy tale of an ordinary highway, making it feel as sinister as a live monster in his story 'I-10'. 'The Arizona Underground' by Steve Antczak & Gregory Nicoll is a spine-chilling excursion into the tunnels under the hot desert of Arizona, where Henry and his son, who he abducted from his mother, venture into the unused Defense network. Horrific tale!

And to my delight, C.J. Henderson has penned some terrific Cthulhu tales with Inspector Legrasse, with a realistic "Lovecraftian" feel to them; 'Patiently Waiting' and 'Where Shadows Fall', nicely back to back in story order.

What a treat to purchase a collection based on one author and find an entire festival of horror, blood, mystery, cthulhu, sinister places and things, and a shudder or two to accompany me. This is a great collection of horror to add to your library, definitely a "buy". Enjoy!

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  4.5 out of 5 stars