The Death Artist [Mass Market Paperback]

This is a collection of twelve stories of horror, suspense and dark fiction. Like Charles Grant, Etchison's strength lies on the quiet end of that spectrum. Events in the stories will often seem perfectly normal, even mundane, but bits creep in gradually until the reader realizes that things are not as they should be.

Some highlights:

"When They Gave Us Memory" - An actor returns to his hometown to find things have changed...but were they ever the same?

"Deadtime Story" - A teenager receives a threatening phone call while at work. Will he make it home alive?

"Call Home" - A man learns that being a Good Samaritan can be a very bad idea.

"A Wind From The South" - A woman has an unexpected visitor who seems harmless at first, until she begins to notice pieces of her life disappearing from her grasp.

"The Detailer" - A car wash attendant makes a startling discovery about one of his clients.

These are tales that would have made Alfred Hitchcock or Rod Serling proud. I recommend this collection if you appreciate more subtle discomforts, and know that being unsettled can often touch deeper than outright shock.

Some of the stories were fair, but after a while, you could pretty well tell how they were going to end. Some of them seemed to have no real "story" and I was left feeling 'and????' He seems to have some kind of formula. Very predictable. The stories would probably translate well into a twighlite zone kind of thing. Frankly, I will not be reading any more of his books, if this is the best he can do.

Get ready the adjectives are gonna fly! I've been a fan of horror books, films, comic books ect. since I was a child(I'm 39 now) I've read countless authors, but this particular author has always dissapointed me...I've bought all of Dennis Etchison's books. I had fallen prey after reading the raving blurbs on the covers by other more successful writers. (possibly trying to boost the career of their less successful friend) BIG MISTAKE! Don't be fooled!... Now...don't get me wrong this guy is a good writer he has many awards under his belt. BIG DEAL!... that's probably because of connections(just look at the academy awards ,the grammy's, emmy' ect,) people owe him favors(or they just feel sorry)...Who knows? and who cares?! His stories are sorrowfully lacking in good ideas(they're boring, incondite, trite psychological horror gibberish and most importantly NOT SCARY!!!) and sometimes not even horror, and they almost always have lousy endings. So do yourself a favor, let those horror authors and judges who seem to think this man walks on water, enjoy Mr. Etchison at their own leisure and move on to more rewarding fruitful ground. Try Simon Clark's-Blood Crazy, Fritz Leiber's-Conjure Wife, Ramsey Campbell's-The Parasite, Thomas Tryon's-Harvest Home,The Other, Jack Ketchum's-The Lost, Richard Matheson's- Hunted Past Reason, Charles L. Grant's- In a Dark Dream, Montague R. James's- Casting the Runes , Robert R.McCammon's-Swan Song, Bentley Little's- Dominion, anything by Owl Goingback, Graham Masterson's -The Manitou,The Djinn, Thomas Tessier's-Fog Heart,phantom,The Nightwalker, f. Paul Wilson's-Nightworld,The Tomb,SIBS
even a guilty pleasure like Rick Hautala's-Little Brothers,or anything by him...if you want something scary and fun to read.