From Publishers Weekly
The third volume in this series is generally fun, but characteristically erratic with 28 stories and five poems running the gamut from excellent to ridiculous. Adobe James's "The Spelling Bee" deceptively begins as an ironically observed account of a mundane contest, until the author drops the other shoe in a cymbal-crashing climax as unexpected as it is effective. Wayne Allen Sallee's "Third Rail" is an understated short-short of urban violence. And Dan Simmon's "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites" ingeniously updates the barber's historical role as bloodletter. On the other hand, Graham Masterton's "Ever, Ever After" fails to convince, and R. Patrick Gates's "Long Lips" is tasteless and dull (while Jeannette M. Hopper's "Sunday Breakfast" is tasteless but clever and well-written). Also well worth reading are contributions by Ed Gorman, Melissa Mia Hall and Douglas Winter, D. W. Taylor, Rex Miller, Steve Rasnic Tem and Ray Bradbury (a poem).
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
From the mythical horrors of the Australian outback (Bill Ryan's "The Wulgaru") to the more "mundane" terrors of the modern motel (D.W. Taylor's "Dew Drop Inn"), this collection of 33 original stories and poems by contemporary authors of horror and fantasy pays tribute to the vitality and breadth of both genres. Contributors include veterans Graham Masterton ("Ever, Ever, After"), Ray Bradbury ("Of Absence, Darkness, Death: Things Which Are Not"), and Steve Rasnic Tem ("Motherson"), as well as newcomers Mark McNease ("Coochi-Coo"), Gary A. Braunbeck ("All But the Ties Eternal"), and others. Recommended where horror is popular.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
