|
4.0 out of 5 stars
Small Package Greatness, Mar 17 2004
Fears unnamed collects four novellas by Tim Lebbon, an author who no longer needs an introduction for anyone who has followed the small press industry. These four novellas - one new and three previously published - demonstrate the skills and talent of an author who is bound for greatness.Lebbon loves to write post-apocalyptic tale, and this collection features one of his most popular end-of-the-world stories, Naming of the Parts. Here, a young boy and his parents try to escape a civilisation that has gone mad. The dead are walking and there is nowhere to hide. In The Unfortunate, Lebbon gives us the very, very original tale of a man who, after being the sole survivor of a plane crash, is forever changed. But his survival isn't a mere coincidence or a stroke of good luck. Soon enough, he finds himself in the middle of a very dark game that will leave him scarred for the rest of his life. The ending will haunt your for a very long time. Since the stories in this collection were written in the earlier parts of Lebbon's career, it's somewhat of a disappointment to realize that the newest and previously unpublished tale in this collection is also the lesser of the four. In Remnant, a man meets his archologist friend in a deserted land to uncover a forgotten civilisation that has been laying dormant for thousands of years. The story is a bit slow, and the finale anticlimactic. But the real reason to read this collection is for the magnificent, terrifying and brilliantly written White. In this tale, the world is dying and becoming a sea of white snow. A group of people trapped inside a mansion soon realize that this new whiteness also hides something dark and violent, something that his destroying them one by one. This is one story you won't be able to put down. I read White quite a while back when it was first published and, upon numerous readings, it now stands as one of my all-time horror faves. This is a great collection that should not be missed. Lebbon is bound to become a very important voice in genre fiction. Fears Unnamed is sure to give your lots of thrills, chills and a load of good times.
|
