David A. Sutton

The Black Book Of Horror is the first in a series of horror anthologies published by Mortbury Press. As soon as I saw the gorgeous covers I knew that I wanted the entire set even though I am not familiar with the authors. I did notice some nominations for the British Fantasy Award but winning or losing would not have swayed my desire to get my hands on these books. I don't have a lot of experience with British horror other than having enjoyed the Hammer House of Horror series when I was a show more kid. Since I have found in my limited experience that British horror tends to be a bit more subtle than what I am used to on this side of the pond, I expected this would be more atmospheric than blood soaked. Well subtle I can take, but vague I can not. Some of these stories were so vague that they seemed more like a wisp of idea for an outline than an actual finished product. For example I could sum up "Spare Rib" as once upon a time a man's wife died but then she came back and he left for work. The End. Seriously that's a story in here. In another story a Nazi skin head and his pals desecrate a grave and then take off their pants and boots. The End.
Not to say they were all bad, there were some 3 and 4 star stories among the duds. The only 5 star mentions go to "Size Matters" more for it's dark humor than for anything frightening. Yes it is a story about a penis enlargement gone wrong, and Lock-In by David A Riley which actually was a scary story about a handful of men trapped in a pub by a creeping black void of nothingness that awaits them outside. 4 stars to Last Christmas (I gave you my life) Family Fishing, and Subtle Invasion.
I'm hoping the rest of the series has more 5 star stories than this did. show less

As with any anthology, it's a mixed bag. Horror is very much a matter of taste, and, well... I don't really like most of it. So I'm not the most objective reviewer here. I got this to read Ramsey Campbell's hard-to-find Horror Under Warrendown, and enjoyed that and a couple of others. However, there are several grim and gory stories that I didn't like at all (and in some cases didn't finish).

An above-average anthology of horror stories, this book was a pleasure to read. As I'm so fond of saying, if you pick up an anthology of stories, you're bound to find some you really like, some you think are okay, and some you start reading and mentally say "pass." For me, there were a lot less "passers" to deal with in this collection.

Here's the contents list:
"The Forbidden," by Clive Barker
-- some things should just be kept quiet, as an enterprising young researcher finds out
"Dreams May show more Come," by H. Warner Munn
-- if the past could change, would we want it that way?
"The Dark Country," by Dennis Etchison
--Mexico is the setting for death in this story
"Dead to the World," by Allen Ashley
--A man who experiments with drugs in his younger days lives to regret it
"The Generation Waltz," by Charles L. Grant (set in Oxrun, for those of you familiar with that place)
"Don't Open That Door," by Frances Garfield
--a monster in the closet with a twist
"The Frolic," by Thomas Ligotti (one of my favorite stories in the book; I love this author!)
-- a doctor in an insane asylum has to deal with one of his patient's demons
"The Sorcerer's Jewel," by Robert Bloch
--a photographer gets more than he bargained for when he seeks a new way to jazz up his photos (excellent story)
"The Strange Years," by Brian Lumley
--a horror story with an environmental warning
"Red," by Richard Christian Matheson
--A very short but powerful story about the aftermath of all too real horror
"Ever the Faith Endures," by Manly Wade Wellman
--A man from America meets his British cousin who has an awesome responsibility to uphold. Another great story here by an excellent author.
"Extension 201," by Cyril Simsa
--The search for a missing telephone extension, combined with a turn-of-the century expedition up the Amazon leads to some surprising results
"The Last Wolf," by Karl Edward Wagner
--The story of the last writer of books; very poignant & appropriate when you think about it after you read it.
"Tongue in Cheek," by Mike Grace
-- A story that takes place on a deserted road
"In the X-Ray," by Fritz Leiber
--Another excellent story by an excellent author; sort of an old-fashioned horror story but still good
"The Bad People," by Steve Rasnic Tem
--Another story set in Mexico; a man and his son are shadowed by an evil force
"A Place of No Return," by Hugh B. Cave
--I love this author's work; it is quite old-fashioned but still left a few hackles on the back of my neck. A professor goes to Haiti to take pictures of zombies and well...
"The Terminus," by Kim Newman
--A police detective goes looking for a missing person and gets much more than he bargained for in the London Underground
"The Green Man," by Kelvin Jones
--Another Green Man story; this one is okay.
"The Voice of the Beach," by Ramsey Campbell
--imho, the best of the bunch; I'd read it also in Campbell's book Alone With the Horrors. Very creepy; a good story to read late at night when the house is quiet. Mythos related.

So there...you have some very talented authors to choose from in this book; Anyone who likes their horror more or less cerebral will totally enjoy this one. If you're looking for the hack/slash/lots-of-gore stuff, you may be a bit bored here.

recommended show less

Only one story that I pretty much skipped. The rest were good, if not all exactly my normal fare when it comes to Horror. Enjoyable read. I'll pick up some more of these if I see them.