Gary Fry

I have read quite a few of Gary Fry’s novels and novellas and I know what I like about his writing. First, he really knows how to create a mood. Tense. Brooding. Unsettling. It gets to you as you read. Makes you apprehensive for the characters and builds tension which is critical in dark fiction and suspense novels. The House of Canted Steps is certainly no exception. A creepy haunted house story in a Hitchcock style. Slow build. Building to a no holds barred finale.

The second thing that I show more enjoy in his Fry’s work, and I think that he does it as well as anyone and much better than most, is to let us in on the thought processes of his main character. Fry tends to tell his stories exclusively in first person perspective, which for some writers can be quite limiting since you leave so much of the story beyond the perimeter of your narration, but with Fry it works well because of the way that he does it. From the very beginning of the story we are inside the main character/narrator’s (Mark) head, following every thought, including his own reasoning and rationalizations as he weighs and performs every action. These thoughts ARE the story to some extent. Exceeding well done, in my opinion. Horror stories, good ones at least, are about real characters in unreal situations and you have to connect the story to the real world or it won’t have much of an effect. In this novel, I think that Fry completely nails the dynamic of divorce with child(ren), new spouses/significant others, jealousy, loss, and all of those related feelings. I found Mark to be completely believable and totally bought into him as a character, to the point that later in the book, when things get more and more off kilter, that I found myself very annoyed with him, wondering why he was doing certain things, until I realized…….well, you might want to read the book to see what I was about to say.

I have read several other of Fry’s works, all printed by Darkfuse—which in my opinion is publishing a fine line of dark fiction from a variety of new and seasoned authors. show less

Some horror anthologies are made to scare readers, others are made to terrify them. When it comes to The Outsiders, the latter is at work from beginning to end. It's the type of book best read during the day. This meticulously crafted shared-world anthology will inspire a great deal of panic; not only due to the psychological components present, but also because of the pure horror elements weaved into the stories. Think Jonestown with a side dish of Cthulhu.

The authors went above and beyond show more when they wrote these stories. Not only is it difficult to be a part of a shared-world anthology, because of the obvious creative differences involved, but to keep the characters and pace of the stories consistent is almost impossible without a great editor. The Outsiders, however, does a lovely job at staying consistent without ruining the authors' unique takes on the theme. In other words, it's a freaking remarkable anthology as far as I'm concerned.

H.P. Lovecraft fans will enjoy what The Outsiders have to offer. Folks interested in cults will love every moment spent reading this anthology. Editors will be amazed by the work that went into the project (and find something to aspire to as a result).

Definitely try to get your hands on this collection if you want to be scared.

THIS BOOK SHOULD COME WITH A WARNING LABEL

Review originally posted at:
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I am always happy when my new Darkfuse books arrive—I really feel that my membership has been money well spent. This one wasn’t a favorite, but with such different types of works and so many different writers, you can’t expect every reader to like every book.

I am a big fan of Gary Fry and in the internal psychological perspective that he brings to his characters. I think that he went just a bit too far in this one. Rather than simply putting his main character on the couch and letting show more us watch him process his thoughts, Fry actually makes a psychologist the main character; and the worst kind---one of those people that became psychologists in order to understand and perhaps “cure” themselves. It was just a bit much as the story, which started out a really promising wrong turn/creepy town situation, started to seem like a class. I also felt that the storyline itself was an attempt to teach a lesson and was rather heavy handed with the use of symbolism.

I wholeheartedly recommend him as an author and would encourage anyone interested in good dark fiction to read Fry’s Emergence, Lurker, or House of Canted Steps---all of which are excellent. show less

I think that great fiction is about people and a writer that is very good with characters is one that I want to read. Just my humble opinion.

"Emergence," first and foremost is about a man and his grandson. It is about growing old, losing the other half of yourself and being left alone to spend those remaining days and hours suddenly alone. It is about connecting to the people we care about, in this case, a grandchild. You will see yourself in these characters. They are real.

And it is about show more fear. Fear of the larger ramifications of the little ways in which we are slipping, mentally and physically, and approaching our own frailty. It is about fear for our loved ones.

Emergence is a literary novella. Don't look for a madman to chase down any of the characters here. We are not sure if the demons from without are real or merely reflections of demons from within. Are we witnessing an encroachment from a hostile dimension or are we seeing the fragmentation and disintegration of a character's control on reality. Either way, there is threat and menace and chilling imagery and an overall sense of dread.

What I am sure of is that this is good dark fiction and if you like the stories of those whose horror is more personal and literary going all the way back to Henry James, then you will appreciate this very fine novella.

Once again, kudos to Darkfuse for consistently publishing novellas of such high quality. show less