Del Howison

Dark Delicacies is an anthology assembled to celebrate the California bookstore of the same name. It starts out promising, because most of the good stories are front-loaded. There is a touching zombie story told from a new perspective by Ray Bradbury, body horror by Brian Lumley and F. Paul Wilson, a tale of madness by Roberta Lannes, and a darkly funny story about a man who has a very bad day by John Farris. My two favorites were "The Seer" by Robert Steven Rhine, about a precognitive man show more who cannot escape his destiny, and "Kaddish," in which Whitley Strieber imagines a wounded America rebuilt as a fascist theocracy--easily the most frightening of the lot. About halfway through the quality takes a dive. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Steve Niles provide a couple of half-baked mysteries featuring their ongoing characters (St. Germain and Cal McDonald, respectively). Nancy Holder's story of two cannibal buddies reads like Poppy Z. Brite lite (and I'm not a fan of Ms. Brite.) Gahan Wilson's story of an artist who paints unusual subjects is good but anyone who's read Lovecraft will guess the reveal early on, and David J. Schow's tale of a forbidden book of dreams is the only real bright light in the second half. The collection wraps up with a typical z-grade entry from Richard Laymon (somehow contributing four years after his death) and a tale of necromancy by Clive Barker that is weak especially for him.

There is some good work in here but I really can't recommend the book as a whole. I hope [b:Dark Delicacies II|4448835|Dark Delicacies II Fear More Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World's Greatest Horror Writers|Del Howison|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266738079s/4448835.jpg|776957] is better and more consistent. show less

Overall, this is a worthy addition to Clive Barker's Nightbreed novel and film. For the most part, the stories are all solid and very well-written. In fact--and I find this unusual for a multi-author anthology--there was only one real WTF story that I didn't really grok the ending, and only two that failed to hold my attention all the way through to the end. Not bad for an antho with this many authors and stories.

If I have one complaint with this collection, it's that, for all the stories, show more there's a pervading sense of aloneness, of being an outsider to the world. Yes, yes, I get that each story takes place after the fall of Midian, so that's kind of to be expected, and it may very well have been the wish of the editors to find stories all of a certain DNA, but I would have liked a few of the stories to veer from the "I'm alone and outcast from this world of man" plotline.

The other minor issue, not so much a complaint as an observation, is that I really didn't need a rehash of the fall of Midian in almost every single story. Midian's fallen. These characters survived. Got it. Move on.

But, for all of that, a surprisingly good and entertaining collection. show less

Overall, I thought this was a much stronger selection of stories than the first volume.

Barbara Hambly tells the story of a vampire hoping to cross the Atlantic - on the Titanic. Greg Kihn provides a rock 'n' roll ghost story. The time to pay up arrives for a man who made a deal with a wizard in John Farris' entry. The power of music is explored in stories by Caitlín R. Kiernan and John Harrison.

Max Brooks and Steve Niles offer pieces based on their own ongoing creations (World War Z and show more paranormal detective Cal McDonald, respectively). Usually I dislike this practice, as it often gives the impression of an advert, but these particular ones stand on their own pretty well.

Gary Brandner's story of an unethical writer who loses the ability to decode language feels (ironically) in itself somewhat familiar. See the Twilight Zone episode "Wordplay." Similarly, Ray Garton's story about a man who hires an assassin to murder his wife seems right out of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, or one of the master's films. But it's a good story, anyway.

The only really substandard entry is is by L.A. Banks, who I think has a superficial grasp on the genre but not a genuine understanding. She writes vampire huntress novels.

If you're tired (as I am) of extreme horror fiction and appreciate subtlety, I'd recommend this collection. show less

This was such a fun collection of short stories, and I read it at the perfect time. I was in a bit of a reading slump, and this helped knock me out of it. There were no stories that I just flat out didn't like, and all of them had something in them I enjoyed. I didn't feel like it was horror in the "traditional" sense, but every story had something of the crawl under your skin to it, even if it was just sheer strangeness. I would recommend it to anyone looking for some fun, weird stories, show more but if your aim is to be truly horrified, this isn't the collection for you. I, however, would like to eventually read the other Dark Delicacies collections. show less