Jeff Gelb

Another excellent collection of short stories. Del has compiled a nice choice of stories. While "haunted" is a generic enough theme that it could apply to many stories, it fit all these stories very nicely. Ghosts and haunted houses and memories. Things that leave an impact on a person's soul and their thoughts. The two stories that really stood out to me were the ones by Little and Braunbeck. Both for different reasons but each will haunt me. Below are my favorites from the book.

"Mist on show more the Bayou" by Heather Graham - A ghost helps save a girl from being murdered at a haunted house.

"A Nasty Way to Go" by Ardath Mayhar - A constable investigates the sightings of a ghost.

"A Slow Haunting" by John R. Little - A viscious tale of revenge that goes on for years. It sits in my mind long after I finished the story.

"Man with a Canvas Bag" by Gary A. Braunbeck - A sad story of ghosts and remembering and missed opportunities.

"Fetch" by Chuck Palahniuk - The story of a haunted tennis ball. show less

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

Given the place this (and the broader anthology series) hold in the genre, and the lineup of 70s/80s/90s horror greats for this opening volume, this was surprisingly uneven across its stories. There's a super strong opener with the surprisingly introspective for its time but dated by today's standards 'Changeling', which does some interesting things with its tropes as does 'The Likeness of Julie'. The third entry, 'The Thang' is over the top silly in a way nothing else comes close to in the show more collection. And it was great to read story Mick Garris used for the Master's of Horror episode 'Chocolate'. Harlan Ellison has a strong showing, though I don't know that I even expect to see him in a collection like this, and Chet Williamson's story is 'interesting'. But by and large these stories feel like relatively weak offerings from authors who on average did a lot better. show less

I don't think that I've once been disappointed by any of the HOT BLOOD collections, and I'm still not. This is another collection of stories to get your adrenaline pumping, your nerves cringing and your loins throbbing. One of the other things about this collection is that I end up not wanting to put it down. I keep telling myself just one more story then go to bed. But one turns into two, then three. And suddenly it's three in the morning and I have to get some sleep for work the next show more morning! I just hate putting it down. So if erotic horror does the same for you, be sure to read this collection. Some of my favorites are below.

"Just A Phone Call Away" by John F. D. Taff - This one had me physically cringing through a good part of it

"I Am Joe's Penis" by Scott H. Urban - If for no other reason than the title

"Overeaters Ominous" by Stephen R. George - A new method of weight control

"Grub-Girl" by Edward Lee - A twist on the zombie

"Black And White And Bed All Over" by James Crawford - A side of 'toons that we haven't seen before

"The Watcher" by Rex Miller and Jeff Gelb - Something to make us guys not want a menage a trois show less