One of the amazing things about Chuck Palahniuk is the amount of research the man does and the love he shows for any interesting real life tale that comes his way. Every single chapter of this book could have been a Palahniuk novel, all of it made better by the fact that none of it is fictional which is funny because I'm usually grateful that large chunks of what this author writes is fictional. Fascinating stuff.

The real world and its people will never be this charming, heartfelt and honest. A wonderful novel! And the dialogue...my God the dialogue! I wish I could be as dry and witty as Charlie Asher and I don't typically have to face hungry representatives of the underworld.

Honestly some of the most imaginative short fiction I've ever read. Some are strange (We can get them for you wholesale, Changes and Looking for the girl), some are brutal (Babycakes, The Daughter of owls and The White road), some are nostalgic and pay tribute to great tales of the past (Shoggoth's old peculiar, Chivalry, Snow glass apples) and some, these happen to be a couple of my favorites, are simply tales about the telling of a good tale (Murder Mysteries and The Goldfish pool and other stories). If you like Neil Gaiman in any other format, there really is no excuse, his short fiction needs to be read to further appreciate the scope of the man's talent and expansive vision.

Until this collection, and particularly its final story, I had no idea that whole worlds could be created in such spectacular detail. This was my first experience reading millhauser and it certainly won't be the last. His stories have a familiar quality to them that make them easy to enter but once you're there, you realize you've entered a much dreamier, imaginative and often sinister place. I just don't know how else to describe it. Beautifully written stories.

Great collection. Some highs, some lows and some of the most memorable stories I've had the pleasure of reading. It's so much fun to read the short introductory paragraphs where the author explains the genesis of the idea for each story and after reading the story, realizing he took it in a direction no one else possibly could have. Some truly frightening, truly creative and often darkly comedic stuff. Personal favorites: "The Washingtonians" (also a great Masters of Horror episode), "The Idol" and "The Show".

One of the best short story anthologies I've come across so far. Yes I am a fan of the horror genre but that doesn't even come into play here. These are well crafted, original stories that can amuse (Chet Williamson's Excerpts from the Records of the New Zodiac and the Diaries of Henry Watson Fairfax), disturb (Edward Lee's ICU), enthrall (Joe R. Landsdale's Mad Dog Summer) and fascinate (Neil Gaiman's Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story). And that's just to name a few, there isn't a disappointing story in here.

Rick Mercer's rants are always worth listening to. It wasn't hard to predict that this book would be funny, informative and entertaining.

This book is very fast and very brutal but never out of control. Despite all the savagery, sex and gore, there are real characters present (both cannibalistic and otherwise) that may have been glossed over to the point of being inconsequential by any author simply writing to shock. I recommend this book to anyone who can stomach it.

As extreme as a love story can possibly get. That's what I love about Richard Matheson in general, giving up simply isn't an option for his characters even when life (with a touch of the supernatural) just won't let them win. Some say they would go through hell for the one they love, the main character of this novel actually does. Brilliant.

Absolutely brutal. I love the fact that such a silly premise could be a vehicle for both intense action and the development of imperfect, sympathetic characters. Being a student, it was fun to notice those archetypes that seem to exist in all universities, even when they were exaggerated to horrifying proportions. Great book, great author.

You really feel like you're entering a different world when you read a Thomas Ligotti story. It's a world that is oddly familiar but decidedly foreign and uncomfortable. Each character is dense and complex. Not easy reading but so very worth it.

Every story captures a dark atmosphere where the characters are sometimes sympathetic and sometimes brutal but always oddly normal and dull (in the best way possible). Stand outs include "The Scythe", "The Emissary" and "Jack-in-the-Box".

It takes a different kind of book all together to be intellectually interesting, heart breaking and horrifying all at once. I am so appreciative of this book and Dan Simmons.

Even if you just read the prologue, you've read, in my opinion, one of the most beautifully written passages in 20th century American lit. I was reading this on a street corner on an obscenely warm July evening and literally got chills when he started describing the falling snow. So brilliant.

I've never read anything by the man that I didn't love. This one in particular has moments of true hilarity and moments of heart breaking sadness. Proves that it is just too easy to paint someone as good or bad. This coming from a man who would have every reason to be close minded. I believe every word Kurt Vonnegut says always.

Every story in this collection is fantastic. Just downright interesting, well written and never obvious, which is not a requirement but always nice. "Empathy", the story of a young journalist, constantly tortured by the memory of a video he watched of a woman being killed is perhaps one of my favorite stories ever. Left me stunned.

Simply put, every lyric, every word is so so worth it.

This is really an amazing book. It's storytelling within storytelling and ridiculously imaginative at that. It could have been cheesy, it could have been a 400 page attempt at getting a cheap emotional rise out of the reader but it really wasn't. This novel was at times heartbreaking, touching and damn disturbing all at once. I really just felt for the characters and above all, believed their every action and reaction. Also, some really nice thoughts and sentiments on love, life and death from an author who clearly knows a bit about each.

I feel it is important to understand both sides of the argument. This side gets an A for effort. There's nothing wrong with the biochemistry here but what shocks me is the incredible leap taken to explain its origins. The problem here is a lack of understanding of evolutionary theory and a refusal to accept it for very unscientific reasons. In other words, a refusal to really look at both sides. Since this is a scientific argument, let's ignore for a moment the religious implications and just focus on the fact that the biggest claim made here is really that evolutionary biology has not yet found evidence of every intermediate biochemical structure and system leading up to the present form. Rather than ask why and continue the research, we dismiss the theory of evolution all together? That's ridiculous and I don't even really think that's what this book is saying but there is an eagerness to make that what this book is saying. This book ends up saying that evolution as a system exists but only after the complex building blocks were laid out by a designer (not even necessarily the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God). I do think this book needs to be read and given a chance if only to criticize the content for its lack of understanding of the idea it claims to disprove and its frustrating lack of curiosity at what explanations may arise with future research in the field of biochemistry.
Oh and if you found this to be a difficult read in any way, I wouldn't go quoting its arguments as show more fact without having properly understood them and for that matter, properly understanding what evolutionary theory is. show less

Gary Braunbeck knows how to write about the darker things life can offer up. But why do I trust his word over most? Because nothing is wasted on him. This man has been through it (some of the events he takes us through in detail are enough to make you want to put the book down for a while in the interest of recovery) and no matter how hard times have gotten for him, there's always a lesson to be learned and most importantly, a story to tell. You never get the sense that he is preaching or asking for pity. You never get the sense he wants you to admire him. In fact, judging by this book and the majority of his fiction, he may well be the most self deprecating man alive. But through his insightful critique of film, literature and the writing process, we get a picture of a writer (and person) who should very much be admired for his intellect, humour, perseverance and love of his work. I recommend this book to anyone who loves the horror genre. This is a mandatory introductory course.

Wrath James White is the kind of author who's work you approach carefully. From reviews and blurbs, you know that picking up a novel or short story of his is going to be an uncomfortable, honnest, sometimes grotesque and often heart breaking experience. I'm not always in the mood for that kind of experience but when I am, Wrath James White is right up there with the best of them and "Scabs" is a shinning example of what makes him a great writer. Stories about the extremes one would go through for love and acceptance make up the large majority of the fare here and the creativity and brutality of some of these stories is worth sitting with and really savouring.

I don't write as many reviews as I should. When I do, it's usually for works I think deserve a little more attention. Mr. White's work is often clumped into subgenres of horror with a very particular audience and make no mistake, it's for a reason, these stories are not for everyone but like the other writers who come up in comparison (your Ketchums, Lees and Laymons), there is a level of emotional depth to the violence. Not to mention the attention to characterization. Scabs is by far the most emotional work I've read by this author and it just goes to show what can be done with a pallet that includes globs of equal parts humanity, violence, love and something downright ugly. Probably the most accessible works by this author.