Dark Universe

This turned out to be a lot better than Nightworlds. The stories are still pretty much old school scare-ems but with a lot more atmosphere and better writing. The stories are just snappier, even the more predictable ones. I think Nightworld was probably "leftover" from this Dark Universe collection which was published a year earlier. This was a nice fun fast collection that you could probably read in one or two nights. Good campfire fare.

Note: Nightworlds and Dark Universe are confounded on goodreads as different editions of the same book, which they are not, a result of the Amazon data overwriting the more accurate goodreads data.

If you see this review pop up in my status update over and over, it's because I'll be adding reviews for each story as I work my way through the book. Reviews are possibly, but not necessarily, in order.

**** The Underdweller

I just recently discovered William F. Nolan while reading another anthology, and decided to order his collection of short stories. This first story, The Underdweller, did not disappoint.

Starting off like a tale set in the universe of Matheson's I Am Legend, Lewis Stillman is the last man alive in Los Angeles, the last man in the whole world for all he knows, living in the tunnels beneath the city. The city is swarming with evil little somethings, making it extremely dangerous to go out...

Beautifully written and show more absorbing, complete with the kind of satisfying endings I love in a short story. Can't wait to read more!

** Saturday's Shadow

Nolan says in the preface to this story that he considers it to be his finest.

I disagree.

***** Lonely Train A'Comin'

Now this is what I'm talking about. The high plains. A mysterious midnight train. A vanished and murdered sister. A man looking for revenge.

Then the nightmares begin.

A recent work by Kealan Patrick Burke resembles this story somewhat, but to say which might ruin this fantastic tale. Poetic and wonderful.

**** And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Written in 1957, I'm not sure if this short story is William F. Nolan copying classic Bradbury, or if classic Bradbury lifted from Nolan. In either case, this beautiful written but slight little story will be enjoyable, if entirely unsurprising, for anyone who's read anything published in the last sixty years. show less

Picked up this after reading the Underdweller in another collection, it remains my favorite.
-Underdweller: 5 stars. A man lives in the LA sewer system after an apocalypse
-Saturday's Shadow: 2.5 Stars. Person losing contact with reality.
-Lonely Trains A'Comin: 5 Stars. A man seeks revenge for his sister was killed on an elusive railway line.
-And Miles to Go Before I Sleep: 5 Stars. An astronaut returns to Earth following 20 years in space.
-A Good Day: 3 Stars. Bonnie and Clyde wannabes
-Heart's Blood: 3 Stars. A man and his pregnant wife return to his late grandparents' home to film a serial killer movie
-Stoner: 2.5 Stars. A man loses control in a wax museum
-The Cure: 3.5 Stars. A man fighting an addiction gets an extreme cure
-The Giant show more Man: 2.5 Stars. A woman sees a giant man all over the city.
-At Diamond Lake: 4.5 Stars. A man reluctantly returns to his late father's cabin for vacation.
-The Visit: 3 Stars. a prisoner discusses his past killings
-Partnership: 3.5 Stars. A Funhouse worker deals with the shutdown of the carnival and the slow demise of his town.
-Violation: 3 Stars. A cop rigidly enforcers the rules.
-The Yard: 4.5 Stars. A man returns to his hometown for his father's funeral and finds out there are somethings that have not changed.
-Ceremony: 4 Stars. A hired killer trip takes a very wrong turn.
-Coincidence: 4 Stars. Harry Dobson uncovers the truth about a man in the hotel room next to him who is yelling about having committed murder.
-Major Prevue Here Tonite. 4 Stars. A man stops in at a deserted theater during a raging storm.
-Dead Call: 3.5 Stars. A man gets a chilling phone call from a friend.
-Boyfren: 2.5 Stars. A girl describes her not so normal boyfriend. show less

see http://www.sfsite.com/01a/du119.htm