Blood Lite

This anthology of humorous horror stories was a very mixed bag, more so even than most anthologies tend to be. There were several stories I really enjoyed, a number of amusing but forgettable pieces, and, sadly, a generous handful of duds. Perhaps that shouldn't be too surprising. Comedy and horror are difficult genres to combine effectively, although when it does work, the results can be terrific. I'd say most of the stories I especially liked in this one do a good job of combining their humor with actual horror, rather than just the trappings and tropes of the horror genre. Cases in point: Joe R. Landsdale's "Mr. Bear," which initially put me off with its unpleasantness, then somehow won me back again with even more unpleasantness, show more and Will Ludwigsen's "A Good Psycho is Hard to Find," which made me laugh out loud, immediately made me feel like a horrible person for laughing... and then made me laugh again. It's just a pity they weren't all like that. show less

Blood Lite is an anthology of light horror stories. Many of the stories use humor to temper the horror aspects of the story. The collection includes some stories that take place in popular series, such as The Dresden Files and The Women of the Underworld, as well as stories by lesser known authors. Although I am a fan of short story anthologies, there were only one or two in this anthology that I really liked. My favorite story was "Hell in a Handbasket" by Lucien Soulban where the Angel, Haniel, plays a practical joke on the demons in Hell. For most of the book, though, I found myself wondering when the story was going to be over, which isn't a good sign when they are so short to begin with.

I got this book for the Dresden Files short story, but decided to read the rest of the anthology because I don't normally read horror writing and I wanted to see if I found a new author I enjoyed to look up their other writings. I've been disappointed. Some of the stories really stood out (I'm thinking of Kelley Armstrong), but some of the others have left me mentally traumatized. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at Smokey the Bear ever again without gagging. The stories were generally lame, and the 'twists' were more like zig-zags. I consider myself not easily offended, but the graphic description of a variety of bodily functions and what to do with various body parts repulsed me. If your favorite author is in this book, read show more it. Don't bother with the rest of it. show less

I have to admit I tend to be hard on anthologies - you get a bunch of authors together and not every author appeals to every reader, so some stories you like better than others.

My issue with this anthology, was that I had a hard time liking ANY of the stories. Even, regrettably, the Jim Butcher one. It was by far the best of the bunch (in my opinion), and any Harry Dresden story is a good Harry Dresden story, but it still felt a bit hobbled-together and abrupt. I grieve for this book - there are several of my favorite authors, whose other books I actively collect, that I just couldn't get through in this volume. So much potential, so little payoff. Sigh.

Funny stories, all more or less of average quality, although two were standouts: "The Eldritch Pastiche from Beyond the Shadow of Horror" was a brilliant spoof of the entire H.P. Lovecraft style, and "Hell in a Handbasket" is a fall-out-of-your-chair-laughing hilarious misadventure that starts with a baby left abandoned at Hell's doorstep and ends with the dark realm in complete chaos.

Twenty one tales of gruesome, gory, and not so awful blood lettings. Four or five tales by established authors and a raft of not so well known. A surprisingly even bunch. I'm not usually a horror fan, but enjoyed these and may even track down a few of the authors' other works.

Lucien Soulban's "Hell in a Handbasket" was completely unexpected and amusing - reminiscent of Zelazny's Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming.

Not the best anthology I’ve read. It’s marketed as a collection of humorous horror stories, but some of them weren’t particularly horrifying or funny. Not all of them were bad - Mr. Bear by Joe R. Lansdale was one of best short stories I’ve ever read. I also enjoyed the ones by Lucien Soulban, J.A. Konrath and F. Paul Wilson, Steven Savile, Eric James Stone, Jeff Strand, and Jim Butcher. The other 14 stories were just okay with a few that were either boring, baffling, or just plain bad. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend Blood Lite unless, like me, you’re a huge fan of one or more of the anthology's big four - Butcher, Harris, Kenyon, and Armstrong. Though it contains a few gold nuggets, the clunkers in this collection made it show more very difficult to get through. show less