The Dark Fantastic
by Edward Gorman
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This is an extremely powerful and moving collection of short stories by Ed Gorman. Almost every single story incredibly well written and developed. If you ever have any doubts about Gorman or his writing, then just read this collection and your doubts will be left behind. As Bentley Little points out in his introduction, there is no theme for the collection but is instead a recurring motif: "beautiful young women who offer redemption to lost souls; emotionally barren middle-aged men bereft of their families." And as you read the stories, you will find those ideas repeating often. Gorman does a great job in making you feel for each character and experience the same sorrow that they are. Whatever you do, do not miss this collection. And show more while I found it near impossible to just copy the table of contents for my favorite stories, I did narrow my choices to the following.
"Yesterday's Dreams" - A retired cop helps someone in the neighborhood
"Dark Muse" - A lounge singer comes in to some talent
"Junior" - A son and his mother live high on the hog due to his father
"To Fit The Crime" - Fate can not be avoided
"Survival" - A futuristic story about doing what's best for society versus being humane show less
"Yesterday's Dreams" - A retired cop helps someone in the neighborhood
"Dark Muse" - A lounge singer comes in to some talent
"Junior" - A son and his mother live high on the hog due to his father
"To Fit The Crime" - Fate can not be avoided
"Survival" - A futuristic story about doing what's best for society versus being humane show less
Just got a great condition used paperback of this in the mail today from Amazon. I really enjoyed the couple of Ed Gorman shorts I've read so far, immense anticipation for this one!
* Update *
On the third story, and my hopes for great things are diminishing fast.
The first story is a 60-plus page novella about a blind girl with healing powers that goes absolutely nowhere. Strike one.
The second story starts with a lonely salesman driving at night in the midwest when he encounters a beautiful woman hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere. He picks her up. The radio says a man was murdered. She did it. And she's a ghost. He drops her off at the graveyard. The end. Seriously.
The third story starts with a lonely salesman driving in the day in the show more midwest when he encounters a beautiful woman hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere...
God damn it!
The writing is great, but these stories are seriously lacking so far in just about every other department. I'm going to keep reading on, but with lowered expectations.
* Update *
Whew. At the least the hitchiker in the third story wasn't a ghost. Another well written story, but completely predictable. More hard-boiled thriller than horror.
And I bravely soldier on...
The fourth story, RITE OF PASSAGE, is a Conan/Robert E. Howard-type sword and sworcery morality tale. Nicely written but not much else.
Fifth story, Masque, is less of a story and just a few pages of vignette...could be part of an interesting story, but it's not.
Sixth story, Dark Muse, is actually pretty good. More atmospheric noir than horror, it resonated with me. Good, not great.
* Update *
Finally, two very enjoyable stories back-to-back.
SYNANDRA is a futuristic time-travelling tales, and a quote from Philip K. Dick at the beginning couldn't make it any clearer as to it's source of inspiration. Not a lot happens, but it does have an intriguing mythos described and is an overall good read. Leaves you wanting more.
That's followed up by a 1800's western-ish tale, JUNIOR, that's a hell of a lot of fun. Was nice to read a short set in a similar timeframe as the last thing I wrote (ARBOREATUM) and see what someone else did with it. A wicked good revenge short. show less
* Update *
On the third story, and my hopes for great things are diminishing fast.
The first story is a 60-plus page novella about a blind girl with healing powers that goes absolutely nowhere. Strike one.
The second story starts with a lonely salesman driving at night in the midwest when he encounters a beautiful woman hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere. He picks her up. The radio says a man was murdered. She did it. And she's a ghost. He drops her off at the graveyard. The end. Seriously.
The third story starts with a lonely salesman driving in the day in the show more midwest when he encounters a beautiful woman hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere...
God damn it!
The writing is great, but these stories are seriously lacking so far in just about every other department. I'm going to keep reading on, but with lowered expectations.
* Update *
Whew. At the least the hitchiker in the third story wasn't a ghost. Another well written story, but completely predictable. More hard-boiled thriller than horror.
And I bravely soldier on...
The fourth story, RITE OF PASSAGE, is a Conan/Robert E. Howard-type sword and sworcery morality tale. Nicely written but not much else.
Fifth story, Masque, is less of a story and just a few pages of vignette...could be part of an interesting story, but it's not.
Sixth story, Dark Muse, is actually pretty good. More atmospheric noir than horror, it resonated with me. Good, not great.
* Update *
Finally, two very enjoyable stories back-to-back.
SYNANDRA is a futuristic time-travelling tales, and a quote from Philip K. Dick at the beginning couldn't make it any clearer as to it's source of inspiration. Not a lot happens, but it does have an intriguing mythos described and is an overall good read. Leaves you wanting more.
That's followed up by a 1800's western-ish tale, JUNIOR, that's a hell of a lot of fun. Was nice to read a short set in a similar timeframe as the last thing I wrote (ARBOREATUM) and see what someone else did with it. A wicked good revenge short. show less
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Edward Joseph Gorman was born on November 2, 1941 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended Coe College, but didn't graduate. Before becoming a full-time author, he worked for 23 years in advertising, public relations, and politics. His first novel, Rough Cut, was published in 1984. In 1985, he founded Mystery Scene Magazine and was the executive editor show more until 2002. He wrote crime fiction, horror fiction, and western fiction under his own name and several pseudonyms. Using the pseudonym Daniel Ransom, he wrote horror and science fiction books including Daddy's Little Girl, The Babysitter, Nightmare Child, The Fugitive Stars, and Zone Soldiers. Using the pseudonym Richard Driscoll, he and Kevin D. Randle co-wrote the Star Precinct trilogy. Under his own name, he wrote crime and mystery books including Wolf Moon, The First Lady, the Sam McCain Mystery series, the Robert Payne Mystery series, the Jack Dwyer Mystery series, and the Dev Conrad Mystery series. His novel The Poker Club was adapted into a movie in 2008. He also wrote The First Lady and Senatorial Privilege under the pseudonym E. J. Gorman. He edited many volumes of science fiction, horror, and crime. He received numerous awards including a Spur Award for Best Short Fiction for The Face in 1992, the Anthony Award for Best Critical Work for The Fine Art of Murder in 1994, and an International Horror Guild Award for Cages in 1995. He also received the Shamus Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the International Fiction Writers Award, and The Eye, the lifetime achievement award given out by the Private Eye Writers of America. He died after a long battle with cancer on October 14, 2016 at the age of 74. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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