Stem Shots - Another Goodie from Dark Arts Books...
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Another Goodie from Dark Arts Books...
WHEN THE NIGHT COMES DOWN edited by Bill Breedlove (2010 Dark Arts Books / 272 pp. / tp)
Joseph D'Lacey, Bev Vincent, Robert E. Weinberg and Nate Kenyon deliver these 'Sixteen Tales of Darkness Descending' in Dark Arts Book's latest 4-person anthology. As with most collections, the stories are hit or miss, although this time they're mostly hit.
D'Lacey's opening story, 'The Unwrapping of Alastair Perry' sets the bar quite high for things to come, and ended up being one of my favorites of the book. I've been reading D'Lacey's stories for a while now in various UK magazines, and his five offerings here are quite impressive, especially 'The Quiet Ones,' a horror tale as spooky as it is thought-provoking.
After a decent werewolf story, Bev Vincent brings the goods with 'Knock 'Em Dead' (an eerie look at an author's book signings) and 'Something in Store' (my fave of his lot, dealing with a supernatural bookstore). I read so much of Vincent's non-fiction that I forgot how good his fiction is. This is a fine primer if you haven't had the pleasure.
Robert E. Weinberg's 'Elevator Girls' tells the story of Brian Cassidy, a horror writer who first encounters one of the title characters at a fantasy convention, then shortly after meeting one of his writing idols, becomes one of the biggest authors in the genre. This turned out to be my favorite of this anthology, being filled with rich subtext and symbolism. Weinberg's second tale, 'The One Answer that Really Matters' is a great build up that (sadly) goes nowhere, and his brief 'Maze'--while well done--seems like it was ripped from something of a more epic proportion. 'Elevator Girls' more than makes up for both of them.
While he's been getting a lot of critical acclaim the past few years, this was the first time I've read anything from Nate Kenyon, and it's easy to see what all the fuss is about. 'Breeding the Demons' is a nifty old-school horror story complete with one killer monster, while 'Gravedigger' will make you want to stay away from cocaine (and zombies!) even more than you (hopefully) do now; fans of the extreme stuff will surely dig this one. His second two stories (one about a violin with a life of its own and the other a gruesome detective/creature yarn) are both satisfying reads that bring the old EC comics to mind.
With their 6th anthology, Dark Arts Books continues to be a fine place to discover new talent and enjoy some veterans. WHEN THE NIGHT COMES DOWN, despite a couple of so-so entries, doesn't disappoint.
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