Authors - Garrett Quinn, Jackson Kuhl, Stephanie Bedwell Grime, Connor De Bruler, Tom Johnstone, Bentley Little, Kathryn E. McGee, Josh Rountree, Jeffrey Ford, John M. Floyd, Raymond Little, Rebecca J. Allred, Darren O. Godfrey, Sean Eads, David Tallerman, Marc E. Fitch, Vitor Abdala, JG Faherty, Dean H. Wild, Jayani C. Senanayake, Lucas Pederson, C. Michael Cook, Thomas P. Balázs, Jay Caselberg, Ahna Wayne Aposhian, Edward M. Erdelac, Carole Johnstone
Shepherded by new editor Eric J. Guignard -- himself a past Stoker winner -- Horror Library Volume 6 is imbued with a new level of literary energy and purpose. It features 27 brand new horror short stories, written by 27 different authors, including well-known pros and up-and-coming new talents.
As always, if you'd like a snapshot of where modern literary horror fiction is headed, you've found the right book.
Don't miss Horror Library Volume 6! The Librarian is waiting for YOU.
I love short horror stories so this was a huge treat for me. It was a great way to discover some new authors and also read some of my all time favorites. (My heart skipped a beat when I saw Bentley Little.)
This book contains 27 dark and delicious stories sure to fill you with dread. Now a few of them did end too abruptly for my taste and I would have preferred a more definitive ending. I am not against leaving things to the readers imagination or leaving an end that could be open to interpretation but a non-ending is just not my favorite way to leave a story.
All were good but my absolute favorites (in no particular order) were "The Plumber" by Bentley Little, probably because he is just so good at taking a mundane every day normal occurrence and turning it into something terrifying. Or perhaps because my shower is actually dripping as I write this yet I think I will just live with it a while rather than have to call someone to fix it.
"We Were Monsters" by Lucas Pederson was quite clever but it's hard for me to say too much without giving it away.
"The Creek Keepers' Lodge" by Kathryn E. McGee reminded me of that old saying you can't go home again. Or maybe it's that you just plain shouldn't go back if you managed to escape.
"The Night Crier" by C. Michael Cook was simply brilliant. I had never heard of this author before but this story just blew me away.
"Kalu Kumaraya" by Jayani C Senanayake was another excellent story. If you have ever had a child or grandchild who spoke to an imaginary friend this one will give you chills.
"Five Pointed Spell" by Jeffrey Ford was spectacular. This was my first time reading anything by this author but I think I need to keep an eye out for anything else he writes from now on.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
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