Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror

This one wasn’t my cup of tea at all, and I was forced to use my “read ten pages and skip it if it’s dull” prerogative. I skipped most of the stories in this collection. That said, there were two that will likely stick with me for quite a while.

The first was “The Clay Party” by Steve Duffy, a nasty little tale from the Oregon Trail as told through news clippings and diaries. If you like settlers lost in the snow, you’ll like this one.

The second was a nice piece by one of today’s best - Stephan Graham Jones. “Lonegan’s Luck” is the story of a frontier snake oil salesman who travels from town to town in the old west, leaving very little behind. I’ll leave it at that. Jones knows how to tell a story, and this one is more than a little bit upsetting.

Otherwise, I was unimpressed by this lot as a whole. It seemed like literary horror, but it ended up just being dull. I know there are better stories out there.

First off I adore this cover and applaud the designer. It caught my eye immediately.

This is a large volume of horror at over 400 pages. While I can't say I fell in love with every story, it surely has something for every horror lover. My favorites of the bunch were "Sob In The Silence" which was a story of murder. "Dead Sea Fruit" a very strange tale about the Ash Mouth Man who can make you waste away with a kiss. "Closet Dreams" which was about an escape of sorts from a most vile predator. "Lonegan's Luck" which of course was not really good luck at all. "Was She Wicked? Was She Good?" Is about the aftermath of a little girl who likes to pull the wings off....well you'll see.

"The Shallows" was a strange and fascinating story of a family that I really can't even begin to describe. Now that is not to say the other stories weren't good, these are just the ones that will haunt me for a while.
I received an advance copy for review