Book Review: THE MONSTROUS anthology

By pghhead -

THE MONSTROUS  edited by Ellen Datlow.  Trade paperback, 384 pages.  (Tachyon Publications, October 2015)


You can't go wrong with any collection edited by Ellen Datlow.    She knows her way around the horror and fantasy genres like no other, and has a knack for finding the needles in the haystack. This collection is no different, short stories based around the theme of "monstrous" - - unusual monster stories (including human monsters, but no serial killers). Datlow must have received a mountain of submittals and she did not limit her choices to any singular style or time frame. The oldest 24998915story in here was written in 1982, with the most recent from 2015 plus one complete original story never published elsewhere. 

There is not a single dull needle in the bunch. Every story is sharp and piercing in its delivery and/or message. It was hard picking favorites, but it narrowed down to two stories that stand above the rest: 1) "Piano Man" by Christopher Fowler, an eerie tale involving voodoo in New Orleans and a possessed, animated piano creature. It's much scarier than it sounds; and 2) "Corpsemouth" the one original story in this collection, about a Scottish legendary creature trying to make a return in modern times. 
Along the travels into the pages of THE MONSTROUS are tales of ghostly were-dogs with human faces ("A Natural History of Autumn by Jeffrey Ford), human monsters teaching our children ("Ashputtle" by Peter Straub), explorers uncovering a buried Sumerian/Babylonian memorial to the Terrible Seven gods ("A Wish From A Bone" by Gemma Files), post-apocalyptic survivors now mating with hideous sea creatures in order to continue their species ("The Last Clean Bright Summer" by Livea Llewellyn), monsters attending an awards ceremony to honor their own, in a sleazy diner of course ("The Total" by Adam Troy Castro), the haunting tale of a Jewish vampire preying on fellow prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp ("Down Among The Dead Men" by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois), and a Colorado western, circa 1885, with horrific elements ("Grindstone" by Stephen Graham Jones).


from the Goodreads posting . . . . . . . .

The Monstrous

by Ellen Datlow (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Caitlín R. Kiernan (Contributor), Peter Straub (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Christopher Fowler(Contributor), Kim Newman (Contributor), Sofia Samatar (Goodreads Author)(Contributor), Jeffrey Ford (Contributor), Livia Llewellyn (Contributor) , and more . . . . .
 
From the best horror editor in the business comes the quintessential horror anthology: The Monstrous. Take a terrifying journey with literary masters of suspense, visiting a place where the other is somehow one of us. These electrifying tales redefine monsters from mere things that go bump-in-the-night to inexplicable, deadly reflections of our day-to-day lives. Whether it's a seemingly-devoted teacher, an obsessive devotee of swans, or a diner full of evil creatures simply seeking oblivion, the monstrous is always there — and much closer than it appears.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Robert Kirkman: Invincible, Walking Dead, Wolf-Man

By -
Image
I wasn't actually a huge fan of Robert Kirkman when I first started reading his books.  He was competent, sure, but I didn't see the appeal-- The Irredeemable Ant-Man was a boring side story in the middle of  Civil War and  The Initiative (although I've since changed my mind about this), and his  Ultimate X-Men run was, in many places, a mixed bag (although I did very much enjoy his "Phoenix?" storyline).  And  Marvel Zombies  just seemed like a ridiculous idea--not that I bothered to try it at the time. Now, though?  I've completely reevaluated my opinion on his work, and when his name is attached to a project, I'm far more likely to give it a look.  I don't know if I'd classify him as a master storyteller or a comics icon--but he's very skilled, he has an incredible knack for dialog, and he writes stories that, no matter how ridiculous, seem real .  In a medium where characters frequently violate the rules of physics, that's not alway
Read more

more random readings from May 2009

By pghhead -
Image
What else did I finish reading last month?  Here’s a cross-section of various titles . . . . . . . . . WITCHBLADE #126 “War Of The Witchblade Part 2” by Ron Marz and Stejepan Sejic  (Top Cow/Image) Preface:  Now here’s an interesting concept! = In order to attract new readers to its’ titles Top Cow is giving out free books each month as part of it’s Let Us Win You Over project.  ( www.topcow.com/freecomics )  Every month it’s a different title. And they work through different comics shops each month as well.  In April the title was Witchblade #126 and one of the participating dealers was Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, DE (my preferred supplier) so voila! - - - I find a copy in my hands. Since the last time I explored the Witchblade series the mythology has expanded to a battle between the forces of light and dark with each side choosing its agents on Earth, hence the Darkness vs. the Witchblade.  I’m still not overly interested in this type of fare on a regular basis, but
Read more

INDIE COMICS: Huffin’ & puffin’ B.B. Wolf’s got the blues

By pghhead -
Image
BB WOLF AND THE THREE LPs  (Top Shelf, May 2010 hardcover, black & white, 86 pages,   $12.95)  As told by JD Arnold with illustrations by Richard Koslowski What got my attention immediately was the pairing up of a classic fairy tale with musical motifs.  That’s a combination that pushes two of my “hot buttons” - -  so I made it a must-read.  I was not disappointed.  This is a very entertaining and cleverly designed work that rivals Bill Willingham’s  creativity on the long-running FABLES series from Vertigo. As if taking the classic tale of the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs and turning it upside down wasn’t enough to interest, BB WOLF AND THE THREE LPS  serves as an allegory for the oppression of  the black population in the deep South (Mississippi) in the 1920’s.  While they may be free (wolves),  the governing bodies (pigs) have the power to deny them their land, homes and possessions and even own the businesses and clubs they patronize as well as the shops they d
Read more