Phobophobia

by Dean M. Drinkel (Editor), Adrian Chamberlin, William Meikle

There is nothing to fear but fear itself... Twenty six original tales of horror by established masters of terror and talented new voices lie within this Lexicon of Fear.

Beware the dark power of words in BIBLIOPHOBIA... a carnival double act made in Hell can be found in the clown cemetery in COULROPHOBIA... an artist loses his power to create ice sculptures because of his fear of cold in FRIGOPHOBIA, but that is the least of his problems as his therapist suffers the same phobia...

The fear of open spaces manifests itself in KENOPHOBIA, a tale of the ultimate emptiness - the Great Void that awaits us all... the fear of beautiful women is fully justified in VENUSTROPHOBIA, a tale of futile defence against the Succubus... but beware: the cure may be worse...

Denying yourself a place in Heaven is one way to avoid JESUSPHOBIA, but the only alternative means Hell to pay... a playwright fights his fear of the colour yellow by creating an unusual addition to his Dramatis Personae in XANTHOPHOBIA... a Witchfinder's fear of open water will only be relieved by imbibing one of two deathly fluids in AQUAPHOBIA... and a widower follows the age-old advice of turning to face your fear in QIQIRN, only to uncover the true nature of an Inuit dog spirit that carries the essence of cold terror from its ancient homeland into the realm of human grief...

Open the pages. It is time to learn your A to Dread...

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

314 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[John Irvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I've been in a lot of anthologies, but am especially proud of the company I'm in here. There are some top line genre authors in this and I feel privileged to be counted among them. If a wacky bunch of stories about wacky phobias (genuine) by wacky authors lights your fire then buy this.

[Dean Drinkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I compiled and edited this anthology - please take my word for it - it is amazing.
There are 27 tales from writers all over the globe, each who have written brilliant stories about a particular phobia.

Please check it out.

www.darkcontinents.com

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an anthology that I can't recommend enough. This is a very well put together set of 27 stories, one for each letter of the alphabet and a bonus story, and each having to do with a particular phobia. It was great to read an anthology where every story was well thought out, and very good. It is also fun to see the different approaches that each writer brings to his or her story. While all of them were excellent, three stories stood out to me in particular. In Pteronophobia, G.R. Yeates uses his signature style to envelop the reader in a story with prose that is as beautifully written as it is nightmarish. With Dementophobia, Emile-Louis Tomas Jouvet uses his elegant sense of storytelling to give the reader an idea of what insanity may be like. And in Hagiophobia, Tracie McBride draws the reader in with a realistic portrayal of brutality that causes mental scars that never heal. I am looking forward to anything else that the editor of this collection, Dean M. Drinkel produces. Very highly recommended.

[Rob Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to start this by saying that I received this book directly from the publisher as part of a give-away.

However, that aside, I felt that the book was definitely one that I would have happily paid full price for. 27 diverse stories on the subject of phobias, each one completely different from the others, and each one able to stand on their own merit.

Some of my personal favourites were Kate Jonez's story about Electrophobia, which shows us a world where electricity is a living, breathing force with a malevolent intent, S.L.Schmitz's view of a future where both pets and their owners were subject to genetic modification, and Serenity J. Banks' Tale of a Venustraphobic man whose irrational fear of beautiful women leads him to an unexpected liaison with a succubus.

I would recommend this book to any fan of the genre. Each story is brilliantly written, with none of the 'filler' that usually dogs such anthologies.

Another worthy release from the 'Dark Continents' team

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

While one or two of the stories were not my cup of tea in terms of literary style, the basic conceit was an interesting one, and the execution of most of the stories was excellent. Each tale is about a very specific kind of fear, often taken to the extreme point of unbalancing a human mind. A few allow the victim to fight back in truly creative ways, while others involve fear or its causes that are simply overwhelming. Those were the ones I found least enjoyable, because if there's no way to fight back, then there is less of a story.
The most oddly creative story of the bunch had to do with fear of the color yellow, in a story which linked to a somewhat unexpected classic horror story.
Most stories are around 10-15 pages, a convenient short read for a bit of horror. The 27 pieces ranged widely, as did the included fears. I would not recommend reading the book at one sitting, because a few of the stories would blur together, a sad fate for some well-written tales.

[Deya van de Rijt]

On my TO READ because it's a horror anthology

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Solaris Rising: The New Solaris Book of Science Fiction my old school friend and author Richard Salter recommended I read the A-Z collection Phobophobia ("There is nothing to fear but fear itself"), the first full book I've read on my Kindle. This was a much better experience than on my diddy phone screen. Richard contributed "L is for Lygophobia" (fear of the dark), a very well written story charting the rising panic in the protagonist as the batteries die and the shadows encroach. Shame Richard didn't also write the first story "A is for Aquaphobia" as I felt it was weak and didn't exactly inspire me to want to continue reading B through to Z.

The collection can be divided into two main camps - conquering one's fear, or succumbing to the terror and being consumed by it. The collection can also be sliced another way - by the quantity blood and gore! Some of the stories are a little bit sexy too, in parts. Perhaps you prefer the psychiatrists couch - a few of the characters seek professional help for their phobias, to little avail when up against the paranormal.

A strong phobia can be like a communicable disease, infecting another to continue the cycle of fear without any supernatural intervention ...