What do you think?
Rate this book
Scare Tactics
A selection of five original tales of horror, accompanied by "The Guardian," a full-length novel about a child enmeshed in a web of evil and terror
- GenresHorror
343 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
3 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
John Farris
85 books164 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 8, 2017
A bit disappointed in this. The only other thing I had read by Farris was All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By, which I recall being truly horrifying. Not so much this one, which I'd call more suspense.
The first one, "Odor of Violets" is a fun read but more of a morality tale than anything else (failing author steals dead man's manuscript, gets what he deserves). The third one (won't even attempt to summarize it) was at the same time too long and too short: too long for the minimal amount of stuff that actually happens, but too short for the number of characters and pointless complications shoehorned into it. Also the main character's last name is "Practice" and he is referred to as such throughout the story, which drove me absolutely nuts. "Practice" is an actual word with an actual meaning, so every time I read it I had to remind myself, oh yeah, that's a person, that word doesn't mean what I automatically think it does. It was like having mental hiccups, or constantly tripping over that flap of sole that's coming loose on the bottom of your shoe.
The second one, "Horrorshow," was better not because of the rather predictable plot (girl is murdered, innocent man is suspected, killer turns out to be someone you didn't expect, at the last minute justice is done) but because of the mechanism Farris chose for delivering said justice. I could have done without the past lives/reincarnation aspect, however. The story would have worked just as well without it -- better, even, since it distracts the reader's focus from the characters' present situation and actions. I really wanted a sequel where we get to follow Hero home and see how his life works out. He struck me as quite an interesting person, more so than anyone else in any of the three stories.
Note to animal lovers: A dog dies, but it's not by violence, it's in a good cause, and he is honored/appreciate for it.
The first one, "Odor of Violets" is a fun read but more of a morality tale than anything else (failing author steals dead man's manuscript, gets what he deserves). The third one (won't even attempt to summarize it) was at the same time too long and too short: too long for the minimal amount of stuff that actually happens, but too short for the number of characters and pointless complications shoehorned into it. Also the main character's last name is "Practice" and he is referred to as such throughout the story, which drove me absolutely nuts. "Practice" is an actual word with an actual meaning, so every time I read it I had to remind myself, oh yeah, that's a person, that word doesn't mean what I automatically think it does. It was like having mental hiccups, or constantly tripping over that flap of sole that's coming loose on the bottom of your shoe.
The second one, "Horrorshow," was better not because of the rather predictable plot (girl is murdered, innocent man is suspected, killer turns out to be someone you didn't expect, at the last minute justice is done) but because of the mechanism Farris chose for delivering said justice. I could have done without the past lives/reincarnation aspect, however. The story would have worked just as well without it -- better, even, since it distracts the reader's focus from the characters' present situation and actions. I really wanted a sequel where we get to follow Hero home and see how his life works out. He struck me as quite an interesting person, more so than anyone else in any of the three stories.
Note to animal lovers: A dog dies, but it's not by violence, it's in a good cause, and he is honored/appreciate for it.
September 10, 2012
The first short story in this book is called "The Odor of Violets". It is about a struggling author who steals the final manuscript of a best-selling author who has recently died. He publishes the manuscript under his own name, as his 'newest' book and is subsequently haunted by the muse of the author whose work he stole.
The second story, "Horrorshow", is about a small southern town which is being terrorized by a psychotic and sadistic murderer. A psychic is wrongly accused of a teenager's murder and teams up with her ghost to find the real killer and clear his name.
The third story is a novella, originally published in 1964. "The Guardians" is about a governor's son who narrowly escapes death after a series of supposed accidents. The governor's son soon learns that he is the target of his father's many political and personal rivals.
I enjoyed this book, although it was by no means my favorite. I really enjoyed the first two stories, but found that the novella was the weaker story. I found myself compelled to finished the book because I had enjoyed the first two stories and was curious to see how the novella ended. Overall, I give this book an A!
The second story, "Horrorshow", is about a small southern town which is being terrorized by a psychotic and sadistic murderer. A psychic is wrongly accused of a teenager's murder and teams up with her ghost to find the real killer and clear his name.
The third story is a novella, originally published in 1964. "The Guardians" is about a governor's son who narrowly escapes death after a series of supposed accidents. The governor's son soon learns that he is the target of his father's many political and personal rivals.
I enjoyed this book, although it was by no means my favorite. I really enjoyed the first two stories, but found that the novella was the weaker story. I found myself compelled to finished the book because I had enjoyed the first two stories and was curious to see how the novella ended. Overall, I give this book an A!
May 25, 2021
3.5 Stars
Most anthologies are a mixed bag, but especially this one as it wasn't so much the quality that varied but the genre itself. The first story, Odor of Violets, is basically a horror comedy. Then we get Horrorshow, which is a horror story but quite a strange one dealing with psychic powers and religious murderers. The "Scream for Ice Scream" story I was familiar with from the tv series Masters of Horror, and was probably the most straightforward horror story in the collection. The story "Scare Tactics" just took things to the downright silly level. And then the longest and final story, "The Guardians", is actually novel length and reads more like John Grisham then a horror tale.
Overall it was an enjoyable read, but not at all what I was expecting. Sometimes that's a good thing, but in this case I would have preferred more horror rather than the mixed genres here. I'd still recommend it, just know up front this isn't a collection of horror stories, but something a little different.
Most anthologies are a mixed bag, but especially this one as it wasn't so much the quality that varied but the genre itself. The first story, Odor of Violets, is basically a horror comedy. Then we get Horrorshow, which is a horror story but quite a strange one dealing with psychic powers and religious murderers. The "Scream for Ice Scream" story I was familiar with from the tv series Masters of Horror, and was probably the most straightforward horror story in the collection. The story "Scare Tactics" just took things to the downright silly level. And then the longest and final story, "The Guardians", is actually novel length and reads more like John Grisham then a horror tale.
Overall it was an enjoyable read, but not at all what I was expecting. Sometimes that's a good thing, but in this case I would have preferred more horror rather than the mixed genres here. I'd still recommend it, just know up front this isn't a collection of horror stories, but something a little different.
February 24, 2023
I scream, you scream...... Of Masters of Horror fame is in this edition.
December 11, 2019
John Farris has always been a role model for Stephen King as well as his unknowing teacher back in the day when King was only trying to write his first works of fiction (which probably have never been published). Stephen wrote an introduction for Farris's novel "When Michael calls" (my 1st book by Farris) where he highly praised all John's works (which had been published by that date obviously) and that's how I got the most basic idea who JF is & what to expect from him.
Well now that I've read quite a few things by Farris spanning a few decades (starting with "The captors" and ending with "High bloods") I can say he's a worthy competitor of monsters of genre like King or Dean Ray Koontz, it's just that with such long bibliographies as the ones these 3 people have it's rather easy for a reader to get lost or (which is much more reprehensible) to abandon the author completely having read a book or two by him that he hasn't liked much. Trust me: all those
horror writers have obvious or hidden gems among their works so don't be hasty in making an opinion (especially when it's final & undisputed)!
Well this is presumably not the place for my personal list of top novels / stories by JF so let's skip this & start reviewing "Scare tactics", shall we?
This collection of fiction by Farris starts with short stories and this is what my biggest pretension is all about (whenever it comes to his short stories that is): first John writes a pretty serious tale, all in great literary language & it even has a moral if you will, in my eyes it's a creation which would make Michael Marshall Smith or Joe Hill, maybe Elizabeth Hand or Peter Straub proud; in the end however he throws it all down the drain "thanks to" a silly gag that would only seem appropriate in a "Tales from the crypt" episode. I'm not talking about merely "The odor of violets" or "Scare tactics" the short story, the same can also be said about Farris's "Bloody Mary morning" & "First born" (both are a part of "Dark delicacies" horror story anthologies).
On the other hand "We all scream for ice cream" is pretty good, something in it strongly reminds me of S. King or P. Straub trademark stories (not necessarily their plot turns but the whole mentality behind their best stories). The tension builds up all the time, you keep wondering how the central character is going to get rid off of his pursuer then it's all over but you keep thinking if the evil spirit is really gone forever or he's just given his enemy some breathing space...
As for "Horrorshow" - it's rather nicely done (just don't take it for typical crime fiction with investigations and such, the killer comes out in front of a main suspect in the very beginning of this story; it doesn't mean the latter is ready or able to prove his innocence though) although I kept questioning primary character's reasoning: granted he's got a few awesome paranormal abilities but he doesn't seem to think too far ahead; that's why I couldn't help wondering how the ultimate confrontation is going to turn out - will Hero (that's primary character's self-assigned nickname) manage to show all the townsfolk who murdered that poor girl ?
Finally we get to "The guardians", the longest piece of fiction in entire "Scare tactics" collection. Back in the day (many & I mean many years passed since I read this novel for the first time) I was very disappointed because of total lack of mystical / paranormal / supernatural stuff in it.
On 2nd thought I'd say that the novel is still meh - you may like it but may remain completely uninterested throughout - but there's another reason for this IMHO. I suppose "The guardians" is stuck somewhere in a sort of limbo: if its author devised many more episodes like a fight of an unarmed civilian (BTW he's the central character named Practice) with then the whole novel would surely qualify for a cool thriller; if Farris invented many additional quirks & weird traits for the main antagonist then his creation would easily rumble with suspense novels by Thomas Harris, potentially becoming a #1 contender in someone's eyes...
Of course these are simply my 2 cents, supposedly there're readers who're happy enough with "The guardians" as it is.
All in all I'd recommend this collection if you're somewhat familiar with JF's bibliography.
If it's your 1st Farris's book however you'd better start with the best novels by John; in that case my personal picks would be "Fiends" or "All heads turn when the hunt goes by", possibly "The uninvited" AKA "Unearthly" or even "Phantom nights" - those will help you form your initial opinion on his works (and prove he's someone to be reckoned with in the world of horror fiction!).
Well now that I've read quite a few things by Farris spanning a few decades (starting with "The captors" and ending with "High bloods") I can say he's a worthy competitor of monsters of genre like King or Dean Ray Koontz, it's just that with such long bibliographies as the ones these 3 people have it's rather easy for a reader to get lost or (which is much more reprehensible) to abandon the author completely having read a book or two by him that he hasn't liked much. Trust me: all those
horror writers have obvious or hidden gems among their works so don't be hasty in making an opinion (especially when it's final & undisputed)!
Well this is presumably not the place for my personal list of top novels / stories by JF so let's skip this & start reviewing "Scare tactics", shall we?
This collection of fiction by Farris starts with short stories and this is what my biggest pretension is all about (whenever it comes to his short stories that is): first John writes a pretty serious tale, all in great literary language & it even has a moral if you will, in my eyes it's a creation which would make Michael Marshall Smith or Joe Hill, maybe Elizabeth Hand or Peter Straub proud; in the end however he throws it all down the drain "thanks to" a silly gag that would only seem appropriate in a "Tales from the crypt" episode. I'm not talking about merely "The odor of violets" or "Scare tactics" the short story, the same can also be said about Farris's "Bloody Mary morning" & "First born" (both are a part of "Dark delicacies" horror story anthologies).
On the other hand "We all scream for ice cream" is pretty good, something in it strongly reminds me of S. King or P. Straub trademark stories (not necessarily their plot turns but the whole mentality behind their best stories). The tension builds up all the time, you keep wondering how the central character is going to get rid off of his pursuer then it's all over but you keep thinking if the evil spirit is really gone forever or he's just given his enemy some breathing space...
As for "Horrorshow" - it's rather nicely done (just don't take it for typical crime fiction with investigations and such, the killer comes out in front of a main suspect in the very beginning of this story; it doesn't mean the latter is ready or able to prove his innocence though) although I kept questioning primary character's reasoning: granted he's got a few awesome paranormal abilities but he doesn't seem to think too far ahead; that's why I couldn't help wondering how the ultimate confrontation is going to turn out - will Hero (that's primary character's self-assigned nickname) manage to show all the townsfolk who murdered that poor girl ?
Finally we get to "The guardians", the longest piece of fiction in entire "Scare tactics" collection. Back in the day (many & I mean many years passed since I read this novel for the first time) I was very disappointed because of total lack of mystical / paranormal / supernatural stuff in it.
On 2nd thought I'd say that the novel is still meh - you may like it but may remain completely uninterested throughout - but there's another reason for this IMHO. I suppose "The guardians" is stuck somewhere in a sort of limbo: if its author devised many more episodes like a fight of an unarmed civilian (BTW he's the central character named Practice) with then the whole novel would surely qualify for a cool thriller; if Farris invented many additional quirks & weird traits for the main antagonist then his creation would easily rumble with suspense novels by Thomas Harris, potentially becoming a #1 contender in someone's eyes...
Of course these are simply my 2 cents, supposedly there're readers who're happy enough with "The guardians" as it is.
All in all I'd recommend this collection if you're somewhat familiar with JF's bibliography.
If it's your 1st Farris's book however you'd better start with the best novels by John; in that case my personal picks would be "Fiends" or "All heads turn when the hunt goes by", possibly "The uninvited" AKA "Unearthly" or even "Phantom nights" - those will help you form your initial opinion on his works (and prove he's someone to be reckoned with in the world of horror fiction!).
April 15, 2018
Kind of a mish mash of stuff, some shot, some long, some solid, some meh.
You’ve got a story about a writer stealing a text from a dying man that’s a total Tales from the Crypt vibe, one about a brutal murder at a drive through with a
Dude that can astral project, another about the ghost of a dead ice cream man back for revenge, one about a woman on a plane and a talking parrot that has the most eye rolling ending I’ve read in a while, and finally a story about duelling politicians that barely qualifies as “horror” but was fairly well written and interesting enough. Nothing here really stood out but it wasn’t bad either.
You’ve got a story about a writer stealing a text from a dying man that’s a total Tales from the Crypt vibe, one about a brutal murder at a drive through with a
Dude that can astral project, another about the ghost of a dead ice cream man back for revenge, one about a woman on a plane and a talking parrot that has the most eye rolling ending I’ve read in a while, and finally a story about duelling politicians that barely qualifies as “horror” but was fairly well written and interesting enough. Nothing here really stood out but it wasn’t bad either.
January 10, 2021
Read in 1991. One novella and two short stories. Creepy and scary.
October 5, 2021
An uneven collection. The prize story is "Horrorshow," simply superb.
Full:
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2021...
Full:
http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2021...
November 10, 2023
The final story was a good one; others were decent enough. I've liked a number of John Farris' novels that I read many years ago.
April 29, 2021
Been trying 70s and 80s horror. While the premise on most of them seem really good from the back flap, authors like laymon, campbell are falling flat for me. This one is my first Farris and is a really good read so far.
Couple of crisp short stories- Kind of know where the author is going with the story early on, but the journey is still enjoyable. Surprised that this has been rated lowly. Still three more stories for me to go.
Couple of crisp short stories- Kind of know where the author is going with the story early on, but the journey is still enjoyable. Surprised that this has been rated lowly. Still three more stories for me to go.
August 21, 2009
I just started reading John Farris, wanted to try All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By first as I have heard wonderful things about it but this fell into my hands first. I enjoyed some of it immensely and other parts to a degree--I enjoy his style quite a bit, very creative and interesting--my biggest complaint is in the short story "We All Scream For Ice Cream" (a wonderful and creepy story later filmed for Masters of Horror tv show) 2 young African American girls (children) speak in such a way as to be totally offensive--I mean "dis" and "dem" and such--I found it to be very racist--I was suddenly wondering if I was reading Gone With the Wind--not cool. The last novella "The Guardians" had a good story but was a little windy in getting to it's conclusion--I am not good at guessing "the murderer" (hell, Murder She Wrote fools me...lol) but I had this figured out well before the end so I felt it meandered a bit. Overall I enjoyed it enough to try more of his stuff.
August 21, 2015
Nice collection of three short stories. Hollywood should take a break from remakes and sequels and have a look at the last story in this collection, The Guardians. This would make a good movie I think. The other two stories are good as well, but maybe too short to be movies.
March 21, 2008
Horror
Read
April 14, 2008Horror
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews