Evil Jester Digest, Volume 2

by Peter Giglio (Editor), Trent Zelazny, Gene O'Neill

12 dark tales from the masters and rising stars of genre fiction.
Complete TOC:
"No More Shadows" by Tim Waggoner;
"A Curse and a Kiss" by Eric J. Guignard;
"Depravation" by Mark Allan Gunnells;
"The Girl with the Thirsty Eyes" by Scott Bradley;
"Slink" by Trent Zelazny;
"Vampiro" by John Palisano;
"Kristall Tag" by Holly Newstein;
"The Tardy Hand of Miss Tangerine" by Jon Michael Kelley;
"Vanishing Act" by Simon McCaffery;
"Windows in the Wreckage" by Trent Zelazny;
"Coyote Gambit" by Gene O'Neill;
"Closing Time" by Amy Wallace.

Genres: Horror

222 pages, Paperback

First published November 26, 2012

About the author

An active member of the Horror Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers, Peter Giglio is the author of five novels, four novellas, and his short fiction can be found in several books, including two comprehensive genre anthologies edited by New York Times Bestselling author John Skipp. With co-writer Scott Bradley, Peter is actively shopping a feature-length screen adaptation of Joe R. Lansdale's "The Night They Missed the Horror Show," and Sunfall Manor, one of Giglio's novellas, is currently under option with a screenwriting team based in Los Angeles. Giglio lives on the Georgia coast with his fiancé and frequent collaborator, Shannon Michaels, and he always has time for readers at www.petergiglio.com.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I read a lot of anthologies. Some are good, some not so good. This one is excellent. Every single story packs a punch - there is not a weak piece in the lot. Among the not-to-be-missed stories include a brilliant fairy tale by Eric J. Guignard, not one, but two, fantastic pieces from Trent Zelazny, and a well-crafted cinematic tale by Scott Bradley. A great effort by all involved.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most anthologies leave me with very mixed feelings; I’ll like a couple of the stories, a couple will be awful, the rest are just blah. This one surprised me; I thought all twelve stories in it were good. There are some very unique ones in the group and the stories don’t rely on just gore for their horror. There are some zombie stories, of course- can’t have horror these days without zombies- but they have refreshing takes on zombies. There is even a zombie fairy tale! Definitely worth reading if you want some better than average horror fiction.

[Book Lovers Never Go to Bed Alone · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, independent press anthologies are a wonderful read. They offer a wide range of authors, many of whom you may not be familiar with or have only seen in passing. Evil Jester Digest, Volume Two is one such collection. While there are prominent names in horror, including Tim Waggoner and Holly Newstein, there are a host of others just as good lurking in the pages here.

The stories here are not the standard slasher/ splatter horror fare. The gore is minimal and the suspense is intense. Waggoner opens the collection with a disturbing look at a man driven by the past, of which he cannot escape. The story is not only great horror, but also a reflection on the long-term impact of the high school bully and his cronies. Where do those scapegoat kids go and who do they become? Waggoner’s answer will chill you to the bone. The stories include a wonderful post-World War II tale from Newstein and a painful look at abuse and justice from Gene O’Neill. The authors here resisted the urge to slip into the cliché and avoided the traditional serial killer gorefests. They instead looked into the dark, shadowy places in ourselves to find the horror that resides within us. Even the more traditional “monster” tales of zombies and vampires feel fresh and take on different, challenging perspectives.

This is a great collection for not only an introduction to established authors, but also for discovering some new, fresh talent out there. There’s some real talent here and I’m looking forward to plunging into a few novels from this bunch! As with any anthology, it does come down to taste. Zombie fans may be disappointed that there’s not more brain-crunching, but the fans out there looking for more tension than guts will be pleased. Read this one with the lights on!

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 3 out of 5]

Editor Peter Giglio explains in his introduction to Evil Jester Digest, Volume 2, that there are two ways to assemble an anthology: send out a call for submissions and read through the piles and piles of stories you’ll get as a result; or seek out exactly those authors you’d like to have in your anthology. In Volume I of Evil Jester Digest, Giglio took the first course, but in this volume he asked the writers he wanted to sell him stories. The result is a clean, tight anthology filled with good stories.

Evil Jester Digest opens with “No More Shadows” by Tim Waggoner. Dan is slowly driving around the parking lot of an electronics store, talking on his cellphone to his ex-wife, practically begging to... Read More:
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[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love horror stories. The end.

FTC - I received this book for free through Goodreads giveaway.