Impossible Monsters

by Kasey Lansdale (Editor), David J. Schow, Selina Rosen

"Eschewing romantic vampires and shambling zombies, this collection presents monsters that do not merely kill, but suddenly and incomprehensibly consume, destroy, and reduce their victims to mere bones... Readers who stay up late wondering if there really is something out there will find these stories to be perfect nightmare fodder."
-Publishers Weekly

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories

205 pages, Hardcover

First published July 31, 2013

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really shouldn't read anthologies like this, because some of the stories are really good, and some of them are rubbish, but you kinda have to read through them all to tell the difference. Well, okay, not in the case of Neil Gaiman and Charlaine Harris. You know those stories are going to be great. And, really, that's enough to pick up the book and give it a read, because it's a short anthology of horror stories focusing on monsters, mostly really original ones, but, disappointingly, a few vampires and werewolves snuck in. And yes, okay, some of that was Harris. But she can write, so I forgive her.

So, in conclusion, it's about 200 pages long, and I really enjoyed about half of the stories. A good read for around Halloween.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice anthology, with stories of generally higher quality than is often the case with such books. Neil Gaiman, David J. Schow, and Joe R. Lansdale all delight, as expected. Charlaine Harris' story feels like the prologue to a novel, not in a bad way. Al Sarrantonio's story feels like part of a series, a series of which I'd love to see more. Good stuff.

[Marty Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all anthologies, I liked some of the stories and disliked the rest. Lansdale's and Gaiman's stories were enjoyable as were the stories "Blood Moccasins" and "Orange Lake." The rest, to me, were meh.

[Gabriel J. Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good collection of spooky monster stories! My favorites were Blue Amber, Cavity Creeps, Detritus, Orange Lake, Nathan, Blood Moccasins, The Case of the Angry Traveler, and my absolute favorite was The Glitter of the Crowns.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of creative monsters, some weird writing/ editing.

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** "Blue Amber"--David J. Schow
A pretty good take on the alien-pod-people theme, set on a rural ranch. A couple of cops come to investigate, and get far more than they bargained for. Firmly in the horror genre, with a 'zombie' feel to it...

*****"Click-Clack the Rattlebag"--Neil Gaiman
Super-creepy short tale, with the feel of the stories kids tell each other at sleepover parties... Reminded me just a little bit of Kelly Link's 'The Specialist's Hat.' (Another super-creepy tale.)

*** "Cavity Creeps"--Cody Goodfellow
Evil, nasty creatures - a metaphor for despair - plague the down-and-out inhabitants of a storage facility used as a flophouse. A lighter touch with the 'message' would've improved the story, but it's still a good horror genre piece.

*** "The Glitter of the Crowns"--Charlaine Harris
A light touch and some nice twists here. In a rural mountain neighborhood, one family's kids are overshadowed by the two young beauty pageant queens who live next door. But when werewolves are thrown into the mix, not all turns out as expected.

*** "Doll’s Eyes"--Tim Bryant
A man's desire to have a child becomes twisted into something supernaturally evil, after repeated miscarriages...

* "Bloaters"--Neal Barrett, Jr.
I really dislike the style of writing featured in this story. A down-homey, tall-tale absurdism, I guess one could call it? For some, it may be a feature. The kernel of the story itself wasn't bad (vampires and other supernatural creatures), but I felt like I was wading through unnecessary gunk to get to it.

** "Detritus"--Chet Williamson
A man staying in a hotel room starts to get obsessively grossed out by the idea of the biological remnants of previous occupants of the place. Good idea, developed well... but the totally random 'surprise' ending blew it for me. It wasn't necessary.

**** "Monster"--Anne Perry
Very nice tale in the classic horror vein. A bookstore owner's new partner offers to host him on a luxury cruise while they discuss the business. As a favor, the businessman also asks the bookseller to be a friendly companion to his young daughter, who's grieving over the recent, tragic loss of her mother. But not all is as it seems, as a macabre thread weaves itself into events.

*** "Orange Lake"--Al Sarrantonio
Classic B-movie fare. A group of young people seek a week's rental at a lake house, to party and have a good time. When they find a deal that seems too good to be true - it is.

*** "Nathan"--Selina Rosen
A boy's 'imaginary friend' is a murderous psychopath.

*** "Blood Moccasins"--Bradley Denton
A rare genetic disorder causes the blood of the men of a certain family to morph into snakes when spilled. This isn't really a healthy situation, but it can be turned to use...

*** "The Case of the Angry Traveler" (A Dana Roberts Adventure)"--Joe R. Lansdale
Mole people! Paranormal investigators! Aliens! A fun tale, felt like it would make a great TV episode.

3 star average, exactly.

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid collection of monster stories. The only one I really disliked was the Neal Barrett story, which used a style intended to mimic the thoughts of small town narrator, but I found extremely obnoxious. Everything else was at least decent, and several were excellent. Of course Neil Gaiman and Joe Lansdale both produced excellent contributions. I particularly enjoyed Bradley Denton's idea of an inherited condition which caused spilled blood to turn into venomous snakes, and also Al Sarrantonio's story about a carnivorous lake. I also liked Charlaine Harris's twist on werewolves.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories, some unnerving others not as much. No real klunkers here, but nothing particularly outstanding. Although I did like Orange Lake more than most of the others. The last story really seemed to be a mix of Lovecraft's Mountains of Madness and Forbidden Planet with a twist at the end.

[Emre Bolcakan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid ensemble of horror stories can be found in Impossible Monsters. The book presents unique monsters for any horror fan looking for a new nightmare. While the monsters are original, diverse and unique; they are not built to last.
They will simply remain a part of this intriguing collection and in time will be brushed away from our minds by the classic monsters we are accustomed to reading.

[Brad]

EBR - love

[Rachel]

There were some really creepy stories in here! I enjoyed them all, especially Gaiman and Rosen's.