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Fossil Lake #1
Fossil Lake, An Anthology of the Aberrant
Aquatic horrors, cold-hearted killers, lovely monstrosities, fiendish depravity and desire, lost civilizations, ancient secrets, music and movies, murder, madness, pain, hideous humor, hunger, and revenge.
37 stories and poems brought together in this anthology of the aberrant.
Venture into the darkness. Venture into the depths.
Welcome to …
FOSSIL LAKE
Featuring the work of:
Ramsey Campbell
Ken Goldman
Melany Van Every
G. Preacher
Scott Colbert
Jerrod Balzer
37 stories and poems brought together in this anthology of the aberrant.
Venture into the darkness. Venture into the depths.
Welcome to …
FOSSIL LAKE
Featuring the work of:
Ramsey Campbell
Ken Goldman
Melany Van Every
G. Preacher
Scott Colbert
Jerrod Balzer
- GenresHorror
173 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 2, 2014
I'm not sure if it's a curse or a blessing, but one of the intresting things about having spent close to half a century reading immense piles of short horror, fantasy, science-fiction and mystery stories is that it's rare that a new story doesn't remind me in some small way of something I've come across before. I'm not talking about plagiarism, although that does happen, sometimes unconsciously. What I mean is that certain styles have archetypes that translate into modern modes of story-telling so that there's a connection back to those archetypes. In literature, as in science and music and every other form of human endeavor, we stand on the shoulders of giants. There are no new plots, just new ways of doing the old ones. The same is true of themes and styles, I think.
Case in point: Forest Lake. Thirty-seven stories and poems branching off of a common theme, sort of. In truth, there are within these pages a couple of different common themes that touch on one another in ways that are not always obvious. A reader of the future might have some difficulty discerning the unifying factor, not knowing of the person whose antics brought the disparate writers together in this place. But, we know, we participants in this project know, and that is quite good enough.
As are the stories in this volume. More than quite good enough, in fact. There are a lot of excellent stories in this book, regardeless of theme. Unlike many an anthology of the thousands I've read in the past fifty years, I can't say there's a real stinker in the bunch. Some are better than others, naturally, but the over all quality is pretty darn high. A claim, by the way, that the project's inspiration cannot in all honesty share.
As my first paragraph indicated, stories in this volume brought to mind certain literary forebears as I read them. The alpha and the omega of the table of contents are excerpts from longer works by Ramsey Campbell, who is sui generis and therefore not subject to my habit of comparison to earlier craftsmen of horror literature. Let it suffice that each author present feels elevated by the presence of so worthy a mentor.
It was while reading the first new story, “Eat Yourself” by Michael Shimek, that the theme of this review first suggested itself. One is inexorably reminded by this tale of Stanley Ellin's classic "Specialty of the House", but Shimek's tale goes well beyond that into terror incognito, as it were. Bravo, sir. Neatly done.
After that, I found myself looking for antecedents for each story as I read it, sometimes seeing a possibility, sometimes not, but without exception entertained by the whole experience. From the Dunsanian "Ziggurat of Skulls" by Joshua Dobson to D.J. Tyrer's "Alchera", so reminiscent of something Clark Ashton Smith might have written in a later age than the one he occupied, from the apparently Beowulf-inspired "The Varmint of Fossil Valley" by Dana Wright to the claustrophic nightmare of Michael Burnside's "Beneath", a tale that made me think on a very (very, indeed) abbreviated version of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris, from the John Collierish "Make Me Something Scary” by Patrick Tumblety with its wry take on the theme from "Thus I Refute Beelzy" to Ken Goldman's "C-C-Cold", a yarn that would have been right at home in one of those Alfred Hitchcock anthologies I used to buy for fifty cents in the 1970s, Fossil Lake is chockful of delightful tales that may reflect earlier tropes, but are not dependent upon them for their uniformly high quality.
One other story I want to point out before putting an end to this excessive and no-doubt pretentious litany of praise. Regardless of inspiration, whatever it might have been, "The Depths" by Stacey Turner is a damned good story, worth the price of admission alone. So are they all, all damned good stories, but this one is, I think , the best of a very good lot. So, do yourself a very great favor and buy this book.
Case in point: Forest Lake. Thirty-seven stories and poems branching off of a common theme, sort of. In truth, there are within these pages a couple of different common themes that touch on one another in ways that are not always obvious. A reader of the future might have some difficulty discerning the unifying factor, not knowing of the person whose antics brought the disparate writers together in this place. But, we know, we participants in this project know, and that is quite good enough.
As are the stories in this volume. More than quite good enough, in fact. There are a lot of excellent stories in this book, regardeless of theme. Unlike many an anthology of the thousands I've read in the past fifty years, I can't say there's a real stinker in the bunch. Some are better than others, naturally, but the over all quality is pretty darn high. A claim, by the way, that the project's inspiration cannot in all honesty share.
As my first paragraph indicated, stories in this volume brought to mind certain literary forebears as I read them. The alpha and the omega of the table of contents are excerpts from longer works by Ramsey Campbell, who is sui generis and therefore not subject to my habit of comparison to earlier craftsmen of horror literature. Let it suffice that each author present feels elevated by the presence of so worthy a mentor.
It was while reading the first new story, “Eat Yourself” by Michael Shimek, that the theme of this review first suggested itself. One is inexorably reminded by this tale of Stanley Ellin's classic "Specialty of the House", but Shimek's tale goes well beyond that into terror incognito, as it were. Bravo, sir. Neatly done.
After that, I found myself looking for antecedents for each story as I read it, sometimes seeing a possibility, sometimes not, but without exception entertained by the whole experience. From the Dunsanian "Ziggurat of Skulls" by Joshua Dobson to D.J. Tyrer's "Alchera", so reminiscent of something Clark Ashton Smith might have written in a later age than the one he occupied, from the apparently Beowulf-inspired "The Varmint of Fossil Valley" by Dana Wright to the claustrophic nightmare of Michael Burnside's "Beneath", a tale that made me think on a very (very, indeed) abbreviated version of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris, from the John Collierish "Make Me Something Scary” by Patrick Tumblety with its wry take on the theme from "Thus I Refute Beelzy" to Ken Goldman's "C-C-Cold", a yarn that would have been right at home in one of those Alfred Hitchcock anthologies I used to buy for fifty cents in the 1970s, Fossil Lake is chockful of delightful tales that may reflect earlier tropes, but are not dependent upon them for their uniformly high quality.
One other story I want to point out before putting an end to this excessive and no-doubt pretentious litany of praise. Regardless of inspiration, whatever it might have been, "The Depths" by Stacey Turner is a damned good story, worth the price of admission alone. So are they all, all damned good stories, but this one is, I think , the best of a very good lot. So, do yourself a very great favor and buy this book.
July 25, 2018
With 37 short stories and poems, this is a fairly hefty anthology that offers a buffet of writing styles and interpretations of the spooky lake theme. Many of the stories are straight-up horror, but there are a few written in more unconventional narrative styles - such as Peter Rawlik's "Arkham Arts Review: Alienation" (which is a transcript of an interview with a decidedly fishy actor with an unexpected postscript), and Joshua Dobson's "Ziggurat of Skulls" (which reads as a travelogue entry, or a location in a roleplaying supplement).
As in any anthology there were hits and misses, but individual tastes may vary. Stories that really stood out for me include the following:
"Eat Yourself" (Michael Shimek): A simple, yet highly disturbing concept - well done.
"The Varmint of Fossil Valley" (Lewis Unknown): A wild western meets thing-in-the-lake, with a darkly humorous ending.
"Alchera" (D.J. Tyrer): This story quickly developed the flavour of a tale by one of the old fantasists, like Lord Dunsany, and the link to Carcosa was a nice touch.
"The Dank" (Doug Blakeslee): The world of fairies and changelings takes a surreal turn in the modern era - I'd like to see more of this world.
"The Lost Link" (Carl Thomas Fox): I can't say much without giving it away, but I could see this being a Twilight Zone episode.
"Mishipishu - The Ghost Story of Penny Jaye Prufrock" (Mary Pletsch): A camper's ghost story with a twist - very evocative and satisfying.
"Beneath" (Michael Burnside): An epistolary tale set in a lab at the bottom of Lake Superior, with a tone reminiscent of Lovecraft and "Alien". You know what's going to happen, but *how* it does is nice.
"Make Me Something Scary" (Patrick Tumblety): A very strong Twilight Zone vibe to this one.
As in any anthology there were hits and misses, but individual tastes may vary. Stories that really stood out for me include the following:
"Eat Yourself" (Michael Shimek): A simple, yet highly disturbing concept - well done.
"The Varmint of Fossil Valley" (Lewis Unknown): A wild western meets thing-in-the-lake, with a darkly humorous ending.
"Alchera" (D.J. Tyrer): This story quickly developed the flavour of a tale by one of the old fantasists, like Lord Dunsany, and the link to Carcosa was a nice touch.
"The Dank" (Doug Blakeslee): The world of fairies and changelings takes a surreal turn in the modern era - I'd like to see more of this world.
"The Lost Link" (Carl Thomas Fox): I can't say much without giving it away, but I could see this being a Twilight Zone episode.
"Mishipishu - The Ghost Story of Penny Jaye Prufrock" (Mary Pletsch): A camper's ghost story with a twist - very evocative and satisfying.
"Beneath" (Michael Burnside): An epistolary tale set in a lab at the bottom of Lake Superior, with a tone reminiscent of Lovecraft and "Alien". You know what's going to happen, but *how* it does is nice.
"Make Me Something Scary" (Patrick Tumblety): A very strong Twilight Zone vibe to this one.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews