Cutting Edge

by Dennis Etchison (Editor), Peter Straub, Joe Haldeman

This anthology contains:

Blue Rose by Peter Straub
The Monster by Joe Haldeman
Lacunae by Karl Edward Wagner
Pale Trembling Youth by W.H. Pugmire and Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Muzak for Torso Murders by Marc Laidlaw
Goodbye, Dark Love by Roberta Lannes
Out There by Charles L. Grant
Little Cruelties by Steve Rasnic Tem
The Man with the Hoe by George Clayton Johnson
They're Coming for You by Les Daniels
Vampire by Richard Christian Matheson
Lapses by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
The Final Stone by William F. Nolan
Irrelativity by Nicholas Royle
The Hands by Ramsey Campbell
The Bell by Ray Russell
Lost Souls by Clive Barker
Reaper by Robert Bloch
The Transfer by Edward Bryant
Pain by Whitley Strieber

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Story Collection

299 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1986

About the author

aka Jack Martin.

Dennis William Etchison was an American writer and editor of fantasy and horror fiction. He is a multi-award winner, having won the British Fantasy Award three times for fiction, and the World Fantasy Award for anthologies he edited.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of books in PAPERBACKS FROM HELL that I think I might have read, but I’m almost equally sure they might just closely resemble others I read. However, this one I’m POSITIVE about. I vividly remember the blue rose on the cover. It came out in 1986 and I’m sure my mom and I got it the week it was released. Fun story, my mom still loves horror and now that my dad is gone I wanted to get her involved with some things. There’s a book club in her neighborhood but she has heard they only read boring books. So, I did a little research and turns out the independent bookstore near her runs about ten book clubs, including a HORROR book club, and that’s the one she opted for! So it’s a bunch of twenty and thirty-somethings and my sweet, seventy-something, Southern mom! She loves it!

Oh, if only I had kept those old books. You know Comic Book Guy from “The Simpsons” kept all of his and he has a place at Vail now. Bastard.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite all the big names here, including Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, Whitley Strieber and so forth, this is a pretty mediocre collection. Joe Haldeman's "The Monster" was my favorite while Strieber's "Pain" ended the volume painfully (sorry for the pun); I never got into Strieber's UFO conspiracy stuff.

Etchison divided the volume into four sections: "Bringing it all back home," "They're coming for you," "Walking the Headlights" and "Dying all the time" but I still have no ideas regarding the supposed thematic justification for this. This was first published in 1986 and all of the stories were first published in the mid 80s. I am not a big short story fan, but I have read much better collections. 2 meh stars.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, well-rounded anthology of (mostly) original horror stories from the mid-1980's. The book is divided into four sections: Bringing It All Back Home, They're Coming For You, Walking the Headlights, and Dying All the Time. I recommend the stories by Joe Haldeman, Karl Edward Wagner, Charles L. Grant, William F. Nolan, Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker, Robert Bloch, and Edward Bryant. Also, there's an interesting Peter Straub novella, Blue Rose.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Aunque representativa a la hora de ofrecer trabajos y autores del subgénero, menos potente en su generalidad que volúmenes anteriores de esta serie de antologías.-

Género. Relatos.

Lo que nos cuenta. Con Dennis Etchinson como responsable de la selección de los trabajos (y de la introducción que mezcla crónica y ensayo), todos escritos para esta antología, 20 relatos que ofrecen distintas aproximaciones al terror y que nos contarán, entre otras cosas, lo que descubre un autor que se infiltra en el mundo de la prostitución con la intención de documentarse para su próximo libro, los asuntos sucios que se resuelven en la Manhattan sobrenatural, las confusiones de una mujer entre su marido y su amante, el descubrimiento del hipnotismo por parte de un muchacho malvado, el trato de un escritor con La Muerte y su incapacidad para cumplirlo, los recuerdos de un soldado que prestó servicio en Vietnam y que está encerrado en un correccional psiquiátrico, las consecuencias del trato que hace una mujer casi sin querer, los efectos de una nueva droga muy especial, una experiencia aterradora en un local londinense o la relación cercana entre un asesino en serie y su amorosa mamá, entre otros temas.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, very strong stories approaching the concept of horror from many different angles. At little dismayed that some of the amazon reviews I saw were apparently disappointed there wasn't actually more "cutting" in a collection titled "Cutting Edge." Probably the only story I didn't finish was - please don't shoot me - William F. Nolan's story. That one felt contrived, and forced.

[J K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories stronger than others, a real time capsule of decent and varied 1980s horror. I found it especially odd to read the short biography of Clive Barker, which contained no mention of Hellraiser! This was published shortly before that film arrived. Good collection though.

[Shawn]

Another placeholder review until I actually get to the book proper.

Read Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's "Lapses" here: a good, solid story told in a fragmented way, as a woman traveling for business suffers a hideous event with her car (a live dog thrown from the open back of a pickup onto her windshield) and then finds her mind, sense of place and identity slowly begin to fray and unravel in unnerving and nightmarish ways as she endeavors to make her way home. Nicely done.

[NumberLord · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of horror stories written in the mid eighties. My favorites:

The Monster by Joe Haldeman
A soldier tries to defend himself against accusations of murder, but the accusations are the least of his worries.

Goodbye Dark Love by Roberta Lannes
This is the kind of story that Night Gallery would have shown if it was on Cinemax.

They're Coming For You by Les Daniels
Mr. Bliss' wife is having an affair, so he kills her and her lover. Best unexpected ending in the book.

Lapses by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
A woman has a car accident. Things get worse.

The Final Stone by William F. Nolan
Another take on the Jack the Ripper saga.

The Bell by Ray Russell
The main character makes a deal with God to save his father. Or does he? [insert evil laughter right here. :]

Lost Souls by Clive Barker
It's Clive Barker; of course it's awesome.

Reaper by Robert Bloch
Ross finds a way to cheat death. Second best ending in the book.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thankfully picked up - and devoured - early enough in my horror writing career, this turned me towards a whole slew of writers I'd never read before and contains some terrific, challenging fiction.

Virtually every story is worthy of a read but I do have some standouts:

Lacunae, by Karl Edward Wagner
Goodbye, Dark Love, by Roberta Lannes (still, in 2011, one of my favourite short stories ever)
Vampire, by Richard Christian Matheson
Lost Souls, by Clive Barker

A terrific collection, a milestone of the genre (I'd say), well worth a read.

[Vicente Ribes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irregular colección de relatos de terror. Algunos muy buenos y algunos que pasan sin pena ni gloria.
A destacar el relato de Barker:, " Almas perdidas" donde aparece por primera vez el detective de lo sobrenatural Harry D'amour. Uno de los personajes de Barker que aparece en sus novelas.
El mejor relato es " La guadaña" de Robert Bloch, donde la muerte le ofrece la posibilidad a un hombre de alargar su vida si cada año le trae una victima que supla su turno.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually didn't expect much from this book. I was negatively biased by its Goodreads rating. I knew it wasn't a popular book right away too (only 18 reviews! (about to be 19 with mine)).

I was surprised by the content. I certainly didn't think the stories would be that sick and twisted. They are truly terrifying. Even if some of them are not that good, the horror approach is definitely there.

Now lemme list the ones that deserve a special mention:

Blue Rose - A great one to begin this book. It's the longest, too. Children can be the devil. Won't say more.

The Monster - Really good and really graphic.

Lacunae - So good! Talking about trans people in the 80s? Yup. And that ending is siiiick.

They're Coming for You - Whoa, what a ride! Talk about unexpected endings.

Lapses - Really entertaining. I could feel the anxiety along with the main character.

And there are many more. Yes, it definitely got me in the mood for the spooky season.

Oh, and unpopular opinion: the one by Clive Barker, which according to the reviews is one of the best of the bunch, was among the ones I liked least. Oops.

I say give it a go if you're into horror. Though I don't know how easy it'll be to find it.

[s · Rating 1 out of 5]

i won’t bore you with a story-by-story review because in fact every story in here is fucking awful. the clive barker piece is automatically the best of the bunch bc he can write, but it’s not even a good barker story. if you don’t tap out during the opener “blue rose” - a fucking FIFTY PAGE peter straub novella - karl edward wagner’s unfortunate “lacunae” is lying in wait ... a transsexual-obsessed bit of ~transgression~ doomed by its outsider's gaze. elsewhere lie multiple stories about evil parasitic whores, including whitley streiber’s dismal closer “pain,” about s&m as apocalyptic ruin. women do be fucking disgusting

anyway this kind of brainless, perspectiveless, genre-recitation bullshit is why i largely avoid horror fiction — so much of it is truly unreadable, empathy-free trash written to fulfill market expectations and avoid any kind of recognizably human experience. skip it !!!!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una buena recopilación de cuentos... como siempre pasa, algunos me gustaron mucho mas que otros, pero es un libro recomendable, me gustó.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short fiction.

[Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

HORROR 4:
Lo mejor del horror contemporáneo
Dennis Etchison (Editor)
VV.AA.


** 2.89 **

20 Cuentos


1- Almas perdidas
Clive Barker --------------------> 3.3

2- Rosa azul
Peter Straub --------------------> 3.2

3- El monstruo
Joe Haldeman --------------------> 3.0

4- Lagunas
Karl Edward Wagner --------------------> 2.0

5- Pálida, estremecedora juventud
W. H. Pugmire & Jessica Amanda Salmonson --------------------> 2.5

6- Hilo musical para descuartizadores
Marc Laidlaw --------------------> 3.0

7- Adiós, amor oscuro
Roberta Lannes --------------------> 2.0

8- Ahí afuera
Charles L. Grant --------------------> 3.0

9- Pequeñas crueldades
Steve Rasnic Tem --------------------> 3.3

10- El hombre de la azada
George Clayton Johnson --------------------> 3.0

11- Vienen por ti
Les Daniels --------------------> 3.0

12- Vampiro
Richard Christian Matheson --------------------> 2.0

13- Lapsos
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro --------------------> 3.3

14- La última piedra
William F. Nolan --------------------> 3.3

15- Irrelatividad
Nicholas Royle --------------------> 3.0

16- Las manos
Ramsey Campbell --------------------> 2.0

17- La campana
Ray Russell --------------------> 3.3

18- La guadaña
Roberto Bloch --------------------> 3.3

19- Transferencias
Edward Bryant --------------------> 3.0

20- Dolor
Whitley Strieber --------------------> 3.2

[Sarah Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded down because I honestly didn’t retain all that much from these short stories. They span topics and perspectives, and remind horror readers that the definition of the beloved genre doesn’t always cling to monsters in the dark—but in all honesty, I wasn’t terribly impressed by a majority of these stories. Barker is one of my favorite authors, and I’ve enjoyed Straub and Bloch—Strieber has been on my list for awhile and I will be sure to revisit him after reading “Pain”, the closing story in this collection—but even their stories left something to be desired in my opinion. Foe the most part, I wasn’t impressed by these stories. Maybe I’m missing something more grandiose here.

Favorites:
“The Monster” by Joe Halderman
“Lapses” by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
“The Bell” by Ray Russell
“Reaper” by Robert Bloch
“Pain” by Whitley Strieber

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent mid-1980's original horror anthology edited by Dennis Etchison, one of horror's greatest short-story writers. Stand-outs include "The Monster," a rare foray into horror from Joe Haldeman (The Forever War, Forever Peace) that embeds its supernatural horror in Viet Nam.

There's also a superior tale of religious angst and the common fear of getting lost in Ramsey Campbell's "The Hands." Les Daniels journeys into short fiction for a weirdly hilarious take on ghostly vengeance, "They're Coming for You." Chelsea Quinn Yarbro offers a disturbing tale of disintegrating memories and consciousness in "Lapses." In all, a solid anthology with very few misfires. Highly recommended.

[Jeanette Greaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dennis Etchison introduces this book with a fervent essay about the value of horror in the literary world, specifically the world of genre fiction. He takes a swipe at several sub genres including popular fantasy. Bear in mind this was back in 1986.

The anthology is divided into four themed parts.

Part One is 'Bringing it all back home' and includes 'Blue Rose' by Peter Straub, 'The Monster' by Joe Haldeman' and 'Lacunae' by Karl Edward Wagner.
'Blue Rose' is the story that 'Koko' is built on, and gives us a glimpse of Henry Beevers' childhood. 'The Monster' allows Haldeman to take us back to the horrors of the Vietnam war, and what may have been brought back from there. 'Lacunae' tells a story of sexual identity and drugs.

Part Two 'They're Coming For You' has seven stories. The first, 'Pale Trembling Youth' is a short story about youth culture, music and alienation, I enjoyed it a lot. 'Muzak for Torso Murders' tells the story of a serial killer and his loving mother. 'Goodbye Dark Love' is a very dark tale indeed. 'Out There' is a beautiful little story about a possessive building and its residents. I loved it. 'Little Cruelties' is another dark tale about family and home that really gave me the creeps. 'The Man with the Hoe' is not recommended for anyone who loves cats. Not my thing. 'They're Coming For You' is a perfect creepy story that I'd love to have written myself.

Part Three 'Walking the Headlights' also has seven stories. The first 'Vampires' is a freeform poem by Richard Matheson. 'Lapses' by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is one of my favourite stories in the book, with a brilliant sense of terror and loss. William F Nolan's 'The Final Stone' is one of my favourite Jack the Ripper stories, I've read it a few times and I always enjoy it. Nicholas Royle's 'Irrelativity' is a weird urban horror story that deserves to be read two or three times. Ramsey Campbell's 'The Hands' is a thoroughly creepy story about a hapless traveller who makes the wrong decision. 'The Bell' is a well written monkey's paw / deal with god story with a predictable ending. I enjoyed Clive Barker's 'Lost Souls', a fun story about a demon hunter.

Part Four, 'Dying all the Time' only has three stories. Robert Bloch's 'Reaper' is a long story by the standards of this collection, and features a horror writer making a deal with Death. It's funny and creepy and I liked it. Ed Bryant's 'The Transfer' is a nicely weird story about a woman with an unusual gift, and a desire for revenge. Whitley Streiber's 'Pain' ends the book with a paean to masochistic delights.

Overall, the stories feel dated now, a collection that's almost forty years old that has a disconcerting number of male writers and far too few diverse voices. It's becoming a part of the history of dark fiction, but it's interesting because Etchison drew together so many of horror's great writers of the time.

[Sergio Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo relatos tienen su encanto por lo mismo que les puedo critiar: se les nota la capa de polvo, un polvo grueso y blanco... muy parecido a la caspa ... Me lo leí por el relato de Barker sobre Harry D'Amour, pero hay algunos relatos mejores que el suyo. "The Monster" en particular me ha gustado mucho.

[Chris Langer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly entertaining anthology of horror! Each of the stories kept my interest, some more-so than others. My particular favorites were:
“They’re Coming for You” by Les Daniels
“The Hands” by Ramsey Campbell
“Reaper” by Robert Bloch.
“Pain” by Whitley Strieber.,

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this from my library for the Karl Edward Wagner story. It’s a Kane in the 80’s story and hard to find. The rest of the book is a mixed bag, but with names like Robert Bloch, Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker, you can’t go wrong. Just a bit too uneven and pretentious to rate over 3 stars

[Ricardo Moreno Mauro · Rating 2 out of 5]

No lo recomendaria

[Ryan Croke · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem!!! As with all collections they are not all great but I give it a 5 because the strong stories are very strong.

[Melissa Volny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written stories.

[Juan Jesús · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pues no hay mucho que agregar. Relatos muy buenos la mayoría y de los mejores escritores. Solo con la condición de que te guste el género para que lo puedas disfrutar.

[Reevrb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tried to like these stories but fell short. Guess I don’t like short stories…

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of these stories feature psychological horror (of which the editor is known), though there are a few shambling monstrosities present.

[Katy Lohman · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Bailed

Notes elsewhere...

[Rafa Sánchez · Rating 1 out of 5]

No Stephen King, no party

[Eloy Nogueira · Rating 4 out of 5]

La temática de los relatos de esta antología es muy variada. Desde asesinos hasta fantasmas y monstruos, de pactos con el diablo a la Parca, de vampiros a extrañas terapias sadomasoquistas.

Algunos relatos me han gustado muchísimo, otros me han parecido simplemente entretenidos y otros me resultaron algo confusos y no me enteré bien de qué iban.



Mis favoritos son:

-Almas perdidas, de Clive Barker

-Rosa azul, De Peter Straub

-La última piedra, de William F. Nolan

-La guadaña, de Robert Bloch



En "Almas perdidas" nos reencontramos con el detective privado Harry D'Amour (El Señor de las Ilusiones, El Gran Espectáculo Secreto) que está dando caza a un demonio. En "Rosa azul" un niño hipnotiza a su hermano menor, pero la cosa se le va de las manos y decide llevarlo hasta el límite. El relato guarda una estrecha relación con la novela "Koko" de Peter Straub.

En "La última piedra" alguien está recreando los asesinatos de Jack el Destripador, y en "La guadaña" un hombre hace un trato con la Muerte: vivirá un año más por cada persona que mate.


Estos cuatro relatos son auténticas joyas, el resto son bastante olvidables.